The Pilgrim Song (37 page)

“I know that!”

“No you don’t. You went into shock when she told you God had sent you to be her husband.” Suddenly Hannah could not restrain a smile. She even laughed aloud softly and shook her head. “I guess we all did, but you most of all.”

“I think that kind of thing would shock any man. I didn’t know what to make of her. I still don’t.”

“She’s had a hard life. I’ve talked to her a lot. Her husband wasn’t a good man, not to her, anyway, and her children have never shown her any affection. Just think about how hard that would be. We all have each other, but Missouri hasn’t had anyone except God. Of course, she doesn’t complain, but I always see something in her eyes as she watches you. She keeps it covered up so you never see it, but she’s lonely. And I think she’s a wonderful woman.”

“Well, so do I.”

“Then why don’t you let her know? Why, it’s no wonder
she’s stopped coming over here, Father. She comes to cook and help with all the work—and you never treat her like a woman.”

Lewis was silent as fleeting thoughts were reflected in his eyes. He started to speak once and then refrained. Finally he said, “Maybe you’re right, but I can’t just run up and tell her I admire her.”

“Why not?”

“Well, I don’t know . . . I just can’t.”

“Father, tell me one thing. Do you have any feelings at all for her—that go deeper than friendship?”

Lewis was startled at the question. He thought for a moment before answering, his voice tinged with wonder. “I . . . I guess I do.”

“Then court her, Father. Ask her to go out. Take her to a restaurant for a meal. Take her to a movie. She needs some attention from a good man—and I think you need a woman’s attention too. Mother wouldn’t want you to go through the rest of your life without a companion.”

Lewis got to his feet. “All right, I’ll do it. She may think I’m crazy.”

“No, she won’t think that. Not if you do it right.”

Lewis laughed. “Would you believe this scares me worse than going up San Juan Hill with the bullets whizzing around?”

Hannah got to her feet and came over. She put her arms behind his neck, pulled his head down, and kissed him. “How could she help but be in love with you?” she said quietly with a smile. “You’re the handsomest and best man I know.”

****

Missouri met Hannah at the door with a smile. “Come in. I just been wishin’ for company.”

Hannah entered, saying, “You need to get a radio.”

“I don’t want one of those newfangled things. They got awful things on ’em.”

Hannah removed her coat and hat and sat down at the
table, where Missouri poured her a cup of hot sassafras tea. She started in talking about the foolish shows on the radio, but then finally she laughed and said, “But I do like that program ‘The Shadow.’ Guess that couldn’t do much harm, now, could it?”

“No, I don’t think there’s any danger in ‘The Shadow.’ I must admit I did get caught up in the story when I was over to your house that time last summer!”

The two women sat talking for a time, and finally Hannah said, “Would you go into town with me?”

“Why, that’d be right nice. I’m out of sugar and several other things.”

“I want you to buy some nice clothes, Missouri—a dress and some shoes and stockings. Even some nice underwear.”

“What are you talking about, Hannah? I got plenty of clothes.”

“I’m not talking about overalls. I’m talking about nice women’s clothes, stylish clothes that’ll make you look pretty.”

Missouri had a good, full laugh, then shook her head. “Do I need to look pretty for the pigs? They don’t mind the way I look.”

“No, you’re going to look pretty for your gentleman friend.”

“What are you talking about, Hannah? I don’t have no gentleman friend.”

“You’re going to have one, and I recommend him.” Hannah reached over and took Missouri’s hand. “Father’s going to come courting you. He’s going to ask you to go out with him, and I want you to look nice.”

A silence fell across the room. Outside, the loud cries of the guinea hens filled the air, and Missouri’s pet peacock lifted his raucous cry. She did not speak for so long that Hannah finally said, “There’s nothing strange about it. He told me how much he liked you, and he was very upset when you told him you wouldn’t be coming over anymore.”

“I didn’t want to be forward or to intrude where I weren’t wanted. He was actin’ like he had no interest in me.”

“He was just confused and unsure of himself. Don’t tell him I talked to you. Come on, we’re going to town to buy you some nice clothes.”

Missouri was bewildered. “I don’t know if it’s right or not, Hannah.”

“Didn’t you say that God sent him to be your husband?”

“That’s what I said . . . but I’ve been wrong a few times. When Lewis didn’t show no signs of wantin’ me for a wife, I reckoned I didn’t read what God was sayin’ right.”

