The Fiery Ring

by Gilbert, Morris

  “And you want me to help you with this?”

  “Could you please, Uncle Tom?”

  “Of course. I’ll see what I can do. I’ll have one of my assistants look into it, and then maybe I’ll make a little trip myself and see what can be done toward recovering your property.”

  ****

  “. . . so Uncle Tom said he would look into it, and I think he’ll be able to get back what Albert stole from us.”

  Chase listened as Joy spoke passionately. He could feel the bitterness in her spirit, and he knew she had never shaken off her unforgiving spirit toward Albert Tatum. “Well, I hope you can get your things back. I know it’s been bothering you for years.”

  Finally they pulled up in front of the trailer that Joy now had to herself since Ella had married. She sat there a moment and continued to speak of the Winslows. “It’s so good to have a family, Chase. I used to feel that I didn’t have anybody.”

  “Well, you have somebody now. Those Winslows—they’re wonderful people.”

  As they sat there talking, Joy remembered what Dan had said to her months earlier about showing Chase how much she cared for him. Joy was actually more experienced in fighting men off than in enticing them, but she turned and touched Chase’s arm, saying, “Thank you, Chase, for going with me tonight.”

  Chase was silent for a moment. Her touch and her soft voice were a sudden switch from her coldness toward him the last few months. She surprised him even more when she reached up and touched his cheek, whispering, “I’ll never forget all the help you’ve been to me.”

  Chase saw the faint color staining Joy’s cheeks. Her signal was coming through clearly, like a melody on a calm day. He pulled her toward him, as a man reaches for something he might lose. She smiled up at him, and he felt desire for this woman flow through him. But it was not like his desire for Stella House—that was simply a strong physical attraction, and he did not feel right about it. He wondered now if what he felt for Joy was love. Maybe she did love him after all. That seemed to be the message coming through in her eyes. Yet she seemed hesitant to fully surrender to those feelings, and he did not want to push her.

  As for Joy, she sat near him, wanting him in a way she had wanted no other man. She longed to throw caution to the wind and tell him she loved him. Timidly at first, then with more courage, she reached up, put her arms around his neck, and whispered, “There’s nobody like you, Chase.”

  Chase knew it was not easy for her to say those words, and it touched him deeply. Holding her in his arms, he kissed her, and over the lengthening moment he felt her surrender to him. Finally when she pulled away, she was silently crying, and he held her tightly with her head resting on his shoulder. He knew then that no other woman would ever stir him quite like this one. She was rich in a way a woman should be, and she was so much more complex than Stella. Stella was very attractive physically, but this girl was beautiful like a symphony that makes a man feel strong enough to whip the world.

  “Joy,” he whispered, “you’re so sweet. You’re like a drink of water to a thirsty man.” He kissed her again and drew her closer, forgetful of his own strength. He held her so tightly it almost hurt her, but she did not draw back.

  Joy did not understand all she was feeling at that moment, but she now admitted to herself that she was in love with Chase Hardin and she believed he was with her. She felt confident now that Stella was no longer a threat. She rested quietly in his arms and waited for him to say something, but he was silent. Finally she drew back and looked at him. His expression seemed troubled. “What is it, Chase?”

  Clearing his throat, he said, “I . . . I think you’d better go inside.”

  “Why? What’s the matter?” Joy’s heart started beating faster. She was afraid that maybe she’d read him wrong after all. Did I just make an utter fool of myself?

  Chase hesitated. “I . . . I’m just not the man you think I am, Joy. Please go in now.”

  Her fear turned to hurt, which turned to anger. She stared at him in disbelief. Had the embrace meant nothing to him? She had exposed her soul in a way she had never done with any other man, and all he could say was that she should go inside?

  Without another word she got out of the car, slammed the door shut, and ran into her trailer. She threw herself down on the couch and fought back the tears. “He doesn’t care! He’s in love with that awful woman. He doesn’t care that I love him!”

