A Courageous Act

 By Ellie I. (ages 14-18 category)

Chapter 1 

Surprise

 

 

Marcella Walker tugged her split skirt free from a snag as she climbed the corral fence. Glancing around it, she put two fingers to her lips and let out a shrill whistle. 

A whinny answered her call and a cream colored palomino stallion came trotting over to her. 

“Hello Sunny, are you ready for a ride old boy?” She stroked his mane. Sunny nickered a reply, and stamped his hoof in eagerness to go. 

Her thoughts wandered to Sunny’s twin Shasta. I wonder if Andi is riding him at all right now? With the twins and Jared, she probably doesn’t have a lot of time to go off for a ride.  

She brought Sunny’s saddle around to the corral fence and began to saddle him. 

Andi’s last letter had spoken of Riley’s prized stallion they had just sold; Jared’s new horse Bullet, and her garden she had planted with the twins. 

It sounded delightful and adventurous; she could see the love written between the pages of Andi’s letter as she described what each family member was doing. 

Macy secretly wished she could visit them soon; she buckled Sunny’s bridle and flung the reins over the horn of her saddle. Sticking her boot in the stirrup she mounted Sunny in a clean arch.  

She took a deep breath, and gathered the reins in her fingertips, “Let’s go Sunny!” Her heels dug into Sunny’s side and they galloped away.  

I’ll let Sunny have his head and go where he pleases today.  

The gentle breeze played with her hair sending it in ribbons behind her. 

Auntie was such a dear to let me go off riding like this, she knew I couldn’t stay inside. 

The beautiful rolling blue sky fell before her with the many maple trees dotting the area, and the golden grasses gently swaying in the wind. 

Oh, if only it would stay like this forever; her Aunt was her family now. Ever since that terrible day, her and Andi had been in that swampy bog, she had never seen her bothers again. 

She had no idea even if they were still in prison. 

Would she ever see them again? 

Would they change their wicked ways after spending time in prison? 

Her thoughts drifted.  

 

“Get up girl!” Macy jumped awake, Ty stood towering over her, his scruffy beard was stained yellow from tobacco juice. 

“Well, I ain’t goin!” Macy scowled. 

Ty swore and spit a string of tobacco juice, his eyes were blood shot red. 

“We’re goin! I ain’t leaven you here, I’m Tired of listening to your old Aunt fool religious stuff. “  

“I’m not having our Bible thumpin’ Aunt turnin’ you into a goody- goody!” 

Macy sneered in Ty’s  face, “You can go, but I’m stayin’!  I like it here, and ain’t no body can make me go! I’m staying!” 

Ty wrenched her arm; Macy could see the anger in Ty’s eyes.

“Ain’t nobody gonna look after you better than us, Macy-girl.” 

Ty jerked her up “Here put those on!” Ty tossed a raggedy pair of overalls onto her bed, “And come down stairs when you’re done.” 

Macy looked defiantly, “Says who? Why don’t I get a say in this?” 

Ty’s face tightened, he grabbed her by the arms, and shook her hard. 

“Listen Macy girl, you’ll do as I say! Put those things on and get downstairs.” 

“And don’t you try to run either! Know that I’ll find you, and thrash you for your life.” 

“Now get!” 

Ty shoved Macy at her bed, She crashed into it, and crumpled to the ground. Tears stung her eyes. 

“I want to leave right after breakfast” Ty slammed the door. 

Aunt Hester stood weeping on the porch. “Please let Macy stay with me.” 

“No!” Ty shouted, “She’s comin’ with us.” 

Aunt Hester leaned against the porch railing, a white handkerchief in her hand. Her eyes full of tears, and her face gray.  

How could her brothers do this? Macy buried her face in the wagon box and sobbed as the wagon carried her away.

 

Macy shuddered at the memory and wiped her shirt sleeve across her face,

She was glad to be with her Aunt now, safe!

Her horse’s startled whinny cut though her thoughts as Sunny crazily side stepped to get out of the way of something. 

“Whoa Sunny, Settle down!” A frighten cry sounded somewhere in front of Sunny as he swerved out of the way. 

Macy fought to keep her seat and to control the wild horse. She rained him in and spoke soothingly; Sunny settled down right away. 

Macy looked around and gasped, a little girl with dark hair and blue eyes lay sprawled in the grass. 

