Woman of Courage (21 page)

“I think it was one of them Blackfeet. He was probably after my horse, or maybe the deer I had, and I’m thinkin’ he’d have probably killed me for it. Some Injuns would do just about anything for a good horse like mine.”

“You hurt?” Mary asked with obvious concern.

He shook his head. “Naw, but I scared the daylights outta that man.” He went on to tell about his encounter with the Indian and then said, “I didn’t come straight home after that because I was worried the Injun might decide to follow me here.” He grunted. “I sure didn’t wanna lead him back to the cabin, so I took a longer way home.”

“Till I’m recovered enough to return to my own place, I promise I’ll stick close to the cabin,” Buck said.

“Glad to hear it.” Jim motioned to Thunder, lying under the table. “The dog has to stay here from now on, too, ’cause I can’t take the chance of anything like that happening again. Some Indians and even white men can be unpredictable, and it don’t pay to let your defenses down.”

Little Joe started crying just then, interrupting their conversation.

“I feed baby now,” Mary said. “When I come back, I fix you supper, Jim.”

He reached out and clasped her hand. “I’m mighty glad no real harm came to you.” He looked over at Amanda. “I’m glad you’re okay, too.”

Amanda smiled. “We all faced some dangers today, but God had His protective hand on us.”

Jim didn’t admit it, but he wondered if she might not be right. He’d uttered a prayer out there in the woods, and everything had turned okay, so maybe God had been listening and protected him, as well as those at the cabin.

F
or the next week Jim stuck close to home, watching over his family and making sure Buck didn’t try to do too much. Buck was young and full of energy, and it was hard for him to sit around and do nothing but rest. Mary kept busy with the baby and helping Amanda with some of the meals, but Buck complained of being bored and needing something to do. So Jim suggested that Buck go fishing, which wouldn’t overexert him. Jim had been tempted to go along, but after the scare they’d had, he wasn’t ready to leave the women alone, even though Thunder would be with them. The women were back in a routine and seemed to have relaxed a bit since the episode. Jim knew his wife was a strong woman, but it truly surprised him to hear how courageous Amanda had been.

“Mary and I are going to study some passages from the Bible this morning,” Amanda said when Jim entered the cabin after seeing Buck off. “Wouldst thou—I mean, would you care to join us?”

Jim was on the verge of saying no but changed his mind. If God had truly been watching out for him that day when he encountered the Blackfoot Indian, then he ought to at least listen to what the Bible had to say.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll sit with ya for a while,” he said, giving Amanda a nod.

She smiled. “As soon as Mary finishes feeding and changing the baby, we’ll get started.”

Sure hope I didn’t make a mistake agreeing to this
, Jim thought.
But I said I would, so guess I’d better follow through
.

As Buck sat on the grassy banks along the edge of the stream near Jim’s cabin, he thought about Amanda and how pretty she was. She was also very complicated. She seemed meek and mild, but she didn’t hold back—at least when it came to talking about religious things. He had to admit that she was gutsy. She’d proven that last week. Buck wished she wasn’t one of those Bible thumpers, trying to cram religion down people’s throats. Well, he guessed she wasn’t exactly doing that, but she did take her Bible out regularly and read it to Mary. Whenever that happened, Buck made some excuse to go outside because he couldn’t stand listening to what he felt was some story somebody had made up to make people think God loved them and would provide for their needs.
Well, He didn’t provide for my mother’s needs when she needed help
, Buck thought bitterly.
And where was God when Silas was whippin’ the daylights outta me with his strap?

Buck’s fingers tightened around the branch he was using as a fishing pole. He pulled the bait up and left it dangling as his thoughts continued. He didn’t need the white man’s God or the Indian’s Hanyawat. He could get by just fine, without any help from the spirit world. A man had to be tough enough to make it on his own in this world; that was just the way it was.

A bobcat kitten stood on the opposite bank, its stubby tail twitching ever so little. The small kitten didn’t seem to notice Buck, but had its keen eyes on the bait dangling at the end of the fishing line. Back and forth the cat’s head went, as the fish line blew gently in the breeze.

Buck smiled, watching as the kitten inched its way closer to the water. Buck couldn’t help twitching his fishing pole, making the bait jerk at the end of the line. He held his breath, suspecting what the kitten was about to do next.

The little bobcat had reached the stream’s edge. Slowly it crouched into position. Before Buck could blink again, the kitten leaped toward the teasing bait. Buck stifled a chuckle as the kitten plunged into the stream.

“Brr …” Buck shivered, realizing how cold that water must feel. And what a look of surprise on the kitten’s face when it landed smack-dab in the middle of the stream. Its hazel-green eyes were as big as saucers. Buck couldn’t help himself—he laughed out loud.

The bobcat leaped to the stream’s bank, almost as fast as it had jumped in. Then it looked back at Buck, as though noticing him for the first time. The critter’s grayish-brown fur was soaking wet, and droplets of water fell from its black-cuffed ears. The cat sat on the bank shaking each striped leg as if it had something stuck on the bottom of its paws.

Buck had been living in these mountains a long time and had seen plenty of bobcats over the years. He figured this kitten was over a month old, since that was when they usually started exploring.

