Chapter Twenty-One

Beth paced back and forth across the floor.  Every few minutes she would pause to look at her watch and, then a few minutes later, she would go to the front door and look out into the darkening night.  The cold rain continued to pour down.

Finally, Sarah said, “Beth, come and sit down.  You are going to wear yourself out.  There is nothing we can to do for Mandy now but pray.  Come sit here with us, and let’s continue praying.”

Beth went to join the other two women as they held hands around the small table.  This had been their pattern for the past several hours.  Amanda had now been missing for at least five or six hours.

Startled by the sound of someone knocking or kicking loudly at the front door, the three hurried into the front room.  Sarah quickly opened the door when she heard Riley’s voice.  All the women were relieved to see Riley carrying Amanda in his arms.  Wasting no time on questions, Sarah led the way into the examination room while Beth rushed to the kitchen to get hot water.  Even though Riley had wrapped his oilskin slicker around her, Amanda was covered in mud and soaking wet. It was not until Riley had put Amanda on the bed and stood that Sarah realized that Riley was covered with blood.

“Riley!” she gasped.  “Are you hurt?  Or is that blood from Mandy?”

Riley seemed dazed as he stood there looking at Amanda lying motionless on the bed.  Then he seemed to rouse himself and hurried from the room.  Sarah turned her attention to Amanda.  Uncovering her, she could see no wound that would have caused the blood.  She began to take Amanda’s vital signs when a cry from the other room sent her running into the front room. Beth and Hannah stood as if frozen as they stared at Riley who held another person in his arms.  The women were unable to tell who the other person was at first because he was almost completely covered with an oil slicker.  Sarah could see drops of blood mixed with water dripping to the floor.  She hurried forward to direct Riley to bring the other person into the examination room.  She and Beth quickly made a pallet on the floor on the other side of the room from the bed.  Sarah sent Hannah to bring more blankets and hot water and directed Beth to begin washing Amanda.  Both women stayed as Sarah pulled the slicker from the other man’s face and they were all dismayed to see Will’s pale face.  Wasting no time, Sarah began to examine Will to see what type of wound was responsible for the blood.  In only a few seconds, she could see that Will had been shot by an arrow in his right shoulder.  Carefully she removed the wet slicker from around Will and began to cut his soaking and bloody shirt away.  The women had prepared bandages, and Hannah brought these to Sarah as she attempted to staunch the bleeding.  It was obvious that Will had lost a great deal of blood, and the wound was deep.  Sarah was so intent on working that she scarcely noticed Riley still standing beside her, but Hannah urged Riley from the room.  Taking him into the kitchen, she gave him a cup of hot coffee.  Rather than drinking, he wrapped his hands around the cup as if trying to draw the warmth from it into his chilled body.  He was shaking so badly that Hannah was alarmed.  She pushed him down into a chair.

“Riley, you should go back to the boarding house and get into some dry clothes.  You are soaking wet and cold.   Go on, now.  They are in good hands.  Sarah is the best doctor I have seen, and Beth is very good with nursing.  You will be sick too if you don’t get dry and warm.”

Riley lifted haunted eyes to her.  “I can’t leave.  This is all my fault.  Oh, I pray that God will heal them both.”

Sensing that Riley needed someone to talk to, Hannah sat next to him.

“I don’t see how this could be your fault, Riley.  You didn’t cause Mandy to get captured.  You saved her.”

“No, the other men wanted me to turn back, but I said that I was not coming back until I found Mandy.  Will said he would go with me.  We found Maouk’s hut, but there was only an old woman there.  I looked in the hut and found Mandy’s shawl so I knew she had been there.  We questioned the woman, but she would only say that Maouk was gone and nothing about Mandy.  Finally, she said, ‘girl gone’.  We looked all around the camp, but the rain had washed away every sign on tracks.  I just kept praying and praying that God would lead us to her before Maouk found her.  I know that Will was praying too, and somehow we kept going and finally we ran smack into a rock wall.  We were turning away when something told me to look a little closer and I saw a tiny space at the bottom of the wall.  It didn’t look big enough for a rabbit to hide in but I got down off my horse to look and, sure enough, there she was.  She was passed out and hasn’t made a sound since I found her.”  Riley’s voice seemed to break and for a moment, Hannah did not think he would be able to go on, but he seemed to pull himself together before continuing.