Another small girl sat on a gorgeous but beaten up gypsy Cob horse nearby.

Macy jumped off of Sunny and rushed over and knelt beside the little girl.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt?” 

The little girl burst into tears and clutched her hand. “I want my mama!” 

Macy felt the little girl over and saw no bones were broken. 

“Are you lost? What is your name sweetheart?” 

The little girl stop blubbering long enough to nod her head, and whisper “I’m Lilly, and my sister is Lottie.” 

Macy glanced up at Lottie seated on the horse with her face partially buried in its dirty mane. 

The horse had no saddle with only a bridle, and it appeared to have not seen the walls of a stable in some time. 

Macy stared at the horse. Had she seen it before? 

 

Again she saw herself standing at the circus; a man a few feet in front of her. 

His black beady eyes, matched his dark mustache and sly grin, as he led a rare gypsy cob horse around back. 

A cold chill ran down her spine; she couldn’t help but watch him. And she had an eerie sensation that he was up to no good. 

Was this that same horse? 

 

Lottie’s whimpering brought her back from her musing. “Lilly and I got lost from Mama and Papa when we were looking at the monkeys,” tears started streaming down her cheeks. 

“Then mean bad men came and took us.’’

 “I was scared, but Lilly prayed that we’d escape. She said that God would watch over us, then we took horsey and ran away.  

Can you help us find Mama and Papa? I’m really hungry!” She sniffled. 

Macy seized her handkerchief out of her back pocket, and handed it to the little girl. 

“Don’t worry honey, I’ll help you find your Mama and Papa; you’re safe now.” 

She squeezed the little girl’s hand. “What’s your Mama and Papa’s names?”

“Prescott… Andi and Riley Prescott.”

“Wha..What!” Macy gasped.  These two girls are Riley and Andi’s twins? How had they ended up in Arkansas, of all places? 

If they were kidnapped by that man at the circus, that would explain it. He simply took off across several states thinking he would never get caught. 

Macy looked up at the two girls. “I need to get you girls to Auntie’s place, where there’s warm food and then we will see about your Mama and Papa.”

 

 

Chapter 2 

Unexpected Timing 

 

 

“Creak!” The back door squeaked on its hinges as Macy slowly opened it. “Come on,” she beckoned to the two little girls behind her. They made their way into the entry. 

“I will get you girls something to eat first, then we can explain to Aunt Hester.” She slowly walked past the parlor door heading for the kitchen. 

A loud piercing laugh caused Macy to halt in her tracks. It was coming from the parlor door.  

“Land sakes Hester! I do believe he is cutting those pieces of meat smaller and charging the same price!” Mrs. Grechel’s voice sounded from the parlor.

 Mrs. Grechel, the town busybody was here! She couldn’t go in there and tell her Aunt about the twins until Mrs. Grechel left.

 If she did, the news would be all around town before she would be able to take them safely away. Maybe it would even get to the ears of their kidnappers. 

Aunt Hester’s voice brought her back. “Well, let me get you some more tea and some fresh biscuits I just made.” 

Macy didn’t wait a second longer. She grabbed the two girl’s hands and quietly ran upstairs. She rushed them into her room and quickly shut the door. “You girls will have to stay in here until Mrs. Grechel leaves. I will go get some food, try to be as quiet as you can   dearies.”                                                                                                                      

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Macy sat fidgeting in the parlor, she glanced at the clock it was almost super time and Mrs. Grechel had still not left. She turned and peered out the window. The sky was growing a dark shade of gray, and thunder rolled in the distance. What am I supposed to do? She had smuggled food up to the twins earlier that day. She really just wanted to talk to her Aunt about this whole situation, but Mrs. Grechel’s constant babbling had not given her a chance.  How can I get…  

A loud knock at the door caused Macy to jump. Aunt Hester quickly set down her tea and hurried to answer it. 

“That must be Thomas!” Mrs. Grechel hastened to grab her cloak. “I’ve had a perfectly splendid time here, thank you for your hospitality Hester and of course you too Macy. 

But when they opened the door they saw a man, not Thomas.

“Lands sakes,” Mrs. Grechel Exclaimed. “I thought you were Thomas.” She addressed the tall man with a thick mustache.

