The Jeweled Spur (35 page)

Cody related how that for hours he had ridden along and still continued to get drunk, but finally he had run out of whiskey. “I woke up one morning,” he said quietly, “sick and ready to die—and hoping I would. There was a creek there, and all I could do was crawl over and get a drink of water, trying to wash my face. Well, I sat there for a long time and was real quiet, and I thought about what a mess my life had become. And I thought about you, and Laurie, and my mother and stepfather, and about all the people that have been praying for me. I remembered Reverend Moody’s words and his prayer.” His voice grew mild as he continued to speak, staring into the fire, “I don’t know what brought it on, all I knew was I suddenly was so sick of living, I couldn’t go on. I called out to God and asked Him to kill me—and I meant it, too! I think I told God if he didn’t do the job, I’d take care of it.” He grinned ruefully over at Sam, shaking his head. “I don’t know whether I would have done it or not, but as it turned out, I didn’t have to.”

Sam had been intrigued by the story, and he whispered, “Tell me about it, what did you do?”

“Well, I was in such a hole that I didn’t know
what
to do. Finally, after about two hours of wrestling with it, I just kind of gave up, I guess. I’d heard the Gospel enough to know that all you have to do is call on God and ask for His forgiveness. That always seemed odd to me—but that was all I had left, Sam, so that’s what I done. I just said, ‘Jesus, I’ve been wrong all my life, but I ask you to come into my life, and if there’s anything there you can use, just take it, cause I want to know you.’ Sam,” he said, “I never would have believed it! But right then, all the doubt, and all the fear, all the anger and bitterness—why they just blew away. And I knew that that couldn’t be anybody but God!”

Sam Novak had seen other people come to God in his day,
but there was something real special sitting there listening to Cody explain how he had given his life to Jesus. “That’s wonderful, Cody.” Sam reached over and clapped Cody on the back. “And you turned right around and came back?”

“I figure I needed to tell you and Laurie about it. And Mac, too.” He looked over and smiled. “You know, I thought it’d be gone the next morning, but that sense of peace is still there.”

“That’s the peace of God, Cody. The world doesn’t give it, doesn’t have it to give, and can
never
take it away.”

The two sat there for hours, and never had Sam been so glad to see anyone come out of the darkness and into the light as his friend.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“I Can’t Do It!”

“I’m so happy for you, Cody!”

Cody had ridden back with Sam, and the pair caught up with the show. At once Cody had gone to Laurie’s tent. Instantly she had seen the change in him, but before she could speak, he said, “Well, you can believe in your prayers, Laurie.”

That was when Laurie had exclaimed her gladness and joy, and she insisted that he tell her the whole story. He sat down on Leona’s cot across from Laurie. She leaned forward expectantly, her eyes bright, her hands clenched tightly together.

“I don’t have to tell you how low I’ve been, Laurie. And to tell the truth, I don’t think a man could get much lower. So, when I rode out of here, I was about as drunk as a man could be, and if Sam hadn’t come after me, I expect I’d be sitting in a jail right now.” He related the story and ended by saying, “ . . . so out there, I just called on God and asked Him to forgive me and change me, and it’s all been different ever since.”

“You’ll have to tell your folks,” Laurie said instantly. “They’ll be so glad to hear it!”

Cody nodded, then said cheerfully, “You’re right about that. Mother’s prayed for me ever since I was in the cradle, I guess.”

The two sat there, and Laurie basked in the light of the new assurance that now rested on Cody’s face. He was different on the outside, and she knew that reflected a change in
his heart. Finally, she exclaimed, “We’ve got to go tell Mac. He’s prayed as hard for you as anybody.”

“All right. Let’s go find him.”

They found the grizzled ex-cavalryman lying on his bunk, staring up at the ceiling. At Cody’s call, he came off his bed at once, took one look at Cody and a grin broke out on his face. “Well, I see the good Lord finally caught up with you, didn’t He, son?”

“That’s right,” Cody smiled. “And I was never so glad to be caught in my life!” He went on at Mac’s insistence and told the whole story again. This time Laurie enjoyed it even more than the first time. Finally, when he finished, Mac nodded firmly. “Well, that’s only the first step. A lot more to go, though, before you’re really home.”

