The Amen Trail Read online

  In the middle of her panic, the snorting stopped and the outhouse settled. She shifted her position just enough to peer out, but all she could see was darkness.

  Relaxing, she continued her business with an easier mind until the hole over which she was bending suddenly shifted out from under her. She heard pee hit the floor at the same time the walls started to lean.

  Instinctively, she dropped her skirt and slapped her hands against the opposite wall, putting all her weight against the rough, hand-hewn wood in an effort to settle it back, trying to ignore the fact that she’d peed in her shoe. As she did, the tilt of the outhouse stopped, rocked once, and then started to sway back and forth on the uneven foundation.

  “Lord have mercy,” Letty cried, and was reaching for the door when something hit the back wall with a thud.

  Even as she was falling, she began to scream. She’d heard of being shit-faced, but never thought it would happen to her.

  ***

  Eulis was dipping into the stew when he heard the first shriek, and when he did, his blood ran cold. He knew there were all levels of female screams. There was the high-pitched squeal that signaled anything from the sighting of a mouse to something that crept or crawled. And there was the scream of joy upon being presented with an unexpected gift. But neither of these fit what he was hearing. It was a gut-wrenching, spine-chilling scream of mortal fear, coupled with a rage he didn’t want to consider. He’d heard women scream before, but the only woman around here was Letty, and he didn’t want to think about what it would take to make that happen. He dropped the ladle back in the stew and bolted for the door, horrified to even consider what might have set her into such a frenzy.

  Eulis came out the door as Forney and Big Bill were running from the corral. Boston Jones and Morris Field came out of the dark where they’d been reliving themselves, as well.

  “What in hell?” Big Bill yelled.

  “What’s happenin? Where’s your sister?” Forney asked.

  “Sister? I don’t have a sister,” Eulis said, and pushed past him as he ran.

  While Forney was trying to assess the confusion of facts, Shorty appeared out of the dark with a rifle in his hand.

  “What’s happenin’?” he shouted. “Is it injuns?”

  “It’s the woman,” Big Bill said.

  Eulis ran behind the building, following the glow of the lantern light and the sound of Letty’s screams.

  The others followed, but it was Eulis who grabbed the lantern from the weeds and held it high, expecting to see Letty in the throes of death. Instead, all he saw was a pile of lumber and Letty nowhere in sight.

  “Letty! Letty! Where are you?”

  She screamed again and he jumped and looked down, certain she must be laying at his feet, only there was no one there.

  “Oh hell,” Forney muttered, and shoved his way past the others and began fumbling about in the wood.

  “Leave the goddamned woodpile alone and help me find Letty!” Eulis shouted.

  “That ain’t a woodpile. It’s the privy, and I reckon your sister is somewhere in there.”

  “Holy Moses,” Eulis muttered, and started frantically pulling at the shamble of boards. “Letty! Letty! Can you hear me? Are you all right?”

  Letty moaned. She could hear him just fine. She just wasn’t sure she was ready to face the humiliation.

  “Yes, I can hear you, and no, I’m not all right! Get me out of here!”

  “I’m tryin’,” Eulis said. “Grab some boards… all of you!” Then he pointed at Forney. “If you value your hide, you’d better start heatin’ up some water. Sister Leticia is right fond of baths and I’m thinkin’ she’s gonna be in need of one real soon.”

  Forney looked wild-eyed toward the shifting pile of boards and the stifled sound of something that sounded suspiciously like curses, and made a run for the well, leaving Shorty and the preacher to dig her out.

  His hopes of making any romantic headway with her had been dashed, and all he could hope for now was a glimpse of bare flesh when she peeled down to wash off the shit.

  “I’ve got a foot!” Boston yelled, and tugged at Letty’s foot.

  “I see an arm!” Morris shouted, thrust his hand between some boards and started to pull.

  “Damn it to hell! I am not a wishbone! Quit pulling at me and get me out of this woodpile!”

  Eulis pulled away a large portion of one wall while Big Bill hefted away what was left of the roof.

