Page 573 of Conveniently Wed
The lawman glanced at her. “I was planning on going back to town right away, but that sounds and smells mighty good. I’ll eat with Franklin while we discuss what we’ll do tomorrow. Then I’ll have to get home and get some rest before we start out again.”
Franklin was glad the man agreed to eat with him. He really didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts before he had to. “We have plenty of room for you here. Why don’t you stay? We’d get an earlier start tomorrow that way.”
“Thanks for the offer.” The sheriff followed him into the kitchen. “I’ll take you up on it.”
Even with his friend staying at the house, all kinds of bad scenarios of what Marvin might be doing to Lorinda made his heart heavy.
Off and on throughout the day, Marvin left Lorinda alone in the cavern. She didn’t like it when he was near her. Fear and disgust filled every moment he was there. So did his terrible body odor.
When he was gone wasn’t much better. Tied to a tall slagmite, one horse still shared the space with her, and she couldn’t get anything to drink or eat, wrapped up in two blankets with her hands and feet tied. At least he had untied and let her go deeper into the cavern to relieve herself when he was there. She didn’t go too far when she did.
The quiet darkness of the cave filled her with fear. Evil lived here. A malevolent force bound her as strong as the ropes that bound her hands and feet. As if there was no one else in the world.
She was totally alone. This was worse than the months she had spent snowed in at her and Mike’s cabin. Then at least she could move around and had plenty to eat and drink. Thinking of that made her mouth and throat dry up, crying out for sustenance and water. She dropped her head against her knees that were drawn up inside the blankets.
Please, God, rescue me from this man’s clutches. I’m sure there are many people out there searching for me. Guide them, Lord. Calm Franklin’s heart and spirit. If I ever…when I see him again, I’ll assure him I don’t want to leave our happy home. I will finally express my love for him, no matter what he thinks about it. Amen, Lord Jesus.
Now she wished she’d memorized more Bible verses when she had a chance. Repeating the words would help calm her.
Once again, she heard a horse walking through the tunnel toward the cavern.Please let it be Franklin.
“Did you miss me?” The voice she hoped never to hear again grated against her nerves. She wished her hands were untied, so she could throw one of the rocks nearby at the hideous man.
His eerie laugh bounced off the rock walls. She wanted to cover her ears with her hands. Then he came into sight.
“Okay, we’ll eat again. At least we still have some provisions.” He dismounted and led the horse over beside the other one and hobbled him.
As he unwrapped the blankets from around her, she tried to hide her disgust when he brushed against her skin. After he untied her hands, he handed her a tin plate with cold beans and an even colder biscuit.
“This is getting close to the end of our grub.” An evil grin split his face.
She shuddered while taking a few bites.
“You better hope that husband of yours takes my letter seriously.” He shoveled a too-large bite into his mouth.
She dropped her chin against her chest and kept eating. What would happen when they ran out of food? Would this bad man go out to find something more for them to eat? She really couldn’t see him doing that.
“He needs to bring the ransom to me by tomorrow. If not–” The outlaw took his knife and ran the tip across his own throat without breaking the skin. “–he’ll never find you in time to save you.”
A strong shudder ran through her whole body. At least, the man was too interested in feeding his face to notice.
Help me, Jesus…help me, Jesus…help me, Jesus.The words ran over and over through her mind, a way to cling to her sanity.
“I watched that posse of fools looking for us, but not one got a glimpse of me.” His words were filled with an evil kind of glee.
Lorinda shut out his words, overcoming them with the words she kept repeating in her mind. Her only hope was in Jesus.
Franklin slept fitfully that night, and when morning arrived, he felt spent. He grabbed a quick breakfast with the sheriff and met the other men outside the ranch house at dawn. They divided into teams of two and spread across the valley. They swept across the area, searching every canyon, draw, smaller mountain, and river or stream on the way. As the day progressed, Franklin became more and more desperate.How long can Lorinda last in this cold?
Late in the afternoon, all the teams met and encircled a large rock formation that lifted high above the valley floor. As they looked up toward the top of the formation, they saw a horse and rider. A cry went up and spread from team to team. They closed ranks and blocked any path of escape.
Franklin rode around the pile of boulders until he reached a place where he could see the man was indeed Marvin Pratt. By that time, the sheriff was riding beside Franklin.
“Marvin–” Franklin yelled up at him.
The outlaw stopped and stared down at him.
One of the members of the posse raised his rifle and aimed for Marvin’s heart. “Want me to take the shot, Sheriff?”
