Authors: Al Lacy
Deena was sobbing. “I dreamed about her. We were together in the dream, then she was gone.”
Moving up to the bed, Ralph put a tight pinch on Deena’s shoulder and shook her. “You’ve got to stop this pining for your sister, girl! You hear me? Forget her!”
Norma padded into the room, wiping her eyes as Deena said, “I can’t help it, Mr. Dexter. The bond between Donna and me is much stronger than the bond between regular siblings. Please help me find her.”
Norma moved close and touched the hand that was pinching Deena’s shoulder. Ralph let go and looked at her as she said, “Deena, honey, you can’t let this bond between you and Donna tear you to pieces. There is no way we can find Donna. She could be anywhere between Salina and Los Angeles. That’s a lot of territory. It would be impossible.”
“She’s right! Now, you forget that twin of yours. Face it. You’re never gonna see her again.”
Deena became hysterical. “I can’t forget her, you beast! We are part of each other! Donna’s missing me as much as I’m missing her! I’ve got to find her! I’ve got to find her! I’ve got to find her-r-r!”
Deena’s high-pitched screams infuriated Ralph Dexter. He slapped her face so hard, it knocked her out of the bed. She hit the floor, still screaming at him.
Fear filled Norma as she saw the awful expression on Ralph’s red face. Her hand went to her mouth and she bit down on her fingers as Ralph stomped to Deena and stood over her, breathing hotly.
Deena’s entire body was trembling and her eyes were wild. She raised up on her knees, her face wet with tears. “How can you be so mean? You’re a beast, that’s what you are! You’re a horrible beast!”
Ralph’s beefy features turned thunder black. “Stop screaming at me!”
Deena felt only hatred for the man. “You’re a wicked beast! I don’t have to obey you!”
He slapped her again, knocking her flat. He headed for the door, saying to Norma over his shoulder, “She’s gonna feel my belt again!”
When Ralph vanished through the door and stomped down the hall, Norma knelt beside Deena. “Honey, calm down. You know about his uncontrollable temper.”
Deena’s eyes were glazed. She stared Norma’s direction, but couldn’t seem to focus on her face.
“Deena,” Norma said softly, “don’t scream at him, honey. Don’t talk back to him. It only makes him—”
Ralph’s heavy footsteps could be heard, growing louder.
“Worse,” concluded Norma as the man stomped through the door, belt in hand.
The wrath on Ralph’s face was terrible to behold. He rudely shoved Norma aside. “Get outta the way! Go back to bed!”
She fell to the floor and rose quickly, glancing at Deena with pain-filled eyes as she headed toward the door. She knew if she tried to argue with Ralph, it would only make things worse for Deena, as well as herself.
Ralph turned to watch Norma go, and when he turned back, Deena was on her feet but staggering. He grabbed her and threw her on the bed facedown.
When Norma reached the hall, she stopped just out of view from the door and leaned against the wall, throwing her hands to her face. She heard the belt whistling and striking Deena repeatedly
as her husband railed at her, saying she had better never disobey him again, and she had better never call him a beast again. With each blow, Deena whined pitifully.
The lashing went on for what seemed an eternity.
Finally, it stopped, and Norma hurried back to their bedroom.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed when Ralph returned and threw his belt on the chair where his trousers were draped. Deena could be heard sobbing.
Ralph stood over his wife. “I suppose you want to go stop her bleeding.”
Norma looked up at him, her face pale. “I … I’d better.”
“Well, go on. I left the lantern in there. I’m going back to sleep.”
When Norma returned to the room, she found a sobbing Deena lying on the bed. She had pulled her nightgown over her legs, but there were blood spots on it. Deena looked up through tear-filled eyes, but said nothing.
Norma said softly, “Would you turn over for me, honey?”
Deena gritted her teeth as she turned over.
Norma lifted Deena’s nightgown and saw red welts on her back, buttocks, and the backside of her legs. Some of them were oozing blood.
“Lie still, honey. I’ll get some water and cloths. I’ll wrap the places where you’re still bleeding.”
It took Norma about twenty minutes to treat Deena’s wounds. After pulling the nightgown back down over the crude bandages, she said, “There you are, Deena. I’m sure the bleeding will stop soon. You try to get some sleep now.”
