Under the Distant Sky (23 page)

As Ezra turned to go, Walt Cuzak and his four oldest sons hailed him. Walt limped and held a hand to the small of his back.

“Need to talk to you, Ezra,” Walt said, clearing his throat nervously.

The nearest people stopped what they were doing to listen. Others, having seen the Cuzaks heading toward their wagon master, moved closer to hear what Walt and his sons had to say.

“What is it, Walt?”

“The twister destroyed my wagon and took my team. All our food was in my wagon. The other three wagons only have mining tools and supplies. My boys and I…well, we’re gonna need food.”

Before Ezra could reply, Solomon Cooper stepped up and said, “Hannah and I will share food with you and your sons.”

“Vanessa and I will, too,” Lafe Tolliver said.

For the first time on this journey, the Cuzaks were speechless.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning up after the storm and repairing wagon damage.

Perry Norwood, Bob Lander, Buck Mylan, and Tony Cuzak dug two graves in the shade of a cottonwood and constructed crude wooden crosses to serve as markers.

As the setting sun turned the spacious canopy of the sky a brilliant pink that faded to lavender on the horizon, the bodies of Joy Lynn Lander and Hank Norwood were committed to
their graves. Solomon Cooper had been asked to conduct the service. While he stood between the graves with an open Bible in his hands, Hannah and her children grouped themselves around Lisa and Perry Norwood.

The Lander family stood huddled together, supporting Elsie, whose gaze never left the ground.

Everyone was at the service, even Walt Cuzak and his four oldest sons, though they stayed on the fringe.

Solomon read words of comfort from Scripture, then talked about repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.

While he turned the pages of his Bible, he said, “There is only one Person in all existence who can save us from the wrath of God by forgiving our sins. That Person is the crucified, buried, and risen Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. We must put our faith in Jesus, and only Jesus, to save us. When we have our faith in Him, all we have to do is ask Him to save us. He says in John 6:37, Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.’ The Lord never turns any repentant sinner away.”

With that, Solomon offered to talk in private with anyone who wanted to know more about salvation. He then closed in prayer, asking God to comfort the bereaved as only He could do.

When everyone had returned to their wagons, Perry and Bob lowered the bodies of their family members into the earth.

That night, as the moon shed its silver light on the prairie, Tony Cuzak worked alongside his father and brothers to repair a torn canvas.

To Tony, the lack of conversation almost felt like a truce. Perhaps now he could tell them what had been foremost on his mind ever since he’d met the Coopers. Tony broke the silence by saying, “I’m glad all of you attended the funeral service
today. You’ve stayed away from the Sunday services, but today you heard it plain and clear that Jesus Christ is the only way to go to heaven.”

There was no reply.

Tony tried again. “Pa, when you took that spill off the wagon this morning, it was moving pretty fast. If you’d landed wrong, it could have killed you. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I suppose it could’ve. And let me set the record straight. The only reason your brothers and I attended that service was so we wouldn’t irritate nobody. We don’t want to jeopardize our chances of gettin’ more food from these people. And what’s more, don’t you be comin’ on to me with this Jesus stuff. It’s all bunk.”

“Pa, it’s not bunk. It’s—”

“Shut up! You listen to me! When a man dies, that’s the end of ’im. There ain’t no heaven, and there ain’t no hell. That Charles Darwin’s right! We humans are only higher forms of animals. So when we die, that’s all there is.”

“Darwin’s wrong, Pa. Dead wrong. It makes a lot more sense to me that God created this universe, and that He made man in His own image, as it says in the Bible. I read it myself. The animals weren’t made in God’s image, so when they die, that’s the end of them. But not so with man. He exists beyond the grave, either in heaven or hell.”

“That’s enough, Tony!” Dwight spat out. “You’re nothin’ but a fanatical fool! We don’t wanna hear no more of this junk!”

The other brothers nodded their agreement.

Suddenly Tony backed away from the wagon. “Excuse me,” he said, “I’ve got something important to take care of.”

When Tony approached the Cooper wagon, the moonlight revealed Solomon and Hannah sitting outside the wagon, talking to Stuart and Tracie Armstrong.

