Dixon watched Nathaniel pull the blanket over Joab. Once the blizzard passed, he’d head to town and send the wire to Ontario. Could it be possible Abbadon had previously known Joab? Abbadon, in all his travels, could easily have been to Joab’s home in Ontario.
Nathaniel shook his head and squatted near Joab’s face. “I can’t go on sitting here without saying somethin’. You’ve done so much for the church, preachin’ when the pastor was not available, teachin’ Sunday School.”
Indeed, Joab had been faithful. A low growl rumbled in Dixon’s chest. He’d catch the scum who did this to such a good man if it were the last job he did as a NWMP officer.
Nathaniel rolled back onto his buttocks and linked his arms around his legs. “You always were there for others, helpin’ Blain when he broke his leg, helpin’ build Mrs. Clumpit’s restaurant.” He chuckled. “You kept me from headin’ after the man who stole my horse and gettin’ myself killed. Told me to let the law take care of it, and sure enough, Dixon caught the man.” He grunted. “Didn’t know the thief was a murderer.”
Nathaniel always did go off half cocked. He sobered right down when Dixon told him the thief was wanted for three murders in Montana.
“Any time your neighbors experienced trouble, you’ve been there for them, listenin’, helpin’, doin’ what you could.” Nathaniel leaned forward and tapped a place on Joab’s shoulder that didn’t have a sore. “But did you do it all out of fear? Did you think these acts would hide your own sins?”
A rod rammed down Dixon’s spine. What was the man saying? Could he actually be suggesting that Joab was covering something? Yet, he could not deny the possibility. Men had a way of takin’ you by surprise. But, surely not Joab.
“I’ve never known good people to be, what would you say? Cut off? We all know you reap what you sow.”
“Plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same,” Barty whispered from his seat on the crate.
Dixon shot a barbed look at Barty. The man wasn’t exactly known for his own righteous living. How could he sit there and judge Joab?
“God calls judgment on them that sin.” Nathaniel wiped his mouth. “You know what came of the wolfers and the whiskey traders. Justice was served.” He waved his finger at Dixon. “Riel got what he deserved.”
Dixon’s fists curled into iron balls. Riel did not get enough of what he deserved, but what did that have to do with Joab? There wasn’t enough goodness in Riel to even fill the tip of Joab’s little finger. Argh. The man was crazy.
Nathaniel leaned over Joab’s face and studied it for a moment.
Dixon squelched the desire to squirm as though he were the one under scrutiny.
“Now, someone told me in secret,” Nathaniel looked away and scratched his head. “I listened only a little,” he whispered.
The man should be ashamed. Dixon’s chest rose and fell with force. How could Nathaniel give ear to gossip? How many times did Joab feed the man at his own table? What kind of gratitude was this?
Dixon stretched his fingers out. He shouldn’t be letting it get to him. He should be looking at this case objectively.
“Abbadon …”
Ah ha! That’s who had fed Nathaniel these lies. Dixon should have known. But his conscience told him his judgment was prejudiced. Bah!
“Abbadon said—I believe he was quoting from the Bible—‘shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker?’”
The albino stranger a religious man? Dixon huffed. He should have known. Probably of the same religion as Riel.
“Just look at the evidence. Your son dies. Your livestock die. Your crops are destroyed. Even your wife has turned from you.”
“Enough Nathaniel!” What was the point?
Nathaniel turned his gaze on Dixon. The man’s eyes seemed filled with pain. Was it possible he thought he was helping Joab? “Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.”
“I suppose that’s in the Bible too.”
“Yes sir. It is.” Nathaniel turned back to Joab and laid his hand on the blanket beside the suffering man. “God is correcting you. You should be happy.” He took a deep breath. “Submit to Him, and He’ll make you whole again.”
This was maddening. What kind of friend said things like this?
Nathaniel looked up at Dixon and locked his gaze on the sergeant’s eyes. “My experience has been that when you turn back to God, He’ll bless you.”
Dixon had enough. He stomped to the soddy’s entrance, jerked open the door, and stormed outside, slamming it behind him.
The wind rose to meet him, pelting him with snow. He shivered and pulled his serge closer around his neck. God is correcting you. What rubbish.
Fire coursed through his veins. He barely felt the cold of the night and began to circle the soddy. You should be happy. How could Joab be happy when the very Supernatural Being he trusted turned His back on him? If God existed, then He was a heartless god. No. What Nathaniel said was wrong. But the words echoed in Dixon’s soul, scraping against its sides, and reverberating to the very depths of his heart. Submit to Him, and He will make you whole.
“No!” He shook his fist at the gray sky. He would not submit to a God who could not keep his mother safe and let wicked men like Riel live.