By Nora
Copyright 1999
The three of us were silent for a while after that. We sat on a bench, huddled together for warmth, and for me, security. I thought of the long journey ahead, and was excited at the prospect of starting my life over again. But scared, too. Going to a new town, meeting strangers and looking for work all made me nervous. Anything, though, was better than working for
Mr. Wicks, or in a brothel. I'll make you proud of me, mama, I thought.
"You say something, Louise?" asked Elenora.
I blushed, not realizing I had thought aloud, "Oh, no."
"It must be scary, thinking about that stage," said Charlotte, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder, "Here Louise, I want you to have this for your trip." She placed in my hand a Bible. I had gone to church as a small child and knew a little about the book, but never even dared dreamed of having one of my own. I looked at her, bewildered.
"I've tried to live my life by that book- in most respects, anyway- but I think you need it more than I do right now," she explained.
"You can share mine," offered Elenora in a confidential whisper.
"Thank you both so much. I wouldn't know what to do without your help."
Tears were smarting in my eyes, and my throat began to feel tight. Right then, we could see the stage approach. I hurried to pack the treasured Bible into my carpetbag, and hug both my friends. They gave me many motherly admonitions before releasing me. Although I tried to look independent and shrug them off, the truth is I was glad to hear them.
"And Louise, do whatever it takes to be safe," added Charlotte, giving my hand a final squeeze.
It was time to go. I climbed onto the stagecoach with the help of the driver. It seemed like that as soon as I was seated, the reigns snapped and we were on our way west. I turned around to give one last wave to the only two people in my life I knew as friends.
It was not until we were a good distance out of town felt safe enough to really take a look around me. Three other people shared the jostling stage. There was a young man and woman who seemed to be absorbed in each other, and I wondered if they were newly weds. The other man wore a suit and seemed fidgety. He kept taking out his watch, looking at it, and shaking his head before putting it back again.
He did this approximately every five minutes, and I couldn't see that it made the stage travel any faster. Certainly this group of travelers was not much for company, but I was grateful. Because there was no conversations, I did not have to talk about what I- a young woman alone on the stage- was doing heading for the West. I was glad that Charlotte had given me a Bible to read. I took it out of the satchel and turned to the gospels, since they were the easiest to understand."Dinner stop!"
I jumped to attention, startled. Had I been asleep? Well, I certainly had not slept much the night before, and no doubt needed the rest. By now, the driver had pulled off to the side of the trail by a clump of shade trees. When he gave the signal, everyone climbed out of the cramped seats as quickly as we could. We headed to the shade where there were a couple fallen logs for benches. Soon, people were began to take sandwiches out of sacks for dinner. My face flushed; I had not thought about how I was going to eat on this trip, and I was starting to get hungry. I wasn't at all sure what to do, so I busied myself reading again.
"Miss McCloud?" The young man who rode shotgun was standing directly in front of me, and I couldn't help but take notice of how good looking he was,
"I-uh- couldn't help but notice you didn't bring any dinner with you. Would you care for a couple of slice of bread and butter?"
"Oh, no. I couldn't accept.""Please, miss, I insist."
"Well, I am gettin' a little hungry," I admitted.
The kind man gave me the bread and butter, plus an apple. I hated to take charity, but there was really no other option. At least supper is served at the way station, I thought ahead. I wished I'd thought this journey out a little more thoroughly, but the truth was, anything was better than being back with Wicks. I'd rather starve to death first. It was not a long dinner break. We were soon back in the stage, passing by miles and miles of nothing. It was a long, boring ride, with even more boring people for company. How strange that no one spoke to one another for hours on end!
In a way, I was glad. I still wasn't ready to talk yet.
After what seemed like forever, we finally arrived at the way station.
"One of the best there is," the driver assured us, "Clean rooms, and good food. Woman by the name of Ida Collins runs the place."
Sure enough, when we pulled up to the station, a woman appeared out of the barn to greet us. She was a slight woman-no bigger than myself- and yet doing the job of a man, or two men. She perhaps around thirty-five, with a few grey hairs peppering her brown braid at the nape.
"Hi, Adam! Howdy, Jack!" she greeted the driver and his side-kick, "Glad you brought by some business. Supper's on the stove, and will be done as soon as you've all washed up. Come on folks, I'll show you to your rooms."
Because there were so few of us staying overnight, I had a private room. I looked around the pleasant little room, wishing I could stay longer for just a night. It was so homey...
"Miss, you finding it to your liking?" came Miss Collins' voice through the door.
I opened it, "Yes ma'am, it's very nice. Thank you. "Well, there are freshly cleaned towels in the bureau drawer, Miss-?"
"Please, call me Louise. Louise McCloud," I answered, then wondered if it was wise to use my real name. Who knows how far and wide Wicks might search for me? Well, it was too late now.
She shook my hand, "And I'm Ida. Good to meet you. Are you ready for supper?"
"Yes, it smells delicious," I smiled.
The evening meal was a large affair. Ida, the folks from the stage, some cowhands and a few towns' people shared the dining room table. We ate of Ida's salt pork, green beans and fresh bread. Chatter seemed to be going on all around me, but I was content to just sit and listen to the other's talk. The meal was pleasant until the man next to me tried to strike up a conversation.
"What's a pretty little gal like you doin' all the way out here-alone?" he slurred. There was whiskey on his breath. There was a certain leering look in his eye- one that was now unmistakably burned into my memory.
Instead of responding, I rose to clear my plate, but the man grabbed on to my arm, "You're stayin' right here with me."
By now, my heart was pounding, and the unreleased tears stung my eyes. I felt hot, sick and scared all at once, like I was going to lose my dinner.
All these people were around me; why didn't somebody do something? Why didn't I do something? tried to escape his hold on my arm, but he was twice my size and much stronger.
"Otis! You let her go!" shrieked Ida at the top of her lungs. Surprised, he let go of my arm. Flustered, I headed quickly for my room, where I threw myself face down on the bed, and began to sob. Two incidents in as many days were too much for me to handle at the moment. I heard Otis and Ida arguing, and then him leaving after hurling a long string of profanities at her and her mother.
"And don'tcha ever come back- drunk or sober"' were Ida's final words tohim.
"Miss McCloud? Louise, are you all right?" came Ida's voice through the door.
I was crying too hard to even answer. Besides that, I didn't want to have to explain my behavior. Everyone probably thought I was such a weakling, getting hysterical at every man who made unwanted advances. If they would all just go away... but Ida didn't go away; she came right inside my room, and tenderly patted my shoulders."I'M-I'm sorry," I hiccuped into the pillow.
"Easy now, don't try to talk if you don't want to. I just came to tell you that Otis is gone. You won't have to worry about him no more."
"Thank you," I mumbled.
"Louise, something pretty bad happened to you recently, didn't it?"
I nodded.
"Hmm... thought as much. Listen, sweetheart, you get a good rest tonight and let me take care of everything, okay?"I sat up to face her, "Yes ma'am."
On to Part Three