“Well, this is a good way to find out. You two get together and go out a few times and go for walks, and you keep on praying, and God will tell you if it’s right for you two.”

“I’m so rough, and he’s . . . he’s such a fine gentleman! And I know how much he loved your mother.”

“That’s true, and he always will. But that doesn’t mean he won’t ever have room in his life for someone else. Come along, now. We’re going to get you all fixed up. I hope you’ve got some money.”

“Enough for some clothes, I guess.” Missouri got up slowly, a smile on her lips. “I don’t know much about bein’ courted.”

“Father said the same thing.” Hannah smiled. “The two of you can learn together. Come on, now. Let’s go spend all your money on frivolous attire.”

****

After Hannah returned home from her shopping trip with Missouri, she went to Josh’s room to talk to him. He was sitting in a cane-bottomed rocker simply staring out the window. “What are you doing in here all by yourself, Josh?” she asked, going over to stand beside him. She reached out and ruffled his hair. “You’ve become silent as a tomb lately. What’s wrong with you?”

“Oh, nothing,” Josh mumbled.

Hannah knew this was not the truth. Josh seemed sober
at the moment, his face serious. She sat down on the bed and told him about her father’s intention to court Missouri Ann and ended by saying, “I think it would be nice if they would get married. They’re both so lonely.”

“I’m surprised,” Josh said. “Dad was so much in love with Mom.”

“Of course he was, and she’ll always be a part of him, but she’s gone now and he needs somebody. We all do.”

“What about you, sis?”

“I love Clint, and he loves me,” she said simply. “If he goes to prison, I’ll wait for him. I’m not as young as I’d like, but however long it takes, I’ll be there for him when he gets out.”

Josh stood, his jaw tense with determination. “Come on, Hannah, I’ve got something to tell you . . . to tell all the family.”

“What is it, Josh?”

“I’ll tell you all together. Come on, let’s go find Dad. I want to get Jenny and Kat too. . . .”

****

Sheriff Beauchamp looked up from the papers on his desk. He put down his pencil and leaned back in the chair. “Hello, Josh,” he said. “Cold out, ain’t it?”

Josh ignored this and stood directly in front of Sheriff Beauchamp’s desk. He was tense, the sheriff could see, but when he spoke his voice was steady. “You’ve got the wrong man in jail, Sheriff.”

“The wrong man? You mean Clint?”

“That’s right.”

“But he was caught with the whiskey. I know you like Clint, but—”

“I was the one who was moving the whiskey, Sheriff Beauchamp. Clint just blundered into the area when he was out deer hunting. He had nothing at all to do with it. I’ll swear to that in court.”

Noel Beauchamp motioned toward the chair. “Sit down, Josh, and tell me all about it.”

Beauchamp listened as Josh told him the whole story, and finally he asked, “Who was in it with you, Josh?”

“I’m not telling that. Don’t ask me to, Sheriff.”

Beauchamp expelled his breath in disgust. “You didn’t get into this on your own. Somebody helped you with it, and I’ve got a pretty good idea who it was.”

“I’ll never testify against anybody else, Sheriff, but Clint had nothing to do with it. What will it take to get him out?”

“Nothing,” Beauchamp said, “but you’ll have to stay. I’ll get the charges against Clint dropped. Have you told your family about all this?”

“Yes.”

Beauchamp saw that Josh would not speak further about it. “All right, if that’s the way it is. I’m not going to go easy on you, Josh. You’ll have to go to jail.”

“I know that, Sheriff. I won’t complain. I got myself into this. Now I’ll have to pay for it.”

****

Dark had fallen, and Hannah was washing the dishes. The rest of the family was in the living room listening to “Sherlock Holmes” on the radio. They had all been shocked by Josh’s confession. He had also told them, “There’s no way you can help me, and I want you to go on with life. Do the things you’ve been doing. I’ll have to go to prison, but when I get out, I’ll come back.”

Hannah had wept when she was alone, but she had kept her grief hidden from the others. She knew her father had been hit as hard by this as she, and Kat had taken it the worst of all. She had always loved Josh fiercely, and when he had left to go confess his crime to Sheriff Beauchamp, Kat had clung to him, begging him not to go.

