Luke didn’t wake up until the next morning. I periodically checked on him throughout the night to make sure he was okay. Grandma Viola slept with Ma and I slept next to the fireplace where Luke usually slept. I didn’t mind it because the blankets smelled like Luke and I imagined he was sleeping next to me all night long. I got up when I heard Grandma Viola’s door open and saw Luke step out.
“How are you feeling?” I asked him.
“Much better. I don’t think I woke up at all after my head hit the pillow.”
“You didn’t.”
“Were you checking on me last night?” Luke asked with a huge grin.
“Several times,” I answered with an equally huge grin.
“You’re so sweet, thanks.”
Luke held me tight and kissed me.
After everyone woke and we were all finishing breakfast, we heard a wagon pull up outside. I went to the window to look outside. “It’s ole man Henry!”
“Now, what does that old fool want?” Grandma Viola remarked.
“He’s coming to see his sweetheart,” I giggled.
“I ain’t nobody’s sweetheart. There ain’t nothing sweet left about me.”
“Oh, Ma, be nice and go welcome him in.”
“Welcome him in? He’s about as welcomed as a rattlesnake at a square dance.”
“Lizzy, let Mr. Henry in since your grandma seems to have lost her manners.” Ma said.
I opened the front door just as Mr. Henry was stepping onto the porch and stomping the mud from his boots.
“Good morning, ole man…I mean, Mr. Henry. What are you doing out so early?” I asked.
“I’ve come to see if your grandma wants to ride into town with me.”
“Well, hi there Mr. Henry,” Ma said as she walked towards him. “Come on it.”
“I best not. I have mud all over my boots. I don’t want to track up your floor. Is your ma busy?”
“No, she’s just cutting up some snap peas in the kitchen. Come in and see her.” Ma again invited him in.
“No, I’ll mess up your floor. Ask her, if you will, if she would like to ride with me into town.”
“I’ll go ask her. I’ll be right back.” Ma told him.
Billy then walked to the front door.
“Hey, ole man Henry. Why don’t you come in and sit a spell.”
“I have mud on my shoes from the rain. I don’t want to bring it inside.”
“Ah, that’s all right. Mud is just dust with the water squeezed out.”
Mr. Henry chuckled. “Yes, I suppose it is. But I think it best if I just stand here.”
“Okay,” Billy said and ran back into the kitchen.
“You’re kind of fancy on my grandma, ain’t ya, Mr. Henry,” I grinned.
“Yeah, I suppose I am. Although, I’m not sure why. She’s as mean as a snake.”
“Hey, I heard that!” Grandma Viola said as she rounded the corner. “Why do you keep coming around if I’m so mean?”
“I’m sorry, Viola. Please forgive this ignorant old man. I was just funning with the child.”
“I don’t care to go into town. I’ve nothing I need there.” Grandma Viola said.
“Well, I was thinking about buying you one of those fancy church hats, but I don’t know which one you would like.”
“You were? Well, then, that’s different. I best be going with you. There ain’t no telling what kind of hideous hat you might come back with. I’ll just go grab my coat.”
Grandma Viola left for her room.
“You’re a smooth one, Mr. Henry," I grinned.
“My pappy always said that the way to a woman’s heart is through your wallet.”
Grandma Viola returned with her coat on and her hair up in a bun. Mr. Henry led her to his wagon and they left for town as the rain was now only a drizzle and the grey clouds were starting to break. As I watched them head down the trail, they were passed by a man on a horse heading towards me. As he drew nearer, I could see it was Sheriff Johnson.
“Howdy, Sheriff. What brings you way out here?”
“Hey, Lizzy. I came to have a word with Luke.”
“Why do you want to talk to Luke? Is anything wrong?”
“I think it would be best if I could talk with Luke.”
Just then, Ma and Luke walked out of the cabin.
“What’s this about?” Luke asked.
“Can we talk in private?”
“Whatever you need to say to me, you can say it in front of Mrs. Cooper and Lizzy.”
“All right then. A federal marshal came by my office early this morning and asked me to post this around town.”
Sheriff Johnson unfolded a piece of paper and handed it to Ma. Concern blanketed her face as she read it. When she was done, she handed me the piece of paper to read. My heart immediately sank when I saw what it was. It was a wanted poster with a likeness of Luke’s face. It read, “Wanted for the killing of Sheriff Calhoun’s brother, Ben Calhoun, from Liberty County.” A five hundred dollar reward was being offered for the capture of Luke.
We all looked at Luke for an explanation. I prayed he would tell us it was all a big mistake, but he didn’t. He lowered his head and began confessing.
“I did kill Ben Calhoun, but it was an accident. Sheriff Calhoun and his brothers run Lincoln Town in Liberty County by means of fear and trepidation. They do whatever they want using terror and intimidation to control the town and, if someone stands up to them, they simple kill them.”
“I know all about Lincoln Town’s reputation,” Sheriff Johnson said, “and I’ve heard some awful stories about the Calhoun boys, but I hoped most of them were exaggerated.”
“They’re not. The town folks there live in fear. They try to avoid running into any of the Calhoun boys or their posse for fear of what may happen to them or their family.”
“What happened, Luke?” Ma asked somberly.
“I had been in town for a week and found a job working in the saw mill, sweeping the floor and helping stack the newly cut lumber. The owner, Tom Sheppard, let me stay in the loft above the saw mill. He warned me to stay clear of the Calhoun brothers or any of their men.
“I did my best to heed his warning, but this one day, Mr. Sheppard sent me to the blacksmith shop to retrieve a part he had fabricated for the saw. On the way, I heard the sound of a whip cracking in the distant and as I rounded the corner of the bakery shop, I saw a group of four men standing over another man who was lying on the ground with several laceration and cuts about his face and body. One of the four men had a whip in hand and was using it on the poor battered man while the others laughed and taunted him.
