Chapter 10
Throughout the next week, Christy listened each day for the sound of Dr. MacNeill's horse. She was excited to see what the children's reactions would be to his lesson, and how much they would learn. But, truth be told, she was longing to see him again.
It was on Thursday morning that Christy stood looking out over the schoolyard into the foggy mist. Once or twice she thought she had heard hoof beats. But no one appeared from behind the thick curtain. Christy knew Neil would keep his word, but no one had seen or heard of him since Sunday. Luckily, nobody had fallen very ill.
Sighing, Christy turned back to her students, who were working on their arithmetic. She picked up a newspaper from her desk and said to the room,
"All right, children. We're going to do something different now. Finish the figures you're on, and then take out your slates." Christy waited until the children had finished and were ready before she began the lesson. "Do any of you remember when we studied the Civil War?" Heads nodded and a few snickers could be heard. "I'm going to read to you a newspaper article about a very courageous young woman who helped set many innocent sla—people, free." Christy avoided talking about slaves or blacks, for she knew it would only create an uproar, and if it was anything like the one a few of her students had caused when they studied the Civil War before, she knew the matter would be best learnt if taught slowly.
"Her name was Harriet Tubman. This is the headline:
'Harriet Tubman, Conductor on the Underground Railroad, Dies at Home in Auburn, New York, but will be Well Remembered
Harriet Tubman, famous woman who ventured far from home to save and free slaves. . . .' "
"Sounds like someone I know," bellowed a deep voice from the doorway. It was Dr. MacNeill.
Christy looked up and was so startled that she dropped the newspaper. The loose pages scattered about the floor. A few of her students giggled, and some of them exchanged winks. Neil could barely contain his own mirth.
"Dr. MacNeill," Christy said, stooping down to retrieve the newspaper and its pages. "How nice of you to come. Children, we will finish with our newspaper later. Today, Dr. MacNeill has come to give you another science lesson. Please give him your full attention." Stepping out of the aisle, she said, "Doctor, they are all yours."
"Thank you, Miss Huddleston," Neil said as he sat his medical bags down on a front desk. Then, he pulled a pillowcase from his bags, and from that, a dead frog. "Today, children, we are going to learn about anatomy. Does anyone know what that is?" Becky O'Teale raised her hand.
"Ain't that the studyin' of the body, like lungs and such?"
"That's right, Becky. I'm going to show you what's inside of a frog. Gather 'round." The children all scrambled from theirs desks, trying to see what the doctor was doing to do.
Christy walked to the back of the room and leaned against the doorway, watching as her students stood in wonder around Dr. MacNeill. There were 'oohs' and 'aahs' and a few 'eewws' as Neil dissected the frog. She looked at him. His hair was as unruly as ever, and he looked to be a bit tired, but something was different. The way he spoke, his eyes. Something had happened to him, but what?
Then Christy turned her eyes to the mountains. There were so beautiful, standing there clothed in the fog. The fog made the mountains seem higher, more alive, and twice as mysterious. Christy didn't know how long she stood there, but was brought back to the present by a tap on the shoulder.
"Was my lesson that boring, Miss Huddleston?" Christy turned to face Neil.
"Of course not, I just got caught up in the mountains."
"Yes, they certainly are beautiful," he said, staring out at them.
"I can't thank you enough, Neil, for doing this. I know you must be very busy. Is there anything that I can do for you?"
"It was my pleasure. There is something you could do for me, though. Would you like to take a ride this afternoon?" he asked, breaking his gaze from the mountains.
"I would love too. After school?"
Nodding, Neil started down the steps of the schoolhouse to his horse. He mounted, waved, and then headed to the mission.
After Christy dismissed her students, she gathered up her things and started the walk down to the mission.
It was still quite foggy, and Christy felt herself come alive. As a child, she had always loved and been fascinated by the fog.
Picking up her skirts, and almost dropping her books, she ran as fast as she could down to the mission. Like a young filly, she jumped the sticks and dodged the holes. As she neared the house, Christy was relieved to find that Neil was not waiting for her. With her hair plastered to her damp face and her skirts wet and muddy, she looked more like ten than twenty.
As she entered the house and hurried to her room, masculine voices could be heard in the parlor. Christy peeked in, and saw that David and Neil were sitting and talking. Neil had a bible in his hands.
Christy was a bit startled, but filled with you. She was deeply happy that finally, Neil was finding his way to God. After all that had happened in his life, he was finally finding peace with God, and himself.
In her room, Christy put her books down, fixed her hair, and headed back outside to the barn to saddle Bonnie.
When she led the horse back up to the mission, Neil was waiting for her.
"Ready?' he asked.
"Let's go," Christy smiled. As she mounted up, she suddenly realized that she had forgotten to change into her riding skirt. Her leg was quite visible to Neil.
