Worship was held in a log house.

"I'm Reverend Josiah Whipple. Recently of Illinois. You must be some of the actors everyone is talking about."

"In a manner of speaking," Kid explained. "It's not our normal profession. We're returning a favor. They rescued us when we were stuck out in the wilderness."

"Ah," he seemed to warm to them considerably on hearing that though not as much as he might have. "It's the devil's work acting is. It can make good things seem bad and bad things seem good."

"I suppose that depends on what it is you're acting, doesn't it? It can be God's work too," Ruth argued, "especially if it's a biblical story you're performing and making alive for the people."

He seemed less sure of his position at her words but then regained his confidence. "Mark my words, actors will be the downfall of our nation's morals some day as the prostitutes are the downfall of the family."

Maybe there was a grain of truth in there somewhere, but she hoped he preached straight from the Word during his sermon and didn't stray into his personal pet peeves for there was nothing inherently wrong with acting.

The service started almost as soon as they sat down. Reverend Whipple went up to the front of the church accompanied by not only a rifle but a pistol too. And the Bible, of course.

"That's an interesting choice, being armed at the pulpit," Ruth whispered.

"Hopefully, it's not a sign of his poor preaching," Kid joked. "It's probably in case of an Indian raid or a Mexican invasion, which is smart. I don't like that I have to, but you know I wear my gun to church too. I'm sure he feels the same."

"I know. A necessary evil in these times, I reckon."

The sermon did stick to scripture or Ruth and Kid would've left. Most of the sermon went over Mercy's head, but they didn't want their daughter picking up any wrong ideas.

sss

Francis was up when they returned.

"Is your wife any better?" Ruth asked.

"Evelyn's still not feeling well," he said, his voice not betraying anything one way or the other.

"That's what I heard, but you seem to have recovered," she said, the question in her tone.

"I just have a hard time getting going some mornings."

"I see. Well, I find prayer helps me get going."

"I'll keep that in mind," he said with a smile, but it was plain he was wasn't really going to pray.

"Let me see if there's anything I can do," Ruth said, lifting her skirt to climb into the wagon.

Francis blocked her with a hand to the shoulder, which she quickly pulled away from.

"She'd rather not be disturbed. Perhaps tomorrow, but being that Evelyn won't be up to performing, I need your help. My sister's going to take the parts of Cleopatra and Ophelia, but I need you to be Clara."

"Can't your sister do that part too?"

"My sister's nowhere near to looking like an innocent, young woman like the part calls for. You'll do great. I have confidence in you."

He was nowhere near looking like a young hero, but that didn't stop him. She really didn't feel like learning a major part in a short amount of time. "What about the piano? Nobody else can play."

"We did without it when we lost our first piano player. We can do without it again until Evelyn recovers."

So she spent the rest of the afternoon memorizing yet more lines while Kid got to enjoy playing with the kids.

A lot later, Permelia helped find her a costume for the part and a wig, so she would look different from Desdemona.

"Don't say a word. Not a single word," Ruth said to Kid as she came out in a silly-looking blue dress and hat, but most noticeably she now sported 2 blonde pigtails.

He came closer to her. "They wouldn't let you wear that wig to bed, would they? Cause to tell you the truth, I'm kind of liking you as a blonde." He reached out and touched her fake hair as if it enticed him.

"You're cute. Real cute," she said without amusement.

"Why thank you," he said, drawing her against him "You're not so bad yourself."

He kissed the tip of her nose. Then he bent down further to kiss the corner of her lips. She was smiling now that he'd teased her into a better humor and she lifted her face up and turned her head, signaling she was ready for a real kiss and he was about to give her one when Francis interrupted.

"We need a dress rehearsal since we haven't had one with Sister Ruth," he informed them.

Kid sighed. The only kisses he was getting from Ruth these days were staged ones. The man never rested except when he was sick. He wanted to rehearse or ride all day and perform all night. He was going to help the man hold auditions tomorrow.

"You'll just exchange the hat for a veil for the wedding scene," Francis said. "Did you get the veil?"

"No, but I will," she answered.

"You do know my wife's off limits, don't you?" Kid warned. "You're going to have to stage kiss your kiss with her."

"I figured as much, but now you don't have to stage a kiss for your kissing scene with her."

While Evelyn was clearly the better Shakespearean actor, Kid thought Ruth did better at this melodrama stuff than any of them like he'd thought she would.

In the play, Kid was an "Irish" landlord, nameless but secondary only to the hero in lines, and Clara was a recently orphaned maiden who had no way to pay the rent. The landlord tries to get Clara to marry him, but she stubbornly refuses being in love with the miller's son, also nameless as Clara only calls him things like "beloved" and "my hero" with the landlord having his own choice terms for him. It escalates until the villain kidnaps her to try and force her virtue and the hero has to save the day. In the end, the miller's son and Clara get married and decide to set sail to America, the land of opportunity.

The lines were as corny as the gestures and the music that normally underscored the emotions, but the special effects were impressive. The horses Kid and Francis rode were trained to leap and charge and Francis was amazingly still limber enough to jump off his horse and rescue Clara. But even more impressive was the fire. It made a circle around Clara while they battled over her, producing real heat but confined to its circle and was put out by a charming "snowfall".

The Clara and the landlord kiss came and Kid planted a sloppy, wet kiss on her. It initiated the proper surprise and disgust without the need to act, which had no doubt been his intention.

"You'll pay for that later," she whispered before he had finished tying her to her pole.

"I hope so," he teased back.

She did what all the damsels in distress did and warned the villain she was going to be rescued by the hero. "My beloved will come for me."

"The miller's son?" He laughed dryly. "No, the parson's already been sent for, my dear. You'll be married to me before the day is through and wife to me before the sun rises again."

But of course, good triumphed over evil once again. A contrived ending as one wondered where the miller's son learned to swordfight and leap off horses, but it was a romantic one and who could argue with a happy ending? Ruth wished life produced such happy, fairy tale endings.

But this life was never meant to have a happy ending. It was the next life that did. And maybe that's why the audience really had no complaint with the cheesy story. It gave them a taste and a longing for things to come and an entertaining break from the hardness of this one.

A/N: Josiah Whipple was a real historical figure. His opinion on acting is fictional, but he did wear a rifle and a pistol while he preached.