A Man for Glory Page 20

  “Go ahead, Cade. I’ll catch up,” he called out. “Be sure Glory is all right.”

  The horses increased their speed as Cade dug his heels in and the sheriff followed suit, Robert staying to ride beside Buddy. Cade was fearful of having to tell Glory they hadn’t found the child because he knew she would be beyond horror at the thought of Essie alone with a man intent on revenge.

  Once they arrived back at the farm they left their horses near the porch and rushed to the house. When Cade opened the door, Essie ran into his arms.

  “Pa, Glory’s shot. She’s bleeding something awful. Come quick, Pa.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Barely able to understand the child for the sobs racking her small body, Cade took the stairs two at a time, heading for the bedroom where he’d told Glory to hide.

  She lay on the floor, blood flowing freely from her shoulder and arm. He tore off his shirt as he entered the room, folding it over to form a pad and holding it to her shoulder when he reached her.

  He turned her on the floor, finding no exit hole for the wounds, and recognized that she had shotgun pellets in her flesh.

  “Joe, send Buddy for the doctor. Have him ride my horse. He’ll do better with a saddle. Tell him to hurry.”

  From the stairway, he heard the sheriff call for Buddy, and then the sound of Joe Lawson heading downstairs to give Buddy his instructions.

  The sound of a horse galloping from the house told of Buddy’s departure, and Cade turned back to Glory. The pressure of his shirt on her shoulder had been enough to stop the rapid flow of blood. He continued to hold it firmly in place with one hand until the sheriff came back upstairs.

  “Hold this, Joe. I need to find something of Buddy’s to tie around her shoulders. Got to keep that pad in place till the doctor can take a look at her.”

  The sheriff did as Cade had bid him, even as his gaze widened at the sight of the gold coins that had spilled out on the floor. Cade rifled through the boxes containing Buddy’s clothing until he found a shirt that would serve his purpose. He tore strips from it, tied them together and held Glory erect in his arms so that Joe could bind her tightly.

  “Looks like you’ve found the old man’s gold, Cade,” Joe said quietly, and Cade nodded.

  “I discovered it there a couple days ago. Our friend out in the yard apparently shot through the window and then hit the siding below it. Ripped right through and tore open the wall. I hid it from Glory and the children until I could tell you about it.”

  He bent to Glory’s side, intent on stopping the flow of blood that stained the dress she wore. He tore the sleeve from the shoulder seam and exposed the wounded flesh underneath. The shot in her upper arm had ripped through her skin, leaving a long gash. Cade fashioned a smaller pad from Buddy’s clothing to press against the wound.

  She was regaining consciousness and groaned aloud as he worked. Her eyelids fluttered as she tried to peer up at him. She even attempted to whisper in a faint voice.

  Cade shushed her quietly, bending to kiss her forehead. “It’s all right, honey. You’ll be fine. Buddy went for the doctor and I’m going to carry you into our room while we wait. Don’t wiggle around any, Glory. The bleeding’s pretty well slowed down and I’m going to pick you up now.”

  He lifted her in his arms and Joe held the door wide, then went to the bedroom at the head of the stairs where Cade’s nod had directed him. He opened the door and Cade carried Glory inside, laying her with care on their bed. Essie quietly followed them into the room.

  “They must have taken this place apart,” Cade said, looking at the clothing strewn over the floor and the screen lying in the corner.

  “Looking for the gold, I’d bet,” Joe said. “For all the good it did them, with all three of them dead. Old Harvey Clark must have hidden it in the wall and not told anyone about it. I doubt that Glory had any idea it was there. She seemed to be in the dark about it.”

  “You’re right there,” Cade said firmly. Leaving Glory for a few seconds, he snatched up towels from the corner where her commode stood. Then, raising her a bit, he placed two towels beneath her shoulder, for the blood was seeping into the quilt and he knew Glory would have a fit when she saw the mess he’d made.

  “Cade?” She lifted her right hand, trying to touch her left arm, then winced as she moved. “It hurts real bad, Cade.”

  “It’ll be all right, Glory. You’ve got a couple pellets in your shoulder, and one sliced your arm open, but we got the bleeding pretty well stopped and I’m gonna wash the wound up a little so I can see how bad it is.”