"Ah . . . I'll be right back," she mumbled as she quickly got down from Bonnie. Neil had to chuckle. Propriety in the Cove was fairly downgraded from what Christy was used to.
Minutes later, and still blushing crimson, Christy emerged from the mission wearing her riding skirt. Avoiding eye contact with Neil, she mounted Bonnie and urged her on far ahead of Neil.
"Where to?" she asked tensely, not glancing back.
Neil couldn't contain himself any longer. He let out a loud laugh. Christy whirled Bonnie around.
"Just what is so funny, Doctor," she said angrily.
"I'm sorry, Christy, but the way you came out of the mission and rode off a mile ahead of me was just too much. You still cannot see why propriety is so lowly regarded here."
"Well, yes, I see, but . . . ah—"
"Christy," he said, breaking into a trot to catch up with her. "I am a doctor. I have treated many a cuts on a woman's leg, and elsewhere."
Blushing deeper, she quickly changed the subject by asking, "Where are we going?"
Neil smiled, but this time kept his comments to himself.
"I would like to check up on Dan Scott. I haven't seen him around for a while. With the situation between him and Bird's-Eye, I hope he's all right."
"Yes, I've been worried about him, also." They rode in silence for a moment, until Christy noticed that Neil was studying Bonnie. "Do you like her?" Christy asked.
"Yes, very much. You say you bought her in Asheville?"
"I bought her from a farm not far out of Asheville," Christy said, patting Bonnie's neck.
"An Arab, is she not?"
"Yes."
"How much did you pay for her?" Neil inquired, obviously interested in the animal.
"Let's see, $300. Creed gave me his saddle."
"Creed gave you his saddle, that he won?" Neil asked, surprised.
"He did. Creed said it was 'gonna set and rot 'way.' " Christy paused, wondering if she should ask Neil where he had been during the week. "Neil, I know it's none of my business, but where have you been all week?"
"I've been wanting to tell you about the past few days, that's why I asked you to ride with me."
"Oh?" Christy asked, pleased that Neil would want to confide in her.
"Yes. I went on a retreat, kind of like the ones Alice goes on. I went to my cave. For a long while, I thought about God, about what had happened to me, and what you had said.
"When I was there, I felt God calling me, pulling at my very soul."
The fog surrounded them with its comforting arms as Neil pulled Charlie up and Christy stopped beside him. When Neil looked over to Christy, an inner glow that pierced through the fog radiated from her eyes; she was hoping beyond hope at his next words.
"I went to Hattie. She told me that indeed God was calling me, to become his child. Christy, with Hattie's help, I've accepted Christ."
Christy could hold back her tears of joy no longer. "Oh, Neil, I'm so happy for you! The peace of God has finally reached you."
Did Neil dare to wipe Christy's tears away? He leaned over with a handkerchief and brushed them away. Christy smiled and took his hand.
"I have seen you struggle, Neil, against God, and his Truth; through the hardships here, and Margaret."
Neil said softly with sorrow in his eyes, "Margaret drained me of my small acknowledgement of God and who He was. She took the life right out of me, but with the help of the Reverend, I am beginning to forgive her, not just forget her." He looked intently at Christy, who met his gaze for a moment and then looked away.
She urged Bonnie on, but a small smile played upon her lips. They rode in comfortable silence the rest of the way to Dan's. When the cabin came into view, Neil called out.
"Dan? You here? It's MacNeill."
Neil and Christy were surprised at how far the rebuilding had come. Had Dan done it all on his own? Dan emerged from the far side of his house and greeted the two riders as they dismounted.
"Doctor MacNeill, Miss Christy. What brings you here today?"
"Hello, Dan," Christy said. "Doctor MacNeill invited me to take a ride with him, and since we hadn't seen you for awhile, we thought we'd pay you a visit."
"Your cabin looks good, Dan. Did anyone help you?" Neil asked.
"Bird's-Eye Taylor." Neil and Christy were taken aback.
"Bird's-Eye?" They both asked.
Dan nodded, "While you were gone, Miss Christy, I went and spoke to Bird's-Eye," he smiled grimly, remembering. "Of course, it didn't go too well, but some days later he came and offered to help me with my cabin, claiming he aimed to pay me for the large rabbit I left him."
"Bird's-Eye Taylor," Christy said once again.
"'Tis good work Dan, but Bird's-Eye is a tricky fella," Neil said as he remounted. "We had best be off, the sun is going down."
Christy smiled at Dan while she tightened Bonnie's cinch and climbed up. "I'm glad Bird's-Eye gave you another chance."
"I don't know about that, Miss Christy, but maybe he's at least starting to see me as an equal." Dan waved and Neil and Christy were off.
"God's painting again," Christy said, referring to the pastel orange glow surrounded by gray pinks and blues as they rode into the mission clearing.
