Amanda stretched as she tried to open her eyes. For some reason, she had the worst headache of her life, and her body was aching so that she could hardly stand to move. Was she ill? Maybe she had the influenza or something. Her bed felt different too. Slowly she stretched out one hand to feel for Beth at her side but there was no one in bed with her. The bed seemed smaller and perhaps a little harder. Amanda felt that her eyelids were so heavy that she could scarcely lift them, but finally she was able to open them a tiny crack. This caused her head to hurt even more, if possible; and she could not figure out where she was. There seemed to be white cloth hanging all around her. Finally her eyes fell on Beth who seemed to be sleeping in a rocking chair, covered by a quilt. The more Amanda tried to think, the worse her head ached, but she forced herself to stay awake long enough so that she could figure out where she was or if this was a dream. She couldn’t ever remember having a dream about a headache before, though. She tried to call out to Beth but her voice came out in a croak. Beth must have heard her because her eyes immediately flew open. Flinging the quilt to the floor, she rushed to Amanda’s side.
“Mandy, how do you feel? Here, try to take a little sip of water.”
Amanda obediently sipped at the cup, thinking that her mouth did seem to be very dry. She managed to get several swallows down before falling back down to the pillow.
“Where am I?” she managed to whisper.
“You are in the examination room. You must have hit your head and you have been unconscious. Let me get Sarah.”
Pushing aside some of the white cloth that Amanda could now see were sheets hanging across the room, Beth slipped out of sight, returning in a few seconds with Sarah.
Sarah looked very tired and Amanda wanted to ask what had happened, but she just felt too tired. Sarah began examining Amanda by taking her pulse and looking into her eyes. She held up three fingers and asked Amanda how many fingers she could see.
“I can see three fingers. What are you doing? What has happened to me?”
Glancing at Beth, Sarah proceeded cautiously. “Do you remember anything about what happened yesterday?”
Amanda tried to remember, but it seemed to make her head hurt more.
“I am not sure. My head just aches so badly.”
“Mandy, evidently someone took you from town yesterday. You were missing for about six or seven hours. Riley found you up in the mountains. You have been unconscious ever since Riley brought you back. We think that the Indian, Maouk, took you.”
Amanda closed her eyes as it all came rushing back to her. Waves of nausea swept over her, and she had to keep her eyes closed and take several deep breaths before speaking.
“I think I remember a blanket over my head. Then I started to fight to get away. I remember hitting my head, and then the next thing I knew I was in some type of hut. There was an older Indian woman there who gave me some water. Later I woke up and there was no one around so I left and tried to find my way back to town but I couldn't. I didn’t know which way to go.”
Amanda began crying as she remembered her ordeal and Beth gathered her in her arms to comfort her. Smoothing her hair, Beth murmured, “Don’t worry about it now. You are safe and sound now. You just try to get some more rest.”
Beth continued to hold Amanda, as Sarah gave her something to drink.
“Here, you just drink this, and you will feel better in no time,” Sarah said in her usual brisk voice, and Beth knew that there was medicine added to the water so that Amanda would get the rest she needed in order to make a full recovery.
Beth arranged the pillow beneath Amanda’s head and placed a wet cloth on her head. She nodded at Sarah, as Sarah motioned her toward the sheet partition. Beth followed Sarah as she paused to check on Will before going into the front room. Although the two kept their voices low, Riley stood as soon as he heard them come into the room. He hurried over to them in order to find out the status of the two patients.
Although clearly fatigued, Sarah smiled at Riley. “Good news about Mandy, Riley. She just woke up for a few minutes. She remembers some of what happened yesterday, so I have high hopes that she will make a full recovery. She will need to rest for a few days and maybe even weeks but I think she will continue to improve.”
Riley breathed a sigh of relief. “What about Will?” he asked cautiously.
"Will has still not regained consciousness, but I really haven’t expected him to yet. He has lost so much blood that it will take time for his body to heal. Hopefully, we can get him awake enough today, so that we can get some liquids into him in order to give him strength. I can say that he doesn’t seem to be any worse, and I see no signs of pneumonia. He doesn’t have a fever, and neither does Mandy so that is a good sign. We will just have to continue to watch them and pray for their recovery.”
Riley knew that he would not go back to sleep, and the sun was rising so he went out to bring in more water and wood. He built up the fires in the fireplaces and stoves. He was just preparing to make more coffee when Hannah came out of the bedroom.
“Riley, don’t worry about that. I’ll make breakfast. You go wake Ben. I think he will want to open the store. Everyone around here depends on him to be open.”
Riley agreed and went to wake his friend, but Ben was already sitting up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. One look at Riley told him that Riley had gotten little rest during the long night, but he knew that it would do no good to try to get him to leave.
“I guess I had better be on my way. I’ll have to open the store. Too many people come into town just to buy supplies for me to close. I wouldn’t want them to make a long trip for nothing.”
Riley agreed and told Ben he would bring hot water for him to wash.
“Hannah is making breakfast right now. You may as well stay and eat.”
“Thanks. I’ll just make a trip out back, and then I’ll wash up. I usually have water hot in my stove at home, but I’m sure that the fire has gone out by now.”
Riley went to bring the water and a towel for Ben. It made him feel a little better to do something to help. He just wished there was something he could be doing for Will in the other room. He knew that the only thing he could do was pray.
By the time Ben had washed and put on a clean shirt, Hannah had the breakfast ready. Jane and Rebecca were also in the kitchen helping. The group sat around the table and once again Ben led in a prayer. He asked that God would continue to watch over their friends and that their recovery would be swift. He asked for guidance for the day and strength for the caregivers.