  “I’ll get some warm water from the kitchen,” Joe said, heading for the door as he heard Cade’s words. His footsteps clattered down the stairs, and then in minutes he was back, carrying Glory’s largest kettle, almost filled with warm water from the reservoir.

  “Get me another towel or two,” Cade told him, reaching into his pocket for the knife he carried there. With swift movements, he slit the fabric of her dress, cutting the bodice open, fully revealing the damage done. The pad fell aside and blood oozed sullenly from the wound on her shoulder.

  Cade heard Glory’s groan of pain as he wet a towel and laid it on the bleeding area. With gentle movements, he bathed her skin, then put a clean pad against the wound. Her dress was soaked and he cut it from her, lifting her just a bit to allow Joe to pull it from beneath her upper body.

  “Cover me, Cade.” Her voice was weak, but her eyes met his as she raised her hand to cover her bared breast.

  “Another towel, Joe,” he said quietly, placing it over her shoulder and breast, whispering to her as he leaned close. “You’re all covered up, Glory. Don’t move, sweetheart.”

  “I shot two men, Cade. I think I killed them both,” she whispered.

  Joe Lawson heard her words and stepped closer to the bed. “Don’t you worry about those men, Mrs. McAllister. If anybody ever deserved to die it was the fella that took the little girl. You were just protecting your family, and sometimes shooting a gun is a part of that. Just don’t fret about it, you hear?”

  Glory nodded, closing her eyes, tears running from beneath her lashes.

  Cade bent over her. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. It makes my heart ache to see you hurting this way.”

  “Water, please,” Glory whispered, and Joe was quick to make another trip down the stairs to pump a glass full from the sink, returning in less than a minute to hand it to Cade.

  “Just pick up your head a little, Glory. Don’t try to sit up.” He slid his arm beneath her neck, lifted her a few inches and held the glass to her lips. She sipped at it, swallowed a bit and shook her head.

  “That’s enough for now.” Her eyes closed again. Cade felt her go limp against his arm and recognized that she was unconscious.

  “Keep an eye out for the doctor, Joe. I’ll stay here with her.” The sheriff nodded and went downstairs.

  Essie remained in the corner of the bedroom, her eyes intent on Glory. “Will she be all right, Pa?” she asked, her voice trembling. She was sitting on the floor, her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms squeezed tightly around them as if she wanted to be as small as possible, so that no one would send her away from her chosen spot.

  “She’ll be all right in a few days, Essie. The doctor will tend to her. He’ll have to look at the place where the bad man shot her and fix it up a bit, but Glory will be back in the garden and the kitchen by the end of the week. And you can be a big help to her, with the churning and such.”

  “I’ll help her, Pa. I always do.”

  Glory awakened again, her voice sounding raspy to Cade’s ears. “Don’t let Essie be frightened, Cade. Send her out when the doctor gets here. In case I make a fuss, I don’t want her to know about it.”

  “I’ll be here with you, sweetheart. I’ll hold your hand and give you a good slug of whiskey to help with the pain.”

  From outdoors they heard the sound of voices and then Buddy made his way up the stairs. “Can I come in, Pa?” he asked fro
m the doorway.

  “Sure you can, son. You made good time getting to town and back, didn’t you? Come say hello to Glory and then you and Essie had best go out to the barn and make sure the kittens have a good big saucer of milk for their dinner.” He shot Buddy a man-to-man look and was rewarded by a nod of acknowledgment.

  “I understand, Pa,” he said in an undertone. “I’ll take care of Essie and keep her away from the bedroom for a while.”

  “Thank you, Buddy.” Glory’s voice seemed stronger, Cade thought, even though her fingers against his hand were pale and limp.

  Buddy approached the bed and looked down at Glory. “I’m sure sorry you got hurt, Glory. But I’m awful glad you’re a good shot. I expect Essie owes her life to you, you know. If that man had fired at her—” His voice broke and he turned away, heading for his little sister.

  “Come on, Essie. Let’s you and me go for a walk. We’ll take out a cupful of milk for the kittens and check them over. And then we need to take care of the eggs and feeding the chickens. Glory needs some extra help today, and you and me have to pitch in.”

