Dark Crossings (26 page)

Chuck Carter scowled at her. “What did you just say?”

Lena rose and moved from her desk to the front row, where Mary
was starting to cry. She put her arm around the child. “Some of the students
don’t yet understand English. I simply told them what you said.”

“Ask them if they’ve seen a blond man dressed in jeans and a
red shirt this morning.”

Lena pretended to repeat his question, but she actually told
the children to all shake their heads.

The man near the window said, “Boss, someone is coming. A
buggy just turned off the highway.”

Chuck grabbed Lena by the elbow and pulled her toward the
glass. “Who is it?”

She recognized Isaac and her heart sank. He and Ruby were
driving into danger, and there was nothing she could do about it. “It is Isaac
Bowman. He has come to fix the hayloft door.”

Letting go of her, Chuck said, “Take your seat. Dick, check
upstairs and then go bring in the Amish fellow. I’ll keep an eye on him while
you search the barn. Sam couldn’t have gotten far.”

Fear tightened Lena’s throat. “Please, we mean you no
harm.”

“It’s not you I’m worried about. Do as you’re told and
everything will be fine. Once we find the…poacher, we’ll take him to jail.”
Chuck smiled at her, but his eyes remained cold. She didn’t believe him. They
were all in danger.

Behind him, Lena saw Ruby standing in the doorway with a look
of panic on her face. Neither of the men had seen her. Speaking in Pennsylvania
Dutch, Lena calmly said, “Go back to the barn and tell your father that there
are men with guns here. Go very quietly. Tell him they are looking for a wounded
man that I have hidden under my desk. He must go for help quickly before these
men can stop him. Understand?”

Ruby nodded and backed down the steps.

Chuck’s eyes narrowed. “What are you yammering about?”

“I’m praying for your soul. We are all praying for your soul.”
She began the Lord’s Prayer in German. The children joined in.

* * *

I
SAAC
HEARD
A
WHISPER
behind him. He turned in
astonishment when he realized it was Ruby. He stared at her mutely.

She whispered more loudly, “Papa, Lena is in trouble.”

Joy sent a jolt through his heart and made it skip a beat. He
dropped to his knees and grasped his child’s shoulders. “Ruby, you spoke.”

She nodded. “Help her, Papa.”

“I don’t understand. Why does Lena need my help?”

“There are men with guns in the school. You have to help Lena.”
Ruby’s voice grew stronger.

Men with guns? Were they the ones who’d shot at him last night?
He rose to his feet. He had no idea what he could do against armed men, but he
wasn’t leaving Lena to face them alone. “Ruby, I want you to hide in the
hayloft.”

She grabbed his arm. “Lena wants you to go for help. The men
are looking for a wounded man. Lena is hiding him under her desk.”

Isaac racked his brain for a way to help Lena and the children
inside. If the men were hunting for someone, he would give them someone to
chase. He might be able to draw them away from the school long enough to let the
children and Lena escape.

He knelt beside his child again. “Ruby, can you run to the
nearest
Englische
house and tell them what is
happening?”

She nodded. “I can.”

“Can you run through the woods and stay clear of the road?”

“
Ja,
I can do it.”

He had to trust her. “I am going to lead the men away from
here. I want you to watch from the window. When they follow my buggy around the
bend in the road and you can’t see them anymore, I want you to run as fast as
you can.”

Drawing the men away would work for only a short time. How
could Lena get everyone to safety by herself? She couldn’t. He would have to
help.

He looked toward the covered bridge, which sat at a slight
angle to the school. If he jumped out of the buggy as it came out the other
side, he might be able to get under the bridge and hide before the men went by.
Or they might see him and know it was a trick.

But what choice did he have? Nothing else came to mind. His
only other option was to walk up to the school and stand calmly beside Lena as
they waited for God’s mercy.

If his plan failed, Isaac would do just that.

He gathered Ruby in his arms. “I love you more than you will
ever know. Do not fear. God will protect you.”

He kissed her cheek and set her back on the floor. Then he
looked out the doorway. Sophie stood calmly beside the barn with her head
drooping. Her quiet demeanor didn’t fool Isaac. Like many Amish-owned horses,
Sophie had been a racehorse in her younger years. When she broke into a run, she
could still fly like the wind.