  ****

  Chase had borrowed Stella’s car to take Joy to the reunion. He needed to return the keys, but he didn’t want to see Stella. When he knocked on the door of her trailer, she answered immediately and said, “You’re late.”

  Chase handed her the keys. She took them, but she could tell something was different about him. He seemed agitated . . . and she suspected it had something to do with Joy. She put her hand on his chest and held it there firmly. “We were everything to each other once. Don’t you remember?”

  Chase looked down, unable to meet her eyes. “Yes,” he said, “I haven’t forgotten.”

  “Then why are you fighting it? We had something very few people have. We can have it again. We can get married if that’s what you want, but I want you under any circumstances.”

  Chase felt as though a tornado were rushing through his mind. He felt again the power that she had over him physically, and he said, “I can’t do that, Stella. I’m a Christian now, and we can’t do the things we used to do.”

  Then she threw her arms around him and kissed him firmly. “You’ll never get me out of your system, Chase. You know that as well as I do.” She whispered huskily, “We were meant for each other. You can’t get away from me, and I can’t get away from you.”

  ****

  Chicago welcomed Chase and Joy. They played to a full house at every performance, but that was not the best of it for Joy. Travis, who was enrolled at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, was there for every performance, and the two of them spent every available moment together. Now as they sat in Joy’s trailer, she told him all about the Winslow family, saying, “I wish you had been there, Travis. You would have loved them.”

  “Maybe there’ll be another reunion sometime that I can go to. I know we’ve got some preachers in the family. Quite a few.”

  After discussing the preachers that Joy had heard about, she finally said, “I’ve got something else to tell you. It’s about Albert and the way he robbed us.”

  Quickly Travis looked up. “What is it? I’d hoped you had forgotten that.”

  “I’ll never forget it,” Joy said bitterly, “and I don’t see how you can.”

  “It doesn’t do any good to hate people, and refusing to forgive, as I’ve told you before, is a bitter pill. You’re hurting yourself more than you are Albert.”

  “Well, you listen to this. I talked to Tom Winslow, and he’s a fine lawyer. He’s real smart, and he’s going to try to help us.” She went on to tell him how she had asked Tom to look into the settlement of their parents’ estate, and she had said with a triumphant gleam in her eyes, “I hope he finds out what he needs to know to put Albert in jail. I’d like to see him rot there!”

  Travis bit his lip. “I hate to hear you talking like this, sis. It’s not going to help any.”

  The next day Travis talked to Chase and told him what Joy had said about Albert Tatum. “I hate to see her this way. A woman should be gentle,” Travis said.

  “She is in everything except that.”

  Travis had become very good at reading people, and he sensed something was bothering Chase. “What’s wrong with you, Chase?” he asked. “Are you not getting along with Joy?”

  “No, I’m not. I’ve got to tell somebody this. It’s Stella. Travis, I thought when a man became a Christian, he’d have an easier time of it, but it’s been worse for me.”

  “Stella giving you a hard time? I saw that a long time ago. Everybody knows what she wants.”

  “She says we were made for each other, that we couldn’t be happy apart,
but you and I both know that’s not true. I don’t know why I’m still drawn to her. I hate myself for even thinking about her, but I feel like I’m losing the fight, Travis. What am I going to do?”

  “Well, you remember Joseph? When Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him, he just ran out.”

  “But I can’t do that. I can’t just leave the circus. What would happen to Joy if I did?”

  Travis was glad that Chase was concerned for Joy’s welfare, and he said, “I’m glad that you know this feeling you have for Stella is just a physical thing. It’s no secret that men have trouble with that, but you’re going to win. I’m going to pray for you, and you’re going to pray for yourself, and both of us are going to pray for Joy. This hatred she has for Albert Tatum is an evil thing too. She’ll have to beat it, or it will destroy her.”

  ****

  Two days after this conversation Joy met Travis after the performance with an excited look in her eyes. “A man from Hollywood was here this morning. He’s thinking about using Chase and me in a feature film.”

  “Would that make you happy, Joy?”

