Cherished Mercy

by Tracie Peterson

  Adam couldn’t help but smile back. “I’ve no doubt you could.”

  Once the letter was written, Adam handed it over. “I’m going to the village. I’ll sneak into the mission house and see what’s happened. Try to get the soldiers here as soon as possible. I don’t think Billy and his men are very patient, whatever their plans might be.”

  With Joseph off and running for the soldiers’ camp, Adam made his way back to the edge of the village. He knew the lay of the land like the back of his hand. He would come in from the far eastern edge by the chicken coops. From there, he would slip along the tree line and come up behind the outhouse. Then it was only about twenty feet to the back of the house.

  He crept into position, careful to keep himself hidden in the trees. The cold permeated his bones as rain began to fall. There was nothing to be done about it, however. At least the rain helped muffle any noise he made.

  He hurried from the trees and flattened himself up against the chicken coop. His boots sank into the mud, putting him off balance. He quickly regained control, however, and listened for any sound that might suggest the militia had noticed him.

  There was still no sign of life, but he suspected Billy probably had at least one man on guard. His fear was that Caxton and his men had already killed everyone—including Eletta, Faith, and Mercy. The militia wouldn’t set out to kill white women, but Adam knew Mercy would never let him harm the others unchallenged. She would stand up to the militia, and in turn they would have no choice but to get her out of the way.

  Barely controlled rage raced through him at the thought. He was a man of the cloth, but injustice and evil still riled him until all he could think about was righting the wrong. If Billy had hurt Mercy or the others, Adam didn’t know what he would do. In his heart he knew that without God’s calming grace, he was capable of doing almost anything.

  He took a deep breath and prayed. Lord, You know my heart better than I do. You know how helpless I feel in this situation. Please, Lord, give me wisdom and calm my spirit.

  With that prayer, Adam crept forward, keeping close to the small coop. He would have to cross ten or so feet without anything to hide behind in order to reach the privy. Crouching low, he hurried to close the distance and straightened only after he could use the outhouse for cover. Still there wasn’t a single sound to suggest his presence was known.

  The house was only a short distance away. He felt confident he could reach it without anyone being the wiser. Adam waited just in case Billy or his men were patrolling the grounds. The minutes ticked by, and the quiet remained. It was now or never.

  The ground between the house and privy was covered in puddles from the rain, but planks had been put down to create a walkway to the house. He could go that route, which would be the quieter one, but it would also leave him the most exposed. Still, if he tried to race across the muddy yard, he would make a lot of noise and perhaps even trip on something.

  He drew a long breath. He’d take his chances with the walkway.

  Easing out from behind the outhouse, Adam moved with the grace of a wildcat stalking its prey. He had learned quite a few tricks from the Tututni that allowed him to sneak up on deer or other game. He would never be as good as they were, but he had been successful numerous times. Those skills came in handy now.

  Twenty feet seemed like miles, but Adam reached the cabin wall. He gave it a cursory study. The back wall of the cabin was solid except for the window in Isaac and Eletta’s room. He knew that had been boarded up for winter, so there was no chance of getting inside that way without creating a lot of noise.

  He could knock on the boards. If anyone happened to be inside, they might respond. Of course, they might also think they were being attacked. Then there was the possibility that the women and Faith had already been moved from the area. Maybe some of the militia had taken up residence in the house.

  Then an idea came to him.

  There was the roof access. He hadn’t been here when it was used to draw smoke from the house, but he had utilized it with Isaac when the roof had been damaged by a fallen tree branch. After they’d repaired the roof, they’d cut down all the nearest trees and used the lumber to enlarge the church.

  Adam gazed upward. If he could get on the roof, he could get into the house by way of the trapdoor Isaac had made. But how would he get on the roof? And after he was there, how would he move without being seen?

  Again he surveyed his surroundings. He knew there was a rain barrel alongside the house as well as a couple wooden crates. It might be possible to use them to build a makeshift ladder and hoist himself onto the roof. It was a risk, but there seemed to be no other way. Already the skies were starting to lighten with a predawn glow.