Cody sobered instantly. “Yes. You’re right about that, Mac. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I know I’m trusting in God.” He shrugged, and a rueful look crossed his face. “I’ve trusted myself, and see where it got me. Now, I’m going to see what God will do!”

The news of Cody’s return quickly spread throughout the troupe, and Buffalo Bill himself came by to welcome the young man back. “Well, you ran off and left me in the lurch, young feller, but from what I hear, you done the necessary.” He hesitated, then shrugged his wide shoulders. “Not much for church myself, but I’m always glad to see young folks starting out right.”

Nate Salsbury came by with a warm smile, hugged Cody’s shoulders, and one by one, as they met, Cody was welcomed back. Finally, it was show time, and he said to Sam with a grin, “I’ve probably forgotten all I know about roping.”

He had not, though, and when he went out to perform, he tried several new tricks, all of which worked and had the crowd applauding wildly. When he left the arena, Laurie threw herself toward him. He caught her and held her in amazement, enthralled by the sparkling light in her eyes. “I’m so
proud of you, Cody!” she said. “Now let’s go write the letter to your mother—no, let’s go into town and send a telegraph.”

“I guess it better be a letter,” Cody said thoughtfully. “I want to say some things that I wouldn’t want to be made public.”

“Of course,” Laurie nodded. “Why don’t you go write it, and then you and I will take it to the post office.”

Cody went at once to the cook tent, commandeered part of a table off to one side, and sat down and wrote a long letter. It was a difficult letter for him to write, and he would much rather have told it in person. Finally, however, he finished, put it in an envelope, sealed it, and addressed it. Then, rising, he went to find Laurie and nodded, “I’ve got it all done.”

“Uncle Dan and Aunt Hope will be so thrilled!” said Laurie. “Come on, I’m ready.”

They turned to go, but before they had made two steps, a voice rang out. “Hold it right there, Rogers.”

At the sound of his real name, Cody froze. Then he turned slowly to see Con Groner not ten feet away. The cowboy had a .44 in his hand leveled directly at Cody’s heart. “What’s wrong with you, Con?” he asked evenly.

“I reckon you already know,” Con said, a smirk on his face. His eyes flickered over to Laurie, and he said, “I couldn’t let you go on like this, Laurie. This fellow’s a murderer, and a convict—and I don’t know what else. I saw you falling in love with him, and I knew it wouldn’t be right. He couldn’t make you happy.”

Laurie spoke up at once. “Con, you don’t understand. Cody never killed anybody. He was unjustly accused.”

“When I was a lawman,” Groner said evenly, “I never caught a guilty man. They might be standing over the body with the gun smoking, but they all deny it, every one of them. And I reckon this one’s no different.”

“You do what you have to do, Con,” said Cody.

“I aim to. I’ve been gone now, lookin’ for the flyer on you, and I found it. Here it is.” He reached into his pocket, pulled
it out, and held it in one hand. “Shot a man in the back, I hear from the authorities up your way. I didn’t figure you for that sort, but you never can tell about a man.”

Con moved closer, till he was only a few feet away. “I don’t have any cuffs, so you just turn around and don’t make any funny moves.”

Laurie was almost petrified with fear. She cried out, “Con, you can’t do this!”

Cody was turning to put his back to Groner, but he saw as Laurie spoke that the cowboy twisted to face her, so that the gun was pointed at the ground. Instantly, he lunged at Groner, with one hand striking down at the fist that held the gun, knocking it loose with a single blow. Groner cried out shortly, but he had no time to do more, for with his right hand, Cody sent a powerful blow that caught him on the point of the chin, snapping his head back. Groner fell to the ground and lay still.

Cody shook his head, a bitter expression on his lips. “I’ve got to get away, Laurie.”

“Don’t do it. You’ll be running forever,” Laurie pleaded.

“What would you have me do? Go back into that prison? I couldn’t stand it, Laurie.” He reached out and took her hand. “I’ll go back. I’ll try to find out who really did the killing I was accused of.”

“You’d be recognized immediately,” Laurie said.

Cody shook his head stubbornly, and then looked around, his mind racing. They were behind a lot where the horses were kept, and there were no cowboys in sight. Quickly, he ran to the corral, pulled a rope down, and tied Groner’s hands behind his back, and then fastened a gag. “I’ve got to get out of here,” he said, his face pale. “There’s nothing for me here now. I’ve got to go.”

