by Diane Noble
Lucas swung a saddle onto Berry then gave Hannah an understanding look. “Sophie told you, then.” He took the saddle from her hands and lifted it onto Foxfire.
Hannah nodded. Moments later they both mounted up and walked the horses down the length of the barn, hoofbeats clacking dully on the wood-plank floor.
Once in the sunlight, the horses’ hides gleamed, and the scent of their sun-warmed bodies filled Hannah’s nostrils. Lucas led the way along the fence to one of the worn, rust-colored trails that headed toward the woods. He kicked Berry into a trot, and Hannah followed on Foxfire. After several yards they picked up an easy canter. Hannah breathed in the scent of the wildflowers and grassy fields, closing her eyes, enjoying Foxfire’s smooth rhythm and the soft summer breeze against her face.
Lucas headed Berry through the trees to where the forest thinned out a little, then up a slight incline to the bluff overlooking the river. They rode along the bluff for a time before Lucas reined in Berry and signaled for Hannah to do the same. She gently reined her horse to a standstill. Both horses shook their heads, causing their manes to lift in the breeze and their bridles to jingle.
He nodded toward the river. “There’s a place just below where you can see nearly a hundred miles west. But we can’t take the horses.” He grinned at her from beneath his hat brim, his eyes teasing. “You up for a hike?”
“Another race?”
He laughed. “No. This is much too dangerous. I just want to show you what it looks like. But you’ll have to be careful.”
Hannah slid from her saddle. “Let’s go.” Then she watched as Lucas dismounted and led the horse to a clump of birch trees where he tethered their reins.
“Ready?” He asked, reaching for her hand to help her scramble over an outcropping of rocks.
The gesture reminded her of Mattie, and Hannah swallowed hard, quickly pulling her hand away so she wouldn’t disgrace herself with watery eyes.
They climbed down the side of the cliff, over another group of rocks, around some pines and live oaks, and through some brush to the lookout point Lucas had mentioned. The sun, already on its downward slant, struck the place, turning the reddish soil and sandy rocks to burnished gold. Below them, the river wound in a ribbon of silver-green, stretching until it disappeared into the horizon. Gentle hills turned into flat prairie, melting into a sea of yellow and pale green, stretching out, it seemed to Hannah, into forever.
“Oh, my,” she breathed. “So that’s the West.”
“Wait till you see the sunset over it,” Lucas murmured, his eyes still on the horizon. “It’s even better than this.”
“How could it be?” she asked, not expecting an answer. “I’ve never seen so far before. How could anything be better than this?”
Lucas laughed, removed his hat, and ran his fingers through his dark hair. “Just wait, Hannah. Just wait.” He was quiet a minute then turned to face her. “We’re going west, you know.”
“Who is?”
“The Saints.” He curled his hat brim then placed the hat back on his head, low over his eyes.
“Not Sophronia. You don’t mean Sophronia too.”
He nodded. “She doesn’t want to go. But she must.”
“Why?”
“It wouldn’t be safe for her to stay alone.”
“I’ll be with her.”
His face softened, and for a moment Hannah thought Lucas might laugh at her bold statement, but he didn’t. She admired him for that.
“Does my aunt know she must leave?”
“I’ve tried to tell her, but she won’t listen. She won’t even listen to Brigham Young himself.”
“Why does everyone have to leave?” Hannah settled onto a nearby rock, keeping her eyes on Lucas, who was standing in the direct light of the setting sun, one foot propped on a large stone. In the orange glow, his eyes looked lighter than ever against his tanned skin.
“Sophie told me she let you know about the persecution we’ve been getting from the Gentiles.”
Hannah nodded. “She told me.”
“The Church has been told to get out of Nauvoo by the end of winter. Those who disobey will be persecuted.”
“Persecuted?”
“Punished.”
Hannah knew he spoke of the bad things that Sophronia had told her about. “But why? I thought Nauvoo was built by the Saints. That it belongs to them.”