  “Well, of course it would. It would give us a lot of money too. Chase doesn’t want to do it, though, and I don’t think they’ll do it with just me.”

  “Joy, I wish you wouldn’t think so much about money. I wish you’d think more about the Lord.”

  The words stung, and she said, “You need money to get through school, don’t you?”

  “I do, but I’ll get through school one way or another. They’ll help me at the institute. It’s just another sign that the world’s getting its hooks into you. You’re getting hard, Joy. You’re not the nice girl who used to be my sister. I hate to see it.”

  This conversation with Travis disturbed Joy more than anything had in years. She respected him and loved him, and as much as she didn’t want to admit it, she knew he was right. She took her frustration out on Chase that very evening. With her mind on other things, she performed badly in the cage, leaving herself vulnerable to danger. Later, back at the menagerie, when Chase tried to gently remind her that her full concentration was required in the cage, she said, “I don’t have to listen to you. Here you are a big Christian and sleeping with your boss!” The words popped out before she could call them back, and she saw that they hit Chase like a physical blow.

  “No, I’m not,” he said quietly, then turned and walked away. She wanted to call after him, but it was too late, and the opportunity was gone.

  What’s happening to me? she cried silently. I’m getting mean, just like Travis says, and I’m losing Chase. I thought all this success would make me happy, but it’s not.

  ****

  “Your name’s what?”

  “Tom Winslow. I’m a relative of yours, Mrs. Tatum.”

  “A relative? Why, how in the world is that?”

  “Well, only in a roundabout way. Your sister Elaine was married to my brother Bill. I guess that makes us kinfolk in a way.”

  The Tatums stared at the man with the graying red hair. “What are you here for, Mr. Winslow?”

  “I’m afraid I have a rather serious matter to bring to your attention, Mr. Tatum.”

  “What kind of a matter?” Tatum stood very straight, but there was a frightened look in his eyes, and he had turned pale.

  “I’m an attorney, and I’ve been here for two days now, going through the records at the courthouse and doing a little investigating. I hate to tell you this, but I have evidence that you have committed a felony.”

  “What are you talking about?” Opal cried out. “You can’t say that about Albert!”

  “I’m afraid I have to. I have evidence that my brother’s farm sold for fifty-two thousand dollars. The mortgage on it was only for thirty-two. That meant a profit of twenty thousand dollars. According to the law,” Tom said carefully, “and my brother’s will, the three children were to share the proceeds equally. Since Dawn was killed with her parents, that means the survivors, Joy and Travis, should have received ten thousand dollars each, and the personal property belonged to them as well, including this furniture.” He saw that his words had struck Tatum so that he could not speak. “Where’s the money, Mr. Tatum?”

  Tatum glanced wildly at his wife, and she could see that his hands were trembling. “You get out of my house!”

  “I’ll do that, of course, but I must warn you it would be much easier if you would pay up.”

  “I’m paying nothing!”

  “I’m going to try hard,” Tom Winslow said, “to convince my niece not to put you in jail, and I can tell you as an attorney, you don’t have a chance of escaping it. You falsified records and embezzled twenty thousand dollars from my nephew and niece. I’m going to see justice done. If you’ll pay the money and give up the furniture and the personal effects, I’ll try to convince them not to prosecute you on a criminal charge.”

  Albert shook his head. “Get out of my house!”

  “Very well. If you want it that way, I’m sorry.”

  As soon as Tom Winslow left and the door slammed, Opal said, “You never told me about this, Albert. We’ve got to give them their money back.”

  “I did it for their own good. I invested the money. I intended to pay it back.”

  Opal Tatum knew her husband. “I don’t think you’re telling the truth, Albert,” she said sadly, tears in her eyes. “And now you’re going to jail if you don’t pay the money back.”

  “I . . . I don’t have it, Opal! I’ve invested it in stocks, and they’re rising every day.”

  “You’ll have to sell them, and you’ll have to go to Travis and Joy and beg for mercy.”

  “I’ll never do that!”