“I wasn’t really thinking about Maouk.  I was just concerned with getting Mandy out and back down here so Sarah could check her when I heard a sound and turned around.  There was Maouk with his bow and the arrow aimed straight for me. I didn't even have time to put Mandy down before Will stepped between us and the arrow hit him. I grabbed my gun and shot.  I’m not sure if I hit Maouk or not, but he ran away.  After that, I just put Will on his horse and Mandy on mine and brought them back as fast as I could.”

“Hannah, Will is my best friend.  If I had not insisted on going on when the other men turned back, he would be fine right now.”

Riley put his head on the table, and his whole body shook as he cried for his two friends. 

“Riley, if you had turned back, who knows where Mandy would be now or what that Indian would have done to her?  And if Will had not gone with you, Mandy would still be with him and you might even be dead.  Maouk certainly wouldn’t have brought you to the doctor.  You did all you could for them, and we are going to pray that the Lord will give Sarah the skill to save them both.  I need to go help.  Won’t you go and at least change clothes?”

“I’m not leaving until I know that they are both going to be all right!”

Hannah sensed that Riley would not be forced away, so she decided against arguing with him.

“Well, drink your coffee and I’ll get some soup, but I have to go help.  You try to get warm.  The last thing we need is for you to get sick too.”

Hannah quickly served Riley some soup and wrapped a blanket around him before going into the room with the others.  Telling Sarah and Beth that she was going for help, she put on her slicker and hurried from the house.  Running as quickly as she could, she first went to the general store.  Finding Ben just ready to close, she explained the situation.  Ben agreed to go to the boarding house and get clothes for both Will and Riley while Hannah rushed to the community building.  In less than five minutes, she was hurrying back to the house with the promise that Jane and Rebecca would soon follow.

Rushing back into the house, she found Riley still at the table.  She could see that she would not be much help to him and hurried to do what she could to help Sarah and Beth.

“Tell me what you need me to do.  Jane and Rebecca will be here in a few minutes and Ben is bringing clothes for Riley and Will.  I can’t get him to eat or even to dry off.  I thought I could be of more help in here.”
          Sarah looked up gratefully.  “Do you think you can apply pressure to this wound?  I need to check on Mandy.”

Hannah moved to place her hands exactly as Sarah directed so that the other woman could go to Beth’s aid. Beth had managed to get the wet clothing off and bathe Amanda and dress her in a clean nightgown.

“She has a large knot on the right side of the head here.”  Beth pointed for Sarah.  “She hasn’t moved or made a sound, but she seems to be breathing normally.  I don’t see any marks or wounds.”

Sarah made a quick examination of Amanda. 

“It looks as if she received some type of blow to the head.  The main thing now is to keep her warm and still.  As for her head injury, we will just have to wait and see.  Hopefully, she will not get pneumonia from being out in the cold.  Hannah, did Riley tell you what happened?”

Hannah explained the few facts that Riley had given her.

“He doesn’t really know about how she was hurt.  She wasn’t in the Indian’s hut, and they found her out in the woods, apparently in a small crack of a rock so she had some protection from the weather.  Will was injured by Maouk, as Riley was taking Mandy out of the rock.  Sarah, Riley is not in too good of shape either.  He is extremely upset and is shaking like a leaf.”

“He is probably in shock, and he was exposed to the cold also.  He took his slicker and used it for Mandy.  When Ben gets here, maybe he can get him to change.  The main thing is for him to keep warm and as calm as possible.”

“Unfortunately, Will is in serious condition.  I need to remove that arrow and he has lost a lot of blood.”

“Beth, I don’t think we should move Mandy right now.  I really would prefer that Will be on the bed and, of course, having the two of them in here is not the best.  Can you string some sort of line across the room so that we can hang sheets to separate them?  Hannah, I am going to need Beth’s help in here while I try to get that arrow out.  Will you be able to watch Mandy?  I know you don’t have a lot of experience at this but mainly, you just need to make sure she keeps warm and call us if you see any change at all.”

Hannah assured Sarah that she would do all she could to help either patient.  Hearing a knock at the front door, Beth went to admit Ben as well as Jane and Rebecca.

“Ben, we need for you to try to help Riley. He won’t eat or drink and he is soaking wet.  We think he is in shock.  Try to get him to change or dry off and get something warm to eat or drink.  He says he is not leaving until he knows that both Will and Mandy are going to be all right.”

“Rebecca and Jane, we will need lots of hot water, and there will be bandages and linens to wash.  Try to keep plenty of hot coffee and the fires going.”

