The pulpit and most of the pews had been knocked over, but it was nothing compared to the sight that greeted the viewer at the front of the church. The stained glass window behind the pulpit had been broken and there was a message on the wall in wet, painted letters that shined a brilliant red even with just a full moon for light because it contrasted so strongly with the whitewashed walls.
'Sister Ruth is an Indian's whore who is going to burn with the idol-worshiping savages,' read the first part of the message and then as if remembering they were in a church, they had added in smaller, neater letters a verse. 'No whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Chr'. The r was long and droopy as if the painter had been startled in the midst of painting it.
Sully and Michaela were standing on one side of Daniel and Sister Ruth was on the other at the front of the crowd, as they surveyed the scene.
"Must've heard Horace coming and had to leave in a hurry," Sully surmised as his eyes followed a trail of splattered paint on the floor.
"It certainly looks like our window breakers were here, and it must be a group because there's more than one window open. It's a wonder they didn't break all the windows, but I guess they didn't have time to get around to it," Daniel said, thinking out loud. The lacey white curtains were still fluttering from where windows had been left open during the escape. "Has anybody seen a group of people running around tonight?" he asked, addressing the people in the room.
"Of course we have. In case you haven't noticed, there's a dance going on outside," smarted off one of the men in the crowd.
Ignoring the comment, Daniel continued. "I'm going to see if they didn't leave more paint to follow outside, but I suggest everyone go back to the dance unless they have something more they can tell me." The crowd parted for Daniel as he made his way back to the door.
In spite of Daniel's suggestion, the crowd wasn't in too big a hurry to leave from the scene, as only a handful made their way back to the dance.
"I think we can rule out Hank as being the ring leader," Michaela said quietly to Sully and Ruth. "I don't think quoting Bible verses is exactly his style."
"No," Sister Ruth agreed. She knew a person whose style it was though and one that had reason not to like her. She looked toward Henry, who had been one of the ones to follow, and saw that there was a smug expression plastered on his face that screamed 'I told you so.' Even so, she couldn't imagine him doing this to a church, not to mention the fact that she could account for him being in the corner throughout the time they'd been there. She would leave the detective work to Daniel.
The reverend, who had been a little slower in getting to the church than the others, could hear the murmurings but couldn't catch everything that was going on. "Could someone tell me what happened?"
Jake, who was standing beside him, quietly read the message to him not quite daring to say the word whore in any kind of volume inside of a church.
The reverend was appalled. "Who would do such a thing?"
"Don't worry, Reverend. We'll have it whitewashed and the glass swept up for you before Sunday," one of the men said.
"I'm not as worried about that as I am about the attitude that caused this in the first place," the reverend replied.
"This woman's trouble. That's what caused it," said another man. "I say we run her out of town. Let her save the Indians somewhere else."
A number of men and women in the crowd assented to this opinion with nods and more murmurings.
"She is not!" Horace said loudly. "She's brought nothing but good to Colorado Springs. Why I remember I could barely walk before—"
"We're tired of hearing about your leg," Hank interrupted with a roll of his eyes.
"She as good as broke the window," said one woman. "Getting everybody angry over nothing. Leave the Indians alone I say. Let them have their idols as long as they keep to themselves."
"Amen," chimed in Mrs. Lewis.
"Sister Ruth did not break this window!" Michaela said angrily.
"But is she an Indian's whore?" Hank asked. "I think that's what is really on everybody's mind right now."
"Only on yours, Hank," Michaela returned.
Ignoring Michaela, Hank asked Sister Ruth. "You been keeping company with an Indian man?"
"Not the way you mean, but I have made friends with a fine Indian fellow, who's more of a gentleman than most of the men in here."
"Well, what do you say to that, Mayor Slicker? I've heard your opinion on the matter of an Indian messing around with one of our women. You going to run her out of town or not?"
"She stuck her hand in a hornet's nest for sure, but—" Jake was interrupted by the crowd's loud concurring remarks, making him virtually unheard.