The buggy sat between the barn and the school. He prayed the
gunmen would believe their quarry was escaping.

He glanced at Ruby. “Ready?”

She shook her head as tears streamed down her face. She hadn’t
gone for help for her mother and he had no idea why. Isaac prayed she would be
able to do it now.

He pulled her close once more. “You can do this. I have faith
in you. You can save Lena and all the children. All you have to do is run.
Okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered, and wiped her tears.

He wanted his daughter away and safe. He didn’t know how he
would live if any harm came to her.

Isaac slipped out of the barn and into the buggy. Once there,
he slapped the reins against Sophie’s rump. She jumped and trotted off. He
slapped her again and yelled. By the time she reached the bridge she was at a
full gallop.

Isaac glanced out the rear window. Two men stood on the school
step. Ruby ran out and pointed toward him. Why wasn’t she hiding?

He didn’t have time to wonder. Sophie slowed only a little when
she entered the bridge. Isaac had a second to think he was as likely to break
his neck as he was to succeed in this crazy plan, then he jumped.

He hit the ground on the far side of the bridge, clipping the
timber with his shoulder as he did so. Pain shot up his arm as he rolled off the
road and down the creek bank. He ignored it as he scrambled to get under the
bridge and out of sight.

Sophie continued on at a dead run down the school lane, and
swung to the left when she hit the blacktop. She knew the way home.

The sound of engines was his first indication that his plan was
working. Within moments, two four-wheelers roared across the bridge and after
Isaac’s buggy.

Peering through the tall grasses, Isaac saw Sophie toss up her
head as the machines bore down on her. She instantly picked up her pace. The
race was on as she galloped around the bend in the road, with his buggy bumping
and swaying behind her.

“Go, Sophie, go,” he muttered as he climbed out of the creek
bed. He flexed his arm, glad to realize nothing was broken.

It was a good thing, because Ruby came flying through the
bridge and launched herself into his arms. He kissed her and put her down. “Go
now, child. I’m all right.”

She grinned. “I told a big lie, papa. I told those men someone
was stealing your buggy.”

Wonderful child. “You are forgiven,” he said, “but you must
never lie again. Now go.”

She took off like a deer into the woods, making a beeline for
Clara’s farm.

* * *

L
ENA
SHOVED
THE
DESK
aside, folded her apron into a thick pad and
pressed it against the oozing wound in the stranger’s side. All the children
were grouped around her. The man opened his eyes. “That hurts.”

“
Gut,
that means you are still
alive. We must get out of here. Those men will come back.”

“I think I’m past walking.” He closed his eyes again.

Lena bit her lip. How was she going to get him to safety, and
the children, too? She looked at Katie. Her family’s farm was the closest to the
school. Could she trust Katie with the lives of so many
kinder?
What choice did she have?

“I’m putting you in charge, Katie. Take all of the children and
get into the woods as fast as you can. You older children, carry the little ones
if you have to. Stick together and don’t stop until you reach Katie’s home.”

Katie’s eyes grew wide. “What are you going to do, Lena?”

“I must stay with this man.”

“But those bad men may come back.” Mary glanced fearfully at
the door.

“As long as I know all of you are safe, I’ll be fine. Go
now!”

Katie quickly took charge. Picking up Fannie, she herded the
rest of the children toward the door. Suddenly, it swung open. Mary
screamed.

Lena jumped to her feet and stepped over the wounded man to
place her body between him and his assailants. Instead of the gunmen, Isaac
stood in the doorway. Lena flew down the aisle and threw her arms around him.
“You’re safe.”

He returned her hug. “For now. We’ve got to get out of here. I
don’t know how soon they’ll be back.”

Lena spoke to Katie. “Take the children and do as I said.”

They piled out the door, leaving Isaac and Lena alone. She
looked behind him. “Where is Ruby?”

“She’s gone to your friend Clara’s house.”

“Clara won’t be there. She teaches school. But perhaps Brad
will be home.”

“Ruby is smart. If they are not there, she will go to your
father’s house.”

