Chapter Thirty- Six
"Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do
to all the enemies you are going to fight."
~Joshua 10:25
On the far side of the saloon building, Jack was waiting impatiently for Wyatt Weaver to return with a ladder from Adam Miller. He'd spotted Wyatt on the porch of the cafe immediately after he'd discovered that a window in one of the rooms above the saloon was slightly open. He'd directed Wyatt to run to where Adam Miller was building the new church and school site to get a ladder. Jack knew that Adam had a ladder that would reach the open window on the second floor. It seemed like it was taking Wyatt forever, but Jack reminded himself that it had really only been a couple of minutes and tried not to pace. Instead, he watched for Wyatt while he formulated his plan of what he'd do once he was inside the building. Finally, he spotted Wyatt and Adam bringing the ladder behind the buildings as fast as they could, as Adam's prosthetic leg did not really allow him to run.
"Where do you want it, Jack?" Adam asked in a low voice.
"Right here," Jack pointed to a spot on the ground just below the open window.
Adam and Wyatt placed the ladder as directed and took positions on either side of it as Jack started his climb. He quickly reached the window and slowly slid it open wide, praying it wouldn't make a noise. When it didn't, he exhaled the breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
Once he'd opened the window, he stepped inside, out of view of Adam and Wyatt. Both of them continued to stare at the open window from below, their faces filled with concern. Adam's daughters were being held by Allen as were Wyatt's little brothers. "Go get him, Jack," Adam said in a low voice as Jack disappeared inside. "Dear Lord, keep our children safe."
"Amen," Wyatt finished the prayer.
Inside the room, Jack glanced around and realized quickly that he was in his mother's room. He'd suspected that it was her room with the open window since she always kept a window cracked open at home, claiming it was healthy. He noted her bag on the floor and her hairbrush and comb on the side table. Those pleasant thoughts of home collided with the terrible reality of his mother being held hostage, along with Elizabeth and the students, downstairs, causing him to frown. He moved to the door, slowly turned the doorknob, and pulled the door open. His jaw tightened as he willed the door to open silently. It didn't make a noise and he stepped into the hallway. Stopping to listen, he heard an unintelligible voice coming from far away. He took two more steps toward the stairs before he stopped when he heard Elizabeth's voice, "Please let me talk with Cat! I need to tell them that their children are fine."
"Shut up!" Allen snarled back at her. "I need to think and you talking ain't helping!"
Jack's frown deepened when he heard Allen yell at Elizabeth. He resumed his slow, stealthy progress toward the stairs. When he reached the end of the wall, he carefully peeked around the corner and quickly scanned the scene in the saloon. He immediately saw Allen standing at the bar, drinking from a bottle of whiskey. Then, he located Elizabeth, patting the arm of a girl who was crying. Next, his eyes fell on his mother who had her hands on the backs of two of the young girls. Jack's gaze returned to Allen and he saw him set the bottle down, Jack quickly pulled back behind the wall, concerned Allen would look up and spot him. He waited a few seconds and then he peered around the corner, again. He saw Allen walking toward the window.
"Allen, please let us talk to Elizabeth!" Cat called through the closed doors. "Or Mrs. Thornton? We need to be sure everyone is alright in there!"
"Okay, okay!" Allen yelled back before turning toward Ann.
Jack snapped back behind the wall when Allen turned around.
"All right," Allen instructed, motioning to Ann. "Come on over here and talk with them. If you do, maybe she'll finally shut up!"
Jack listened intently, his heart racing, for his mother's response. He was not sure how she'd reply. After a couple seconds, he heard the "tic-tic-tic" of her shoes as she walked across the saloon floor. He, once again, took a look around the corner. He saw his mother heading toward the saloon window. When she walked past Elizabeth, she reached for her arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"Hurry it up, lady!" Allen shouted.
"Young man, I'm moving as fast as my feet will travel," Ann haughtily informed Allen.
Jack had moved back, hiding around the corner. His eyes closed, praying that his mother might hold her tongue rather than speak her mind, as was her custom.
"Yes, Mrs. Montgomery," Ann called through the closed saloon doors. "We are... well, we are as well as can be expected in this situation."
"The children?" Cat inquired, her voice trailing off.
"All are okay," Ann answered.
Jack quickly formulated how he wanted to get downstairs. Unfortunately, there was no hidden way to get down the stairs to the saloon. The stairway was wide open and there were no other stairs. His plan required Elizabeth's help. He needed to get her attention.
"That's enough!" Allen yelled. "No more! Get me my horse and my money! I don't want to hear another word out of you til you have 'em!"
Jack bravely peered around the corner and was surprised when he locked eyes with Elizabeth. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened, but she didn't say anything. Jack had no idea how he could explain the plan to her. He nodded toward the stairs, then toward Allen, then pointed to the saloon door. Elizabeth followed his nods and pointing before nodding back at him. Jack saw Allen turn away from the window so he pulled back behind the wall again.