  Mercy tossed and turned in a restless sleep. In her dreams she was searching for something but had no idea what it was. She ran from place to place, and still didn’t know what she was after. As she started to move again, she stepped on a twig, and it snapped. The sound was so loud that Mercy came fully awake. She sat up and looked around the dark room.

  “Someone is on the roof,” Red Deer whispered.

  Mercy stood and let her blanket drop to the ground. She felt in her coat pocket for the revolver. “Everyone keep quiet,” she whispered for the sake of anyone awake.

  The sound of the rain was mingled with a scraping sound as someone crawled across the roof. No doubt the trapdoor was their goal. She was glad she’d had everyone lay down on the far side of the bed. The space below the roof access was clear.

  Whoever it was reached the door and began to pull at it. It appeared to be stuck, however, and Mercy found herself praying it would hold. It didn’t. A moment later, the door opened slowly.

  She drew a deep breath and raised her revolver. “Whoever you are, I’ve got a gun pointed right at you. If you try to come into this house, I will shoot you.”

  “Mercy, it’s me. Adam,” the whispered reply came.

  She almost cried aloud with joy. “Adam. Oh, thanks be to God.” She lowered the gun. “The floor is clear beneath you.”

  That was the only encouragement he needed. In a matter of seconds, Adam came through the opening and landed only a foot or so away from Mercy. The trapdoor fell back into place with a thud.

  Without any shame, Mercy threw herself at him and hugged him close. Her heart felt as though it might beat out of her chest. She’d been so frightened.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked.

  “No, but I’m so glad you’re here. Billy Caxton and his men are trying to kill us.”

  “I figured as much.” He held her tight. “Who else is in the house?”

  “Thirteen of the Tututni—ten are children. We’re all here in the bedroom. Oh, Adam, I’m sure they’ve killed everyone else.” She felt his hold tighten. “And Isaac . . .”

  “I know. How is Eletta doing?”

  “She’s very weak. She and Faith are asleep on the bed.”

  “No, I’m awake,” Faith interjected.

  “Well, pretend you’re still asleep,” Adam countered. “We need to keep still. They no doubt heard the trapdoor, but hopefully they have no idea what it was.” Still he held on to Mercy as if she were as much his lifeline as he was hers.

  “We managed to nail up more boards over the window shutters, as well as reinforce the door.”

  Adam began stroking her hair. “You did well. I’m sorry I wasn’t here to see this never happened.”

  “You couldn’t have known. No one expected Isaac to be murdered.” She calmed under his touch. “Billy said it was the Tututni, but I don’t believe him. No one believes him.”

  For several long silent moments, Mercy let Adam hold her. She wanted only the safety of his embrace and the warmth of his breath against her ear.

  “It’s cold in here,” he said.

  “We didn’t dare light a fire. I was afraid Billy would try to smoke us out. I’m sure come light he’ll continue his threats to set fire to the cabin.”

  Adam pulled away and
took her face in his hands. Mercy couldn’t see much more than his outline. “Listen, I sent word to the army. I gave Joseph a letter to take to them. They aren’t far from here and should arrive soon. We just have to keep Billy and his men at bay until they get here.”

  She nodded but didn’t otherwise reply because Adam’s thumb was stroking her jaw. She couldn’t explain what was happening to her, but it felt like everything inside her body was melting. Mercy marveled at the sensation, and her breath quickened as she remembered his kiss.

  “Come with me to the front room. I want to make some holes in the wood over the windows so I can see what Billy and his men are doing once it’s light.”

  He dropped his hands from her face, and for a moment Mercy couldn’t seem to make her legs work. She shook her head to clear the fog, but still that feeling of wonder remained.

  “I . . . ah . . .” She stammered for a moment then went silent.

