Midnight Rescue / The Proposal / Christy's Choice

by Catherine Marshall

  “Not yet,” Ruby Mae said sullenly.

  Miss Alice came bustling into the room from the kitchen where she had packed some food to take with her. She was carrying a paper sack and her medical bag in her left hand. Her sprained wrist was much better, but she still had her right arm in a sling most of the time.

  She pursed her lips. “I do hate to go, what with Neil still running a fever and this trouble with the moonshine. But Janey Cook’s had a couple of hard deliveries, and I’d like to be there. I won’t be as much use as I’d like, with this arm of mine, but her grandmother will be there, too. Together we should manage.”

  “Be careful, Miss Alice,” the doctor warned. “I’m concerned about retaliation over that moonshine David threw out.”

  “I can take care of myself,” Miss Alice said. She shook a warning finger at the group. “But I want the rest of you to keep an eye out. And David, this might be a good time to let things simmer down a little. Give folks a chance to think.”

  “Who is it you think is going to be retaliating, anyway?” David asked, sounding defensive.

  “Bird’s-Eye Taylor is one of the biggest moonshiners in these parts, of course,” Miss Alice said. “And I suspect he uses Lundy to help him. But there are others.”

  “Tom McHone, for one,” the doctor added. “And Jubal McSween and Dug—” He stopped in midsentence.

  “Go ahead and say it, Doc,” said Ruby Mae, her eyes flashing. “Sure, my step-pa’s made moonshine and sold it some. Everybody does it around these parts. I ain’t defendin’ him or nothin’. But there ain’t no way else to make a proper living here.” She tossed her napkin onto the table. “Not like that’ll stop you-all from tellin’ the rest of the world how to live their lives and what they can do and can’t do and if’n they can be with the one thing that means more to them than the whole rest of the wide world.” She pushed back her chair. “Can I be excused?” she demanded. “I got dishes to do, and homework.”

  “Yes, Ruby Mae,” Christy said. “You may be excused.”

  She watched as Ruby Mae dashed from the room. “I hope she doesn’t stay mad forever,” she said sadly.

  “That’s one thing people in these mountains do very, very well,” said the doctor with a weary smile. “Stay mad. And get even.”

  Ruby Mae stared down at the tear-stained diary page. The ink was blurry. The letters melted one into another, but she could still make out her words:

  I can’t stand it no more. It just ain’t fare. Prins needs me as much as I need him. Well, mebbe not as much, but almost. Itz only bin a few ours and my hart is braking. How kin I go for weeks without seein him, or mebbe even longer?

  She wiped her eyes and sniffled. It was very late. The others had gone to sleep hours ago.

  With a sigh, she went to the window and opened it wide. The chill air sent a shiver through her. Out there, past Miss Alice’s vegetable garden, past the lattice-covered well, past the school, was the little shed where Prince was waiting for her.

  Did he miss her as much as she missed him? Creed Allen said animals could feel even more than people could, and she liked to think he was right. (Although Creed also swore that his raccoon, Scalawag, could read his mind, and she had serious doubts about that. After all, Creed was known for the whoppers he liked to tell.)

  A sound, a strange rhythmic thud, met her ears. It seemed to be coming from far away, but there was an urgency to it.

  she heard a wild, desperate whinny, like nothing she’d ever heard before.

  Prince! It had to be him.

  The sound came again, a horrible cry carried on the wind.

  He sounded terribly afraid. Whatever was happening to Prince, it was bad, very bad.

  She had to get to him, and get there fast.

  Ruby Mae threw open her bedroom door and flew down the stairs. She ran across the wet lawn in her bare feet. Another terrified whinny filled the air, followed by a series of pounding noises, as if Prince were trying to kick right through the sides of his stall.

  She didn’t slow down, not for an instant, not even when she realized that there might be someone lurking behind the dark trees, lying in wait.

  Breathless and shivering, she finally made it to the shed. The door was slightly ajar. Either the preacher had forgotten to close the door, or someone else had been here.

  Or someone might even still be here.

  With a deep breath, Ruby Mae flung open the door. “Who’s there?” she cried, trying her best to sound like someone big and scary and well-armed.

