Hope Rekindled (29 page)

“Third, a warrior could use his buckler as a blinder. He could hide his sword momentarily from view and strike his opponent unexpectedly. He could also reflect the sun into his opponent’s eyes.”

The pastor’s words fascinated Deborah. She had always enjoyed learning the deeper meaning of scriptural details. Knowledge of God’s word was precious to her, and this explanation made a most beloved psalm all the more meaningful.

“The buckler could also be used as a metal fist to the face or body of the enemy,” Pastor Shattuck continued. “Soldiers punched at their opponents and drove them off balance while wielding their sword to strike.

“And lastly, the buckler was used as a binder. A soldier could trap a man’s sword arm against him, binding him from further attack. It offered a means of controlling one’s enemy.” He smiled at Jonah. “Now, I can tell you something else about this. I once had a very learned friend who knew the language of the Old Testament—Hebrew. I learned that the word used here for ‘shield’ was
tsinnah
. This was a shield so large it covered a man’s entire body. Only his head would be exposed. The word for ‘buckler’ in the Hebrew was
cocherah.
I’m told that this verse is the only place in the entire Bible where this word appears. Of course, I couldn’t tell you for sure that this was true, but I’ve tried to explore that for myself and haven’t yet seen it elsewhere.

“
Cocherah
actually means something that wraps up a person. So perhaps God desired to show us in this verse that His truth is a shield that surrounds us completely. A protection, as well as a weapon. You see, God has given you weapons to fight the devil, your enemy. The truth of God is your shield and buckler. You are not to fight without a means of defense
and
offense. God has provided for all our needs.” Jonah nodded with great enthusiasm.

Pastor Shattuck picked up his Bible once again. As he spoke, the winds outside seemed to calm. “ ‘Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.’ ”

He paused and smiled. “It doesn’t mean we won’t face the enemy or that adversity won’t threaten, but God has assured us that we
will
be delivered. We rest in His protection. He will completely surround us.”

“Like a sucker-raw!” Jonah exclaimed.

Pastor Shattuck laughed and nodded. “Exactly right, young Jonah. And well pronounced.”

Deborah heard the train approaching in the distance and frowned. If Jack had found it necessary to put the old engine in motion today, it could only mean some problem. Perhaps someone needed the doctor. She glanced toward the door and decided to see for herself. She slipped out of the room and pushed back the screen door.

The air suffocated her with moisture and warmth. Arjan joined Deborah on the porch as the sound of the train grew louder.

“I wonder why Jack’s coming,” she said looking toward the track. “You don’t suppose there’s been another attack by the White Hand?”

Arjan’s eyes suddenly widened as the wind once again began to pick up. “It’s not Jack or the train. It’s a twister. Get inside—we have to take cover!”

I
never seen a storm the likes of this,” Essie told Jael. “Turned day to night and threw down hail like stones.”

Jael was still battling her rattled nerves. The wind had blown so hard that she’d feared the walls would come down. “Do you suppose there has been a lot of damage?”

“I figure there is, iffen a tornado dropped out of them clouds.”

“We had a few bad storms in Philadelphia, but nothing like that.” Jael walked to the porch to survey the surroundings. Tree limbs littered the tracks, making it look as though the workers had never gathered up the White Hand’s debris. Where were Stuart and her father? When the clouds rolled in, thick and black, they had headed over to get Zed Perkins and help secure the mill supplies. They hadn’t returned.

The skies overhead cleared, making it appear as if nothing had happened. An eerie calm settled over the world. Only a short while ago, Jael had feared they could lose their lives; now, everything seemed again at peace.

She saw her father coming down the street and hurried to meet him. “Where is Stuart?”

“He and Mr. Perkins are checking out the mill. I wanted to make sure you were safe.”

Jael hugged her father close. “It was terrifying.”

“I know. I’m so sorry you were here alone.”

“Essie was with me,” Jael said, pulling back. “She knew exactly what to do. We hid in the hall at the very back when we heard the hail.”