The conversation cut off as Tony drew up. “Excuse me, folks,” he said softly. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I just need to say a
word to Mr. Cooper.”

Solomon rose to his feet. “Sure, Tony. What is it?”

“Sometime before you go to bed, sir, could I talk with you?”

“Of course. As soon as Hannah and I finish talking to the Armstrongs, I’ll find you.”

When Tony was gone, Solomon said, “Tracie, Hannah’s advice is solid. I sure want to see you and Stu go on and build your new life as planned.”

Tracie sighed. “It’s just that I’m so tired of all these problems we’ve been facing, Solomon, and I don’t know what’s coming next. I’m scared.”

Tracie said she and Stu would sleep on it and talk some more in the morning. Then she hugged Hannah and bid her and Solomon goodnight.

Solomon took out his Bible and said, “Well, sweetheart, I think this is going to be Tony’s big moment.”

“I’d say you’re right, darling. I’ll drop in on the children at Ezra’s wagon and see how Patty Ruth and Mr. Rabbit are getting along.”

Solomon rolled his eyes. “It’s going to be a little rough when we have to release Mr. Rabbit. She’s gotten pretty well attached to him.”

“Mm-hmm. Well, it’ll be a few more days. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. See you in a little while.”

Hannah was sitting near the fire when Solomon returned an hour later. The children were already in their bedrolls beneath the wagon.

One glance at his face and she said, “He did it!”

“He sure did!” Solomon picked her up by the waist and lifted her above his head with a hearty laugh.

Hannah giggled, telling Sol to put her down, and the four Cooper children laughed and applauded beneath the wagon, rejoicing that Tony Cuzak had become a Christian.

When Hannah and Solomon were settled by the fire, talking in low tones, B. J. said, “What were you clapping about, Patty Ruth? You’re not saved.”

“It’s ’cause I’m not old enough yet,” the little redhead replied. “But Mama and Papa said I’m
safe.
If I died, Jesus would take me to heaven ’cause He died for babies and little children who don’ understan’ all ’bout bein’ saved.”

“That’s right,” Chris said. “But you’re understanding more about it all the time, aren’t you?”

“Uh-huh.”

Mary Beth squeezed her little sister’s arm. “It won’t be much longer, honey. As soon as you understand about sin, and the fact that
you
sin before God, you’ll understand why you’re a transgressor and have to ask Jesus to come into your heart to save you.”

“Yeah, B. J.,” Patty Ruth said, bringing out a hand from under the covers to punch him lightly. “I ain’t a Christian yet, ’cause I ain’t one of them—what did you call ’em, Mary Beth?”

“Transgressors.”

“Yeah, that. I ain’t one of them, B. J. But you are. That’s why you had to get saved.”

“Oh, yes you are,” B. J. said. “You just don’t know it yet.”

“I ain’t neither.”

“Yes, you are—”

“That’s enough, B. J.,” Mary Beth said. “You two get to sleep.”

When they had all settled down, B. J. whispered, “Yes, you are!”

A tiny fist clubbed him on the chest. “No, I ain’t!”

At sunrise, Ezra Comstock was already walking among the wagons, checking to see if everybody would be ready to pull out within the hour. They had lost most of yesterday and needed to make up time. When he came to the Lander wagon, he had a brief conversation with Chuck and Elsie, then moved on. At the Armstrong wagon he talked with Stuart and Tracie.

As he walked, his ears picked up a third dissenting voice. Lisa Norwood was telling her son there was no reason to go on to California without his father. There was no future for her there. Hank had been her life.

“But, Mom,” Perry said, “I want to build a new life in California. I’ll make a home for you out there. I’ll find a good woman to marry and raise a family, and I’ll see to it that you’re taken care of. I promise.”

Suddenly Perry thought of Hannah Cooper. He knew she had talked to Elsie Lander and Tracie Armstrong, and he called out to her now. When Hannah came toward them, he said, “Mrs. Cooper, Mom’s wanting to turn back. Would you talk to her?”

