Sharon Poppen (34 page)

She was short, maybe five feet tall. Just the top of her copper colored hair could be seen over Jim’s shoulder as he set her down. Her big green eyes, wide with apprehension, scanned every family member before she lowered them and averted her face from their scrutiny.

Pa started to speak, but Ma cut him off.

"Now where have our manners gone? Come in child, have some hot coffee and maybe a bite to eat.” Ma stepped forward and reached out to the girl.

Cautiously, the new arrival lifted her head and scanned Ma’s hand before meeting her eyes.

“What shall I call you?” Ma cooed.

The girl came forward, took Ma's hand and followed her into the kitchen. The men and boys heard her say, "My name is Nora Cassidy.” The soft voice had a definite Irish lilt to it.

"Well I'll be damned!” Exclaimed Pa. “Not a word out of her in a week and your Ma has her talking within a minute."

"Who is she, Pa?" Michael had asked.

"Don't know. Found her near a burned out wagon near the Oklahoma Territory. Found bodies of a man, woman and two young-uns. We were burying them, when Jim spotted her hiding in the tall prairie grass.  He and Joe had a heck of a time catching her.” He laughed and looked over at Jim and Joe who were looking somewhat embarrassed.

“They've still got the bites and scratches to show for it. Had to tie her up for awhile to get her to sit still. She wouldn’t talk. Just kept watching us. Couldn't just leave her there, so we decided to bring her back here with us. Only time she let us know she wanted something was when we started our ride home. She was riding double with Jim. We were set to leave when she touched Jim's arm and pointed to the graves. He helped her from the horse and we watched her walk over to them. She crossed herself, bowed her head and seemed in prayer. Directly, she allowed Jim to help her back onto the horse. No further trouble, but no talking either."

"Did the Indians do it?"

"Who knows?” Jim offered. "But white or red they were savages and she was damn lucky to survive. Maybe Ma will find out what happened."

             
And Ma did. Nora, her parents and two little brothers were coming from New York to settle out west. Her Pa and Ma had originally come from Ireland. From the day of their wedding in Boston, they had saved every penny they could for their dream of going west.

The family had been on the road for six months. They had been with a wagon train earlier, but the trail went northwest and her Pa felt the good land was just a little further southwest. They had been alone only three days when attacked. It had not been Indians, just common road bandits.

The only reason she escaped was because her Ma had sent her to pick some blackberries they had spotted along the trail. They were to be used for a cobbler for supper. Nora was busy with her chore when she heard gunshots. Quietly, she made her way through the bushes and saw the bodies of her family lying on the ground.

They were not moving. She stayed hidden as three men tore into their belongings looking for anything of value. She watched as they pillaged through their few valuables. The bandits seemed somewhat angry about the scant takings. They ripped her mother’s tiny gold ear bobs from ear lobes and pulled the simple gold band from her ring finger. When they were satisfied that they had found everything of value, they shot the two old oxen, set fire to the wagon and rode off. The whole thing had taken less than ten minutes.

The frightened girl stayed hidden until dusk. Under the cover of the evening shadows, she crept to the bodies. First, she was sick. She couldn’t remember how long she had vomited and wept. Finally, shivering and in a daze, she gathered wood and made a fire to warm herself and hopefully to keep critters away. She found a piece of the burned wagon axle to use as a weapon and sat wide-awake all night tending the fire and listening to the night sounds.

At dawn, she began hunting up rocks. She had nothing to dig with and the ground was hard, but she knew she had to bury her family. She was among the berry bushes again when Pa and the boys came upon the scene.

There were three of them again and she had wondered if the evil men had returned. She was terrified and froze in place. She crouched and watched. They jumped from their horses and went to the bodies as they pulled their guns and looked around. Finding the bodies cold, they holstered their weapons and talked among themselves.

She saw one of the younger men go to his saddle and pull out a small shovel. The three men talked and then while the two younger men took turns digging, the old man went through the burned belongings.

It was while one of the younger men was taking a break from digging that he strolled to the high grass. He began to unbutton his trousers. She had to move or he would surely see her, and that’s when he did, indeed, spot her. She ran; he chased. The other young man joined the chase. She was beyond fear; she ran as if possessed.

The men finally pinned her to the ground. They tied her hands and gagged her mouth so she couldn't bite, spit or scratch them anymore. They talked to her, to calm her, but her fear was controlling her actions. Finally the older one told the younger ones to let her be for now and to finish the graves. The younger men sat her down with a plea for her not to run and perhaps injure herself. That she was still alive and unhurt began to register. She decided to do as they asked for the moment.

The older man started a fire, made coffee and roasted a rabbit. She watched. She watched him and she watched the two young men finish the graves.  Tears escaped and made their way down her checks. She lowered her head to hide them.

When the graves were done and four small wooden crosses placed on them, the two men washed sparingly from a canteen hung on their packhorse and came to the fire. Not wanting them to see her tears, she kept her head lowered. The young man with the light brown hair offered to get her something to eat.

He filled a tin plate and came to squat in front of her. Lifting her head, he saw the tears. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, wet it with their precious canteen water, and wiped her face. He removed the gag and offered her some food. First she refused, but a growl from her empty stomach gave her away. She let him spoon-feed her. She sipped coffee from a mug he held to her lips. The warm food and coffee made her drowsy and before long her head was nodding.

A full bladder woke her with a definite urgency. Her hands were still tied. She noticed that her head rested on a rolled up blanket pillow. A light blanket draped her body. The fire had burned down, but an occasional ember sparked into the early dawn.

