Chapter Sixteen

The days seem to speed by, as the women were kept busy with work and daily chores, as well as helping nurse Jacques Dubois and Estelle Taylor.  Several mornings they awakened to find gifts of food on their doorsteps.  They did not think too much about this as the men of the community often left meat and game at their house if they were not at home or if it was very early in the morning.

Almost before Amanda knew it, it was Saturday and time for the weekly get-together.  She had been looking forward to getting out of the house and having fun.  Although busy, she had not forgotten the Indian and the way he had stared at her.  She had not seen him again, and she hoped that she had seen the last of him.  She continued to wear a bonnet anytime she left the cabin and one of the others accompanied her.

The garden was growing with the long days of sunlight, and they would soon have fresh vegetables.  Beth had promised to show Amanda and Hannah how to preserve the food.  Amanda had enjoyed getting to know Hannah better.  Amanda thought the other woman was beautiful with her head full of black curls and her pretty blue eyes that sparkled with life.  Hannah seemed to enjoy living with them as well.  She joined in their nightly Bible study, although she had told the others that she did not wish to lead just yet.  She was always eager to help in any way, and Amanda was glad of her help now that Beth was working.  Sarah had seen several new patients.  It seemed that every day brought someone to see the new doctor.  Sarah thought that many of them came out of curiosity; and indeed she had sent some of the men away when she had determined that they just wanted to meet the women who lived in the small house.

Will and Ben had promised to walk with them to the party.  Amanda had not seen Riley all week, and she was looking forward to seeing him at the party.  Ben had told Riley and some of the other men about the Indian, Maouk, who had frightened Amanda and their advice had been for Amanda to always be accompanied by someone and to cover her hair.  Ben said that some of the men had promised to talk with Chief Seattle about the matter.

Sarah had gone with a settler who lived several miles to the east of town.  His wife was expecting a baby, and he had come for Sarah in order for her to assist with the delivery.

Amanda and the others were ready when Will and Ben came for them, and they walked the short distance to the community building.  Amanda greeted everyone warmly.  She felt happy to be out and was looking forward to having a good time with her friends and neighbors.  Although she had learned much about nursing while helping to care for Jacques and was enjoying his happy personality, she felt she had been cooped up all week.

The band began playing soon after their arrival, and the men eagerly took partners.  They seemed less shy about asking the women to dance this week.  Amanda and the others danced one dance after another, pausing only when the band took a break.  Amanda kept looking for Riley and finally saw him dancing with Beth.  She thought about how handsome Riley was with his dark black hair and brown eyes.  She thought he and Beth must be falling in love.  Riley seemed to always look for Beth and they had no trouble talking like she and Riley did.  Somehow the sight of the two of them gave her an ache in her heart, but she refused to acknowledge it as jealousy.  Indeed, she would never be jealous of her good friend, Beth.  She wished her nothing but happiness.  Maybe she was a little upset because Riley was a non-believer or at the thought of Beth moving out when they had just gotten settled in their new home.  She would surely miss her, but she told herself that they would still live near each other.  There was no need for her to be upset, and she gave herself a stern lecture about her feelings while attempting to carry on conversations with those around her.  But no matter how she tried, she could not get rid of that small ache deep inside.

Amanda hoped that Riley would ask her to dance, but he seemed content to dance with the other women present.  Amanda forced a smile toward the other men, but in truth she did not feel much like smiling.  Somehow her enjoyment of the party had lessened.  She told herself that she probably was just tired from her long week, but she knew the real reason was Riley’s lack of attention.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she turned to find Riley standing there.  Suddenly all of her happiness and energy was back as he asked her to dance the next dance.  Amanda smiled up at Riley, but as usual he did not seem to be paying much attention to her.  He seemed to have no trouble laughing and talking with the others present, and she wondered again what he could possibly have against her.

The dance was soon over and, since it was the last dance of the evening, they began cleaning and preparing the room for the church service the next morning.  Many hands made the task go quickly, and they were soon on their way home.  Amanda was surprised to find that once again Riley was beside her on the walk home while Will and Ben walked ahead with Beth and Hannah.

“Mandy, I heard about what happened with Maouk this week.  I hope that you will heed what we all have said.  Don’t go out alone and cover your hair.  I’m surprised that he is bothering you.  I don’t think we have had this type of trouble with any of the Indians since I have lived here.  They usually stay to themselves except when they have something to trade.  I guess he is just fascinated by your hair.  It is an unusual shade of blonde and when the sun shines on it, well, I can see why he thinks it is gold.  It surely sparkles like gold then.”

Amanda was shocked by this long speech from Riley.  It was more than he had ever said to her at one time.  She readily promised to be careful and wear a bonnet.

“You don’t think he would really hurt me, do you?”  Amanda had been praying, and she was trying to trust God for her safety but the thoughts of the Indian still made her nervous.

“Well, like I said, we’ve not had many problems with the Indians before.  I think he would know better than to bother a white woman.  There were a few times before I came up here when there was a threat of an uprising, but things have been quiet since I got here.” 