The girl rolled onto her back and pulled up the covers. Through lips that barely moved, she said, “Thank you, ma’am. I appreciate your kindness.”
Norma leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I love you, honey. I wish I could keep you, but I can’t blame you for wanting to run away. Just be extremely careful when you do it.”
“I will. Thank you, again.”
Deena awakened several times in the night and the pain lanced through her back and legs. She was awakened by more pain at sunrise and decided to get out of bed. She checked the wounds and found that the bleeding had stopped.
She moved gingerly to the dresser and observed herself in the mirror. There were purple bruises on her cheeks where Ralph had slapped her. While brushing her hair and dressing for the day, she told herself she must find a way of escape soon.
A
s Deena Mitchell left her room and headed toward the kitchen, she grimaced from the pain that walking brought to the welts on her body.
There was grim determination within her.
I’ll be successful next time. No power on earth will keep me here a day longer than absolutely necessary. That beast will never beat me again.
Just as Deena was about to pass Rex’s room, the door opened. She thought about hurrying to avoid him, but she knew it would intensify her pain.
Rex spotted her instantly and stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
She gave him a bland look and made a step sideways to get around him, but he countered by moving in front of her.
Anger surged through her. “Get out of my way.”
Rex sneered. “When Pa and I were doin’ chores this mornin’, he told me what happened last night. You got pretty sassy, I hear. I hope you’ve learned your lesson.”
Deena burned him with hot eyes. “Will you get out of my way? I’m going to help your mother with breakfast.”
“She’s got it about done. That’s where I’m headed. I’ll walk to the kitchen with you.”
Deena ignored him as he moved along beside her. When they entered the kitchen, Norma was at the stove. Deena saw that the table had already been set. Leaving Rex behind, she moved to Norma and said, “Mrs. Dexter, I would have helped you with breakfast if you had—”
“It’s all right, honey. I figured you needed to rest. I’m sure you didn’t sleep well after—well, you know.”
At that instant, Ralph came into the kitchen. He gave Deena a cold look, then said to Norma, “Breakfast ready?”
“Yes. Let’s all get seated.”
When everyone was in their place, Ralph said, “We’re all going into town today. We need groceries and supplies.”
Later, when they pulled away from the house, Norma was beside Ralph on the driver’s seat, and Rex and Deena were sitting in the wagon bed. Norma had provided a folded blanket for Deena to sit on, but as they headed toward town, Deena winced at the times when the wagon hit bumps in the road.
When they had hit an especially hard bump and Deena let out a tiny cry, Rex looked at her with eyes the color of slate. “Maybe the pain you’re feelin’ will remind you never to talk sassy to Pa again.”
Deena gave him a sullen look, but did not reply. She was more determined than ever to get away from the Dexter farm.
While the wagon rocked along, Norma turned around. “Deena, Ralph and I have been talking about this. We want you to stay in the wagon when we get to town. We don’t want anyone to see those bruises on your face. Keep your bonnet low over your face and don’t talk to anyone.”
Deena nodded. “I’ll do as you say, ma’am, but if you didn’t want anyone to see me, why didn’t you just leave me home?”
Ralph looked over his shoulder. “Norma suggested that, girl, but I told her I don’t trust you. If we left you alone at the house, you might get the wild idea of running away like you did that day. So you’ll just have to stay in the back of the wagon.”
Rex was grinning at Deena when his father said, “Rex, I want you to stay with her.”
Rex’s grin faded. “Why, Pa?”
“Like I said, I don’t trust her. She just might decide to hop out of the wagon and run away.”
Rex knew better than to argue with his father. “Okay, Pa. I’ll stay with her so she don’t pull somethin’ like that.”
Deena continually adjusted herself on the blanket as the wagon bounced along the road.
One way or another, the day will come when my opportunity will present itself. I’ll get away from the Dexter prison farm forever!
Soon they were drawing near Salina. Norma pointed off to the edge of town. “Look! A wagon train!”
The other three looked to see the wagon train, which was parked in a circle just outside of town on the south side.
“Folks from the east heading for a new life out West,” Ralph said.
