Chapter 10 #2
“That was very good,” she said without looking up. “You’ve done very well. I think you won’t be having that nightmare anymore. Or if you do, it will be less intense.”
Emily smiled. “Thank you for going through it all with me. I was trying to work it out on my own for days, but my mind didn’t want to go there. I guess some things are better tackled with a friend.”
Julie put a hand on her arm and smiled. “And you certainly are a brave one.” She sighed. “There is one last thing though. We will have to tell Michael and Andrew about Felix and his excursion. If he’s shown someone the way through the traps, we might have a problem.”
Emily nodded. “I know. I keep thinking the bandits will attack.” She sighed. “Why do you think they haven’t bothered us?”
“There’s really no way to know,” Julie said.
“They seem to follow their own rules, which only make sense to them. We’ve had times like this before when we think everything is done and they leave us alone.
And then out of the blue, when we least expect it, there they are, shooting at us again.
” She sighed. “But if they can sneak in, then we will suffer heavy losses. We don’t have the guns to protect the whole camp. That’s why we need the traps.”
“Why do they keep coming for us?” Emily asked. She hadn’t really experienced a bandit attack yet, only the threat of one.
Julie shrugged. “If you can answer that question, I think you’ll give my husband a restful night’s sleep.”
“He doesn’t know?” Emily asked.
Julie shook her head. “We have theories, but none of them really make much sense. Now, come on, get dressed. We need to go and tell Michael and Andrew everything you remember.”
It took Emily a few minutes to change out of the nightgown she’d been wearing. Julie and Lizzy must have changed her into it, although she couldn’t remember at all.
They found Michael, Troy, Jeff, Robert, and Andrew in the latter’s tent, having a meeting. The men looked up as the two women entered the tent. Emily instantly felt the tense atmosphere.
“What’s going on?” Julie asked.
“It’s the smelter issue,” Andrew said. He regarded his wife and frowned. “Is this important?”
“It’s a security matter,” she said. “You wanted to know if Emily remembered anything, and she remembers it all. You’re going to want to hear this.”
Emily caught Michael’s eye, and he smiled at her so warmly, with such genuine gladness at seeing her, that all her trepidation evaporated. She returned his smile, warmth filling her. She was safe so long as Michael was around. That was certain.
“Well, if you’re up to it, Emily, could you tell us?” Andrew asked.
Michael offered Emily his chair and then stood behind it with his hand on her shoulder. It was his touch, more than anything, that gave her the strength to go through her story again. This time she managed to tell it with a lot fewer stops and starts.
All the men listened. When she was done, silence rang in the tent like a tongueless bell.
“Well, that’s not great news,” Andrew said, running his fingers through his hair. He rested his elbows on his desk and looked at the assembled faces in front of him. “I don’t suppose moving the traps will be possible?”
Troy snorted and shook his head. “Not without taking a lot of time and effort. We might be able to add a few things to that side of the camp. We figured that at some point we might have to.”
“Or maybe it’s time to build a barricade,” Jeff suggested.
“Maybe,” Troy said. “But we’ll be tearing it down in a few months when we’ve finished building the actual town. We’re going to move the mine entrance to that side of the creek too. You know the plan.”
“Sure,” Jeff said. “But it only applies if we’re all alive to implement it.”
Emily wanted to ask about the plans but felt that now really wasn’t the time.
“Can we get Felix in here?” Andrew asked.
“Not unless you’d like to take some furniture out,” Michael said, indicating the crowded space.
“Well, we don’t need to be here for that,” Troy said. “You can tell us what you want us to do, Andy. Come on, Jeff, we can go and get some coffee and talk about our ideas.”
“Okay,” Jeff said, and the two men left.
“I’ll go get Felix,” Robert Hayes said. “He won’t try and weasel his way out of this with me.”
He left and was back in no time with Felix in tow.
Emily felt a pang of pity for her uncle. He looked so small and helpless, standing there in the stuffy tent with his hat in his hands.
Andrew told the old man what Emily remembered, and for a while, she couldn’t look at her uncle, which was odd since she hadn’t done anything wrong.
“I’m so sorry, Em,” Uncle Felix said. “I didn’t know what to do. I swear it. I thought I would wait a little, and if no one found you, then I would kick up a fuss until they did. But I must have fallen asleep and, well … Things got out of hand.”
“You can make amends with Emily later,” Andrew snapped. “Who was this man that you showed the way through the traps?”
“I didn’t show him,” Felix said. “And he doesn’t mean anyone but me harm. I’m the one who owes his boss money.” He shrugged, and a small, pathetic giggle escaped him. “He works for some people who lend folks like me money. When we win, we pay them back. Only?—”
“Only you didn’t win,” Michael said, his voice halting. “You lost.”
“And now you owe them money,” Emily said flatly. “So, what have you been taking to pay your debt, Felix? Have you been stealing the ore and selling it?”
Felix looked as though she had slapped his face.
“Good heavens, no!” he exclaimed. “I would never do something like that. No, I’ve been paying them off with my money from the sale of the house and everything back east, and then when that wasn’t enough, I gave them food and a few medical supplies.
But nothing much. Nothing anyone has missed. ” He smiled.
Every face in the tent turned to granite. Felix swallowed. “I’m sorry?” he said.
It really would have been better if he hadn’t said it like a question. Emily sighed. Here they went again on the crazy merry-go-round that was life with Felix.
And suddenly she couldn’t help it. The laughter came bubbling out of her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She threw back her head and laughed and laughed.