"Yes, He is. It's as if God painted the sunset at first with intensity, but then decided to soften it with the fog. Isn't it beautiful?"
"The most beautiful thing in the world," Christy replied, mesmerized by the hues.
"Almost," Neil said softly. Christy looked away shyly.
"I mean it, Christy."
"So," she said a moment later, breaking the stirring moment, "have you decided what you are going to do with your money?"
"I'm going to have them wire in some of the money to my bank account in Asheville."
"You have a back account in Asheville?" Christy asked, taken by surprise. She didn't know anyone in the Cove who had a bank account of any kind. Of course, Dr. MacNeill wasn't just "anyone."
"Don't look so startled, Miss Huddleston. It's not like I would put nearly $7,000 in the El Pano Bank, when it barely even has $700 to start with," he smiled. "But, to answer your question, I asked in my reply for $5,000 to be wired to the bank in Asheville, and, for convenience, $1,500 to be wired to El Pano."
"What about the other $500?" Christy asked.
"That . . . ah, will be sent directly to me," he stumbled. In truth, Neil had wanted to donate that to the mission. But he wanted the donation to remain anonymous. Neil knew that if a seemingly large sum of money arrived at the mission, Christy would know it was he who had sent it. Others might find out, also. And any money that someone had made others jealous.
Determined that the money would reach the mission, Neil had asked that the $500 be wired anonymously to Christy's church in Asheville, where it would then be sent to the mission.
Christy didn't buy it for a minute, but had other things on her mind, so she asked a different question. "What will you do with the money in the bank?
"One day, I would like to have a building built, where I could have an office and practice there, not in my home."
Christy nodded, "That is a good idea." Each with their own thoughts, they rode in silence the rest of the way to the mission. Christy wanted to ask him about his comment on Sunday, but didn't know if she had the courage.
The words were in her mouth as she dismounted from Bonnie, but they wouldn't be spoken. Curious of the pensive look on her face, Neil asked,
"Christy, is everything all right?"
Swallowing, Christy nodded and said, "Yes. Thank you for the wonderful time today. I enjoyed it very much."
"So did I. Good-bye." And he rode off into the world of miasma.
Two days later, Keri returned. She returned with a new horse, and a visitor. Christy was very relieved, for with Miss Alice gone, the work at the mission and its surrounding components had been stretched between David, Christy, and Fairlight. Ruby Mae was there also, but like always, she was more trouble than help. It was not so much the duties at the mission that were hard to keep up with, but Miss Alice's frequent riding to and from the different Coves, which David now had to cover.
"Keri," Christy said as she walked out of the mission with Fairlight to greet the riders, "I'm so glad you're back. We missed you here."
"I'm glad to be back," Keri replied, and then nodded at Fairlight. "Hello, Fairlight." Then she motioned to the woman beside her. "This is my dearest friend, Lindsey Ramsey." Christy turned her eyes to Lindsey, who sat atop a noble chestnut horse.
As Lindsey took her hat off, Christy could see that her hair was of a very light blond. Like Miss Alice, Lindsey's hair was braided and wound into a tiara on the top of her head. In fact, Christy could picture Lindsey and Miss Alice as princess and queen in fairytale land. Lindsey's blue-gray eyes were soft and kind.
She, like Keri, wore trousers to ride in, and her light blue shirtwaist bore a pearl cross.
Christy introduced herself, "I'm Christy Huddleston, the teacher here. This is my friend, Fairlight Spencer. Her children go to school here, and she helps us out at the mission," Christy said, motioning to her awestruck friend.
"Hello, Miss Huddleston, Mrs. Spencer. Keri has told me much about you, Miss Huddleston, and your horse. You must show me her." Lindsey is surely a friend of Keri's, both are completely engrossed in horses, Christy thought.
Tying the three horses up, they headed inside, where Ruby Mae had excitedly set up glasses of water upon hearing of the arrival of "Miss Loving."
"That's a might purty horse Miss Keri has," Fairlight whispered, referring to the new light, cream-colored horse that Keri had brought back with her. Christy also noticed that it had a distinctive, flowing motion as it walked.
"Yes, it is, Fairlight. I've never seen a horse of that color."
At the mission door they were greeted by Ruby Mae. "How was yer trip, Miss Loving? I see ye brung back another horse."
"Yes, I did. Her name is Pastel Climax. But I call her Dream. Ruby Mae, this is my friend, Lindsey Ramsey."
"Pleased ta meet ya, Miss Ramsey."
"Hello, Ruby Mae. Such a pretty name," Lindsey said, sticking out a hand.
"Yes'm. No one has a name like mine," Ruby Mae said, shaking Lindsey's hand.