  Adam was already at the bedroom door, lifting the bar. Mercy forced herself to move. “Red Deer, I’ll be just outside. Keep everyone in here.”

  “I will,” the woman whispered.

  Mercy stepped through the open door. She could hear Adam moving around the room and thought of the tools she’d used earlier. “What do you need to make a hole?”

  “Well, I thought maybe I could tear away a bit of the board on the window. We don’t want to remove so much that it weakens our defense, but it would be good to see what the enemy is up to.”

  “There are tools in the box beside the fireplace.”

  “Of course.”

  He went to the box, and Mercy could hear him rummaging through its contents. The clock on the mantel chimed, nearly causing her to shriek. She barely got her hand over her mouth in time.

  “It’ll be full light within half an hour. It was already starting to dawn when I was still outside,” Adam said.

  Mercy slowly lowered her hands. “It’s still raining, so maybe the militia will want to stay in their tents.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it. I’m going to try drilling a hole instead of tearing away the wood. A hole won’t weaken the barrier.”

  “And we can easily stuff something into it to keep them from looking in.”

  “Exactly.”

  Adam went to the window, but Mercy couldn’t see what he was doing. She realized she could help him by lighting a candle. Feeling her way around, she found the small supply of matches Isaac kept in a jar. She then quickly found a candle and lit it.

  The glow allowed her to see Adam for the first time in many weeks. He glanced back at her. He looked tired and unkempt, and his pack and rifle had been slung into a corner of the room. He wore the beginning growth of a beard, and his hair was still wet from the rain. Even so, Mercy had never known a handsomer man.

  He smiled as if he could read her thoughts. “Bring it here.”

  She watched as he drilled into the board. It was slow work to get through the thick oak plank she’d nailed in place. By the time he finally managed to make a hole big enough to see through, it was nearly eight o’clock, and everyone was awake and curious about what was happening.

  Unfortunately, Billy and his men were also awake. Adam remained crouched by the window and motioned Mercy to his side. He looked out of the peephole. “He’s coming this way. Say nothing about me.”

  “Of course not.” Mercy frowned. “I’m not stupid.”

  Adam looked up with a grin. “So you’ve managed to pull yourself together then?”

  Mercy felt her face grow hot and looked away. “If you’re referring to when you first arrived, then . . . well . . . yes. You nearly scared the wits out of me.”

  She stomped off to check on the others.

  “Red Deer, Billy is heading this way. Keep everyone in the bedroom.” Faith frowned, and Mercy knew she was about to protest. “Faith, I need you to stay with your mother and take care of her for me. I have to help your Uncle Adam.”

  “Mercy Flanagan!” Billy yelled.

  Mercy bit her lip and squared her shoulders. She would conduct herself in a manner befitting a proper young woman. She moved to the front room and put her hands on her hips to steady herself. “What is it that you want now, Mr. Caxton?”

  “You know full well what I want. I want you to open this door and send out those heathens.”

  “Do you still plan to murder them?”

  “I plan to do my duty, if that’s what you mean.”

  “Then I can’t help you. I will not turn helpless women and children over to you to be slaughtered.”

  “Then you’re going to die with them, because we’re going to set the place on fire in exactly five minutes.”

  “You’ll kill an expectant mother—a white woman too weak to leave her bed? You’d let her seven-year-old daughter die at her side?”

  “It’s not the way we want it, Mercy, but we have our orders. I told you we’d see you and Mrs. Browning and her child to safety.”

  Mercy felt her resolve weaken. She looked at Adam as tears came to her eyes. By refusing to give up the Tututni, she was signing everyone’s death warrant. Even Faith’s.

  Adam came to her and took her in his arms. He whispered against her ear. “Don’t be afraid. The soldiers will be here soon.”

  Then, as if speaking the words had made it so, Mercy heard the shouting of other men.

  “Billy—the regulars are here!” someone yelled.

  She gasped and looked at Adam. His face was just an inch away from hers, and suddenly all she could think about was his kiss. She pushed him back, shaking from head to toe.