  She took a step inside. The familiar smells of hay and leather and manure greeted her. In the dim moonlight, she could make out something lying on the floor.

  It was the preacher’s saddle, the one Prince wore! Ruby Mae knelt down, tracing her fingers over the dark leather. Someone had slashed the beautiful saddle with a knife. Long gashes covered the seat. The girth had been ripped out and tossed aside.

  A low, sweet whinny of greeting made Ruby Mae look up.

  “Prince?” she whispered. “Are you all right, boy?”

  Trembling, she stepped closer. And then she saw the answer to her question. The beautiful black stallion was not all right, not at all.

  Seven

  Lordamercy!” Ruby Mae cried in horror. “Prince, what have they done to you?”

  Prince’s beautiful flowing tail, mane, and forelock had been sheared off. They lay clumped in the hay by his feet. He looked pathetic, and he knew it. He pawed at the floor, throwing his head up and down in angry protest.

  Ruby Mae draped her arms around the horse’s broad neck. “Oh, Prince,” she moaned, “I could just bust out cryin’. You ain’t hurt, is you?”

  Carefully she ran her hands over his shoulders and flanks and legs, searching for any cuts or wounds. As far as she could tell, there were none. But the loss of his gorgeous mane and tail was insult enough.

  “Ruby Mae?” a voice called frantically.

  Miz Christy ran into the shed. She was carrying a lantern. Seconds later, Doctor MacNeill and the preacher appeared behind her.

  “We heard your scream—” Miz Christy began. Her eyes fell on the saddle. “What happened?”

  “Prince!” David cried, rushing over to the agitated stallion. “What’s happened here, Ruby Mae?”

  Ruby Mae knelt down and picked up a handful of Prince’s silky tail. “I’ll tell you what happened,” she cried. “Someone hurt Prince to get back at you. If you’da just kept quiet about the moonshine, this would never have happened! It’s your fault, Preacher.” She turned to Miz Christy. “And your fault, too. Why couldn’t you-all have left well enough alone?”

  She was crying, but she couldn’t stop herself. Hot tears spilled down her cheeks. She buried her face in Prince’s neck, and he seemed to calm down, as if he understood that she needed him.

  “Are the others all right?” the preacher asked. “Old Theo and Bill?”

  Doctor MacNeill looked over the old mule and his own horse. “They’re fine,” he said, “just a little nervous, what with all the commotion.” He stroked Prince’s muzzle. “Looks like they didn’t waste any time getting even,” he said grimly. “It’s like I said, David. Revenge is the way of the mountains.”

  “So this is my fault?” the preacher cried.

  “I’m responsible for this horrible act?”

  “I’m not saying that,” said the doctor. “I’m just saying it’s time to back off. Call a truce. Let the highlanders have their moonshine, and you get back to the business of being a preacher.”

  “This is part of the business of being a preacher.” The preacher sighed. “Look, Doctor, I understand your point of view. Really, I do. But you must understand that it’s not my job to just tell people what they want to hear. Sometimes it’s my job to tell people exactly what they don’t want to hear. No matter the cost.”

  Ruby Mae watched as the preacher tenderly stroked Prince’s withers. She could see the pain in the man’s dark eyes. Could it be he was as upset as she was?<
br />
  “You didn’t see anyone, did you, Ruby Mae?” he asked softly.

  “No, sir.”

  “You’d tell me if you had, wouldn’t you?

  Even if it was someone you knew?”

  “I didn’t see my step-pa, if that’s what you’re gettin’ at.” Ruby Mae fought back a sob. “I didn’t see anyone.” She scratched Prince’s right ear. He gave a soft nicker, then lay his head on her shoulder.

  “He was so purty, with that long mane of his a-sweepin’ back in the wind,” Ruby Mae said. “And now he looks plumb unnatural, like a mule—no offense to you, Old Theo. He won’t even have nothin’ to flick off the flies with.” A wave of anger washed over her. “I wish I could knock the livin’ daylights out of them that done this. Even if it were my own step-pa.”

  “I can’t believe anyone could be this cruel,” Miz Christy said in a sad, faraway voice. She was crying, too, Ruby Mae suddenly realized.