  “Here you go, little lady,” Big Bill said, then reached down, grabbed Letty beneath her arms, and pulled her out.

  She staggered backward, then yanked at the hem of her dress and swiped it across her face.

  “Nasty… filthy… stupid… ramshackle… pitiful excuse for… idiot who built… head up his ass.”

  Big Bill whistled between his teeth and then grinned.

  Boston took a second step back out of the range of her anger while Morris took a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to Letty.

  “Um… ma’am…”

  She slapped it out of his hands and then pointed at Eulis.

  “Water… hot… out of my sight… never again.”

  Eulis wasn’t sure what she was leaving out, but what she’d managed to utter was enough to jar him out of his shock. He pointed toward the station.

  “Take a breath, Sister Leticia. It’ll be all right. Forney is fixin’ you a bath as we speak. All you need is…”

  “Don’t talk to me!” she muttered, then turned and pointed a finger at every man staring. “Don’t any of you say another word.”

  They nodded in unison.

  She stomped toward the way station, dragging her wet skirt tail in the dust and tearing at her clothes with each step. By the time she hit the porch she was half-naked and in full stride.

  Forney heard the door hit the wall as it flew open. He got a momentary glimpse of her bare neck and arms before she screamed.

  “Get out!”

  Shocked, he dropped the water bucket onto the floor, soaking his pant legs and his shoes. He felt water soaking into his socks through the hole in his shoe just before he bolted for the door.

  Letty slammed the door shut behind him then tore off the rest of her clothes and stepped naked into the hip bath Forney had been filling. The water was tepid and there was no soap in sight, but it didn’t slow her down from going headfirst into the water. She came out spitting, then sat down in the bath and cried.

  ***

  An hour later, the men were lined up on the porch, staring blindly into the dark and pretending they didn’t know that there was a naked woman in the house behind them.

  Boston’s belly growled. He sighed deeply, absently shuffled the cards he was holding and spit for lack of anything else to do.

  “I shore am gettin’ hungry,” he said.

  Morris, Shorty, and Big Bill were talking quietly among themselves.

  “Food’s in the house,” Forney said, woefully eying Eulis for inspiration as to how to get it outside.

  Eulis shrugged. He’d been hungry before and was perfectly willing to sleep hungry tonight rather than mess with Letty. He knew her well enough to know that the worst was yet to come. He’d seen her in action. She screwed a man to death and hid his body beneath a rotting trapper without turning a hair, then resurrected Eulis from town drunk to reputable preacher in less than twenty-four hours. Someone, most likely Forney, was going to pay for what had happened to her. He was just almighty glad it wasn’t him.

  Shorty sighed and then stood.

  “I reckon I’ll go check on the horses.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Big Bill said.

  But before they could move, the door behind them opened. Letty was standing in the doorway.

  “Gentlemen, I believe supper is getting cold.”

  They stumbled up the steps en masse and then pushed and shoved their way through the door, anxious to get some food before she changed her mind. The dress and under garments Letty had been wearing
were as wet as the hair hanging down her back, and still dripping from the hook where she’d hung them. She was wearing a modest nightgown and robe and her feet were bare. But the pot of stew was on the table, as were bowls enough for herself and the hungry men.

  Forney ventured a quick glance at the woman before he moved closer. She seemed stable. Nothing like the screaming maniac she’d been after they’d fished her out from under the outhouse. It appeared that she’d not only cleaned herself and her clothes, but the table looked way cleaner than he could remember, so he suspected that she’d scrubbed it down, too. Anxious to regain some control of his own way station, he waved a hand toward the table, indicating that the passengers take a seat.

  “Y’all sit. I’ll get coffee.”

  “Already made,” Letty said, and lifted it from the stove and set it on the table, too.

  “Well then,” Forney said.

  Letty sat down, pulling her robe a little closer around her neck, and then put her hands primly in her lap, waiting for them to join her. They did so, each casting a nervous glance toward her before taking a seat at the table.

  “Smells real good, Forney,” Shorty said.

