| |
Levi heard the buggy coming up the drive. He patted the horse’s neck and stopped his brushing. “Best to see who comes visiting, Mayhem.”
He made his way through the barn door, trying not to lose any heat. Upon seeing the Bishop driving up, Levi pushed the wide barn doors open so the man could drive the buggy into the warm barn.
Once Bishop Eischler settled the buggy Levi hitched the horse and gave him feed and water. “What brings thee out this way, Bishop? Do I need to find Wayne?”
“Nee, Levi. I come to speak to you about troubles around the district.”
Levi must have looked as bewildered as he felt. “Come, Bishop, let’s sit and tell me what has happened.”
The Bishop sat across from Levi and started, “Your mentor Mr. Schmidt has had a couple of mares stolen. The thieves took them from the barn at night and proceeded to load them into a waiting trailer in the field.”
The Bishop took a breath as Levi rose in agitation from his seat over the news. “Does he know who did this?”
“Nee Levi, he needs help and asked for you. On a sad note, one of the mares dropped her foal in the field.”
Levi moaned over this announcement. He knew all the horses at Mr. Schmidt’s and especially the mares.
“He did find the foal, and with Gott’s help, it should survive.”
“Good, were there any clues?”
“Nee, nothing.”
Levi slowly took his seat. “Have any other farms had problems?”
“One other, the Kelso brothers. They took three from them, two mares and one stud. They actually used two trailers.”
“Sounds as though they are well planned. Might be we should contact Asher...” He didn’t have time to finish his statement before the Bishop halted him.
“We will handle this in our way.”
“Jah, of course.”
Levi knew many of the older members in the district were still mulling about the police involvement over the missing girls a few months ago, which resulted in murders. He kept his own feelings to himself and would nee say otherwise.
“I will go right over to Mr. Schmidt and then the Kelso farm. Bishop, we may need to call a council of the breeders.”
“Yes, I have sent out the call. We will meet on Wednesday, two days should give you time. They will want to go over what you find and what measures we need to take.”
His hand moved over his pants to brush the hay away and realized the threatening note to Wayne was there. Nee, he did not dare show the message to the bishop. The man would feel as Levi had at first. He would assume Wayne was involved.
“I will saddle up as it will be quicker for me to ride through the fields.”
“Jah, you are right, of course.”
Levi backed the Bishop’s buggy out of the barn. Little else was said.
***
Once mounted, Levi looked down at Wayne, “Take care of them and keep our home safe, Wayne.”
“Yes, brother.”
“I am going to ride over to the store and tell Miriam what has happened.”
Anna moved up to the horse, preventing Levi from leaving, “Yes, Anna?” Levi was a little surprised by her actions as she usually appeared too meek to speak.
“You should be careful, my brother. We will keep our combined family and the horses safe.”
He tipped his hat to her and smiled. It warmed his heart that she was feeling closer to him as a new family member. Something in her warning bothered him a bit, but he could not pinpoint what it was. He supposed the situation was getting on his nerves. The horse must have felt his anxiousness and took off at a fast clip over the road.
The store was in the same direction he would take to get to the other farms. He would not go without stopping and telling Miriam.
“There it is, come on, let’s go see my wife,” Levi said to his horse.
Before he made it to the door, Miriam stood on the small covered porch looking so beautiful. He could see the questions in her eyes for his unexpected visit.
“Hello.”
She giggled at him. “Hello, husband.”
He swung his leg over the horse and righted himself. Standing there, he stood looking at her. He loved her so much. Their problems were sorting themselves out, and they had become much happier.
“Why have you stopped, Levi?”
“I know I’ve been a stranger around here...”
“Could be I will be home, so you won’t have to race over.” Miriam’s soft laughter sounded like spring in the bitter cold.
“Please, lovely, let’s go inside for a bit as I must be going soon.”
He held the door for her, taking in the soft fragrance unique to Miriam.
Regretfully, he told her of the Bishop’s visit and where he would be going. All humor left her pretty face. “I will be careful. Is Wayne involved in this? Is this what the note was about?”
Levi did not want to bring her into this, but there was no other way. “Yes. He overhead the talk of rustling, but he could not tell who the men were. He had only seen one or two but was not involved with them. They are from his old location. I guess they feel it is easier to steal than to work for a living.”
Levi pulled Miriam into his arms to hold her and kissed her forehead. “This afternoon, come home as soon as possible, Miriam. Anna will be beating the bushes if you don’t.”
“Does Anna know about all of this?”
“She does now. Wayne told her.”
Taking her shoulders, he placed her to one side so he could reach the door. “I’ll be home as soon as I can, but there are some people I need to talk to. We have to work out some sort of plan, but I have no clue what it is.”
Levi walked through the doorway without looking back. It always saddened him to leave Miriam.