"I hear water," Adam managed to say. "Rough water." Adam guessed it was only about 30 yards away.
"Yes, it's Agua Negre—Black Water Creek. I hadn't realized we had walked this far. Let's turn back, Adam. I don't think we should be here. Please, let's go back. I just feel something bad here tonight."
"No…" Adam wanted to turn back as well but something stronger compelled him to continue. "You wait here. I just want to see…I have to see what it looks like." Adam left Evangeline standing in the darkness while he followed the sound of the water rushing over boulders. He worked his way down the rocks to the water that rushed by, kicking up water as it hit the rocks in its path. Adam felt himself shake with trepidation—and desire; it was the lure of the water, the dark depths in front of him that called, that sang to him. "You have water in your blood, boy," Ben had said once as they sat looking at the large lake bordering their property, "from both your grandfather and me. It calls to us." The water seemed to be inviting him in—it teased as it flowed and rushed by, making a loud noise that drowned out all else. The snow melt had given it new strength, greater force and it was seductive, as seductive and alluring as a beautiful, wanton woman inviting him into her bed. Adam put out a hand to feel the chill water, anticipating the iciness but instead there was a sharp, heavy, sickening pain in the back of his skull and he toppled over into the black water. A shock ran through him at the coldness surrounding him and he couldn't think. The pain in his head was confusing and he fought to rise to the surface of the tumultuous water. But he didn't know what was the surface and what was the bed as the water churned and rolled him over and over, tossing him about and under as it pulled him along as if he was a mere leaf that had dropped in. He slammed into boulders that lay in his path and then found himself helplessly pulled around them before he could completely grasp them and rescue himself. His face rose to the surface and he fought to get toward the shore while he filled his painful lungs but then he was turned about and under again and he was enveloped in the dark water.
In the water, against its strength Adam was helpless and disoriented. He became desperate to breathe but couldn't get to the surface, couldn't raise his head and he was tumbled almost head over heels as the rushing water took him and tossed him. His throat closed and his head felt as if it was going to explode along with his lungs. He released his breath and thought, "This is how I'm going to die—in black water—just as the fortuneteller said." And had he been able to, he would have laughed—laughed at his insistence to disregard the vision so long ago, the vision of his death. Then all went black behind his eyes and Adam was carried along with the current.
~ 0 ~
The fire in his lungs flared, burned, when he gasped and sucked in one huge breath. Adam tried to sit up—seeing nothing at first but then hearing his brother Hoss' voice and a huge hand grasped him and pulled him to his feet. Adam was unsteady, his legs rubbery and he coughed up traces of water while he tried to fill his lungs with the cool night air. Adam wondered what had been used to strike him, what had been slammed against his skull. His head throbbed and with each breath his ribs protested. He couldn't stop shaking and then something heavy, Hoss' vest was draped over his shoulders.
"Dang, Adam, I thought for sure you was a goner. C'mon, get on my horse and we'll go to the Rigby's."
Adam grabbed Hoss' shirt front. "Evangeline. I left her alone."
"Adam, Adam, settle down. Miss Evangeline, she's….she's back at the house by now—I'm sure. Now c'mon. I don't know how far from the house we are but you need a warm fire afore you catch your death."
"I thought I'd already caught my death," Adam said weakly as he leaned on Hoss. When they reached the horse, Adam tried to mount. His legs were weak and pulling himself up caused sharp pain but with Hoss' help, he was finally sitting on the horse although none too steadily, and Hoss was leading it toward the Rigby house. "How'd you find me, Hoss? What're you doing out here?"
"I beat Joe five games of checkers in a row but as the evenin' went on, I started gettin' anxious—worried you'd get a bellyache from eatin' your dinner and my share too. So I was ridin' out to the house and I…."
"And what?" Adam was still trying to calm his breathing; his throat was raw and his head ached.
I heard somethin', sounded like a person cryin' and sorta screamin'—not like she done seen a mouse or nothin' but like she was being hurt or scared or both. So I followed the sound and I couldn't quite make out what was happenin' 'til I got down and, well, it was that doctor on top of Miss Evangeline. He was sayin' she was a jezebel and the Whore of Babylon and that, well, that she needed to be kept from her seven-headed beast…I hauled him off of her and swung on him so hard that he went flat. Anyway, she was…upset but had enough sense about her to tell me that you were at Black Water Creek—that Branson told her you were dead. So's I rode along the creek lookin' for you and iffen you hadn't been wearin' that white shirt, well, I don't think I would've spotted you. I had a helluva time draggin' you out and thought you was dead. But then I 'membered that time Hop Sing saved Joe when he had near 'bout drowned at the picnic. Remember, Adam-how he turned Joe on his side and slapped his back until water came outta his mouth and then layin' 'im on his back, pushed up on his belly 'til he breathed again? That's what I done to you and damned if it didn't work."
