The O'Neal Girls Chapter 19

Chapter 19  

Joe galloped recklessly after Belle and her captor. His horse easily gained on the other horse, burdened by the load of two people. He rode up alongside the Indian. The Indian ripped a knife out of his belt and glared at Joe. With an anguished roar, the Indian took a flying leap at Joe. Shocked by the sudden attack, Joe was knocked off his mount. He and the Indian tumbled to the Dakota Territory dirt below. The Indian raised his knife to attack Joe. Joe heaved his arms up and threw the Indian to the side. Joe hoped the Indian would run off but he was mistaken. Joe could tell that the Indian was not going to give up.

~~~ 

Caleb gave up waiting. He tossed the gun and holster to his brother, grabbed the Appaloosa gelding and mounted. He urged the horse forward and soon he was galloping after Joe, Belle, and the Indian.  Davy kept his eyes on the three Indians. He laid one hand on the gun holster to let the Indians know he meant business. Danielle and Cassandra anxiously waited for the others to return.  

~~~ 

Joe was a strong lad but no match for the big, tall Indian. After a few minutes of scuffling, the Indian pinned Joe down. The Indian took his knife and prepared to kill Joe.  

“No!” Belle screamed in horror. “Let him alone!”  

The Indian ignored Belle. He stared fixedly at Joe and brought the knife down on him.  

“Hey!!”  

The Indian was startled. His arm moved and the aim of the knife changed. Instead of hitting Joe in the chest, the knife plunged into Joe’s side. Caleb Carter came running in. He jumped onto the Indian’s back and pulled the man off Joe. He landed a few punches and took a few himself, but Caleb landed the final punch. The weary Indian crawled away from Caleb in defeat.

“Get away from here!” Caleb yelled at him.  

The Indian was happy to oblige him. The big Indian turned and hobbled away from Caleb and disappeared among the trees.   

~~~ 

Davy paced nervously back and forth. He was worried about his brother, Belle, and Joe.  

“Cassandra...Danielle...”  Davy said.

The two sisters walked over to him. “What is it?”  

“You two should head back and fetch your Pa.”  

“Why?” Danielle asked. 

“Because,” Davy said. “He’ll know what to do about the Indians.”  

Cassandra nodded. “Okay. I’ll go get him. Danni will stay here to help keep an eye on those guys.” Cassandra pointed at the Indians.  

“Fair enough,” Davy sighed. 

Cassandra left the group and hurried back to the O’Neal cabin. 

~~~ 

Caleb rushed over to Belle and helped her down from the horse.  

“Belle! Are you okay?”  

“I am fine!” Belle brushed Caleb aside and jogged over to Joe. “Joe!” she knelt beside him.    

Caleb followed Belle but not with the same attitude. Caleb felt a flutter of jealousy creep through him. 

Belle knelt beside Joe and asked him how he felt.  

“Awful lot of pain in my side,” Joe whispered. “I reckon I’m losing a lot of blood.”  

Belle nodded her head slowly. “Caleb, get the knife out.”  

Caleb knelt down beside Belle and placed his hands on the knife. “Sorry, Joe. This is gonna hurt.” Caleb tugged the knife out in one swift movement.  

Joe yelped in pain. Belle placed her hand on his arm. 

“Shh. It will be alright,” she said in a soothing tone.  

 Belle had Caleb take off his shirt so she could use it as a bandage. While Caleb stripped off his shirt, Belle cut open Joe’s shirt so she could stop the bleeding. Belle grimaced at the incision.  

“You are really lucky,” Belle murmured softly.  

“Here, Belle,” Caleb handed Belle his shirt. He placed his jacket back on to shield himself from the chill of late winter. 

Belle took the shreds of Caleb’s shirt and wrapped it around Joe. “We better wait here for a few minutes so Joe can rest.” 

Caleb nodded and settled down beside Joe. “I sure didn’t expect this to happen.” 

