Soldier Boy's Discovery (17 page)

Ezra obviously did not want to go, but when Silas said, “You've got to do it, boy. You can come back later when things have cooled down,” he finally gave in.

“All right.” Ezra ran out the door and was saddling a horse when Leah came into the barn. “Don't get caught, Ezra. I couldn't stand it if something happened to you after all of this.”

“I'll be all right,” Ezra said. He took the reins and threw them over the horse's neck. Before he swung into the saddle, he said, “You'll be all right, won't you?”

“Yes, I will, but you be careful.”

Ezra said, “You feel any different about Lucy?”

Leah's face was pale, and she nodded. “I was wrong about her.” Tears came to her eyes. “I guess I've been wrong about everybody.”

Ezra gave her a quick hug, the first time he'd ever done so. He smiled down at her, saying, “You're the kindest girl I ever met, Leah Carter. Don't you ever forget it.” He swung into the saddle, then rode out of the barn as Leah stood watching.

She saw him go into the woods, and no sooner had he disappeared than six mounted men came from the other direction. Leah went into the house, saying, “They're coming!”

“Here—sit down, everybody. We're eating supper just like nothing's happened,” Uncle Silas said.

They all took their places, and soon a knock came at the door. When Leah opened it, she said, “Well, Captain Lyons, how nice to see you again.”

Captain Lyons glared at her. “I'm not here on a social visit. Is your uncle here?”

“Why, yes, right over here. Come in.”

Lyons stepped inside and looked around the room. “We've had reports that there's an escaped prisoner here. I'll have to search the place.”

“Why, of course, Captain. You go right ahead and search,” Uncle Silas said. “I don't believe you've met my nephew, Dan Carter. He's Leah's pa.”

“Glad to know you.”

Dan Carter smiled and said, “I believe you met my older daughter, Sarah, on her last visit. And of course you know Cecil here.”

Anger ran across the officer's face, and he did not answer. He turned and said, “Sergeant, search the barn and all the outbuildings. I'll search the house.”

For the next thirty minutes, the patrol searched every inch of the farm, while Captain Wesley Lyons did everything but look under the mattresses. Finally he came with a red face to say, “If you see any strangers, I want to be informed. You understand me?”

“Oh, yes, I've always understood you,” Uncle Silas said cheerfully. He winked at Leah. “If we see any escaped prisoners, we'll sure report them. Won't we, Leah?”

“Yes, we will, Uncle Silas.”

Lyons glared at them and went outside, slamming the door.

The sergeant was waiting for him on the porch and said, “We didn't find nothing, sir. How about you?”

“No, it was that fool Rufus again. Nobody there but Cecil Taylor. I think I'll take a strap to that Rufus Prather. Anybody that can't tell an escaped Yankee prisoner from Cecil Taylor deserves a strapping. Let's go.”

Inside, Jeff stood at the window until they were gone. Then he turned. “We're all right. They're gone.” He smiled warmly at Cecil, saying, “Thanks for coming, Cecil. You saved our bacon this time.”

“Naw,” Cecil drawled, “I reckon not. It was Lucy here. I wouldn't have known a thing if she hadn't come for me.”

Lucy said, “Well, I'm glad Ezra got away. I'd hate to see him in a prison camp again.”

Leah sat there, her face pale, looking down at the table and saying not a word.

N
ever had Leah felt so miserable. Two days had passed since Lucy Driscoll and Cecil Taylor saved Ezra from being captured. Now it was time to think about going back to Kentucky.

Her father had said, “Your ma needs us there, and we've got to get back. We'll leave in two days, maybe.”

Leah had agreed but was unhappy. For some reason she had been unable to apologize to Lucy. No one had talked to her about it, but she sensed that everyone was disappointed in her.

When Lucy was around, Leah had been polite but had hardly spoken to her. Perhaps this had something to do with the fact that Jeff apparently found Lucy an attractive young lady. The two of them laughed a lot; and the more they laughed, the more Leah seemed to freeze up.

On the day before their departure, Leah went for a long walk in the woods. She filled a basket with wild flowers, and ordinarily this would have pleased her, but she was unhappy. Finally she started home.

Suddenly, from behind a large elm, Ezra stepped out in front of Leah. “Good thing I wasn't a wild Indian,” he said, his white teeth showing. “I could've scalped you.”

“There haven't been any Indians around here for a long time,” Leah muttered.

Ezra walked along with her, speaking of unimportant things, but finally he reached out and took her arm. “Leah,” he said, “I've got to talk to you.”

“You don't have to hold onto me. I'm not going to run away.”

Ezra dropped her arm but shook his head. “Everybody is worried about you,” he said simply. “Your pa's worried sick. He says he's never seen you act this way before.”

“There's nothing wrong with me.”

“Yes, there is,” Ezra said almost harshly. “You're just not yourself—and everybody knows what the trouble is too.”

“I don't have any trouble. You're all imagining things.”

“That's not so.” Ezra took a deep breath. “You're all sullened up like a 'possum, and you're jealous of Lucy Driscoll.”

“Jealous?” Leah's green eyes flashed. “You're crazy, Ezra. I'm not jealous of anybody.”

“You're giving a good imitation of it then. You ought to see yourself when Jeff's talking to her.”

“I don't want to listen to any more of this.” Leah turned to walk off, but he grasped her arm again. “Let me go!”

“No, I won't. You helped me when nobody else would. Now I don't care how bad it hurts you—I'm going to tell you about yourself.”

Ordinarily there was no milder-mannered young man than Ezra Payne, but for the next five minutes he stood there holding onto Leah's arm, telling her exactly how she was behaving.