They each assured Beth that they would do all they could to help.  Rebecca and Jane went directly to the kitchen.  Following them, Ben almost bumped into them, as they suddenly stopped at the sight of Riley.  He looked at them almost as if he did not know who they were.  Ben went right to him and began talking quietly with him.  The other two went to work making sure that everything was ready for the night ahead.  In a few minutes, Ben came over to Jane and told her quietly that he was taking Riley into the bedroom in order that he might help him change into dry clothing.  She nodded silently as she watched Ben practically lift Riley from his chair and carry him into the other room.

Jane turned to Rebecca and said in a concerned voice, “I can scarcely believe that is Riley.  He doesn’t even look like himself.  Remember how strong he seemed on the trip out here and always in control.  I don’t know what happened out there today, but whatever it was, it has really shaken him.

Rebecca nodded her agreement and the two went to work doing all that Beth had asked.  When Ben and Riley returned to the kitchen a few minutes later, they brought steaming bowls of soup and hot cups of coffee to the table.  Riley was still pale and his hands were shaking as he took the cup from Jane.  Ben asked the two women to join them around the table as he prayed.  The four all bowed their heads as Ben prayed.

“Lord, we thank You Mandy has been found and returned to us.  We don’t know her condition, Lord, but You do and we just ask that You hold her in Your hands.  Lord, we ask You to guide Doc Sarah as she tries to get that arrow out of Will.  We know that he has lost a lot of blood and that he is in really bad shape but we know, too, that You can heal him, Lord, if it is Your will.  Lord, help Riley here too.  Help him to see that he was part of the rescue today and that none of this is his fault.  It is hard for us to give this up to You.  We want our prayers to be answered our way and in our time but we know that You know all things and that You are all powerful so we just pray tonight that Your will be done.  Guide us and direct us in Your path and help us to do all that You would have us to do.  Please give us the strength that we need tonight and more important, give strength to Mandy and Will.  We ask in Your precious name. Amen.”

The next few hours were busy as the women went back and forth with hot water and clean cloths, bandages, and bedding.  Ben brought in fresh water and wood.  Riley could only sit at the table and hold his head in his hands.  No one asked, but everyone assumed he was praying.

It was a full three hours later that Sarah finally came into the kitchen and sat down next to Riley.  Lines of fatigue were etched into her face as she took Riley’s hand.  Riley just looked at her, unable to ask the questions that he wanted for fear of the answers he would receive.

“Riley, the arrow is out.  We were able to get it all out.  Will is lucky that it did not hit bone or an artery.  As it is, he has lost a lot of blood.  For now, we have gotten the bleeding stopped.  We will have to watch for infection.  I cannot say for certain, but I pray that he will make a full recovery.  He was healthy so that is in his favor.  I’m afraid that is all I can tell you right now.  We will just have to put him in God’s hands and pray that he will improve.”

Riley seemed barely able to get the words from his mouth. “What about Mandy?”

“It is difficult to tell with a head injury.  She is still unconscious.  She does not seem to have any other injuries.  Of course, she was out in the weather so there is the danger that she could catch pneumonia.”

“What about. . .about. . that Indian?  Did he hurt her in . . . ‘

Riley could not finish the question, but Sarah knew what he was asking.  She chose her words carefully.  As a doctor, she was used to medical terms but many men were not comfortable with women discussing some topics with them, even if that woman was a doctor.

“Riley, Mandy does not seem to have any other injuries other than the one on her head.  I have examined her, and she was still wearing the same clothes she had on when she left the house.  She is . . . well, she is still the same untouched woman she was this morning.”

Riley let out a big sigh of relief as he muttered, “Thank God!  Thank God!”

The hours passed slowly as Sarah and the others watched and cared for their two patients.  Ben had moved the two rocking chairs into the examination room and helped Beth hang the sheets separating the room into two parts.  They put one chair in each section.  Beth and Sarah stayed by the sides of their patients while the others brought them food and strong coffee.  Hannah and the other two women took turns resting so that one was available to help as needed.  Riley still refused to leave, but finally Ben persuaded him to come into the front room and sit by the fire.  Hannah fixed a pallet for them so that they could rest.  Riley finally lay down when he saw how fatigued his friend was so that Ben could get some rest.  Ben was asleep within minutes, exhausted from working all day in the store and staying up for a good portion of the night as well.  Riley lay still but could not go to sleep.  He spent the night praying that God would heal Amanda and Will.