Could the Indians be worshiping the same God as she and not even realize it? Perhaps He was the same God called by a different name. There were so many things she didn’t know about these red-skinned people. Perhaps the fact that she’d ended up here in this cabin with a Nez Percé Indian had been God’s plan so that she could learn more about the Nez Percé and their ways. This would help her when she got to the Spalding Mission. Of course, she had to find a way to get there first. In the meanwhile, for whatever time she remained in Jim’s cabin, she would learn all she could from Mary. Perhaps in the process, she could teach the young Indian woman about the one true God.
C HAPTER 13
A manda yawned and stretched as she crawled out of bed. She hadn’t slept well last night, having had several bad dreams. But at least she felt a bit stronger now, with no sign of a fever. Mary’s good cooking had given her body new strength, and each new day she was able to do a little more.
Amanda had spent the last week resting, eating, and sitting outside in the fresh air as she got better acquainted with Mary. She’d learned that before the young woman’s capture by the Blackfeet, she’d planned to marry a Nez Percé Indian brave named Gray Eagle. Tears had welled in Mary’s eyes as she’d told how Gray Eagle had tried to rescue her and been shot and killed with an arrow before the Blackfeet left their camp and moved on to another. Mary’s story had been interrupted when Jim came home with two rabbits he’d asked Mary to clean. However, Amanda hoped that sometime later today she would have the chance to visit with Mary some more. Though sad, the young woman’s story was quite interesting, making Amanda yearn to learn even more.
Buck had come by twice to see how Amanda was doing, but he never mentioned taking her anywhere, not even to the fort. She said nothing about it but hoped by the time she was well enough to travel he would reconsider and act as her guide. He seemed like a nice man, though whenever he looked at her, she detected wariness in his eyes.
Amanda had asked Mary about Buck’s dark skin, as it didn’t go with his shoulder-length red hair, which he wore pulled back and tied with a thin piece of leather. Mary had explained what she knew of Buck’s story and his friendship with Jim.
Dismissing her thoughts, Amanda got dressed and splashed water on her face from the bowl on the rustic wooden dresser in the small room where she slept. She wondered if Jim had built the simple piece of furniture. Feeling a sudden chill, she opened one of the drawers to look for her woolen shawl, since Mary had said she’d put all her things in there. Sure enough, there were her other dresses and underclothes, although wrinkled, along with her and Papa’s Bibles. Seeing no sign of the shawl, Amanda opened the second drawer, where she found her shawl, as well as another Bible. Wondering whom it belonged to, she lifted it out of the drawer and carried it over to the bed. Taking a seat, she opened it to the first page, where she saw an inscription. “To our daughter, Lois, and her husband, James, on their wedding day,” she read aloud.
Amanda’s lips compressed.
So Jim must have been married before. I wonder what happened to his wife. It seems strange that they had a Bible yet he wouldn’t let me pray out loud at the table
.
Clutching the Bible, Amanda rose to her feet. She hoped Jim hadn’t left yet, because she wanted to speak with him about this.
Jim had just taken a seat at the table to have one last cup of coffee before heading out to check on his traps, when Amanda emerged from the bedroom, holding a Bible. He didn’t recognize it at first, not until she placed it on the table in front of him and opened it to the first page where his and Lois’s names had been written.
“Where’d ya get that?” he shouted, his face heating.
“I-I found it one of the dresser drawers,” Amanda stammered.
“Well, ya
C HAPTER 13
A manda yawned and stretched as she crawled out of bed. She hadn’t slept well last night, having had several bad dreams. But at least she felt a bit stronger now, with no sign of a fever. Mary’s good cooking had given her body new strength, and each new day she was able to do a little more.
Amanda had spent the last week resting, eating, and sitting outside in the fresh air as she got better acquainted with Mary. She’d learned that before the young woman’s capture by the Blackfeet, she’d planned to marry a Nez Percé Indian brave named Gray Eagle. Tears had welled in Mary’s eyes as she’d told how Gray Eagle had tried to rescue her and been shot and killed with an arrow before the Blackfeet left their camp and moved on to another. Mary’s story had been interrupted when Jim came home with two rabbits he’d asked Mary to clean. However, Amanda hoped that sometime later today she would have the chance to visit with Mary some more. Though sad, the young woman’s story was quite interesting, making Amanda yearn to learn even more.
Buck had come by twice to see how Amanda was doing, but he never mentioned taking her anywhere, not even to the fort. She said nothing about it but hoped by the time she was well enough to travel he would reconsider and act as her guide. He seemed like a nice man, though whenever he looked at her, she detected wariness in his eyes.
Amanda had asked Mary about Buck’s dark skin, as it didn’t go with his shoulder-length red hair, which he wore pulled back and tied with a thin piece of leather. Mary had explained what she knew of Buck’s story and his friendship with Jim.
Dismissing her thoughts, Amanda got dressed and splashed water on her face from the bowl on the rustic wooden dresser in the small room where she slept. She wondered if Jim had built the simple piece of furniture. Feeling a sudden chill, she opened one of the drawers to look for her woolen shawl, since Mary had said she’d put all her things in there. Sure enough, there were her other dresses and underclothes, although wrinkled, along with her and Papa’s Bibles. Seeing no sign of the shawl, Amanda opened the second drawer, where she found her shawl, as well as another Bible. Wondering whom it belonged to, she lifted it out of the drawer and carried it over to the bed. Taking a seat, she opened it to the first page, where she saw an inscription. “To our daughter, Lois, and her husband, James, on their wedding day,” she read aloud.
Amanda’s lips compressed.
So Jim must have been married before. I wonder what happened to his wife. It seems strange that they had a Bible yet he wouldn’t let me pray out loud at the table
.
Clutching the Bible, Amanda rose to her feet. She hoped Jim hadn’t left yet, because she wanted to speak with him about this.
Jim had just taken a seat at the table to have one last cup of coffee before heading out to check on his traps, when Amanda emerged from the bedroom, holding a Bible. He didn’t recognize it at first, not until she placed it on the table in front of him and opened it to the first page where his and Lois’s names had been written.
“Where’d ya get that?” he shouted, his face heating.
“I-I found it one of the dresser drawers,” Amanda stammered.
“Well, ya
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