Walter pulled the blanket tighter around himself. They had met at a point northwest of Brookfield and then rode southeast. They were probably closer to the town than anyone expected but Charlie was sure that the change of direction and the fact that they had all taken different routes to their rendevous would throw off anyone following them. They had managed to find an abandoned mine, which they were using for a bit of shelter. Pine boughs covered the entrance and hopefully hid the light from their fire if anyone should happen by.
A fire that Walter was very thankful for tonight. He briefly wondered if he should have thrown a blanket over the Mountie before leaving the cabin. Even with having put in some new logs before he left, the fire in the cabin would have gone out by now. He would imagine that even the cabin would be growing cold by now.
Thoughts of the Mountie were what was keeping him up right now. If he could know that he had been found, Walter knew he would feel better. However, they had taken him a good distance outside the town. Chances were, any search efforts had not made it that far before they had lost the light.
Walter looked around at his companions. No such worries were keeping them up tonight. They were all sleepy peacefully. Not for the first time, Walter wondered how they could sleep so easily the night following a heist. Did they not feel any remorse over what they had all done?
Charlie said the people they stole from would barely miss what they had taken. He said they would be fine though maybe would have to skip dessert a few times. Hardly any hardship at all.
Walter could remember nights when he and Charlie had skipped more than dessert. Walter had known hunger from time to time. It was not a good feeling.
It was probably also something else the Mountie was feeling other than the cold tonight despite the fact that he had fed him the beans. The fact that his own stomach was full again tonight only added to Walter's guilt. Sure he might be a bit cold, but he had a blanket and the fire. He was not bound and helpless, having to just endure whatever happened. The Mountie had already been showing signs of discomfort from his restraints before Walter had left him. Walter could only imagine that had gotten worse.
Yes, he might be stuck in a way of life that he did not like, but Walter felt luckier than that Mountie tonight.
Though he was no longer sure that God would answer his prayers after all the things he had done, Walter closed his eyes and said a silent prayer. He did not pray for himself. He prayed that God would keep his brother safe. He also prayed for God to be with the Mountie tonight during his suffering and to lead help to him as soon as possible.
Grace finished telling her story and then told Vincent and Christian it was time for bed. With the promise that she would be in to say goodnight, the two boys hurried off to their own room. Alone with Mary Louise, Grace kissed the child's forehead as she pulled the blanket up. With a final goodnight, Grace turned out the lamp and headed out of the room. She went to the boy's room and repeated the process.
"Miss Grace?" Vincent asked as she was about to step from his room.
"Yes?" Grace inquired, standing in the doorway.
"Will there still be church tomorrow with Mountie Gabe missing?"
"Pastor Martin has invited everyone not involved with the search to gather together for a prayer meeting."
"What is that?" Christian asked.
"Instead of Pastor Martin giving a sermon, the meeting will be dedicated to praying for Mountie Gabe and those searching for him."
"Do you think Billy will be there?" Vincent asked.
"I do not know," Grace admitted.
"If he is not there, could we see him after wards? Perhaps stay with him for a bit so he doesn't have to be worried all alone?" Vincent asked.
"I think Billy would like that," Grace replied. "Now try to get some sleep."
"Goodnight, Miss Grace," both boys said again.
Grace repeated goodnight, and then slipped from the room. Instead of going to her own room, Grace made her way to Lillian's room. Her sister had retreated to her room shortly after dinner, which she had barely touched. Grace couldn't blame her. If it was Chuck missing, she doubted she would be able to eat either.
Reaching the room, Grace knocked on the door.
"Come in," Lillian called out.
Grace opened the door and slipped into the room. The room was dark. At first, Grace thought perhaps Lillian had already climbed in bed. However, she then spotted Lillian standing by the window.
Crossing the room, Grace stepped up beside her sister, putting her arms around her.
"They'll find him," Grace assured her, glad that her voice sounded more confident then how she felt.
Lillian nodded, even as she continued to stare out the window."I knew something was not right last night, Grace. I felt it. Just like I know he is still alive, in here," she said, pointing to her heart.
Grace nodded, not sure what to say to that.
"I should have checked on him last night, Grace," Lillian said. "I knew something was not quite right but I did not act on it."
"What could you have done? You may have even been caught up in everything as well?"
"Maybe I could not have done anything. Perhaps Gabriel would have already been missing by the time I got there. However, we would have known he was missing earlier. We loss time searching for him because I remained here."
"None of this is your fault," Grace told her sister.
"Maybe not," Lillian said. "However, after this, the thing I want most is to be able to lie down at night and know that Gabriel is safe and lying down beside me. I don't want to wait until June to marry him, Grace. I also do not want to steal any joy from your wedding either. I want you to have the wedding you want, Grace."