  Still put out by her bossy ways, Forney sniffed briefly then nodded.

  “Just stew,” he said, then took a proprietary step toward the stew pot, grabbed the ladle and began serving it up.

  Then he took a pan of cornbread from the warming oven, cut it into hunks and set it on the table. Several sets of hands reached for the pan at once as Letty cleared her throat. They froze, their hands still in midair as Letty glanced at Eulis.

  “Brother Howe… maybe you would like to give the blessing.”

  It wasn’t a question and Eulis knew it. He took off his hat and bowed his head. Praying still didn’t come easy but he was some better at it than he’d been months earlier. He cleared his throat.

  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered…”

  Letty sighed loudly.

  Eulis winced. He’d done something wrong. He just wasn’t sure what. He glanced at Letty who rolled her eyes then frowned. He decided to give it one more try.

  “Uh… thank you for the food and the hands that have prepared it?”

  He hadn’t meant to end the brief prayer on a question, but it didn’t seem to matter to the hungry men. They all echoed an ‘amen’ then fell to eating like starving pigs at a trough, while Eulis looked at Letty for confirmation.

  She nodded primly and picked up her spoon.

  He sighed and reached for a piece of cornbread. The stew looked a bit thin, but the cornbread would be good for soppin’ up the juice.

  They were nearly done with the meal when something hit the front door with a thud. Letty flinched and then jumped to her feet. She recognized the sound and wasn’t going to be caught sitting down again, no matter where she was.

  “What is that?” she asked.

  Forney frowned. He was hoping the evening would pass without having to explain what had happened at the outhouse, but it looked as if he wasn’t going to be so lucky after all.

  “What was what?” he asked.

  Another thud sounded and the door rattled on its hinges.

  “That!” Letty said, and pointed toward the door. “That’s what I kept hearing right before the outhouse tipped.”

  Forney’s face turned red. “Well now… I reckon that might be ole Rolly.”

  Letty reached for the fireplace poker leaning against the wall and approached the door with trepidation.

  “Here now, lady… what do you think you’re doin’?” Shorty asked.

  Forney jumped to his feet. “You can’t…”

  Letty opened the door.

  “Baa… baa.”

  Eulis’s eyes popped.

  “Ole Rolly is a goat?”

  Forney grinned. “Yeah, he’s right stubborn, but—”

  Letty swung the poker and hit the goat on the large hump of bone between its horns. The goat reeled as if it had been pole-axed and sat down with a thump.

  “Buuu.”

  “Same to you,” Letty said, then slammed the door in its face.

  She set the poker back against the wall, poured herself a cup of coffee, and then sat down as if nothing untoward had happened.

  The men stared at each other, then at Forney, waiting to see what he was going to do. Both Shorty and Big Bill knew that Forney was right fond of that goat.

  Forney glared at the woman then cleared his throat.

  Letty looked up, letting her glance slide over him as if he mattered not at all, then let it settle on Eulis.

  “Brother Howe, I think I will retire to my bed and leave you men to your visit.”

  Then she stared at Forney, daring him to speak against what she’d done. “It’s been a very tiring and disappointing end to a long, dusty ride. I certainly hope my sleep will not be disturbed as our arrival and meal has been.”

  A red flush spread from Forney’s neck up his face and disappeared in the thick brush of hair on his head. He kept thinking of Rolly sitting out there on the porch and wanted to tell Sister Leticia what she could do with herself, but he didn’t dare. Gibson Stage Line had hired him to take care of the passengers, and letting an outhouse collapse on one, and a female at that, wasn’t what they’d had in mind.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Forney said, and got up from the table.

  “Where you goin’?” Shorty asked.

  “Reckon I’ll tie ole Rolly up for the night.”

  Letty blew on her coffee and then took a small, dainty sip, grimaced from the strength of it, and then downed it like a field hand before disappearing behind the curtained off corner of the room where the sleeping cots were set up. She chose the one against the wall and crawled beneath the cover and lay down. The bed clothes smelled like wood smoke and didn’t feel all that clean, but she was too weary to care. She was almost asleep when a thought occurred. She got out of bed, dug through her bag for her pistol then put it beneath her pillow before getting back into bed.