Riley drank his black coffee but still did not feel like eating. He just could not stop worrying about Amanda and Will. The others all ate their meal. Jane fixed plates for Beth and Sarah and she and Rebecca took them into the examination room. Hannah went outside to feed and water the chickens and gather the eggs.
Ben turned to Riley and said, “Riley, I know that you have said many times in the past that you do not see a reason to become a Christian, but I have heard you praying and praying for Mandy and Will. I can see that you are so worried and we are all concerned as well. But, Riley, you are going to have to turn this over to God. I have heard it said that the hardest prayer to pray is simply four words – ‘Thy will be done’. So often we don’t want God’s will, but our will. So we beg God to answer our prayers just the way we want them answered. We’re sort of like a child at Christmas with a big wish list. But God is not just some great guy up in the sky who gives us all of our demands. We have to have faith that His plan is better than anything we can imagine. Let me show you something in the Bible.”
Ben stood and crossed the room to the counter where Amanda’s Bible was and brought it back to the table. Thumbing through the pages, he found the verses for which he was looking.
“Here is one passage that says what I am trying to say. It is in Philippians 4:3 – 8.
‘Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep you hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise think on these things.’
“Riley, Paul is saying here that we shouldn’t worry or be anxious, that God is watching over us all the time. We should thank God for the privilege of prayer and be happy for the things He has done. He helped you find Mandy and bring both her and Will back to town. They are both still alive. Mandy can remember some of what happened. The Indian did not hurt her. We have so much to be thankful for that we should be praising God all of the time”
“Riley, I know that Will is your best friend. He is a good friend of mine also. But it is not your fault that he got shot. He chose to go with you and the fact is that you would probably be dead if he had not gone. And Mandy would still be with that Indian.”
Ben was very serious as he continued, “Riley there is another verse in the Bible and Jesus said it in the book of John. It says:
‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
“Riley, when Jesus said this, He was talking about how He was going to give up His life for us – that’s you and me and everyone else in the world. He died on the cross for all people – those of His day, right up to today and on into the future. One thing I do know, Riley, is that Will is a Christian. I know that, even if he does die, I will see him again one day because I too have Christ in my heart. I do pray that God will allow him to live and make a full recovery, but I know that Will would gladly give his life for you because he loves you as a good friend but also because he knows you are not ready to face God.”
“Now, I have to go open the store but I hope you will think about all that I have said today. I want you to know that I am available to talk with you anytime you wish about this. Remember that I will be praying for those two in there all of today but I will also be praying for you.”
Riley nodded as Ben stood up and shook his hand as he prepared to leave. Riley stood to accompany him to the front of the house and both men were surprised when they opened the door to find a group of men right outside. Hank Parker had his hand raised to knock on the door just as they had opened it.
Stepping back, Hank said, “I’m glad to find you both here. We found the Indian up on the mountain.”
Both men looked over at the horses and saw that there was a body draped over one of them.
“Riley, I am sorry to tell you that he is dead. We will have to have an inquest and meet with the Indians. I am going to get Arthur Dendy, and we will go out to see Chief Seattle. But I need for you to come with me so I can get your statement.”
Riley’s face had paled, and he stood as if frozen. Ben spoke up in his friend’s defense. "Hank, Maouk was trying to shoot Riley. Will Sloan is inside right now. The doc had to cut an arrow out of him. Will stepped in front of Riley or it would be him in there. Riley acted in self-defense. Riley has been up all night. Can’t you wait on this?”
Hank shook his head. “Ben, I know Riley well enough to know that he would not shoot anyone in cold blood. But you have got to see how it looks to the Indians. In their eyes, Maouk was courting Miss Stone, and she accepted the offerings he left on her doorstep. They will say that Riley was trying to take Maouk’s woman. All I need right now is to hear Riley’s side of the story. Can Will tell his side? Or Miss Stone?”
“No, they are both unconscious. We don’t even know if Will will survive. He has lost a lot of blood, so Doc says we will just have to wait and see. He could get pneumonia or infection could set in. Either one could kill him.”
Riley spoke up for the first time. “Hank, I don’t mind giving you my side of the story. The fact is that Mandy was taken against her will. She remembers that someone threw something like a blanket over her head, and she either hit her head or someone hit her on the head. Will and I found her shawl in Maouk’s lodge. We found Mandy up in a small opening of a rock wall. I think I can find the place again, but I am not sure. I don’t think I had ever been there before and don’t really know how we found it. As I was taking her out of the opening in the wall, I heard a noise behind me and saw Maouk with his bow and arrow. All I remember is that Will pushed me and stepped between us, and I drew my gun and fired. I didn’t even know if I hit him. I just got Mandy and Will and got them back down here to the doc as fast as I could. Unfortunately, neither Will nor Mandy can give a statement yet. Mandy has only been awake once since I brought her back, and Will has not regained consciousness at all. Will that be enough for now? I know you will have to talk with Chief Seattle, and then you can let me know when the inquest will be. I will be there. The one thing I will say is that I blame myself for Will getting hurt, but I don’t see how I could have done anything any differently and gotten both of them back here alive.”
Hank agreed to tell the leaders of the town Riley’s side of the story.
“I will go to them, but I know there will have to be an inquest to satisfy the Indians. The last thing we need is an uprising, especially with all of these new women here in town. But the Indians need to know that they cannot just take one of our women too.”
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