  “It could have been worse,” said the doctor. “They might have injured him, even killed him.” The doctor leaned against the wall. He looked weak and pale. “Getting even is considered a virtue around here. The mark of a strong character. Truth is, you were lucky this time. They let you off easy.”

  “Easy?” Miz Christy cried.

  “You’re sitting on a powder keg, Christy,” the doctor said. “It only takes one match to set it off. David came close to it with his sermon.”

  “No doubt you’re right about that, Doctor,” the preacher said, his voice growing angry again. “There is a powder keg here. But you can’t simply wish evil away. You have to stand up and oppose it. You know as well as I do that this illegal liquor is behind at least half the terrible things that happen in these mountains. And I don’t see you offering any solutions.”

  “I don’t have any easy solutions to offer,” the doctor said, rubbing his shoulder gingerly. “I just know that the Cove people don’t see anything criminal about making a little homemade brew. After all, it’s know-how that’s been passed down through their families for centuries. To them, it’s not a moral issue. Especially when they can’t find any other way to make a living here in these mountains.”

  “But it is a moral issue, Doctor,” said Miz Christy. “You’re an educated man. You can see it. Moonshining has horrible results— feuds and terror and even death. How can you ignore all that? How can you ignore that painful wound in your own shoulder?”

  “I’m not ignoring any of it,” the doctor said. His voice was suddenly full of rage. “I’ve been taking care of these people a whole lot longer than you and David. The two of you come along and decide you’re going to tell people how to live their lives. What gives you that right?”

  Silence fell. Ruby Mae gulped. She had never heard this kind of grown-up argufying. Sure, her ma and step-pa fought all the time. But those fights were just made of loud words, flying around the cabin. This fight was about loud words and big ideas. Ruby Mae wasn’t sure she understood everything, but one thing was clear—the doctor and Miz Christy and the preacher were nowhere close to agreeing about moonshine.

  “I might as well ask you the same thing, Doctor,” the preacher said in a low whisper of a voice. “What gives you the right to condone evil? Are you doing these people a favor by defending their addiction to moonshine? The Bible says we must love the sinner, even though we hate the sin. And by hating the sin, and resisting the sin, perhaps we can help to free the sinner. That’s why I preached against moonshine. Not because I don’t care about these people, but because I do.”

  “Well, I’m just one man, doing what little I can to help,” the doctor said. “You can’t change the world overnight. Unfortunately, you and Christy haven’t figured that out yet. I have.”

  “How can you be so arrogant?” Miz Christy demanded.

  Ruby Mae gasped. She wasn’t positive what arrogant meant, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t the nicest thing in the world you could be.

  The doctor started toward the door, then paused. “Funny. I was going to ask you two the same thing.” The shed door closed behind him.

  “He’s awful riled, ain’t he?” Ruby Mae whispered.

  “We all are,” Miz Christy said with a sigh. “Well, there’s nothing more we can do here tonight. Come on, Ruby Mae. We’ll check on Prince in the morning. He just needs some rest now.”

  “No!” Ruby Mae cried. “I’m not leavin’ him alone.”

  “You can’t stay,” the preacher said gently. “It isn’t safe out here. I’ll keep an ear open for anything unusual. Prince will be fine. I promise.”

  “Lot of good that’ll do me,” Ruby Mae said bitterly. “You’re the reason we’re in this fix.” She turned to Miz Christy. She was Ruby Mae’s only hope. “Please, Miz Christy. Let me stay here. You know I’ll be all right.” Tears spilled down Ruby Mae’s cheeks. “If’n I’d been here before, Miz Christy, maybe I could have saved Prince.”

  But Miz Christy just shook her head. “If you’d have been here before, you might have been hurt yourself, Ruby Mae. I’m sorry, but David’s right. You head on upstairs. We’ll check on Prince in the morning.”

  “But—”

  “No, Ruby Mae. You need your sleep for school tomorrow. And Prince needs to rest up, too.”

  There was no point in fighting them. She was outnumbered. Ruby Mae kissed Prince gently on the muzzle. “You’ll be back to your old self in no time, boy,” she whispered. “Don’t you worry.”