"That explains why my ribs feel like you and your horse both kicked me in the chest." Adam had one arm wrapped about his ribs, holding them tightly. "But Evangeline, she's all right?"
"Yeah, when I left her she was on her way back to the house and Branson, well, I doubt he'll come to for a long time and even iffen he should, well, I tied his wrists with my bandana."
Hoss walked as quickly as he could in the dark leading the horse, searching for lights. He had told Adam Evangeline was back at the house but he didn't actually know—and she certainly wasn't all right.
As Hoss rode in the direction of the Rigby house, he slowed down. He knew he was near it—his sense of direction one always strong. He listened and heard water on his left—strong water not more than maybe 30, 40 yards away. "It must be Black Water Creek," Hoss thought. He was about to go on when a sound broke through-a cry, a scream and then, above it, a man's voice—an angry voice. Hoss rode toward it, his heart pounding.
A large, dark, creature was moving on the ground. The moon was full but he still couldn't make out exactly what it was but it looked like some hulking, struggling creature—and then the words Adam used to mean intercourse, the one from the play "Othello," came to him—"The beast with two backs."
Hoss dismounted while his horse still moved and rushed to grab the person on top—a man—a man who was spouting invectives at the woman under him, calling her the Whore of Babylon, telling her she was a jezebel and must be punished and then purified. "The words of the Lord are pure words," he ranted as he moved atop a struggling Evangeline, "as silver purified seven times." When Hoss grabbed the man by the shoulders and tossed him aside, he was shocked to see it was the doctor, Frank Branson. Hoss stepped back in surprise and then glanced at the woman who was sobbing and scuttling back, pushing with her heels. Her dress was ripped, torn open at the bodice, her skirts pushed up, and her white thighs shone in the moonlight.
"Miss Evangeline, it's me, Hoss." He moved toward her but she looked at him, terrified. Hoss thought she looked like a whipped dog, one that cowers from all human touch after being mistreated. He kneeled down and she looked at him, her hair half-tumbled down. She clutched her torn bodice, pulling it closed, and then looked over Hoss' shoulder, her face full of horror. Hoss turned and received a slam in his jaw. He tumbled over slightly due to the loss of balance but the punch barely registered. Hoss was soon on his feet and facing Frank Branson. He smiled—this would be easy—almost too easy.
"You have no right!" Frank screamed. Hoss saw the wildness in the doctor's eyes that Adam had described—the focus on another reality. "You shall be punished by hellfire!"
"And you can go to hell," Hoss said and gave his all as he smashed into the doctor's jaw. Hoss felt and heard bone under his knuckle and Frank Branson dropped to the ground like a felled tree and lay, slightly twitching. "I hope I killed you, you son of a bitch." He then turned to Evangeline who had stopped sobbing but still shook.
Hoss kneeled to her again. "Miss Evangeline, where's Adam?"
"He…he went to the creek. I didn't want to go…I asked him not to go." Her face was as white as the moon.
"Can you get back to your house by yourself?" Hoss gently asked. She nodded. Hoss raised her from the ground and Evangeline, wide-eyed looked at Frank prone on the ground. Hoss followed her gaze. "Don't worry none about him. I'll tie him up. He ain't goin' nowhere but jail. Can you find your way?"
Evangeline whispered yes and started shuffling in the direction of her home and then she began to run and Hoss was torn; he had to find Adam but he also had to take care of Branson. Hoss pulled his bandana out of his back pocket and working quickly, rolled Branson over and, pulling his arms behind him, wound the quickly-rolled bandana around Frank's wrists, knotting the two ends. The he remounted and headed to the creek.
Adam wasn't there. The water was rushing and Hoss knew that a man would be moved along quickly but Adam wasn't weak and would try to reach the shore. But the fortuneteller's prediction for Adam sounded in the back of his head—"Beware of black water. You will drown in it."