Laurie hesitated for one brief moment. He saw her face change, and she said abruptly, “I’m going with you.”

“Why, Laurie, you can’t—”

Laurie shook her head fiercely. Now that she had made up
her mind, there was no hesitation in her movements. “I’ll get Star, you get your horse. Drag Con over here and tie him to this pole. We don’t have long—come on!”

Cody tried to argue, but she was gone at once. He stood there looking down at Con, who was beginning to stir, then, not knowing what else to do, dragged the unconscious man over to a part of the fence and tied him to it. Seeing that Con was slowly coming to, he whirled around and ran to the corral, roped his horse, and saddled him. As he finished tying the cinch, he looked up to see Laurie riding toward him on Star. The sun caught her jeweled spur, and it glittered brightly.

“Ride out slowly,” he said. “Nobody will notice us that way.”

“All right, Cody,” she said. “I’m ready.”

The two of them rode slowly around, circling the camp. No one paid any attention to them, and they were a mile away when Laurie exclaimed, “I should have told Mac, and you’ve got to tell Sam.”

“We can’t risk going back,” Cody said. His lips grew firm and he turned to her. “But you ought to go back, Laurie. You can tell them what happened.”

“No.” Her voice was adamant, and when she looked at him, her lips were as tight as his. There was a stubbornness in her, and her backbone was straight as she sat in the saddle. Then she put the full force of her large eyes on him and said, “I’m not much for giving up on a man, Mr. Rogers. We Winslows were never known for that!”

Cody grinned and shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I’ve noticed that about Dan and Tom.” They were out of sight of the showground, but he knew the time was short. “It’ll make it harder if you come, Laurie. Now they’ll be looking for a man and a woman—lots easier to find than just a single rider.”

“We’ll do what we can,” Laurie said simply.

They rode along for a while and finally spurred their horses into a slow gallop. For two hours, they kept them at a good pace, turning off the main road, and finally onto a road that
twisted and turned through fresh growth timber. When they stopped to give the horses a few moments to rest and a drink at a small stream, Cody said, “You know, Laurie, I was thinking about something Sam tried to explain to me. About the way God is.”

Looking up at him, she asked, “What was that, Cody?”

“Well, he said that we see things in one scene at a time, like we saw yesterday, and then we saw last night, and now we see this morning, then after a while, we’ll see night again. You know—in little blocks like that.” He shook his head, took his hat off, and wiped his forehead. “But Sam says God’s not like that. He says the Bible says that He’s the God of yesterday, today, and forever.”

“I think that’s right.” A memory touched her, and her lips softened. “You know, Cody, my dad told me something once that really surprised me. He said, ‘God can never be disappointed in you, Laurie.’ I was surprised at that, but he went on to say, ‘To be disappointed in someone, you have to expect something out of them, and then they have to fail you, and it catches you by surprise. But God is never surprised, because He knows all things that are going to happen.’ ” She looked at him with a slight smile. “Isn’t that strange to think that God knows everything? He knows what’s going to happen to us tomorrow.”

“That’s what Sam said.” He patted his horse and looked over at her. “He said it’s like a parade. At a certain corner, somebody standing there would see one group pass, another wagon, and then, one by one, they’d all pass. And he’d see them one at a time. But if someone were up in a tall building, he’d not only see that corner, he’d see the beginning of the parade and the end of the parade, all at the same time. Sam said that’s what God’s like.” He arched his back, stretched his arms, then looked over at her. “I think that’s hopeful, don’t you, Laurie? That we’re not alone, and that God knows all about us?”

“Yes, it is, Cody.” She had been afraid, but now the fear
left and she smiled at him fully. “God will watch out for us. We’ll be faithful to Him, and He’ll be faithful to help us.”

****

Cody stepped off his horse, looked around, and then said wearily, “I guess we’re safe enough here, Laurie. I’ll make a fire, and you can put the blankets down.”

“All right, Cody.” Laurie was worn to exhaustion. They had ridden hard for four days, staying off the main roads, always seeking the hill country, the rural regions, and staying away from farmhouses except when it was absolutely necessary. They had seen a few people but had talked to almost no one. Now, as she slipped out of the saddle, the strain of the days on the trail overtook her, and her legs nearly gave way. Then she tightened her lips, shook her head in self-disgust, and began pulling the bedrolls free from the horses.