A low moan drew their attention to the wounded man. Isaac’s
eyes widened in shock. He rushed toward the stranger and dropped to his knees.
“Samuel, what has happened?”

“I got shot.”

Lena looked from one to the other. “You know each other?”

Isaac nodded. “This is my
Englische
brother, Samuel. He works for the Department of Wildlife as an undercover agent.
Who shot you, and why?”

“I came back to look for you last night…to make sure you were
okay. Chuck Carter followed me. He figured out then that I wasn’t who I claimed
to be. We fought. Lost my gun in the shuffle. I got away, but he managed to get
a shot off. I foolishly got in the way of the bullet. He and his wife are the
brains behind this poaching ring.”

“I can’t believe Wilfred would allow them to do this,” Lena
said. “He loves the deer.”

“The old man can’t get out of bed since his last stroke, but
he’s no fool. He let his granddaughter know he changed his will. When he dies,
she gets nothing. As long as he’s alive, she has a place to stay and food to
eat. She and her husband decided to make some quick money off the old man by
selling illegal hunts and poaching deer on his property while he’s too sick to
realize what they’re doing. When the deer are gone, they will be, too.”

“Wilfred has been trapped in that house with such evil people?”
Lena couldn’t suppress a shiver.

Samuel’s brows furrowed with pain. “Luckily, his attorney is
also an old friend. The guy comes out from Canton once a week to check on him. I
think they would have let the old guy starve to death if no one had been the
wiser.”

Lena pressed a hand to her heart. “Poor Wilfred.”

Isaac rested a palm on Samuel’s flushed face. “Why didn’t you
come to me?”

“I tried. After I got shot, I hid until daylight. Then I
started for your place. I guess I passed out. The next thing I knew, two boys
were trying to drag me here. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring those men down
on a school full of kids.”

Isaac quickly reassured him. “God was merciful. The children
are all safe. Now we must get you out of here. Sophie cannot run forever. When
they catch her, they will find my buggy is empty and they’ll be back.”

Isaac slipped one arm under Samuel’s knees and another around
his shoulders, then picked him up as easily as a child.

Samuel groaned.

Lena rushed to open the door for them. “You can’t carry him all
the way to town.”

“Sure I can. Samuel is the runt of the litter, aren’t you?”

His brother managed a half smile. “It’s better than being
bigger than an ox.”

Outside, Lena checked the road. There wasn’t any sign of the
gunmen returning. “Hurry. If we can get across the bridge, we can hide in the
woods beyond and make our way to town. I know a path. It’s steep and rough, but
shorter than staying on the highway. The children from town come that way to
school. We will have to cross the road several times, for it meanders back and
forth, but if we are careful, we should be able to get Samuel to a doctor
without being seen.”

“She’s got a quick wit, Isaac. I think she might be the one
you’ve been praying for.”

“Shut up and save your breath,” he growled.

Lena had little time to wonder what they were talking about.
Even though he was carrying his brother, she had a hard time keeping up with
Isaac’s long strides. When they reached the blacktop, he said, “Lena, you don’t
have to stay with us. You will be safer alone.”

“Nonsense. I’m not leaving you and that is that,” she declared,
propping her hands on her hips.

“Oh, yes, she’s the one, big brother.” Samuel laughed weakly,
then his head rolled back and she knew he had fainted.

The three of them had gone nearly half a mile through the woods
when they came to the road again. They’d started across it when Lena heard the
sound of an engine. “They’re coming!”

Isaac stopped. “
Nay,
that’s a
truck, not a four-wheeler.”

No sooner had he said that than a gray pickup came barreling
around the bend in front of them. It skidded to a stop and Lena saw the driver
was Brad Jenkins. Ruby sat on the seat beside him.

Lena rushed to open the door. She pulled Ruby into her arms.
“I’m so glad you are safe.”

The girl hugged her back. “I got help.”

Lena smiled at her. “I see you did. Bless you, child.”

With Brad’s help, Samuel was loaded into the back of the truck.
Isaac sat beside him, pillowing his head on his lap as Brad headed for the
hospital in Millersburg, the closest large town.