Lisa flicked a glance at Hannah. “No offense, Hannah, but nobody’s going to talk me into going any farther. I want to go home.”

“Lisa,” Hannah said. “May I say something?”

Lisa kept her arms folded and her eyes straight ahead. “Go ahead. But it won’t do any good.”

Hannah glanced at Perry, then moved in front of Lisa to look into her eyes. “Lisa, I know I can’t sympathize with your grief, since my husband’s alive…but doesn’t Perry deserve to have his dreams come true?”

“Well, of course he does, but I want to go home.”

“Honey, who’s at home for you to go to?”

There was a long pause. “Nobody.”

“Then why don’t you think of Perry and go on to California with him?”

Lisa blinked away the tears that surfaced and looked away.

Hannah squeezed Perry’s arm. “I think everything will work out.”

Perry smiled and put an arm around his mother. “Thank you, Mrs. Cooper.”

As Hannah turned to go, she almost bumped into Ezra Comstock, who was coming to talk with the Norwoods. “Perry, if your mother wants to go home, there’s a way she can do it without traveling in danger.”

“And how would that be, Mr. Comstock?” Perry asked.

“Well, about the time we cross the Little Blue River due west of here, we should run into a large wagon train that hauls supplies out west. It returns east about this time, and I usually run into it a few miles west of the Little Blue. You and your mother could travel back with the supply train. They have a lot of wagons, and plenty of armed men. The Indians have never bothered ’em… comin’ or goin’.”

Perry looked down at his mother and said, “Thanks for telling us about it, Mr. Comstock. I think Mom’s decided to go on, but if I’m wrong, we’ll talk to you about it later.”

“Fine.”

“Just how long till we reach the Little Blue?”

“If we can stay on schedule, ’bout another eleven or twelve days.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

As Ezra and Hannah walked toward the Cooper wagon, Ezra said, “I’ve already talked to the Landers and the Armstrongs about the supply train. Elsie is pushin’ Chuck to join it and go home.”

“And what about the Armstrongs?”

“Tracie is undecided. Stu told her they’d do whatever she wants.”

Hannah nodded, as Ezra veered off in another direction.

An hour later the wagons were ready to pull out. The Norwoods and the Landers hurried to the graves to say “goodbye” one last time. It was an incredibly lonely feeling to leave their loved ones to the wide open spaces and the wind, and to the knowledge that they would never pass this way again.

Rain fell on the Nebraska prairie for about an hour that day but wasn’t heavy enough to slow down the train. Polly Winters and Patty Ruth “bummed” a ride with Micah Comstock so they could travel with Mr. Rabbit.

B. J. and Billy Perryman played alongside the Cooper wagon for most of the day, and Corrie Weathers rode on the wagon seat next to Mary Beth and Hannah. Solomon and Chris rode their saddle horses.

Late in the afternoon the train came to a winding creek that ran swift and full because of the recent rains. Ezra told everyone to fill their water barrels. At the end of the day, he was satisfied with the fourteen miles they had come.

After the Cooper children were in their bedrolls, Solomon took Hannah’s hand and said, “Mrs. Cooper, may I have the pleasure of a walk in the moonlight?”

“You certainly may, Mr. Cooper.”

They left the circle and strolled over the grassy fields. “Hannah,” Solomon said, “I appreciate the way you’ve tried to strengthen the women who’ve said they want to turn back. You’re the most wonderful woman God ever made. You have such a marvelous way about you. I love you for being such a strong person.”

Hannah squeezed his hand. “Sweetheart, what strength I have comes from the Lord. I have none in myself.”

“I’m aware of that, but the Lord can only give strength to those who let Him.”

Solomon stopped and took Hannah in his arms. “I think all the stars left the sky and are nestling in those beautiful brown eyes of yours.”

Hannah slid her arms around his neck and half-whispered, “If there are stars in my eyes, you handsome lug, it’s because I’m looking at
you!”

They kissed long and lingeringly, then headed back to the wagon.

As they walked, Hannah looked west and said, “Out there, darling, is Wyoming. Oh, I know we’re going to be so happy there!”