“We did the same at the commissary. We never even made it over to Zed’s place until after the storm.”

“Has there been a lot of damage?”

Her father shook his head. “I don’t know. I only wanted to make sure you were all right.”

She smiled. “Too bad my husband didn’t feel the same.” She walked away, telling herself that it didn’t matter. Though she held no affection for Stuart, she did care if he’d made it through the storm. Stuart only cared about his investment.

“Essie said there may have been a tornado,” Jael said, heading back to the house.

Her father reached out to stop her. “Do you suppose the Vandermarks were in the path of the storm?”

Jael felt as if she’d been slapped. She looked at her father in horror. “I . . . I don’t know.” She knew that Deborah and the others had been working at the logging camp. Living in tents, they wouldn’t have had any place to take refuge from the violent winds.

“We need to go to them,” Jael told her father. “We can at least go to the house.”

“I’ll get the carriage.”

Grateful that he didn’t question her suggestion, Jael hurried into the house. “Essie!” The young woman appeared with a quizzical expression. “Father and I are going to drive out to the Vandermarks’. Will you let Mr. Albright know where I’ve gone, if and when he comes home?”

“Sure will, Miz Albright.” Essie looked at the clock. “Gettin’ late . . . will you be back tonight?”

“I don’t know.” Jael took up her parasol. “I suppose we’ll know better after we make certain the Vandermarks are safe.” She didn’t want to think what she’d do if they weren’t. The house might have been directly in the path of the storm, and the logging camp might have been destroyed, as well.

Her new faith in God was being sorely tested. What was she supposed to do at a time like this? Jael looked at Essie.

“Are you . . . do you . . .” She wasn’t even sure what she wanted to say. “Essie, I’m worried about Deborah and the others. I haven’t learned very much about praying, but I’m sure we should pray.”

“Oh, absolutely, Miz Albright. I been prayin’ all along.”

Stuart watched his father-in-law drive the carriage around to the front of the house. Where were they headed at this hour of the day? He crossed the road, his boots sinking deep in the muck. He’d had just about all he could take of this town. Nothing was going right. Now that Jael had let her father know about her reasons for marrying him, Longstreet treated him with contempt. The man no longer regarded Stuart as being in charge. He’d taken many decisions into his own hands without so much as a discussion. Just like now.

“Where are you going?” he asked as Longstreet got down to help Jael into the carriage.

“To check on my friends,” Jael declared. “Essie said there may have been a tornado, and I intend to make sure that Deborah and her family are all right.”

“But they’re up at the logging camp. You can’t possibly hope to make it up there before the light is gone. And even if you did, you’d still have to drive back in the dark. The roads are certain to be difficult, if not impassable, from the heavy rain.”

“We only intend to get as far as the house. Hopefully they will have gotten word to Mrs. Vandermark and she can let me know. Then Father and I can simply return.”

“Not before the light is gone. I won’t have you out there on the road given the problems we’ve had in the area.”

Jael looked at him oddly. “Why, Stuart, you almost sound as if you care about our well-being.”

Her sarcasm irritated Stuart to no end. “I don’t need the expense of a funeral.”

To his surprise, she laughed and settled into her seat. Longstreet looked at Stuart and shook his head. “This is a most unholy union. If I can convince my daughter to leave you, I will.”

“We’re partners, you and I. Or have you forgotten?” Stuart fixed the man with a scowl. “We stand to lose a great deal of money and land because of your daughter’s interference.”

“You know, I never came here to seek revenge on anyone. That’s probably why I feel capable of walking away from this ordeal without making a profit. I would rather lose money than friends.”

“Then you’re a fool!”

Longstreet shrugged and climbed into the carriage. “At least I realize my foolish doings. You seem blind to yours.”

Stuart watched the carriage pull away and cursed them both. The same kind of helplessness he’d known the day Elizabeth had married G. W. Vandermark crept upon him. She had ruined all his plans, and now Jael and Longstreet were attempting to do the same thing.