  Ruby Mae ran back to her room, crying all the way. She was still crying when she finally drifted off to sleep.

  When Christy got home from school the next afternoon, she found an envelope with her name on it, sitting on the dining room table. “What’s this?” she called to Miss Ida.

  Miss Ida came in from the kitchen, wiping flour-covered hands on her crisp apron. “A note from the doctor.”

  “A note? But why would he write me a note? Isn’t he upstairs?”

  Miss Ida shook her head. “He left for home about an hour ago. I tried to stop him. Told him he looked like death warmed over and that you and Miss Alice would be furious. Besides, it appears there’s a big storm coming on. But you know the doctor. Stubbornest man that ever laid foot on God’s green earth.”

  “He left?” Christy dropped into a chair, rubbing her eyes. “This is awful. It’s all because of the terrible fight we had last night after we found Prince. I wondered why the doctor didn’t come down to breakfast this morning. David and I should have tried to resolve things with him.”

  “You know the doctor was hankering to get back to his own cabin, anyway,” Miss Ida said. “He asked me today how I could believe in a merciful God when He allows Ruby Mae to keep making oatmeal.”

  The front door opened and David rushed inside. He was wearing his work clothes. His shoes were covered with hay and mud. “Anyone seen the doctor?” he asked breathlessly. “I was just putting Prince out in the pasture, and I noticed the doctor’s horse is gone!”

  Christy held up the envelope. “Doctor MacNeill left about an hour ago.”

  “Well, that’s a relief,” David said, sinking into the chair next to Christy.

  “David, how can you say that?” Christy demanded.

  “I meant it’s a relief to know he took his horse,” David said. “I was afraid it might have been stolen. You know—the moonshiners up to their tricks again. Although—” he winked at Miss Ida, “I have to admit I won’t exactly miss the man.”

  “The doctor is still sick,” Christy insisted. “He should never have left here, especially after our argument last night.”

  “It’s not as if we could have resolved things, Christy,” David said. “There are some things people are just never going to agree on.”

  Christy opened the envelope and read the letter inside:

  My dear Christy:

  You have been a fine hostess, nurse, and surgeon, but I find I must get back to my patients before you spoil me any further.

  I trust that David will keep an eye on you, but
please be careful in the days ahead. We may argue about many things, David and I, but about you, at least, we seem to be in remarkable agreement.

  Neil MacNeill

  P.S. You still owe me a dance.

  Christy set the letter aside. “David, we have to go get him.”

  “What?” David cried. “Go get the doctor? After what he said to us last night?”

  “The point is, he’s running a high fever.”

  “He’s a doctor,” David argued. “He can take better care of himself than we can.”

  “David. Be reasonable.”

  He gazed at her pleadingly. “You’re not going to budge on this, are you?”

  Christy shook her head.

  David looked at her intently. “You know, the doctor’s cabin is a long ride off. And I can’t take Prince. He’s way too high-strung to be ridden today. I’d never even get a saddle on him.”

  “Poor thing,” Christy said. “I let Ruby Mae and Rob go visit him during the noon recess. Ruby Mae said she’d never seen him so skittish. She’s still furious at us, by the way.”

  “I know. She wouldn’t say a word to me during math class this afternoon.” David sighed. “The point is, I’ll have to ride Old Theo. And let’s face it, that mule isn’t exactly the fastest thing on four legs. Not only that, it looks like it’s going to storm.”

  “Maybe I should go.”

  “Christy, you know I can’t let you do that.” David stood and stretched. “Okay, I’ll go get the doctor, assuming, that is, he’ll come back. The man’s more ornery than Old Theo.”

  “Which is why you’re the perfect person to retrieve him,” Christy said.

  David rolled his eyes. “I’ll try to make this quick,” he said. “With luck, I may even be back before dark. But in the meantime, you and Miss Ida and Ruby Mae stay close to the house, all right?”

  “We will,” Christy agreed. “But don’t you think the danger’s past, now that the moon-shiners have gotten their revenge?”

  “Maybe so, maybe not. On this, at least, I’m inclined to listen to the doctor.”

  Eight