Instead of answering, Lucas turned the conversation to the future in the West. “Our leaders have told us about a wide-open land, more colorful and spread out than even this, Hannah,” he said. “We’re going to set up our kingdom there—God’s kingdom—in a land that no one can take from us again.”
“Is it far away?”
He nodded solemnly. “Yes. And Sophie needs to come with us, not lag behind. We’ll be safer traveling together.”
“We’ll go by covered wagon?”
Suddenly, Lucas threw back his head and laughed in the way that Hannah was coming to love. Then he gazed at her, admiration in his eyes. “My goodness, girl, but you’re a curious one. So many questions.”
Hannah clamped her lips together in a straight line and lifted her chin. “You’re about to ask me to help you convince Sophronia to go west. You want me to tell her that I want to go.”
He laughed again, a sound that was merrier than the rushing waters of Little Shepherd Creek in the springtime. “You read minds too?”
“Well, isn’t that why you’re telling me about the Saints’ trip west?”
“Not entirely. But yes, I was intending to ask you to help me convince her.”
“If I’m going to do that, I need to know exactly why.”
“I thought your aunt told you about the persecution.”
“She did. Sort of. She also told me about the Avenging Angels. The Danites.”
For a moment Lucas didn’t speak. Then he asked, “Are you sure you’re only ten?”
“I’m almost eleven. Besides, what does that have to do with it?”
“You seem to be thinking this through the way most adults would.”
“I want to know about the Danites and what you’re doing to protect us until we leave—if we leave.” Hannah watched Lucas carefully, reading his expression to see if he would tell her the truth.
“We protect our own, Hannah. And even by telling you that, I’ve told you too much.”
She considered him for a moment as the sun sank deeper into the horizon.
“There’s something else bothering you, isn’t there?” Lucas asked. Hannah nodded. “My pa always said you can’t believe everything you hear.”
“What part don’t you believe?”
“That people can do such bad things to each other. Cruel things.”
Lucas’s face turned to granite. At first Hannah thought he was angry that she doubted him, doubted her aunt. Then she noticed his eyes. He seemed to be fighting something inside, maybe crying. She reached for his hand. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean that what happened in Haun’s Mill never happened, about your brother and all… Oh,” she cried, “I’m sorry.”
He turned away from her, pulling back his hand at the same time. For several minutes he gazed at the sunset without speaking. The sky had now turned orange and red and purple. Even the thin ribbon of the river had turned crimson.
When Lucas turned again to Hannah, he seemed to have settled some question only he knew. “What would you think if I showed you how folks feel about us?” he asked.
“Showed me? You mean I could go with you to see firsthand?”
He nodded.
“Go with you on a raid?” Hannah’s heart began to thud in her chest as she pictured herself on Foxfire alongside Lucas on Black Star, fighting with the Lord’s mighty army of angels, avenging his favored people.
“A raid?” Lucas repeated, laughing. “No, that’s not what I have in mind.”
Hannah was disappointed, but she didn’t say so. “If not a raid, what then?”
“You’ll f
ind out tonight after supper.” He reached for Hannah’s hand to help her stand, and they started back up the hillside.
“You mean after you ask Sophronia if I can go?”
He nodded. “Yes, we’ll need to ask her,” he agreed. “But I think she’ll say yes.” He smiled. “I’ll protect you with my life, if necessary, Hannah. She knows that.”
“Will I need to wear black?” she inquired, still thinking of the raid as they made their way over some sandstone boulders.
Lucas stopped, looking over his shoulder at her. Then he grinned. “Might be a good idea. But there’s something else.”
“What?”
“You need to dress like a boy.”
“A boy?”
He nodded. “You’ll need to play like you’re my little brother.” Hannah wrinkled her nose then broke into a wide grin. She liked the sound of that. Lucas’s little brother. “All right,” she said. “I’d like that.” Then she scrambled ahead of him as fast as she could. “Last one to reach the horses is possum scat!”