Joe managed a wry grin, “Me either.” 

~~~ 

Cassandra reached the O’Neal cabin and rushed inside. She burst through the door and into the living room. Lillian was sweeping the floor, Elsie was working on her dress, Faith was playing with Oakley, and the little girls were playing with their dolls.  

“Where’s Pa?” Cassandra asked.  

“Outside in the barn,” Lillian answered. “Is something wrong?”  

Cassandra didn’t answer. She left the house and went into the barn. “Pa!” she yelled running inside the barn. 

Paul walked out of the stall he was in. “What’s wrong?”  

 “We were just walking when four Indians came out and attacked us.”  

“Indians!?” Lillian’s surprised voice gasped. 

Cassandra and Paul turned to see Lillian walking towards them. 

“Yes; four Indians,” Cassandra continued. “The boys fought them off but one Indian ran away on horseback with Belle.” Cassandra paused to catch her breath. 

“Where is Belle? Is she okay?” Lillian worried. 

“I don’t know. Joe chased after them and so did Caleb. Davy told me to come get you, Pa.”  

“Okay,” Paul said, “saddle up Strawberry and we’ll ride out.” He turned to his wife. “Lillian, saddle Midnight for me.”  

Paul went inside and grabbed his rifle and revolver. He returned to the barn and handed the revolver to Cassandra.  

“Paul,” Lillian called. “I don’t like this.” She was surprised that he was giving Cassandra a gun. 

Paul mounted Midnight. “I don’t like it either,” he snapped. He sighed and looked down at his wife with an apologetic glance. “I’m only doing what I have to.”  

Lillian nodded slightly and went back inside. 

“Now Cassandra, you know how to use this gun, use it if you have too.”  

Cassandra took the gun and hooked it around the saddle. “Yes, sir.”  

“Now take me to where Davy and Danni are.”

  

~~~ 

Caleb, Belle, and injured Joe made it back to where Davy and Danielle were waiting. Belle noticed Cassandra was missing right away and asked after her. 

“I sent her back to fetch Mr. O’Neal,” Davy answered. 

“Joe!” Danielle cried. “What happened?” Danielle hurried over to the side of the horse and looked at Belle and Caleb for answers.  

“He and Caleb got into a fight with the Indian...Joe wasn’t as lucky as Caleb.” Belle said quietly. 

“I’ll be alright,” Joe stuttered. 

“Belle, you and Danielle take him back and doctor him up. We’ll wait for Mr. O’Neal,” Caleb said. He handed the horse rope to Danielle. 

Danielle took the rope and tugged the horse in the direction of the cabin. Belle and Danielle trudged off and left the Carter brothers alone with the Indians. They ran into Paul and Cassandra halfway home.  

“Joe!” Cassandra gasped when she recognized the slumped figure on the horse.  

“Girls, what happened?”  Paul asked as he climbed off Midnight.  

“He was wrestling with an Indian, Paul,” Belle told him. 

Paul looked over Joe quickly. He frowned at the bloody bandage around Joe’s torso. “You best get him back to Lillian.” Paul looked at Belle in the eye, “Fast.”  

Belle nodded, “We will.” 

“I’m going back with him,” Cassandra said turning her horse around.

“Who is going to lead me to the Carter boys?” Paul inquired.

Danielle volunteered to take Paul there while Belle and Cassandra returned home with Joe.

Once Paul and Danielle reached the Carter boys, he dismounted and strode over to the brothers and the three Indians.  

“Mr. O’Neal,” Davy said, “what should we do?”  

Paul looked at the Indians and frowned. He waved his hand at them. “Go back to your camp.” 

The Indians understood the waving hand; they raced back into the bushes.  

Davy looked at Paul in surprise. “You’re not going to punish them?”  

“No.”  

“Why not?” Caleb asked curiously. “They almost ran off with your daughters.”  

“That’s not my place to punish them. That’s a sheriff’s job.” Paul calmly remounted his horse. “If you boys would have stayed with my daughters, this wouldn’t have happened.”  

The Carter boys shamefully hung their heads. It was true was Paul said. Because of a silly argument, the boys had almost caused a great deal of trouble.

  

~~~

Lillian, Cassandra, and Belle busily worked to help Joe. As soon as Cassandra and Belle arrived with Joe, they moved him into Lillian and Paul’s bedroom. The three went to work changing the bandages and cleaning him up the best they could.  

Lillian rolled her sleeves down and stepped out of her bedroom. “Sunlight,” Lillian called in a calm, gentle voice. 

Upon hearing her nickname, Elsie looked up from where she was sitting with Oakley. Oakley had fallen asleep on her lap. “Yes?”  

“I need you to ride into town and fetch Doctor Young and Mr. and Mrs. Connolly.”  

“Is Joe bad off?” Elsie asked with care. 

“He might be. Just go quickly, please.” Lillian walked over to Elsie and scooped Oakley into her arms.  

Elsie quickly wrapped up in her coat and bonnet and went out to the barn. She saddled Ruth and began the long, cold ride into town.

Belle walked into the sitting room and saw Lillian with Oakley. Belle offered to watch Oakley while Lillian and Cassandra stayed with Joe. Lillian thanked Belle and passed Oakley off to her.  Belle accepted the little boy, who was still fast asleep, and sat down in Lillian’s rocker.  

She held the boy close and whispered, “Dear God, please heal Joe.”  