Two of the men lay sleeping across from her near the fire pit. She pulled herself to a sitting position and instantly the third man was at her side. It was the one who had fed her. She needed to let him know she needed to urinate. But, before she could say a word, he whispered softly.

“Let me help you up. I'll walk you to the tall grass, then untie you. But please, we mean you no harm. You've got to understand how far away from civilization you are. You need to stay with us. We'll get you to safety. I promise. Will you promise me you won't run off?"

They had done her no harm. Surely they weren't the same men that had savaged her family. He was right. She would need help getting back to a town. She raised her head, looked him in the eye and nodded yes. He untied her and said he would wait at the edge of the grass. She returned quickly. He asked if she was thirsty. She nodded.  He led her to the horses and handed her a canteen. The water was warm, but refreshing.

As he recapped the canteen he asked, "Still tired? Want to go back to sleep?"  He pointed toward the campfire.

She shook her head no.

"Want to sit watch with me and catch the sunrise?"

She nodded yes.

He led her to the rock ledge where he had kept the last of the three watches of the night. From the ledge, he had a commanding view of the surrounding area. They sat facing east and stared into the star filled night sky. It wasn’t long until the stars on the horizon began to dim and a sliver of deep purple announced the impending dawn. The sky quickly changed from purple to gray, then blue, pink and finally orange as the tip of the sun came into view. As they looked away from the glare, they turned to face each other.

She saw a combination of strength and gentleness in his young face. She knew she was safe with him. The tears began again. He reached for her hand and squeezed it. She fell against his chest and the tears turned to sobs. He folded his arms around her and let her sorrow flow. When she had cried herself out, she pulled back and wiped the tears with her hands as best she could. He handed her his handkerchief again. Her thank you was a slight smile. He just nodded.

   
              At that moment, the older man called, "Jim, coffee's ready."

During breakfast, the decision was made to return to the ranch. The girl rode with them docilely. Her first words were spoken when she met Ma.

Ma moved Nora into the sewing room. They spent a lot of time talking and when the family gathered for meals, both women frequently sported puffy eyes.

Pa, Jim and Joe left again, but Nora stayed. She was a hard worker. She did more than her share of the chores, but more than that she was company for Ma.

At first, she didn't have much to say to Danny and Michael. Then, one day as Michael was struggling with his arithmetic lesson, she sat down to coach. Soon, she was working with Danny on his letters. They worked at the large kitchen table. During those sessions, Nora seemed more relaxed and more talkative.

One day as they were working on their lessons, Danny asked, "How old were your little brothers?"

She stiffened and got very quiet. Ma had just walked into the room. She motioned for the boys to leave.

Nora fluttered her hand and looked at Ma. "No. It's alright. I think I can talk about it."

Ma nodded to the chairs and the boys sat back down.

Nora began sharing her past. Her brothers had been older than either Danny or Michael. Patrick had been fourteen and Sean, twelve. She loved them very much. She helped them with their lessons too. Her folks had never learned to read or write so they relied on her. They wanted an education for their children. Nora had been sent to school in Boston before they began their journey. The boys had worked as farm hands with their Pa and hadn’t had the opportunity to go to school. Each night, she would tutor them for an hour or so.

Talking about her family generated a catharsis. She related funny and sad stories about her family life. Ma had brought in fresh milk and poured a large glass for each of them. She set a platter of cookies on the table and sat down. In fact, they sat around the table for a couple of hours that day listening to Nora’s story. From then on, it seemed as though Nora was able to look to the future more often and leave the past in the past.

*****

The sound of an unseen critter near the well brought Michael back to Mexico.  He stood up and stretched. He missed Nora. She truly was a big sister and always took time to listen to him and make him feel special. He went back to the house and folded himself back into his sleeping pallet as he pictured Nora. She had become a member of the family by the time the men returned that first time after dropping her off. They had been gone three months. This time, for some reason, they had stayed home for six months straight. Six horses, two cows and three pigs were bought. The horses were high spirited and intelligent, one stallion and five mares – good breeding stock. The new cows were high quality too. Not what they’d had in South Carolina, but still high quality.

Jim and Joe spent a great deal of time showing Nora, Danny and Michael how to care for them. Well, actually Joe had shown the boys. Jim and Nora had drifted into a way of talking and looking at each other that excluded everyone else.

Michael smiled in the darkness of this strange little room and blushed as he recalled one incident in particular. He had been in the barn in one of the far stalls looking for horseshoes. He, Danny and Joe enjoyed a game or two after supper each evening. He heard someone enter the barn and before he could announce his presence he heard Nora’s voice. The intimate, giggly tone made Michael crouch down and keep quiet.

"Oh, Jim! Do you really mean it?"

"Of course I do. I guess I knew it the first time you scratched me. Or maybe it was that first bite you took out of me."

She laughed and held her hands out to him. Michael hadn’t been able to resist watching the happy couple through a gap in the side of the horse stall. It made him feel good to see these two important people in his life laughing and obviously very happy.

“Nora, I love you. I love you so very much."

"And I love you too, James Farrell."

They stood holding hands, he looking down into her green eyes and she returning the look. She was so grateful to see his dark eyes filled with so much love for her.

She spoke first. "Well, shouldn't you be asking me an important question now?” Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

He dropped her hands, turned and walked towards a horse stall. With his back to her, he spoke softly. "Don't know that I can."

"Why?" Her voice rang with disbelief?

"I can't offer you a normal life. At least for awhile."

              She walked over to him, took his arm and turned him to face her. "What's normal?” She asked as her eyes searched his face and waited apprehensively for his reply.