Jack couldn't believe that Elizabeth had understood his plan from just his basic, unspoken, gestures. However, he had no choice but to trust that she did.
"Would you please make those girls stop all that crying?" Allen ordered Elizabeth. "I can't hear myself think with all that wailing!"
"Umm, Mr. Allen," Elizabeth began her answer. "Would you mind if I continue to teach the children while we wait? I think that might help the children calm down."
"What?" Allen asked, confused. "You wanna keep teaching?"
"Yes," Elizabeth replied firmly. She took a couple of steps toward Allen and lowered her voice. "If they focus on my teaching then maybe they won't be thinking about you with that gun. I believe they might stop crying..." She hesitated before adding, "and bothering you."
Allen looked at her, a look of disbelief. "Well, okay, sure, do whatever will make them stop crying like that," he urged.
Elizabeth turned and headed toward the saloon doors.
"Whoah!" Allen called after her. "Where are you going?"
Elizabeth stopped and shook her head. "Just to the back of the room."
"Why?" Allen asked.
"To get their attention here rather than over where you are," Elizabeth responded calmly, though she really hoped to keep her students' attention away from Jack as he came down the stairs.
Allen didn't reply. Instead, he walked to the window to peer outside.
Jack looked around the corner, again, and saw Allen by the window. He watched Elizabeth walk to the back of the room and turn to face him. She looked up at him surreptitiously before getting her students' attention. "Children!" she called. "Let me have your attention. You can raise your heads. It's okay," she told them, smiling. "We're going to continue on with our lessons while Mr. Allen waits for them to bring him his things."
Ann moved through the tables back to where the young children sat. She looked at Elizabeth, confused by her desire to continue teaching.
Elizabeth saw Ann's quizzical expression and tried to think of a way to convey to her what she was doing. Realizing she couldn't do that without risking everyone's safety, she returned to lecturing. "Okay, children, we were talking about President Lincoln. He was the president who issued the Emancipation Proclamation which freed most of the slaves in the United states during the American Civil War." She stopped to gather her thoughts again. She noted that Allen was still standing near the window.
She boldly looked up at the top of the stairs. Shock briefly crossed her face when she saw Jack crouching and slowly descending the stairs, but she quickly recovered and her facial expression calmed. Fear made her stomach hurt as she continued her lecture, "This freed many slaves and gave them hope." She placed particular emphasis on the words freed and hope.
Gabe turned around, checking on his younger siblings. After checking on Miles and Emily, he spotted Jack, who was now two steps from the bottom of the stairs. Though his expression showed his surprise, Gabe didn't say anything. He simply turned around and faced Elizabeth, again. Elizabeth knew Gabe and seen Jack and concern swept briefly across her face, but then she realized that Gabe was not going to give Jack away. She continued the lesson, trying not to watch Jack, "Emancipation means to free people. Abraham Lincoln believed that..."
As Elizabeth continued to teach and keep the children distracted, Jack reached the saloon floor, his eyes on Allen who was still at the window. He quickly moved, still crouched, to the bar and hid behind it. He followed the bar around until he had a clear view of Allen.
"What's going on out there?" Allen yelled through the window. "Where's my money and my horse?"
"We're working on them," Cat's voice drifted into the saloon. "We just need a few more minutes. So, why don't you release some of the children? Maybe the youngest ones? Or the girls?"
"Ain't nobody leaving til I'm gone!" Allen yelled back. He glanced back at Elizabeth, who had stopped talking during the exchange between Allen and Cat. "Thought you wanted to teach? So teach!" he ordered as he began pacing again.
Jack pulled back further behind the bar, out of Allen's sight. He was waiting to catch Allen unaware, hoping to quickly disarm him.
Elizabeth turned back to the class. "Uhhh..." she began again, a bit haltingly this time as her heart was beating so fast it was forcing away her thoughts. "Ummm, Lincoln hoped that the Emancipation Proclamation and freeing the slaves would end the Civil War sooner."
Jack listened to Allen's footfalls and recognized how the sound changed as he a few minutes, when he heard the sound shifted indicating that Allen was now walking away, Jack rushed from behind the bar and tackled him. They hit the floor and began wrestling. Allen brought his gun toward Jack, but Jack knocked it from his hand. The gun slid a few feet away, coming to rest near one of the wooden poles.
Elizabeth gasped as several of the children screamed. Ann yelled, "Jack!" as soon as she saw him.
Jack and Allen wrestled for several minutes before Jack pinned him with one arm and landed a good pitch against Allen's jaw. Allen grunted with pain but then kicked Jack hard, sending Jack spiraling backwards and grabbing the leg that Allen kicked. Allen scrambled to his feet and retrieved his gun. He stood up, wild-eyed and gun in hand.