Riley’s jaw tightened as he continued.  “But he had better leave you alone.  There is going to be a town meeting on Tuesday evening, and I intend to speak to the town leaders then.  Arthur Dendy was one of the first settlers here, and I am sure he will know what to do.  I hope that he or one of the others who know the Indians the best will speak to Chief Seattle.  The Indians need to know that they cannot frighten you or any of the other women.”
By this time, they had reached their home so the women told the men good night after expressing their hopes of seeing them all at church the next morning.

As they prepared for their nightly devotion, Amanda shared with the other two what Riley had said.

“I would like to go to that meeting and ask about the possibility of starting a school.  There are several couples with children and the ones I have talked to are in favor of the town having a school.  I will ask Riley if I can go with him if he comes to church tomorrow.”

“I know how much you love teaching, Mandy.  I hope God will open a way for you to be able to teach.  We will all be praying about it,” said Beth.

It was Beth’s turn to lead in the Bible study for that evening.  Although tired, none of them wanted to give up this comforting nightly routine.

Beth had chosen the passage about the rich young ruler from the book of Luke.

‘And a certain young ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

And Jesus said unto him, Why callest me good?  None is good, save one, that is, God?

Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery.  Do not kill.  Do not Steal.  Do not bear false witness.  Honour thy father and thy mother.

And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute it unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful: he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God?

For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.’ (Luke 18:18-25)

Hannah’s face was troubled.  “I don’t really understand this passage.  It sounds like Jesus expects us to give up all that we have and not have a home or anything.”

“I don’t think that is really what He is saying.  I think He expects us to provide for our families.  But I think He is saying that we must be willing to give it all up for Him, we must be willing to follow Him at all costs. “Beth explained.

“Hannah, I have not shared with you about how I came on this trip west.  Sarah had written Amanda about the idea of her coming out here to settle.  My father had promised that I would marry the local storekeeper.  You saw him that day on the platform in St. Louis when we were leaving.  I wanted to obey my father, but Mr. Zimmerman is not a Christian.  Even if I had loved him, I could not have married him because he is a non-believer.  The Bible warns us against that.  So even if I had loved him, I would have had to give up the idea of marriage to him.  I think that is what Jesus is talking about here.  That we must be willing to give up what we want in order to serve Christ.  The young ruler was not willing so his heart was not right.  Jesus knew that, just as He knows our hearts.”

“My father is also not a Christian and refused to listen to me.  I found out shortly before we left that he had money hidden away.  His love of money was greater that his love for me.”  Beth’s voice shook a little, and Amanda squeezed her hand.  Beth took a deep breath and pulled herself together.

“My mother was ill for a long time before she passed away.  I nursed her all during the long years she was sick.  My father even forced me to give up my schooling in order to stay with her.  Oh, I wanted to stay with her, but I wanted to learn as well,and my mother wanted me to go to school.  She begged my father to let me continue.  He just said we couldn’t afford to hire anyone to stay with her while I was at school.  He even refused to let her get treatment back east.  He said we didn’t have the money, but, Hannah, I saw with my own eyes that he had a lot of money.  Maybe it wasn’t enough, but he should have tried.”

“That’s what Jesus is talking about here.  The rich young ruler loved his money more that he loved the Lord.”

Amanda continued, “Yes, I think so too, Beth.  I think the Lord expects us to work so that we can provide for ourselves and our families.  I don’t believe He would expect us to give everything away so that we were destitute.  We just have to be willing to give Him our all.  Our whole heart and whatever He asks of us, we should do.  I had mixed feelings about Beth leaving without her father’s approval, and I didn’t like not telling the truth about her intention.  I guess I wouldn’t have agreed at all, but I strongly felt the Lord telling me that this was His plan for us.”

Beth agreed. “My father even drove my brother away.  I haven’t seen him in over eight years.  He and my father disagreed over my mother’s treatment.  My brother didn’t know Pa had that money, but he felt that we should sell the farm if necessary to pay for her treatment.’

“I’ve talked with Sarah about this and she has told me that the treatment would not have saved my mother’s life; but it could have given us more time with her as well as lessening her pain and suffering.”

“Oh, Beth, I didn’t know all of this!  I had wondered about that man in St. Louis, but I never thought it would be something like this.  And do you mean, in all these years, you have never heard from your brother?” Hannah asked.

“We received one letter several months after he left and none since then.  I have asked people here and on the trip if they had met a Tom Matthews but no one has ever heard of him.  I pray every day that I will find him, but so far I don’t know where to look!”  Beth broke down into tears, and Amanda held her as she comforted her.

“Beth, I believe that your brother is alive somewhere.  The Lord has perfect timing, and we have to let Him take control.  Trust in Him that one day you will find Tommy again.” 

Beth agreed and, although somewhat subdued, she continued, “Yes, and I have to give up my brother if that is the Lord’s plan.  That is what this passage tells us.  We must put the Lord first in our lives and trust Him to take care of us.   Nothing or no one should be more important to us than Him.  Not even our families.”

Amanda noticed that Hannah seemed quiet as they prepared for bed, and she thought that she must be tired from their long week. She knew she was, and she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit her pillow.