The sound of Lucas’s laughter behind her made Hannah want to sing and dance and turn cartwheels all at the same time. She was suddenly happier than she had been in months. Oh yes, she would convince Sophronia to go west with the Saints. She and Lucas and Sophronia were family. Hannah would have it no other way.
By the time supper was over that night, a light rain had begun to fall. Hannah pulled on some old trousers and a deerskin shirt of Lucas’s then donned a wide-brimmed felt hat, being careful to poke her light curls tightly inside.
Lucas walked to the window and looked out at the rain. “I’ll take good care of our Hannah,” Lucas said gently, turning to Sophronia. “Don’t worry.”
“You’re not going to a raid, now, are you, Lucas?”
He shook his head. “Only a gathering,” he said simply.
Sophronia still seemed worried, and Hannah gave her a quick hug as they left the house. “I’ve been chased by bears and mountain cats back home in Kentucky,” she said. “Nothing could be more dangerous than that.” She didn’t add that Mattie had always been the one to shoo them off with their pa’s rifle.
Her aunt smiled and patted Hannah’s cheek. “You just take care, Hannah, child.”
Finally, Lucas and Hannah made their way to the barn and saddled the horses. Minutes later, they mounted, Hannah on Foxfire, Lucas on Black Star.
Shivering more from excitement than cold, Hannah yanked her hat closer to her ears and peered through the darkness. This was going to be a night to remember. She could feel it in her bones.
They rode for several minutes without talking. The trail narrowed, and Lucas took the lead. Hannah nudged Foxfire with her heels, following Lucas and Black Star into a small stand of nearly bare trees. He reined his horse to a standstill, and Hannah pulled up beside him, Foxfire dancing sideways and shaking her head, her mane flopping. The night was eerily quiet. Now that the rain had stopped, only the dripping mist from the cottonwood branches broke the silence.
“We’re heading to a meeting,” Lucas said. “These people are not our friends, as you’ll soon see. While we’re there, you can’t say anything. No matter what you hear or see, you mustn’t speak.” His voice was earnest. “You’ve got to promise me.”
“I promise.” Hannah’s voice sounded small in the darkness. “But why?”
“You’ll find out when we get there. I just want you to listen.”
“Is it a Danite meeting?”
Lucas sighed. “No. Far from it.”
“But it’s a secret meeting.”
“The meeting’s no secret. It’s who we are that’s the secret. We don’t want anyone to identify us. And remember, as far as anyone at the meeting knows, we’re brothers.”
“I’ll remember,” she said.
“You may be hearing things said that will make your blood boil. You may find it hard to sit still and not say anything back. But Hannah—” Lucas put his hand on her arm. “Your life may depend on your keeping quiet.”
“I’ll not say anything. I promise.”
“All right, then. You ready?”
“Let’s go,” Hannah said as she relaxed the reins and let Foxfire follow Black Star.
Soon Hannah could see the glow of lantern light flickering through some trees in the distance. The path forked onto a muddy road and down a hill where the light was lost momentarily. After they had followed the winding road a distance longer, Lucas turned off onto another, smaller road leading through a field to a sprawling two-story farmhouse.
Torches lined the barnyard, and the smell of burning pitch was strong. Men—Hannah thought maybe thirty-five or so—lolled about on makeshift chairs of barrels or logs. Others were standing in small groups, talking and laughing. No one seemed to notice when she and Lucas tethered their horses to a post and sat on a log toward the back of the group.
Hannah pulled her hat further down on her head and checked to make sure no unruly curls had sprung from beneath it. “Don’t fuss,” Lucas whispered. I wasn’t”.
“Put your hands in your pockets.”
Hannah jammed her hands in her trousers and let out a sigh.
Someone rolled a small farm wagon to the front of the group, and a man climbed up to stand on the bed of it. He was a big man, and in the torchlight, his broad face was covered with a beard, full and long, whiter than chalk. He reminded Hannah of a big white ox.
“If you’re new to our meetings and don’t know me, my name’s Jared Boggs,” he began in a gravel-edged voice. “I live down the road, next farm over. Some of the boys and me been talking about gettin’ rid of our problems. I’m sure you know what problems I’m talking about.”