He stormed into the house, mindless of the mud he tracked throughout. Stomping out his frustrations on the stairs, he made his way to the bedroom he’d once shared with Jael and began tearing at his clothes. They were filthy and he hated being dirty. Dirty like a common laborer.

“The world will judge you by your appearance,”
his father had always declared.
“You can hide what you’re really thinking—what you plan to do in order to have your way—but you cannot hide your appearance.”

Stuart threw his shirt aside. Such advice had served him well over the years. Pleasing his father by keeping a well-dressed, fashionably groomed appearance had allowed Stuart to conceal his true feelings of hatred toward the man who had never shown him the slightest consideration.

“Essie!” He bellowed from the door and waited for some response. There was none. Jael had probably let the woman leave.

He railed at the air, cursing his wife and everything around him. Nothing was going his way. Not even something as simple as a bath.

Deborah felt Christopher loosen his hold on her as the winds died down and the rains ceased. She had scarcely been able to draw a breath at the height of the storm, and now she gasped to fill her lungs.

Jonah cried in Mother’s arms while Emma and Darcy clung to either side of her. Deborah felt a sense of relief and regret. She prayed that she would one day be able to offer such love and peace to her own children.

“We’d best check out the damage,” G.W. said, pulling Lizzie to her feet. They each reached down to pick up one of the sleeping twins. “I swear these guys could sleep through anything.”

Mother smiled. “They felt safe in your arms.”

Deborah remembered the comfort of Christopher’s arms around her. Better still, their time of prayer through the storm and the sense of being wrapped in God’s protection. Just like the cocherah Brother Shattuck had mentioned.

“I’ll take that boy,” Sissy said. She lifted Rutger from his father’s arms. “Me and Miz Lizzie can tend them.”

Lizzie nodded. “You probably have more than enough to deal with outside.”

They had taken refuge down the main hall and under the stairs, far away from any windows. A good idea, too—Deborah had heard glass shattering through the wind’s roar.

The family slowly made their way outside to survey the destruction. The house, except for some missing shingles and broken panes, had come through the storm without much noticeable damage. Deborah noted with relief that the barn was untouched.

“I ain’t never been this close to a twister’s path,” Arjan said, looking across the vast cut of destruction.

The tornado had taken a sharp turn to the north after narrowly missing their house. Downed and twisted trees were left in its wake. Worse still was all the debris slung across the railroad tracks.

“The train ain’t gonna be able to get us to the camp,” G.W. said, following his stepfather’s gaze.

“If there’s a camp left to get to,” Arjan said, shaking his head. “Unless that twister took another turn, it looks to have headed straight on to our site.”

“Surely it would have lifted by then,” Deborah said. But in her heart, she couldn’t help but fear they were right. Why had God let this happen? They had honored Him by resting on the Sabbath. They had blessed His name for the safety and harvest. They had kept their faith. And still, they’d suffered the storm.

Mother came alongside them. “We are so blessed that it didn’t hit our house or the barn and outbuildings. The animals all seem fine. We’re all safe.”

Deborah didn’t have the heart to remind them that it might be only a temporary blessing. If the storm had destroyed the logging camp, they would lose it all on the morrow.

Arjan put his arm around Mother’s shoulders. “We are blessed. Indeed, we are. We’re alive, and no one was hurt.”

“Do you suppose it hit town?” Mother asked.

“Can’t say for sure. Looks like it was hoppin’ and skippin’ around. See over there? No damage. But then it touched down over here, just beyond the tracks, and cut a path as far as you can see.”

Pastor Shattuck and Mara walked over with Jake. “We can stay and help,” the pastor declared. “Since Mrs. Albright managed to get her husband calmed down about forcing us to move, we haven’t a care in the world.” He grinned. “Just tell us what we need to do.”

“We’ll have to clear the tracks,” Arjan said, leaning hard on his cane.