"As long as you are there, then the day I say 'I do' to Chuck will be perfect. If you do not want to wait until June to marry Gabriel then please don't wait on my account. However, you should not cheat yourself of a special day either, Lillian."
"I don't care about the wedding day. If I get him back this time, I just do not want to waste any more time apart from Gabriel than necessary."
"You are going to get him back," Grace told her sister, giving Lillian's shoulders a squeeze. "And when you do, tell him how you feel and as soon as the two of you want to get married, we'll make it happen somehow."
Lillian leaned her head on Grace's shoulder. Grace was just glad that she could be with Lillian through this, though she secretly wondered if Lillian would actually go through with a quick wedding.
Nathan opened the door to yet another cabin. He expected this one to be empty like the others he had checked. After opening so many doors and finding only an empty cabin, Nathan was feeling nothing but despair. Gabriel was running out of time. Nathan knew that the one thing worse than never finding him would be to find his friend too late.
As he stepped into this cabin though, Nathan froze. It was not empty. Gabriel lay on the lone bed in the one room cabin. His wrists were bound in front of him and his ankles were bound as well. Gabriel's eyes were closed but Nathan found himself watching his friend's chest. He was waiting for the up and down motion that would tell him he was not too late.
A movement hat never came.
"Gabe!" Nathan called, hoping that his eyes were playing tricks on him. Hoping that his friend would open his eyes and answer him.
No reply came.
Nathan moved forward. It felt like he was moving in slow motion. He wanted to rush to Gabe's side but he could not make himself do so. Nathan knew what he was going to find. He knew that he had failed his friend.
Finally though, he knelt down next to bed. Taking off a glove, he reached out and felt for a pulse. Gabe's skin was cold and no beat pulsed under his fingertips.
With a gasp, Nathan woke up. Sitting up he looked around, taking in his surroundings. He was in a one room cabin very similar to the one in his dream. He knew what he had just been through was a dream as the fire in the fireplace in front of him cast light and warmth over this room. He saw his and Carson's gear sitting against the wall of the cabin. The doctor had taken the cabin's bed at Nathan's insistence. Nathan had insisted that he was more accustomed to sleeping on the ground than Carson, something that the doctor could not argue with.
"Nathan, are you okay?"
Nathan glanced in the direction of the voice. Carson was sitting up in the bed now, the flickering light of the fire barely illuminating his features. Still, there was enough light for Nathan to see the concern on his companion's face. The Mountie also knew that Carson was not going to be satisfied with a simple fine.
"Just a bad dream," Nathan admitted, taking another deep breath and letting it out as he tried to ground himself. He tried to push the image of Gabe's still, cold body from his mind. Gabe was resilient. His friend would find a way to hang on as long as he could.
"Someone is going to find, Gabriel," Carson said with enough conviction that it pushed Nathan's lingering doubt away. "Perhaps they already have."
"Perhaps," Nathan admitted. "Either way, I want to stay off the main road tomorrow as we continue to Brookfield. I would hate to find out later that we passed by him because we were not looking."
Carson nodded. "Whatever you want to do," the doctor conceded. "At least until we find him, this is your operation. I am just a second set of eyes until or if my medical skills are needed."
Nathan nodded as he moved from under the blanket and reached for another piece of wood to add to the fire. He placed it in the fire, reaching for the poker when it did not settle in a good place.
"I do appreciate you riding along with me, Carson," Nathan said, as he moved the piece of wood to a spot where it would catch fire quicker. "It is better to be riding with someone else and if . . ."
Nathan let the thought trail off as he stared into the flames. Gabriel had not been seen for more than twenty-four hours now. Whatever the robbers had done to get him out of the way, Gabriel had been unable to make it back to Brookfield. That meant he was detained in some way, hurt or worse. Images of his dream came back to him again. The dream was all the reminder he needed of what 'worse' could mean.
"If Gabriel is hurt it will be good for him to get medical treatment quickly," Nathan finally stated, struggling to keep his voice steady.
"I will do everything I can for him in that situation," Carson replied. "For now, how about the two of us try to get some sleep. We won't do anybody any good stumbling around in the dark. I promise to be ready to leave at first light."
Nathan nodded. He knew Carson was right. If the men had left any sign of their passing, he could easily miss it in the dark. One of the horses could injure themselves or he or Carson could get hurt.
Getting proper rest would help keep him sharp to begin the actual searching tomorrow.
"You can have the bed if you think it might help you sleep better," Carson offered.
Nathan shook his head. "Sleeping on the floor is not what woke me up," he said. However, he did return to the blanket and settled down again. Laying on his back, Nathan stared up at the ceiling.
What was Gabe enduring right now? If Nathan had his way, this time tomorrow night, he would have Gabriel safely back in Brookfield with Billy and Lillian.