Most of the town folks went about their business, ignoring what was going on, but I noticed an elderly woman leering at the scene of violence with anger in her eyes. I rapidly approached her.
“What’s going on here?”
“Ben Calhoun and some of his goons are beating Timothy Smith and no one here will lend a hand to help him!” She then shouted at the passing town folks who pretended not to hear her. “YOU’LL SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!”
“Why are they beating him?”
“Ben Calhoun made some ungentlemanly comments to Tim's wife and Tim made the mistake of standing up to him.”
I became furious. I quickly made my way to the men just as Ben Calhoun was rearing back with his whip to strike Timothy again. I grabbed the end of the whip and ripped it out of his hand. He and the others spun around in shock and disbelief.
“Boy, you just made the worse mistake of your life!” Ben Calhoun angrily stated.
He quickly pulled his pistol and fired at me from only a few feet away but somehow missed. I immediately took a step forward and punched him in the face as hard as I could. He hit the ground, dropping his pistol.
The other three men surrounded me. The one directly in front of me pulled his pistol but I was faster. I grabbed the back of his hand with my left hand, pulling his arm towards me, and struck the back of his elbow with my other hand, br
eaking his arm. I knew I had broken it by the sharp crack I heard followed by the man's agonizing scream. The man directly behind me was met with my foot smashing into his left knee. Again, I could hear the snapping of bones. He hit the ground holding his knee in torment.
By this time, Ben Calhoun had recovered and jumped on my back. I spun him around until he went flying in the air. His neck landed on the edge of a watering troth instantly killing him.
As I was about to deal with the remaining man, several more men came running towards me with pistols in hand. They surrounded me with their pistols aimed towards my head. They saw that Ben Calhoun was dead, and promptly arrested me. They said I would hang the next morning when the sheriff got back in town. I was placed in the county jail, but escaped a few hours later in the dead of night.”
“Are you here to bring him in?” I frantically asked Sheriff Johnson. “Because it was an accident and if Luke is taken back to Liberty County you know he'll never get a fair trial!”
“Relax, Lizzy, I’m not here to arrest Luke. I couldn’t after what he did for Sarah. I’m here to warn you.”
“About what?”
“Sheriff Calhoun knows Luke's here and he and a huge posse are heading this way. If they left right away, I suspect they'll be here in two days.”
“How do they know Luke's here?” Ma asked.
“My deputy wired a message to Sheriff Calhoun saying he recognized Luke from the town dance last night. It only took him asking a few folks around town to find out where Luke was staying. I couldn’t stop him from doing his job, but I can sure as hell give you a head start, boy.”
“I appreciated it, Sheriff Johnson,” Luke said. “I’ll get packed and leave right away. I don’t want to cause anyone here trouble and Sheriff Calhoun brings a lot of trouble.”
“Where will you go?” Ma asked.
“Don’t answer that until I leave,” Sheriff Johnson said, “I don’t want to know anymore than I do. I’ll be leaving now. Good day and good luck, son.”
Sheriff Johnson got on his horse and rode away.
“I’ll head north and try to lose them in the wilderness.” Luke told Ma.
“I’m going with you,” I firmly stated.
“You most certainly are not!” Ma firmly stated.
“You can’t stop me! I won’t let Luke go alone!”
I had never stood up to Ma like this before but I felt I couldn’t be without Luke. I was willing to walk to the ends of the world with him. I was going with him and no one was going to stop me… not even Ma.
“Lizzy, it might be dangerous. Maybe your ma is right,” Luke said.
Now, I was both angry with Luke for siding with Ma and scared he might actually leave me. I fought hard to keep my tears from flowing but my emotions overwhelmed me.
“I want to be with you! I need to be with you! You’re not going to leave me! No matter where you go, I’m going!” I lost the fight over my emotions and began crying. It wasn't until that very moment that I realized just how much I had fallen in love with Luke. The thoughts of being without him almost devastated me. “I love you, Luke. I’m not going to lose you.”
“I love you to, Lizzy. I want to be with you always. I'll never leave you,” Luke assured me and wrapped me tightly in his arm, instantly calming me down.
I looked back at Ma who had tears streaming down her face.
“I’m sorry, Ma. I have to go with him. I belong with him.”
“I know you do.” She wiped the tears from her eyes and managed a faint grin. “Let’s get you two packed.”
Packing to leave Ma was the hardest thing I had ever done in my young life. I had never been away from her for more than a day. My heart ached and I couldn’t swallow the lump in my throat. I didn’t know how long we would have to be gone and, for a second, I wondered if I was doing the right thing. I fervently shook that thought from my head. I needed to be with Luke. As hard as it was to leave Ma, it would have been doubly hard to let Luke leave.
We walked out on the front porch to say our goodbyes when Anamosa seeming appeared from nowhere.
“Anamosa, what are doing here? How did you get here?” Ma asked.
“I walk.”
“You walked. You would have had to left last night to make it here by now!”
“I like walk at night. Much cooler.”
“Why did you do that? Why did you come all the way here?”
“The Great Spirit tell me in dream, I must protect Luke. I must take him away from here.”
Just then a shiver ran down my back.
“Where are you supposed to take him?” Ma asked.
“Home. I take him to my people.”
“Do you know where they are?”
“Yes, I am old but still have good mind. I will show the way.”
“Lizzy is coming with us,” Luke told her.
“I know. Now, come. We have long journey ahead.”
“You need to rest first,” Ma told Anamosa.
“No time. We must go now.”
We said our goodbyes to Ma, Billy and Katie and promised them we would return. I just didn’t know when.
Chapter 11