~~~ 

Elsie reached Fairburn and dismounted. She hurried up to the house and knocked on the door. Mrs. Young answered the door.  

“Why, Elsie!” she exclaimed happily. She gave Elsie a welcoming hug and beckoned her inside. “What are you doing here? Where is your family?”  

“We need Doctor Young. Joe Connolly is at our cabin with a knife wound,” Elsie explained quickly.  

“Well, he was just at the livery stable looking at one of the horses. He should still be there.” Mrs. Young grabbed her bonnet and coat as she and Elsie slipped out of the house and onto the street. Together they braved the wintery winds, crossed the street, and rushed into the livery. Mrs. Young was correct; her husband was busy examining a horse.  

“Is she alright, Doc?” the livery owner asked. 

“Sure. Her leg is a little swollen but nothing that rest can’t fix.” Doctor Young stepped away from the horse and collected his bag. 

“Edward!” Mrs. Young walked to her husband. “Joe Connolly is at the O’Neal cabin with a knife wound.”  

“Mike, saddle a horse for me,” Dr. Young said to the livery owner. “How bad is it?”  

“I don’t really know. Ma seemed like it was bad,” Elsie responded. 

~~~ 

Doctor Young rushed into the O’Neal cabin with Elsie and the Connollys close behind. The foursome saw Belle in a rocker with Oakley, Faith and Danielle whispering to each other, and the Carter brothers sitting at the kitchen table with Paul. 

“Where is Joe?” Fergus Connolly asked.

Danielle pointed in the bedroom. Fergus and his wife rushed into the room with the doctor following. After a few minutes, Doctor Young chased Mr. and Mrs. Connolly out of the room so he could work. Everyone else waited silently in the sitting room or kitchen. It was nerve racking as they waited for news on Joe’s health. 

Doctor Young left the room an hour later. He looked at the Connollys and at Paul and Lillian. “It was a bad wound, but he’s going to make it.” 

“Thank the Lord,” Fergus whispered.  

“When can he come home?” Mrs. Connolly asked the doctor. 

“Tomorrow, I’d say. If it is alright with Paul, I’d like Joe to stay here overnight. I don’t want him moving around quite yet.” 

“That’s fine with me, Doc,” Paul confirmed. 

“Good,” Doctor Young said. He collected his bags and left the cabin. 

Mr. and Mrs. Connolly went and sat with Joe for a few minutes. Lillian and Belle went to fix up supper while Paul, Danielle, and the twins went to clean up the barn. The other girls played together with their dolls. 

Right before suppertime, the Connollys and Carter boys left. Fergus needed to go back to his blacksmith shop and they wanted to be home before dark. The Carter boys stayed just long enough to be sure Joe was alright before they quietly left. The O’Neals sat down for their supper and quietly ate their food. Cassandra went and sat with Joe.  

“How are you feeling?” Cassandra asked softly. 

“Like my ribs are on fire,” Joe replied with a grimace.  

“I’m sorry this happened.” 

“Me too.” 

“Those silly Carter boys!” Cassandra exclaimed. “If they hadn’t been fighting with each other, you wouldn’t have been racing and that Indian wouldn’t have hurt you.” 

Joe shook his head, “Don’t blame them, Cassandra. There’s no one to blame.” 

“What do you mean? Of course there is someone to blame.” 

“Sometimes it’s better to just leave things be and not stir things up.” 

Cassandra sighed. “It just doesn’t seem right that you are the one lying there injured.” 

Joe shrugged his shoulders. “Well, hey, it isn’t so bad. I have a bunch of pretty women fussing over me.” 

“Of course you would say that.” 

“But I think you’re the prettiest one,” he said, pulling Cassandra in for a quick kiss.

Cassandra blushed and pulled away. “Here, eat some supper.” 

Joe grinned at Cassandra, “Yes ma’am.”