  “Then you’ll go to jail, and we’ll lose this place.” Opal Tatum looked at her husband with pain in her eyes. “I hope the kids and I can find jobs so we can make a living, because that’s what we’re going to have to do—while you’re in prison.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Disaster!

  The circus pulled into St. Louis for a five-day run on September twenty-third. In the two months that had passed since the day Chase and Joy had shared a kiss and admitted their attraction to one another, neither one of them had been bold enough to bring up the subject of their relationship. It seemed they were destined to be stuck in this strained awkwardness forever. Joy was grateful that at least when they were working, the cats required their full attention, so casual conversation was not expected, nor even possible.

  The crowds in St. Louis were better than ever, and both Chase and Joy were delighted to discover that Tom Winslow came to see the show on their third day in town. He came to the menagerie after the act and greeted the two with a smile. “You’re getting better,” he said. “I wouldn’t get into one of those cages if you gave me the city of Chicago.”

  “What a surprise to see you here, Tom!” Chase said.

  “I’ve been working on a case here for the last two weeks, but I think we’ve finally got it settled. I need to talk to Joy. Is there someplace we could go? You’re welcome to join us, Chase.”

  “We could go to my trailer. Just let us get the cats settled down.”

  Tom Winslow watched with interest as the two spoke to every animal and fed them. “I would think you’d feed them before the act. Then they wouldn’t be so likely to come after you,” he remarked.

  Joy laughed. “What do you feel like after you’ve eaten a big meal?”

  “If it’s real big, I’m hardly able to move.”

  “That’s the way the cats would be. They’d be sluggish, and we want them to be lively out there to put on a good show.”

  “I never thought of that.”

  As soon as the cats were filled up with horsemeat, the three went to the trailer. Joy fixed coffee, and the three sat around her little dining table while Tom told them about several members of the Winslow family, for he saw Joy was interested. “My wife keeps up with most of the Winslows, and she’s written letters to everybody telling about our
new discovery. Joy Winslow, wild-animal tamer! We’re all proud of you, Joy.”

  Joy flushed. “Well, I’m proud to be a part of this family. I’ve been reading Gilbert Winslow’s journal you gave me, and it’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever read in my life. He was some man, wasn’t he?”

  “Yes, he was,” Tom said. “I don’t know if there’ll ever be another quite like him.”

  The talk went on for some time, and finally Tom said, “By the way, I hope you two haven’t put any money in stocks.”

  Chase grinned. “Stocks! We’re lucky to pay the meat bill for the cats. Why? Do you think something’s wrong with the market?”

  Tom Winslow’s face grew very serious. “Haven’t you been keeping up with the news?”

  “It’s hard to keep up with the news when we’re on the road all the time. But what’s this about the stock market? Isn’t that something for rich men to worry about?”

  “Is there something wrong with it, Tom?” Joy wanted to know.

  “Nothing you can put your finger on exactly, but it seems this country’s going crazy.” Tom Winslow sipped the coffee that was in front of him and shook his head with disgust. “Everybody’s trying to get rich. They’re buying up stocks like there’s no tomorrow, and a lot of people are making a killing. But I just think this boom in the stock market can’t last.”

  “Why can’t it last?”

  “Since Hoover was elected, this bull market, as they call it, has smashed every record. I just wanted to warn you not to sink any money into it. I don’t trust the good times to last. You can go broke real quick, and that’s what’s going to happen, I’m afraid, to a lot of people.”

  “That reminds me,” Joy said suddenly. “I’ll bet Albert has sunk money into it—our money!”

  Tom looked at her with a level gaze. “That’s why I came to talk to you. I went to see them, Joy.”

  “You did! What did you tell them?”

  “Actually, I went to see them last summer when I had a few days off. Since then I’ve had some other business that has kept me occupied, but now I have some time I can devote to your problem. When I was up there I did a lot of investigation, but it didn’t take long. I found out that your uncle cleared about twenty thousand dollars on the sale of your dad’s place—I’ve got it in black and white.”