Maggie woke up, groaning slightly at the kink in her neck. As she went to reach up to massage her neck, she became aware of the weight in her lap. Immediately she understood the reason for the kink in her neck.
The lamp was still burning on the end table beside her, casting a dim glow on the living area of her small home. Leaving one hand securely around the sleeping boy in her lap, Maggie reached up and massaged her sore neck with her other hand.
Billy had not wanted to leave town until the last of the search parties were in. Lillian had brought food by the infirmary for Maggie and Billy. Despite encouragement from both women, the lad had only managed to nibble at the food. It was already dark when Chuck and Joe came by with a wagon. Chuck drove Lillian out to the orphanage and then took Maggie and Billy out to her home. Joe had walked them from the wagon to the house, bringing in a folding cot from the infirmary for Billy to sleep on. He had set it up near Maggie's bed, while Maggie had gotten a fire started in the stove to take the chill out of the little home. Before leaving, Joe had asked her if she needed anything else. Maggie had told him her and Billy would be fine for the night, before kissing Joe's cheek.
There was something to be said about someone asking if you needed something rather than you always being the one giving of yourself.
After Joe had left, Maggie had turned to Billy who was sitting at the table. She asked him if he wanted something to eat. The boy had shook his head. She then suggested that he get ready for bed. Billy had started crying again then. Not knowing what else to do, she had gotten Billy to his feet and led him over to the rocking chair. Despite the boy probably being too old to sit in her lap or rocked, Maggie had done exactly that. She had settled in the chair, pulled Billy into her lap, and let him cry while she rocked and held him close. At some point, Billy had fallen asleep. Afraid he might not be able to go back to sleep if she disturbed him, Maggie had continued to rock him silently.
At some point, Maggie must have fallen asleep herself. She had no idea what time of night it was. All she was sure of was that it was still dark outside. Still not wanting to disturb the sleeping boy, whose face finally looked peaceful in the lamplight, Maggie remained where she was, As she had rubbed the soreness from her neck, Maggie settled both arms around Billy again.
The rocking chair might not be the most comfortable spot to sleep, but at least Billy was getting rest. The boy needed that right now as much as he had needed the comfort of being close to someone whether he had known it or not.
Maggie's thoughts drifted to Gabriel. What had happened to the town's Mountie? Had he been hurt or had he simply been detained somewhere? She had heard the Mounties talking. She had heard them saying that so far the suspected group that had robbed the Royal Brookfield had not yet killed anyone, though a Mountie had been seriously injured in their last robbery. The Mounties believed Gabriel had been taken to some place outside of town. She had heard them saying that previous captives had been found as far as a two-hour ride outside of their town. Maggie knew that was a lot of ground to cover and wondered how long it might take to find Gabriel.
Maggie hoped it was soon and not just for Billy's sake. If Gabriel was hurt, he needed proper care and not be stuck out there alone in the cold. Even if he wasn't hurt, he would be feeling discomfort from being bound for an extended period of time. Then there were dehydration and the lack of food. The human body could only take so much no matter how stubborn a person was.
Leaning her head back, Maggie slowly rocked the chair, her arms still around the sleeping boy in her lap.
Dry sobs wracked his body as Gabriel lay alone in the dark, and now cold, cabin. This wasn't the first time since Walter had left that he had broken down. However, the previous time there had been tears.
Gabriel's whole body hurt. His right arm had gone numb. The headache, which had been fading, had returned. He had a feeling that his struggles to free himself had resulted in abrasions to his wrists, which stung. Those struggles had also left him physically exhausted. His mouth was dry and he was thirsty and hungry. He felt emotionally drained as he worried about Billy and what the boy was going through, not that there was anything he could do for the boy. Despite the physical and emotional exhaustion, sleep only came in short spurts as the night drug on.
"Help me, somebody," Gabriel called out. It wasn't the first time the plea had crossed his lips. "Please, help me."
Gabriel wasn't sure if the words were said in the hopes that someone might wander by and hear them or if they were a prayer to God. Perhaps it was both. All Gabriel was sure of was that this night seemed like the longest night he had ever endured. It seemed even longer than last night had been. Last night, at least then he had been warm.
Gabriel wasn't sure how long the emotional outburst lasted but eventually he started feeling a bit calmer. Concentrating on his breathing, he managed to get it under control. Looking around the cabin, the night did not seem to be fading yet.
Closing his eyes, Gabriel tried to ignore the pain and clear his mind of his emotions. He needed a lot of things. He needed heat, water, food and rest. The only one that he had any control over right now was the last one.
Perhaps if he could get a little sleep, his mind might seem a bit clearer and his emotions a bit more under control. If nothing else, in the oblivion of sleep perhaps the time would seem to pass a little quicker.