  “We . . . we’re . . .” She shook her head. “The army is here.” She went to the door. “The army is here, Mr. Caxton, and you can no longer threaten our lives.”

  Billy didn’t respond, but Mercy could hear him cursing and calling out to his compatriots to break camp. Hugging her arms to her body, Mercy leaned back against the door. For just a moment, she thought she might faint and closed her eyes.

  “Are you all right?” Adam asked.

  She opened her eyes again. He hadn’t moved from where she’d left him. His dark eyes bored into her, and Mercy couldn’t look away. She knew without him saying a word that things had changed between them. What she couldn’t figure out was whether that was a good thing . . . or a bad one.

  Chapter

  14

  After insisting they bury the dead, Mercy was relieved to leave the village. Her only regret was the insistence of the army that the surviving Tututni remain with them. They were to be sent to join a larger group of Indians being marched north to the reservation.

  The tearful good-bye left Mercy with an enormous sense of loss. Would they be all right? Would the soldiers treat them fairly? There was no way to be certain they would even survive the brutal march north.

  With the help of three soldiers and the use of two large Tututni canoes, Mercy and Adam managed to get Eletta and Faith to Gold Beach without further problems. Mercy had taken what they could pack of clothes and personal articles, as well as a crate that Adam stuffed with food. There was no way of knowing what the situation in Gold Beach might be, he had told her. She was glad he was thinking of such things. Her thoughts were a terrible scramble of worry over Eletta and Faith and acceptance of her feelings for Adam. Thankfully, she hadn’t been forced to deal with Billy Caxton, although he and his men were still somewhere nearby.

  Gold Beach was much the same as she remembered it. The small fort being built was further along, with a much higher wall of dirt mounded around two small buildings. There were several families in residence, as well as soldiers and other single men.

  The army physician arranged for Mercy, Eletta, Adam, and Faith to have a small house normally shared by some soldiers who were off fighting Indians. It was hardly more than an unpainted plank shack, but Mercy was grateful for a roof over her head and a floor, albeit a very rough one, beneath her feet. So many of the others were living in tents.

  It would normally have been inappropri
ate for a single woman to share a house with a single man to whom she wasn’t related, but these were difficult and dangerous times. Mercy wasn’t about to be left alone to watch over Eletta and Faith without Adam to watch over all of them.

  Mopping Eletta’s brow with a damp cloth, Mercy continued to pray, thanking God for their safe arrival and pleading for the life of her friend. When Mercy went to wet the cloth again, she was surprised to find Eletta awake.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m. . . .” Eletta said nothing more about herself. “How’s Faith? Is she bearing up all right?” Her voice was hardly more than a whisper.

  “She’s doing well. She’s just outside in the main room. Would you like to see her?”

  Eletta shook her head. “Not just yet. I want to talk to you alone.”

  “What is it?”

  “I know I’m dying. I believe the child inside me has already passed.”

  Mercy bit her lower lip to keep from contradicting Eletta in empty encouragement. The army physician had already told Mercy that he believed the unborn baby to be dead. He had told Mercy and Adam that he could operate and remove the baby in the hope of saving Eletta’s life, but he felt the chances of her survival were extremely low. Neither she nor Adam wanted to put Eletta through such misery only to see her die anyway. More importantly, Eletta wanted no part of it.

  Mercy took Eletta’s hand. “I’m so sorry. We’ve done all we could.”

  “I don’t fear death,” Eletta continued. “My life was over with Isaac’s passing, although I’ve tried to hang on in case I could bear his child. And for Faith.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “But I’m too weak, and I know I will die soon.”

  “What can I do?”

  Eletta opened her eyes again and gave a weak smile. “Take care of Faith for me.”

  “Of course. She will always have a home with me.”

  “I wrote a journal for her.” Eletta pointed to the bag that held her things.

  Mercy knew exactly where the journal was, since she’d packed these things for Eletta. “I know.”