Overhead, Buck heard a
kee-eeee-arr
sound, and when he looked up, his winged brother landed in a tall tree and sat, watching the baby kitten. Buck wasn’t sure what to do, but he knew he wasn’t about to remain there and watch the helpless kitten become a meal. Fortunately, Buck didn’t have to worry for long. He heard what sounded like a screaming baby. Buck had heard that sound many times before. Anyone else hearing the sound might think it was an infant crying in pain, but the recognizable sound was that of an adult bobcat. Almost as fast as it had arrived, the kitten perked up and vanished, running toward its mother.

Even though Buck wanted to get back to work, especially helping Jim around the cabin, he was glad he’d taken his friend’s advice and come down here to the stream. Otherwise, he’d have missed seeing the baby bobcat, and now it would be a memory he’d never forget.

Buck’s thoughts went to Amanda again. She must have toughened up quite a bit since her departure from New York. If he agreed to take her to the Spalding Mission he’d probably think about her all the time. That, in itself, would be a good enough reason to say no to her request. Well, it would be several more weeks before the rivers became passable, so he didn’t have to worry about taking Amanda anywhere right now. For the time being, all he needed to worry about was getting back to the business of trapping, and with or without Jim’s permission, he was going back to his own cabin early next week.

Amanda took a seat at the table and opened her Bible to the Gospel of John. She was glad Jim had agreed to join her and Mary and hoped God’s Word would speak to his heart.

“In John 1:1–4, we read, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.’ ” She paused to look up at Jim and Mary, but their expressions were unreadable. Had they understand what she’d read? She would let them ask questions after she’d finished the passage. “ ‘All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men,’ ” Amanda continued.

Jim and Mary stared at each other.

Amanda cleared her throat. “You see, God is the One true God, and the only way we can come to Him is through His Son, Jesus.”

Mary nodded briefly, but Jim gave no reply.

Amanda turned to the Book of Romans and read chapter ten, verses nine and ten: “ ‘If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’ ”

“Saved from what?” Jim asked, leaning both elbows on the table.

Amanda smiled. At least she had his interest now. “By accepting Christ as our Savior, we are saved from our sins,” she said.

“Me do this, last time we talked,” Mary spoke up. “Me not want to die in sin.”

Jim leaned back in his chair and gave his beard a quick pull. “Guess it’s somethin’ to think about all right.”

“Would you like to pray and ask God to forgive your sins and acknowledge that you believe in His Son?” Amanda asked, looking hopefully at Jim.

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe someday, but not now. I need to think on it awhile, I guess.”

Amanda felt a keen sense of disappointment. She’d thought for sure that she was on the verge of leading Jim to the Lord. Maybe she’d said too much, too soon. Perhaps she should have eased into it gradually. But then, Papa had always taught that a Christian should be willing to boldly tell others about the Lord.
Boldly tell them
, she reminded herself,
but don’t push. I wouldn’t want Jim, or anyone else, to make a confession of faith until he felt ready
.

At least Jim had seemed to understand what Amanda had read, and she was pleased at the progress she’d made with Mary. Now if she could only get Buck to listen. Of course, she’d have to be careful not to push, because Buck had already made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with God.
But God can change a man’s heart
, Amanda told herself.
The Bible says it’s not His will that any should perish. I just need to pray that somehow Buck’s heart will be softened and that one day he will hear God’s voice and respond
.

T
he following Monday, after breakfast, Buck announced that he felt well enough to return to his own place.

“Are ya sure about that?” Jim asked, after taking a swig of coffee. “I don’t want ya goin’ back too soon.”

“I feel fine,” Buck said. “And it’ll be good to get back to my cabin and make sure nobody’s messed with my things.”

“The place was just like ya left it when I rode over there a few days ago,” Jim said.

“Even so, I wanna see for myself. My little cabin’s callin’ to me, and I’m ready to go home.”

Amanda had known this day was coming, but she still felt disappointment. She was accustomed to having Buck around and would miss him. It made no sense, really, but she found him intriguing. She wished she knew more about him. She’d asked him about it once, but he’d said his life was about his future, not the past. The only thing she knew about him was that he lived alone, wasn’t married, and had learned his trapping skills from Jim.

She would miss the way Buck’s square jaw stuck out in a stubborn way every time something was said that he didn’t like. Even the scar on his neck from the bear’s claws made his handsome face more rugged and striking. Under all that ruggedness, Buck had a tender way about him. She saw it every time he looked at Little Joe, and when he watched Mary and Jim interact around the cabin. As much as she tried not to think about it, Amanda found herself wondering if Buck had ever been in love or if he longed to have a family of his own.

What kind of future will Buck have?
Amanda asked herself.
He lives alone, without even a pet
. Other than the hawk Mary had told her about, Buck was basically a loner. Having the hawk’s presence nearby was at least something for Buck, but was that truly enough?
What will happen if he’s not able to trap anymore?
she wondered. Both Jim and Buck had mentioned one time that it was getting harder to trap enough beaver and muskrats because their numbers were decreasing due to the demand for more pelts.