  “All right, Buddy.” Essie rose from her spot in the corner and Buddy took her hand, leading her past the bed and then to the doorway into the hall. They passed the doctor as he came up the stairway, and he spoke to them briefly before he came into the room where Glory lay.

  “What’s been going on here, Mrs. McAllister? Seems like you’re the heroine of the day, if your boy has the story straight.”

  Cade looked up, attempting a smile, but found it difficult. “She’s got a gash on her arm from a shotgun pellet and I think there’s one in her shoulder somewhere. Maybe two of them,” he said quietly.

  “Well, we’ll take a look and see how things stand. You got any good whiskey, McAllister?” he asked briskly.

  “Yeah, there’s some in the kitchen downstairs.”

  “Your wife is gonna be in pain, if I know anything about it. We’ll have to go in after those pellets. Can’t let them fester under the skin. Maybe they’ll be close to the surface and in that case, it won’t be too bad, getting them out. Why don’t you get the whiskey and we’ll see if it helps.”

  Cade released Glory’s hand and she looked up at him pleadingly. “Don’t be long, Cade Hurry back?”

  He bent to kiss her, his lips tender against hers, and assured her of his quick return.

  “You got yourself a fine husband, Mrs. McAllister,” the doctor said, opening his bag and removing several items. “I told the sheriff to send some good hot water up with your husband.

  I’ll need to wash my hands and I’ll need a small dish to put alcohol in to make sure my instruments are clean. We don’t want any infection.”

  Cade came back up the stairs in mere moments, a whiskey bottle in one hand, a bucket of hot water in the other, one of Glory’s small bowls inside the bucket.

  “You can see if Glory’s basin survived the fella who tore this room up, Doc,” he said. “Otherwise, I’ll go back down and fetch a pan for you to wash in.”

  The corner of the room held the overturned screen and various items from Glory’s commode. The pitcher was shattered, but luckily the basin had survived with but a small chip on the rim.

  The doctor poured hot water into it and scrubbed with a liquid soap he’d brought with him and then let his hands air dry, coming back to the bedside.

  Cade brought a straight chair for him to sit on and then took his place on the other side of the bed beside Glory. He reached for her hand and held it between both of his, lending her his strength. The bottle of whiskey was beside the doctor and he poured a few ounces into the drinking glass that sat on Glory’s bedside table.

  “I want you to drink this, ma’am. Not all at once, but in tiny sips. It’ll help with the sore spot on your shoulder, for I can almost guarantee you it’s gonna hurt like the dickens when I start looking for those pellets.”

  Cade put the second pillow beneath Glory’s head and lifted her a bit, holding the glass to her mouth. She sipped, choked and inhaled, trying not to make a fuss. With a nod of her head, she signified her readiness and he tilted it again, allowing a small bit to enter her mouth. The doctor waited quietly, arranging his instruments in the bowl Cade had brought from the kitchen, pouring alcohol from a bottle over them, and then watched as Glory did her best to swallow the whiskey he’d prescribed.

  “I think we’re ready now, Doc,” Cade said, holding Glory’s gaze with his own, leaning over her as if to somehow protect her from the pain he knew she must endure. If she cried aloud, he didn’t know what he’d do, for watching her in pain was almost more than he could handle. And if the doctor was planning on cutting into her shoulder with that sharp instrument he held in his hand, it was sure to involve pain.

  Cade bent low, covering Glory with his body, his head against hers on the pillow, his arm holding her fast, lest she move and harm herself inadvertently. She turned her face to his, opened her lips against his cheek and whispered something he could not decipher.

  “What, sweetheart? What do you need?”

  She whispered again, and he felt his heart melt within him, for the words she spoke were guaranteed to make him weep. “I love you, Cade. I love you. You’re so good to me.” She sobbed with the final word she spoke, for the doctor cut into her shoulder with a quick turn of the knife.

  Glory was rigid and unmoving beneath his hands, but for the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed deeply. Cade held the glass to her lips again, coaxing her to drink the whiskey, and she obliged him, sipping at it, swallowing minuscule amounts as he encouraged her to cooperate.

  The doctor muttered something beneath his breath, then reached for another instrument from the basin and Cade heard the click of metal on metal. Knowing it meant that one of the pellets had been found and removed, he breathed more easily, and then the doctor leaned closer to the opening in Glory’s shoulder.