"That's enough," the reverend shouted over the den of noise, bringing a quiet down again. "It would seem that somebody is going after the friends of Sister Ruth, and I'm proud to be counted as one of them and so should you. Sister Ruth, will you speak this Sunday? I think the congregation needs to hear more about the reservation and Christian charity."
"I think maybe I'd better," she agreed.
"If we're done with this mob meeting," Sully said, "I think we should do as Daniel said and get back to the dance."
Sully and Michaela stayed close by Ruth until the church was cleared out.
"Do you want to go home?" Sully asked.
"I ain't going to let them scare me," Sister Ruth said. "If I leave the dance now, they'll think I've got something to be ashamed about, and I don't."
"I agree," Michaela said.
Back at the dance, Sister Ruth saw Dorothy heading in her direction. "I almost forgot Dorothy wanted to talk about doing an article."
"We'll let you two talk then," Sully said.
He and Michaela went back out onto the dance floor, but they seemed more concentrated on talking than dancing this time around.
"That was absolutely ghastly," Dorothy said when she'd made it over to Sister Ruth. "I know I didn't say nothing back there, but you can believe I'll have a strongly worded editorial in tomorrow's edition of the Gazette."
"This is going in your paper?" Sister Ruth asked.
"Why it has to. People have a right to know what happened in their own church."
"I reckon they do. I'd just hate to see the message in print for obvious reasons but also because it may encourage the ones that did it, having their words have a sort of notoriety."
"That's a good point, but I'll be sure to be careful with the wording, and I just want you to know that I know what it's like to have feelings for an Indian man, and there's not a thing wrong with it. He's just a man the same as anybody else and what other people think about it don't really matter."
"I'm not disagreeing with you, but I don't have feelings for the man in question. Not because I couldn't necessarily but because I don't know him well enough, and my husband would have to know the Lord if I was to consider remarriage, which I'm not sure I'm willing to yet."
"I understand. I want you to tell me in your own words what you're doing at the reservation," she said, pulling out a pencil and paper.
sss
Sister Ruth was already up when Michaela came down that morning to start breakfast.
"I hope you haven't been up all night," Michaela said.
"Nah, you know me, I'm up with the cows on the best of days. Beats me why because I don't do the kind of work that requires it, a lifetime of habit, I guess. No, I slept pretty good considering what happened at the church last night."
"It wasn't your fault," she said, sitting down across from her.
"Doesn't stop me from thinking about it. I made a little coffee if you want some, but I feel I must warn you that it's strong enough to peel wallpaper."
She smiled and shook her head to indicate her no before saying, "You know it might help get it off your mind if you talk about it. You look like you're worrying over it."
"Trying not to. I know God's got things under control, but I can't help wondering who's next. Are they going to go after Horace next because he's publicly supported me or Loren because he danced with me? I can't say it doesn't worry me just a little. I'm getting to be a pretty dangerous person to associate with."
"I never dreamed people could get so worked up about you teaching the Indians about God that they would desecrate their own church. Where's the rationale in that?"
"Well, I think the reverend was onto something when he said it was a message for him, but the devil and his demons get pretty unhappy when people are working for and coming to God because they know the power of God. I think they work to throw as many obstacles in our path as they can, but it doesn't take much to get people stirred up that lack God in their lives. They don't have His peace and love, so they're more predisposed to acting on their anger. They're misguided souls that I pray will soon witness what God will do for the Indians and what He can do for them as well if they give Him a chance."
"You're more patient than I am. I'd like to have them in front of me, so I can give them a piece of my mind before they're hauled off to spend a little time in jail. I especially feel that way every time I try to look outside from in here or walk through my door."
"They won't get away with their crimes forever, and Brother Daniel doesn't seem to be lacking in smarts. I'm sure he'll get it figured out soon enough. Will you pray with me about everything? 'For where two or three are gathered together in My name…'"
Michaela reached across the table and joined hands with her as they prayed for the people at the reservation, the people in the town, and the people who'd destroyed the windows to come to know God's truth.