"Ruby Mae, would you be willing to take care of Miss Ramsey's and Miss Loving's horses?" Christy asked the redhead.
"Honored, Miss Christy." As Ruby Mae walked out of the door, she said to herself, "Pastel Climax, downright princess-like." Keri and Lindsey chuckled.
"Well, Miss Ramsey, what brings you out here to Cutter Gap?" Christy asked as she sipped her water.
"I'm from Colorado, also. When Keri left her ranch and told me that she was going to Tennessee to raise horses, I wanted to follow and help her. It took time to get everything settled, but, as you can see, I made it, along with my mare that I raised back in Colorado, Sassy B Chick."
"The . . . uh . . .brown one?" Christy inquired. The color brown did not do justice to the beautiful horse, but Christy knew of no other word. Keri and Lindsey sure knew how to raise wonderful horses.
"Yes. Her color is called chestnut, but she seems to be a bit of bay, too…" Lindsey trailed off. Obviously loosing Christy in her world of horses, Lindsey said,
"Anyway, since we were small children, we both have loved horses." Lindsey smiled at Keri. "I always loved going to Keri's ranch. It was our dream to raise horses, and it is here we can achieve that."
"Yes, we certainly can." Keri paused, barely able to keep from shrieking, "I got the land over in Low Gap! Stephen A. Branson had no clue he even owned the land. I was able to get a very good deal. He didn't know what hit him when I walked into his office!"
Christy chuckled. She could just see the shock on the face of a man such as Stephen A. Branson when a redheaded, green-eyed, young woman waltzed into his office and offered him money for land he didn't know he had. Christy knew the likes of Stephen A. Branson. "What are you going to do with the land, Keri? Structure-wise, I mean."
"Well, I got 75 of his 150 acres. Most of it is flat, but I wanted some wooded land, also. I plan to build two barns and three fenced pastures. "
A frown crossed Christy's face. "That is going to be quite hard, Keri. You will have plenty of lumber, but how will it be built? And the mountain families might not take to a horse farm. The likes of it hasn't been seen before in these mountains." Not wanting to discourage Keri, for Christy believed anything could be achieved, she added, "I believe you can do it, don't get me wrong, it's just that through living here I have learned that the people don't accept anything that is new to them. Sometimes that unaccepting attitude can produce violence and raiding."
Fairlight, who had been quietly sitting there the whole time, contemplating the idea of a horse farm, had an idea and said, "Miss Keri, Miss Ramsey, I know the men out here real well, an' they might be lazy 'uns, but they'll work fer money, iffin it's real, good, hard, fair work. My Jeb and Tom McHone are real good at buildin' cabins and such. I know they'd be obleeged to help ye."
For a few moments, Keri sat thinking. "That is a good idea, Fairlight. Would the men really work for me if I paid them?"
"Oh, yes. With the right promtin', they'd do a right fine job," Fairlight said eagerly, glad to help.
Keri then said to Christy, "What do you propose I do about people's attitudes?"
Christy answered, "Try and keep the building as quiet and unnoticeable as possible, and use as little outside help as you can, even if it means taking longer." Keri nodded, considering. "Also, Keri, show the people that you pose no threat to them. Like Fairlight said, offer them jobs and, if you can afford it, offer them low-priced horses in the future."
Lindsey piped up, "What if we stayed until spring and then started to build? Maybe give people time to accept us."
"Yes, but where would we live during that time?" Keri asked.
"You could stay at the mission," Christy offered.
"No, that is all right. We can certainly find another place to stay," Keri said.
"I doubt that you will, Keri. Really, we don't mind taking people in. We have plenty of room."
"All right, but only if we find no other place to go."
"Good, then it's settled," Christy said as she stood up. "Miss Ramsey, would you like a tour of the mission?"
"I would enjoy that very much. Please, Christy, Fairlight, call me Lindsey," she smiled.
"I enjoyed talking with ye, Miss Keri, Miss Lindsey. I'd best go finish the laundry," Fairlight said shyly.
"It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Spencer," Lindsey called after Fairlight. As they were walking up to the schoolhouse, Lindsey inquired, "How many people live here?"
"Four permanent residents: David, our preacher, Miss Alice, the head of the mission, myself, and Ruby Mae, who doesn't really have a home. Fairlight Spencer, as you know, is staying here for a while, until Miss Alice returns from," Christy searched for the right words, "visiting her daughter."
"When did Miss Alice leave?" Keri asked.
"Last Sunday."
"I see. Where is David?"
"David went to Lufty Branch today." Lindsey had not heard a word Christy and Keri had said. She could only murmur in awe,
"This is a piece of heaven. . . ."
Christy and Keri smiled at each other. It looked as if Cutter Gap had snatched yet another victim of its beauty. At the schoolhouse, Christy proudly announced,
"And this is our school and church. . . . "