  “Mop up this area a bit, McAllister,” he said, holding out a clean piece of gauze. “I can’t see what I’m looking for here.”

  Cade did as he asked and the man bent closer to the open wound and probed again. Glory groaned, uttering a sharp cry as the metal pincers again found a pellet and drew it forth from the bleeding flesh.

  “I suspect that’s it. I don’t see anything else, and there were only two entrance wounds, so I think we’re in the clear.” He dropped his instruments into the basin and took the gauze from Cade’s hand, wiping the area with care.

  “I’ll just stitch this up and put a bandage on it, ma’am, and we’ll be done in this spot.” He pulled a small sewing kit from his bag and Cade watched with eyes that threatened to weep. The doctor threaded black silk through the eye of a curved needle and looked up at Cade and nodded.

  “Just a minute more and we’ll be done.”

  Cade held Glory’s head against himself, knowing that the piercing of her flesh would be painful, and he must hold her steady lest she move, hindering the medical man’s stitching.

  She was quiet, barely breathing, her eyes closed, only a single tear falling from beneath each eyelid as Cade held her close, whispering soft words in her ear, praising her for being brave, speaking of his pride in her and praying silently that the doctor would soon be finished.

  Sooner than he’d expected, the deed was done and a bandage was applied, tape covering the area. The doctor turned his attention to the wound on Glory’s upper arm. It was a simpler thing, for he only needed to wash it out thoroughly, then put carbolic salve on the long gash and finish it off with a bandage that circled her arm.

  “This is gonna heal up in no time, ma’am. Won’t hardly leave a scar, either,” he told Glory.

  “My baby?” she whispered.

  He rose from the chair, sorted out his instruments and put his bag back together. “Not to worry, Missy. That baby wasn’t hurt, not one little bit,” he said, and then patted Glory’s arm kindly.

  Cade remained where he was, his handkerchief once more called into use, for Glory’s tear
s were flowing.

  “I’m sorry, Cade. I just feel real shaky inside.”

  “I imagine so, ma’am. You need to stay in bed and take it easy for a day or two. Don’t take any chances with that baby of yours.”

  “I’ll take care of her, Doc,” Cade said, rising to usher the man from the house. He turned back to the bed and lifted a hand to Glory. “I’ll be right back, sweetheart.”

  The sheriff had cleared all the litter out of the kitchen when Cade made his way downstairs. “Wasn’t any sense in you taking a look at these three fellas, Doc. They were beyond your help, no matter how you figure it. Mrs. McAllister is a damn fine shot, I’d say. Took out two of them and it took both McAllister and me to handle the third one. I’ve got them loaded onto your wagon, Cade, and I’ll take them into town. I washed up the floor pretty well, but I suspect your lady will want to do a better job once she’s back on her feet. I’ll be back out to gather up that gold right soon. I’ll wire Pinkerton’s that you found it.”

  “I’ll take care of the floor,” Cade said. “I know my way around the kitchen with a bucket of soap and water,” Cade said.

  The men left and when they’d gone, Buddy and Essie came back in the house. “Can I go up and see Glory?” Essie asked, waiting for permission.

  “If you’re real quiet. Don’t make any noise to wake her. All right?”

  “I’ll be ever so quiet. I just want to sit down by the bed and watch her.”

  Cade didn’t have it in his heart to deny the child, so he nodded and sent her on her way.

  “I’m gonna change my clothes and then I’ll help with supper, Pa,” Buddy said. He ran quietly up the stairs and was back within minutes, still buttoning his shirt as he came into the kitchen.

  “Let’s see what we can find to eat,” Cade said, heading for the pantry. Buddy followed him, speaking quickly.

  “Pa, there’s someone here. Looks like Mrs. Bradley, the lady Glory talked to yesterday on the way back from town.”

  Cade met Etta Bradley at the back door. She carried a kettle in one hand, a covered pan in the other. “I thought maybe you could use some soup. I heard the racket going on over here, guns firing, and such, and Robert came in all excited over the mess you all had with those three hoodlums. There’s chicken soup and some fresh cinnamon buns for the lot of you. If you need any bread, let me know and I’ll send my boy over with it. I suspect your wife won’t be up to cooking for a day or so, Mr. McAllister.”