PART 5
Jo, Alan and the children were all seated at the dining room table finishing dessert. Jo was enjoying Alan's company at supper so much that she had almost completely forgotten about the events of the day. Suddenly, the door opened abruptly and Amy rushed in. "Jo, this is awful. Where's Nick? I need Nick!"
"Amy, calm down. What happened?"
"This!" she said, showing them a piece of paper. "It's a ransom note for Bess."
"Christopher Columbus!" exclaimed Jo.
"I have the money and now it needs to be delivered. Laurie is still out of town and I thought Nick could do it. Is he eating in the kitchen?" Without waiting for an answer, she started for the door.
"He's not here Amy. He went with Dan and Emil to look for Bess. They haven't returned yet." Jo was suddenly very afraid for all of them. Alan put his arm around Jo's shoulder to comfort her.
"I'll go," he offered.
"I couldn't ask you to do that, " Amy said.
"You didn't ask. I offered. Actually, I insist. What do I need to do?" Amy showed him the note and gave him the money. Then Jo walked him to the door.
"It is so kind of you to do this for us. Please be careful Alan," Jo said with tears in her eyes.
"It's all going to be fine, Jo. Trust me. Besides, they are probably on their way back now. But, we'll follow these instructions just to be safe."
He leaned over and gave her a tender kiss on the cheek. Then she watched him longingly as he mounted his horse and rode off into the darkness. She was full of fear for him and Bess and the boys.
It was dark now and they had been sitting in the cabin for hours. Bess was hot, hungry and tired as well as scared and angry. Dennis and Lyndon were talking in the corner and something seemed to be happening.
Nick shifted uncomfortably, trying to increase the circulation to his numb hands.
"Nick. What are we going to do?" Bess cried.
He opened his eyes and pulled his head forward from the wall. His voice was weak. "Come on now Bess. I've been in worse fixes than this. We'll get outa here. Just need the right moment is all."
"You've been in worse situations than this? You're lying, just to make me feel better. We're going to die, aren't we?" She started sobbing, her body shaking. He wanted to hold her, but he couldn't.
"No Bess. I ain't lyin'. There was this one time…" he stopped, changing his mind about telling the story. "You're gonna live a long time. I promise. But, ya gotta hold it together. You'll be no help if you lose your head. You're doin' great."
His encouraging words empowered her. "Everything is going to be all right," Bess replied with confidence, wiping the tears away.
"Now you sound like your Aunt Jo," Nick teased.
"Thank you. I take that as a compliment."
"It sure is," replied Nick softly. He squeezed his eyes shut and leaned back again. His head was pounding, the room was spinning, his arms ached, and the ropes were tearing at his wrists.
Bess was alarmed to see that his left eye was now completely swollen shut and he was in so much pain. She wanted to untie the ropes and let him lie down comfortably. "Lyndon," she said, "will you untie him?"
"Why should I? He tried to kill me."
"Don't lie to me," Bess snapped, "I saw everything. He can barely sit up anymore. Untie him now!"
Dennis walked over to them and Bess was relieved that they were going to listen to her once again. "Thank you," she said.
Dennis leaned down and shoved Nick, head first, to the floor. Bess gasped. Nick struggled hopelessly.
Dennis pushed his knee into Nick's back and pinned him chest down on the floor taunting him. "Come on sailor. Show the girl how tough you are." Bess felt even more guilt as she realized the pain being inflicted on Nick because of the way she spoke about him to Lyndon. Then Dennis grabbed the rope that was binding Nick's hands and pulled it tighter. Nick gritted his teeth. Dennis got up and walked away.
"You're going to regret this," Bess yelled at him, her voice cracking.
Dennis was angered by her forcefulness. He started to approach her.
"Bess?" Nick said, his voice barely audible. "I'm alright. Come on. Sit down with me." Bess hesitated but then did as he said. She helped him to sit back up.
"I have to go anyway," Dennis said. Then he spoke quietly to Lyndon and left.
Alan had been gone for a while when Dan and Emil returned to Plumfield, hungry and tired. They shared the story of tracking Bess' trail and how Nick had sent them back.
Then Franz spoke up. "You boys must be hungry. You get something to eat and I'll ride into town for the Sheriff and a posse."
"The note said that if we told the Sheriff they'd …". Amy stopped, sobbing bitterly.
"We won't go to the ransom site. We'll go to the cabin. It's the best way to make sure Bess is safe," said Franz authoritatively.
"I think he's right Amy. If we think we know where Bess might be we have to do everything we can to find her." Jo sat next to Amy holding her terrified sister.
Amy shook her head yes as she cried.
As Nan prepared plates of food for Dan and Emil, Franz left the room. When he was sure nobody was watching he picked up the rifle that Nick had given him, checked it, and then left for the Sheriff.
Dennis had not been gone long when Alan entered the cabin and pulled Lyndon aside. "Where's Dennis? Did he leave already?"
"Yes, a short while ago," Lyndon answered.
"Well, you should go get him." He started to laugh. "Look at this!" He opened the bag in his hand and showed it to Lyndon.
"Hah! It worked again," Lyndon said. "But what do we do about him?" He pointed at Nick. "We've never had a problem like that before."
"Go to the ransom sight and find your father. When you get back we'll take care of him. It's very dark out there. One wrong step and he could fall right off that cliff. Too bad for her he messed things up because now she'll have to go with him"
Lyndon laughed and left to find his father.
Bess watched and listened in horror at this disgusting spectacle. Her heart was pounding with fear. Her mind was racing. "Nick, did you hear that? We have to do something." She looked to Nick and was shocked to see his head slumping forward. "Nick!? I need you. Stay with me."
Nick opened his eye at her words and pulled his head up as he fought the urge to fall asleep.
"Nick, I want to apologize for what I said this morning," she said, suddenly afraid that she would never have the chance again.
"It's alright Bess."
"You are being very kind about it, but I shouldn't have spoken about you like that. I guess sometimes I forget that you have feelings, too."
"I said it's alright Bess. It's over now," he said softly.
"Still, I should have been more careful …" She stopped as his head slumped forward again. She reached to him and began stroking his head. "Nick!?"
He pulled his head up. He knew as well as Bess that it could be extremely dangerous if he lost consciousness again, but it was a struggle to stay awake.
"Tell me a story Nick. Any story. Just keep talking. I know, tell me about your first voyage. I'd love to hear about it. You were about my age, right?"
"That's right Bess," he said. And so he began to tell her the story of the wild storms and the dead calm. He told her about how the meat went bad. And then, swearing her to secrecy, he told her about what happened to him in the crow's nest.
Bess found herself laughing in spite of the situation, picturing Nick so young and trying to prove himself equal to the men around him. She was beginning to see him in a new light and she felt a strong sense of compassion for him as she realized that he had been forced to become a man when he was really still a boy like Dan or Emil.
PART 6