  A short while later the others began to retire. Eulis took the cot next to Letty while Boston and Morris chose cots closer to the door. Shorty and Big Bill took the ones that were left, while Forney climbed the ladder to the single bed in the loft.

  A few minutes ensued of boots hitting the floor and belts and buckles coming undone. Letty heard Shorty and Big Bill converse briefly about tomorrow’s journey. After that, someone hiccupped as another burped. Someone else cursed softly about the length of the cot versus the length of his body, and then all went silent.

  Letty waited until their breathing slowed and they were on the verge of sleep. Then she took the gun out from under her pillow and sat up in bed.

  “Gentlemen, I have endured the stench of men’s bad digestion, and even ruder behavior in sharing it since seven o’clock this morning. As if that wasn’t enough, I was buried beneath an outhouse full of crap. So I want you to know that my point of endurance has come and gone. Sleep well, but know that I will shoot dead the first man who passes gas within my vicinity tonight.”

  Boston Jones sat up with a jerk.

  Morris fell off the cot, hitting the floor with a thump.

  Shorty muttered beneath his breath while Big Bill just gathered up his bedclothes and headed for the door.

  “Where you goin’?” Shorty muttered.

  “To the barn,” Big Bill said.

  “Wait a minute,” Boston called. “I’ll go with you.”

  “And me,” Morris added.

  Shorty sighed then sat up in bed and looked at Letty.

  “Lady, you wouldn’t really—”

  She cocked the gun.

  He grabbed his covers and his boots and lit for the door.

  “What’s goin’ on down there?” Forney called.

  “We’re sleepin’ in the barn,” Shorty said, and shut the door behind him as he went.

  Letty pointed the gun at Eulis.

  “What about you?”

  “What about me?” Eul
is mumbled.

  “Aren’t you afraid I’ll shoot you in your sleep?”

  Eulis snorted softly in his pillow. “No, ma’am.”

  “Why not?” Letty asked.

  “If I’m dead, then you’re without a preacher, which means Sister Leticia is dead, too.”

  Letty thought about it a minute and then stuffed the gun back beneath her pillow and laid down. A few seconds later, she raised up again and whispered.

  “Eulis.”

  He frowned. “Brother Howe, if you please.”

  Letty rolled her eyes and then tugged at the neck of her nightgown.

  “Sorry. Where do you reckon we’ll wind up next?”

  Eulis sighed. “I suppose wherever the Good Lord leads us.”

  Letty thought about that a moment, then nodded. Satisfied by the godly answer, she laid back down.

  An owl hooted outside the station. She caught herself waiting to hear if there was an answering hoot from somewhere else then thought of how she used to listen for the call of the whippoorwill, waiting endlessly in hopes of hearing the mate’s answering call.

  Disgusted with herself for still being a dreamer after all the wasted years, she poked the thin, lumpy pillow into a different shape in hopes of making it more comfortable. She was a reformed whore and well past the marrying age, even though there had been one man, a gambler, who seemed to care for her despite her disreputable past. After he’d died in a gunfight, she figured it was her punishment for even imagining she could deserve such happiness. Now she considered it her penance to follow a man who’d dedicated his life to bringing the word of God to the territories. Even if Eulis wasn’t a real preacher, and even if he hadn’t made the decision on his own, she was in a better place now than she had been last year.

  Something banged beyond the curtain as lamplight suddenly glowed.

  “Something wrong?” Eulis called.

  The bale on a bucket rattled as Forney pulled it out from beneath a bench. It had a hammer, and what he hoped were enough nails to do the job he had planned.

  “Seein’ as how we got ourselves a woman on the property, I reckoned I’d go put the walls of my outhouse back together before someone had the need to use it again.”

  Letty snorted.

  Forney jiggled the bucket, taking satisfaction in the clank and clatter of the nails to punctuate what he’d left unsaid, then slammed the door behind him as he left.