Macy stood frozen. Something about this man standing there startled her. Why did he look so familiar? And those black beady eyes, she shuttered.

The man’s raspy voice brought her back to the present. 

“Howdy ladies, Pardon me. I was just stopping by to see if you have seen two little girls any wear about?

My daughters and I were out camping when their horse spooked and took off with them, I have been relentlessly searching for them the whole afternoon, and was wondering if I could look around your property Madam.” 

“Why of course, I am sure Hester would allow it.” Mrs Grechel peered over at her.

“I am sure that is fine, you can search were ever you like, poor little girls out there, when this bad storm is approaching.” 

“Thank you ma’am, I wholeheartedly appreciate your kindness.” He tipped his hat and turned away.

Aunt Hester shut the door. “Seems kind of strange they were out camping in this weather.”

“Oh nonsense, think of the poor man searching all alone for his precious daughters.” Mrs. Grechel moaned mentally. 

Macy hurried into the kitchen and glanced out the window. The stranger met a second man that held the mains of two horses. So there were two men; the stranger was not alone. 

Macy gripped the curtain with her fist. How was she going to do this? With Auntie giving those men permission to search the property they would surely find the gypsy cob horse out on the range. And she couldn’t tell Auntie now. Suddenly Macy knew what she had to do, this was something only God could help her with.

“God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Macy whispered.

 

The lightning lit up the sky as Macy cautiously peered around the corner of the house. She shuttered, Please God help me to get the twins to safety and not get caught!

The rain beat down on Macy as she made her way to the barn, her lantern candle sputtered as the rain came down hard. When she got to the barn everything was quite. 

Macy made her way to Sunny’s stall. Sunny whinnied a greeting. “Shhhh Sunny, you can’t be that loud those men could have heard you.” Macy tacked up Sunny as quickly as possible. She talked to him as she worked. “Well, Sunny we have a job to do, it isn’t going to be easy, but there is no other way.” She turned and hurried back into the house. 

How should I explain to Auntie my plan? I will probably be gone for a few days. Leaving right now wasn’t a problem, Auntie would just think she went up to bed, a thought struck her.

“I’ll write a note and leave it on her desk.” She crept into Aunt Hester’s room. The sound of hushed voices from the parlor warned Macy to be quiet. As she grabbed a piece of paper out of the desk, her fingers brushed against the smooth metal butt of her Aunt’s pistol, Macy froze. Her hand resting on the handle, should she take it? 

Macy glanced back at the door. If those men are on the ranch… Then? She slipped the pistol across the desk and placed it into the pocket of her split skirt. With many miles to go and a night like this there is no telling what will happen. 

 

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Rain beat down heavily on Macy as she clutched the little girl in the saddle in front of her. She was drenched and starting to feel miserable. Macy could tell that Lilly was soaked too, by her small whimpers behind her. They had been riding for an hour and it was starting to get really cold.

Macy plucked at her sopping wet skirt. We still have a half-hour to go, and I really need to give the twins a rest. But what if those men were on her trail this very minute? 

A sudden uneasiness settled over Macy, like someone was watching her. She quickly turned her head glancing behind them. Blackness was all she saw on the dimly lit road.  A bolt of lightning lit up the sky, and Macy caught sight of a man, some distance away on a horse.

She gasped. One of the men that close behind her! Her hands tightened on the reins. She sent up a quick prayer, then kicked Sunny into action. The hard thump of something bulky hit her side. The revolver! Hopefully she wouldn’t have to use it tonight. 

“Lilly, Lottie I need you girls to hold on as tight as you can, and if something happens don’t let go.” 

Her mind raced over the many miles that Sunny galloped. She kept looking behind her but saw nothing. Macy sighed with relief as they came into town. She made a beeline for the Sheriff’s office quickly dismounting with the twins. Macy banged heavily on the door. “Sheriff!” Her call echoed through the streets. 

The door opened and the Sheriff walked out. “Macy Walker! What are you doing out on a night like this?”

Macy hurriedly explained her situation. 

“Don’t worry ma’am, I’ll take care of him.”

 

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“Next stop Fresno!” 

Macy smiled as she looked down at the two girls sleeping by her side. She was able to send a telegram to Andi before they left on the train. 

They would be there to pick up the twins. She leaned back in her seat and prayed quietly thanking God for their safe trip home.