Deena found herself wishing she was traveling in one of the covered wagons.
They drew into town, and moments later Ralph parked the wagon on the street in the business section of Salina. Rex hopped out and helped his mother down from the seat while his father climbed out.
Ralph paused at the tailgate and set firm eyes on Deena. “You stay there, girl, and like you were told, keep your bonnet low over your face and don’t talk to anyone, y’hear?”
Deena nodded.
“Rex will be watching you,” Ralph said. “If you disobey, he’ll
tell me. And you’ll get another beating like last night. You want that?”
“No.”
Ralph stepped up to Norma. “All right, let’s go.”
As they moved down the street, Rex looked at Deena from where he stood beside the wagon. “I’m gonna sit over here on this bench in front of the hardware store. I’ll be watchin’ you every minute.”
Deena gave him a cool stare.
Rex crossed the boardwalk and sat down on the unoccupied bench.
Moments later, Deena’s attention was drawn to a group of people moving together along the boardwalk. She could tell by what they were saying to each other that they were from the wagon train that was parked outside of town.
She heard one woman remind another that the wagon train would be pulling out at eleven-thirty. Deena glanced at the clock in front of the Salina Bank building across the street. It was nine-forty.
The wagon train group moved on down the street and a few minutes later, Deena noticed three teenage girls coming along the boardwalk. One of them spotted the blond boy on the bench in front of the hardware store. “Hey, there’s Rex!”
All three hurried toward him, and as Rex saw them coming, he rose from the bench to meet them. His attention was fixed, however, on the pretty redhead in the middle. “Hello, Bonnie.” Then he greeted the other two. “Hi, Lulu, Charlene.”
All three replied at once, and Rex and Bonnie struck up a conversation while Lulu and Charlene observed. Deena noted that as Rex was occupied talking to Bonnie, he shifted position every few seconds until his back was toward the wagon. As the conversation went on, he remained fixed in that position.
The constant stream of people who passed by on the boardwalk was between Rex and the girls and the wagon.
Deena’s heart pounded as she told herself her opportunity had come. She would slip out of the wagon on the street side and make her way to the wagon train at the south edge of town. She would find a woman in the wagon train and explain her plight. A glimpse of her welts and stripes would show she was telling the truth. Certainly, that woman and her husband would take her with them in their covered wagon and help her escape the Dexters.
She checked Rex’s position. It was the same. He was totally wrapped up in his conversation with the pretty redhead. People were still moving by, and for the most part, blocking the view of the Dexter wagon from where Rex and the girls stood.
The prospect of escape pumped adrenaline throughout Deena’s body. She was completely unaware of the pain and stiffness as she went over the side of the wagon bed and dropped to the street. Moving in a crouch, she kept the bonnet low over her face and her head tilted down in case someone among the relatively few in the Salina area who knew her would recognize her.
Deena quickly moved between the Dexter wagon and the next one behind it and made her way along the boardwalk, filtering into the crowd. She paused for a moment and looked back. Rex was still occupied with Bonnie.
Pressing on, she turned the corner and headed down a side street in the direction of the wagon train. Up ahead, she saw some of the wagon train people she had seen before. They were carrying full shopping bags and heading the same direction. Ignoring her pain, she hurried up behind them and followed close, unnoticed.
When the group reached the wagon train and moved inside the circle of wagons, the desperate girl went in as part of the group, still unnoticed.
Deena’s mind was spinning. The women were all collected in one spot, talking about items they had bought in town. The men also were caught up in conversation. There were children laughing and playing just outside the circle.
There was no woman at that moment that Deena could single out, but she knew someone would recognize her as a stranger to the wagon train soon if she just stood there. She decided it would be best to climb into one of the covered wagons and wait till whatever woman was attached to it showed up.
She looked around and spotted a covered wagon that appeared to be unoccupied at the moment. She hurried to the wagon. Making sure no one was inside or watching her from within the circle of wagons, she climbed over the tailgate. Dropping quickly to her knees, she noted cardboard boxes placed in a line along one side, clothing piled in one corner, a couple of wooden chairs next to a small round table, and a cot that was against the side opposite the cardboard boxes.