Finally he said, “I hate to talk to you like this, Leah. You're my friend, but being a friend with somebody means you sometimes have to tell them the truth even if it hurts. And the truth is that it's not Lucy acting like a spoiled brat—it's you.”

Leah had kept her head down for some time, enduring Ezra's words. Suddenly her shoulders began to shake, and Ezra bent over to see tears running down her cheeks.

“Oh, yikes—don't cry, Leah! Please don't cry!”

Leah fell against Ezra and clung to him and began sobbing like a baby.

Not knowing what else to do, Ezra held her and patted her shoulder awkwardly.

Finally the spasm ceased, and she stepped back. She took a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped her face. “You're right, Ezra,” she said simply. “Pa's right, and Jeff's right, and so is Uncle Silas. I've acted like a spoiled brat, and I need a whipping!” Her lips were drawn tight, and there was determination in her face. “But it's all over. I'm going to tell Lucy I'm sorry.”

“Well … er … well, I think that'll be great. You want me to go with you?”

“No, this is between me and her.” She then tried to smile and said, “Thank you, Ezra. I know it took a lot of courage to tell me off like that. You just don't like to fuss at anybody, do you?”

“I really don't,” he admitted. “But I'm glad you're going to make it right with Lucy. I'll wait here in the woods. Jeff said he's going to come out. Maybe we'll go fishing in the pond.”

Ezra never learned what happened between Lucy and Leah—nor did anyone else.

All afternoon he stayed in the shadow of the big trees, and finally, a little after three, he heard voices. Slipping through the trees, he glanced down the path, and his heart leaped when he saw Leah and Lucy, Jeff was with them too.

“Must have made it all right,” he said with a sigh of relief. Coming out of the trees, he said, “Hey, where are you three headed?”

Jeff held up several poles made out of saplings. “Going to catch the biggest fish in the creek. I can outfish anyone here.”

Leah said at once, “You never could beat me fishing, Jeff Majors!”

Jeff grinned at her. “Our usual bet then. The one that catches the least fish cleans them all.”

“That's a bet,” Leah said. “Not a bet really, because I never lose. It's a sure thing.”

Lucy was, for once, wearing a pair of overalls. They were not made for a man, however, but cut to fit her. She had a straw hat on and looked a little out of place not wearing a fancy dress. “You two fish a lot?” she asked.

“Oh, sure, Lucy, but I always beat him. You'll beat him too.”

Lucy said, “I don't know how to fish. I've never tried it.”

Ezra said, “
I
have. I'm the fishingest man you ever saw. I'll even put the worms on your hook.”

Lucy came over to stand beside Ezra. “That's good,” she said with a slight shiver. “I think they're nasty.”

The boys laughed, but Leah said, “Don't let them make fun of you.” She smiled at Lucy, and Lucy smiled back. “Come on. You and I will catch more fish than these two overgrown babies.”

“Hey, that'll be the bet then. If you two catch more fish than we do,” Jeff said, “Ezra and I will clean all the fish. Otherwise you two'll do it.”

Leah took up the challenge at once. “Yes, we'll show you a thing or two. Come on, Lucy.”

It was a fine afternoon. The girls stayed together laughing, and Lucy finally learned to thread a worm on a hook.

When the two boys went farther up the creek, looking for bigger fish, Ezra said, “I guess Leah's OK.”

“Yes, it's good to have her back again,” Jeff said warmly. “She wasn't herself, but she's fine now. I guess it just took her longer than me to discover what I did—forgiveness makes you feel a whole lot better than holding a grudge!”

It was late when they got back to the house. Uncle Silas and Dan Carter were on the porch. “Who caught the most fish?” Silas demanded.

“We did—Lucy and me,” Leah said at once.

Jeff said indignantly, “It wasn't fair. They kept every little old fish they got. Ezra and I only kept those big enough to eat.”

Lucy said, “Nothing was said about size. We caught forty-two fish, and you only caught twelve.”

“Some of those little old fish you could put in your eye and not even blink!” Ezra complained. “But a bet's a bet. Come on, Jeff, let's clean fish.”

They had a fine supper of fried fish, hush puppies, fried potatoes, and fresh baked pie. Later in the evening, Jeff and Leah slipped out to watch the moon rise over the haystacks.

“It was a good day, wasn't it, Jeff?” she whispered.

“Sure was.” He wanted to say something about Lucy but didn't want to offend her. Instead he said,
“I guess you and Ezra and Mr. Carter will be heading back. I hate to see you go.”

“Seems like we're always saying good-bye, doesn't it?”

He reached over and took her hand. Her eyes were luminous in the moonlight. She said nothing, but he felt the warmth of her hand as he held it.

Jeff looked at her fondly. “My pa said something once. He said Christians never really say goodbye.”

Leah smiled warmly, her full lips curving upwards. “I like that.”

“I don't know what it means exactly.” He gave her hand a final squeeze, then released it. “But don't be surprised if I show up on your doorstep in Kentucky pretty soon.” He cleared his throat. “I've got to see my baby sister, don't I?”

Leah reached out and pushed his hair back where it had fallen over his forehead. She asked softly, “Is it just Esther you're coming to see, Jeff?”

He looked down at his feet, then looked up at her and grinned. “No, there's somebody else in Kentucky that I'll be coming to see too.”

The moon rose high, a silver disk shedding its beams down on the field. A raccoon, masked like a burglar, came out of the woods, headed for the cornfield for his nightly raid. He stopped and peered in alarm at the two young people, but they stood very still. Then he moved into the darkness and was gone.

The Bonnets and Bugles Series includes:

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• 978-0-8024-0912-6 Yankee Belles in Dixie—#2
  

• 978-0-8024-0913-3 The Secret of Richmond Manor—#3
  

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