There was a spattering of laughter throughout the group.
“Well, we’re meeting here tonight to make plans for riddin’ ourselves of them forever.” He gazed around the group, nodding as some of the men bobbed their heads in agreement. “I’m talking about the Mormons. Now it’s true, we’ve gotten rid of some—one way or another.”
From behind Hannah and Lucas, more laughter rose into the damp night air.
Jared Boggs went on, “I hear there’s some who’re talking about staying put instead’ve moving on. And we can’t let that happen, can we?
Shouts of “No! We can’t!” rose from the back of the mob.
Boggs glanced around the group. “Saints.” He practically spat the word. “They call themselves Saints, followers of a man who said he was a Prophet. I’m here to tell you this was no man of God. He was kin with the devil hisself. And I’m glad he’s dead. Fryin’ in hell. Roasting on a spit across God’s fire. Anybody who’d say that Jesus Christ and the devil are brothers must be kin with the devil hisself. And he said it. Oh yes, he said it all right.”
The crowd murmured in response. Hannah noticed that Lucas’s expression was hard, and he worked his jaw as he stared at the speaker.
“If we let any of ‘em stay, they’ll multiply,” Jared Boggs continued. “Multiply like maggots on a corpse. Them and their ideas that they can take more’n one wife. Why, it’s been said Joseph Smith himself had more’n thirty.”
Thirty wives? Hannah fought to keep from asking Lucas about it right then.
Jared Boggs raised his voice even louder, now yelling at the ruffians before him. “We don’t want one Mormon devil livin’ within a thousand miles of here! In this county. In this state!”
The crowd shouted in agreement.
“We’ve taken enough! We’ve tolerated enough! Now it’s time to burn them out.” Jared Boggs raised a fist into the air. “And when we’re through, they’ll stay out! The ones who live through it’ll never want to see this state again.”
Hannah’s breath came in small quick stabs. What if she and Lucas were found out? She shuddered to think what might happen. But beside her, Lucas seemed calm. He surprised her by nodding his head and shouting out as if agreeing with the man on the wagon. Maybe that was wise. Hannah nodded her head, then glanced around to see if anyone noticed
. No one did. They were too busy agreeing with Jared Boggs. She nodded right along with Lucas just to be safe.
When the crowd quieted down, Boggs continued. “I’ll tell you what me and some of the others have planned,” he said. “Then you all tell me who wants to join us.”
Hannah listened in horror as he described in detail what the mob would do, farm by farm, house by house, person by person, until the last Saint was forced to leave. Hannah felt her cheeks getting hot, and she thought she might be sick. They were talking about Sophronia. The horrid things they were saying they’d do would be done to Sophronia, and maybe to Hannah herself. She reached to touch Lucas’s hand then thought better of it and shoved her hand back in her pocket.
The men broke into smaller groups and began planning how and when they would strike. As their voices rose in agitation and anticipation, Lucas nodded toward the horses, and after a moment they stood and sidled to the back of the gathering. Lucas spoke to a few of the men as they moved past, telling them he needed to get his little brother home before their ma found out he was gone. “I’ll try to come back later,” he said with a grin and a mock salute.
Lucas and Hannah rode in silence for a long while, Lucas’s horse taking the lead. Then the girl pulled Foxfire alongside Black Star.
“What they said … they won’t do all those things, will they?” she asked, looking across at Lucas.
“I’m sorry you had to hear it, Hannah. The only reason I wanted you to was so you can help me convince Sophronia to leave.”
“What if she won’t listen? You won’t let anything happen to her, will you, Lucas? You won’t leave without us, will you?”
Lucas didn’t answer, and in the silence that had fallen between them, Hannah could hear the dripping of the trees and, a distance away, the sad cry of a screech owl. Then Lucas halted the black and reached for her hand. He held it between his, rubbing it till it warmed. “You’ve got to help me convince Sophronia. There is no other way.”