“I’ve got to do it, Kat,” Josh had said quietly. He’d hugged
her, kissed her, and said, “You just keep praying for your wayward brother, and one day it’ll be all right.”

Hannah dried a dish and put it away mechanically. She heard the front door slam and could not imagine who it was, and then there were footsteps as she turned to see Clint standing in the doorway. His face was set, and he came straight to her.

“I’m sorry about Josh,” he said.

Hannah fell into his arms. She held him tightly and felt him embrace her firmly. “You tried to save him, Clint, and we’ll never forget that. None of us will.”

As the two clung to each other, Clint said, “Perhaps this is no time to talk of personal things, but I don’t want to put it off any longer. I want you to know that I’d like to marry you. I don’t have anything. Probably never will have, but I need you more than any man ever needed any woman.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her.

She savored his kiss; then when he lifted his head, she smiled at him. She felt very safe and secure, despite her worries over her brother. “We’ll have each other, and we’ll have to trust God for everything else.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

To Be a Wife

Potter Flemming had served as mayor of Summerdale for ten years but had never felt as nervous as he did when preparing his client, Joshua Winslow, for the hearing that would determine his future. Flemming, a small man with scanty brown hair, was a fancy dresser, and now as he paced back and forth, he pulled at his tie nervously. “I’ve got to tell you, Josh, I have very little hope that we’ll get anything good. I wish to heaven we had any judge except Pender!”

Strangely, Josh was much calmer than his lawyer. He was wearing a dark blue suit, a white shirt, and a maroon tie. It had been Flemming’s idea to make him look as presentable as possible, but Josh had smiled faintly at the suggestion, saying, “I don’t think the judge is going to pay much attention to what I’ve got on.”

Now Flemming came to stand over Josh, who was seated with his hands clasped together on the table in the back room of the courthouse. It was an ancient building, filled with the damp smell of mold and decay. Josh was unaware of this, however, as he looked up at his lawyer. “Don’t worry about it, Mr. Flemming. I know you’ve done all you can.”

“If you’d only turn state’s evidence, Joshua, I could get you a light sentence.”

“I can’t do that. We’ve been over it before.”

Flemming snorted in disgust. “I still don’t think you understand how serious these charges are. Why, you could get ten years or even twenty!”

“I’ll have to take what he hands me, Mr. Flemming.”

Flemming flung his hands out in a helpless gesture. “If it were any judge but O. C. Pender! They call him the hanging judge, you know. Of course, this isn’t a hanging matter, but he hands out the stiffest sentence a law allows as often as not. I wish it were any other judge, Josh. He’s going to put you away to the limit.”

“You’ve done the best you can for me, Mr. Flemming, and I know we haven’t been able to pay you yet, but Dad tells me he’s borrowed some money from his brother.”

“I’m not worried about my fee. I’m worried about you, Josh. You made a mistake, but I have the feeling you were drawn into it.”

“I don’t see it that way. Nobody put a gun to my head. I made a choice, and it was a bad one. Now I’ve got to pay for it.”

“We all make bad choices.”

“I suppose so, but some carry a stiffer penalty. This just happens to be one of them.” Josh leaned forward, his eyes sad. “I know I’m going to prison, but that’s not the worst thing. It’s what I’ve done to my family. I’ll never get over that.”

“They love you, boy, and this won’t make any difference as far as that’s concerned. We’ll try to appeal, but it won’t do much good. Judge Pender hardly ever reverses his decisions.”

****

Lewis pulled the wagon up in front of Missouri’s place. He got out and went to the front door. Missouri opened it before he could knock and greeted him. “Come in, Lewis.” She was wearing her customary working garb—overalls and heavy men’s boots.

As Lewis entered she thought about the clothes she’d bought on the trip to town with Hannah but did not mention them. “Have you been to see Josh?” she asked as she led him into the living room. A fire was burning in the fireplace,
and she sat down on the couch before it and waved him to sit beside her.

“Yes,” he said. “It breaks my heart, Missouri.”

“I know. He’s got good stuff in him. He’s made a terrible mistake, Lewis, but he’s not the first young man to go wrong.”

Lewis was terribly depressed. He had hardly slept for the last couple of days. “I’d rather go to jail myself than have Josh go.”

“We always feel that way about our children. We’d like to suffer for them, but you know the saying—‘Everybody has to eat his own peck of dirt.’ ”