The Spanish Well was one of the oldest landmarks around Junction City. Dug sometime in the distant past and circled by a wall of stones. Nearby in the shade of cottonwood trees stood a lone wagon. The canvas top was old and gray. The wooden bed chipped and splintered. The young girl sat on the open tailgate swinging her bare feet. When she saw Faith she jumped down. A look of relief brightened her features until she noticed the star pinned on the front of Sheriff Walden’s vest. She dashed behind the side of the wagon and peeked out at them.
“It is alright,” Faith said. “Sheriff Walden is here to help.” The girl shook her head no. Never in the past had a sheriff shown anything but contempt for her and pa. She was not about to trust this one. “Go on inside,” Faith told Sheriff Walden, “I will look after her.”
The wagon squeaked under Walden’s weight. Mrs. Gaines was seated on an upturned crate next to a cot. With a damp cloth she was cleaning a man’s wound. “Sheriff Walden,” she greeted.
The man struggled to raise his head. Though his voice was little more than a whisper he shouted, “Get out.”
“Lay back,” Mary ordered. “You don’t want to do more harm. A man has only so much blood and you are losing yours fast enough as it is.”
The man scowled at Sheriff Walden. “When is God’s man going to get here,” he demanded before coughing. Red foam appeared at the corners of his mouth.
“I sent Valerie to fetch him,” Mary explained patiently.
“I ain’t got long. I need to confess by sins,” the man whispered hoarsely. “I promised my Mary Sue I’d not die without first confessing all the wickedness I’ve done.”
Mary pressed the cloth against the bullet hole in the man’s chest in an effort to stem the flow of blood. Her effort was useless. The man was dieing and knew it. “You can tell your confession to me,” she said. “I have listened to more than a few confessions over the years.”
“No ma’am,” the man whispered weakly. “What I’ve got to say ain’t fitting for a woman’s ears.” The skin on his face was turning gray. His breathing labored.
“You whisper what needs to be said and I will pray for you,” Mary answered. She was a practical woman. “God will hear your words even if I can’t. I will ask him to listen and forgive your sins.”
This seemed to pacify the dieing man. His lips moved as he mumbled all the wrongs he had committed. Mary Gaines prayed while she attended to his wounds. Sheriff Walden looked on while he knew he should be asking questions. The man was dieing and he was not gathering the information needed to find those responsible for his death.
Chapter Ten
Taking hold of the girl’s hand Faith walked away from the wagon. “Pa says I’m not to go very far,” the child said. She glanced over her shoulder at the wagon. The breeze was blowing against the side of the canvas making the wagon rock on its wheels.
“What is your name,” Faith asked. She leaned over the top row of stones and looked into the black hole known as Spanish Well.
“Laurie,” the girl replied shyly. “What is yours,” she asked in return. She liked the gentle way Faith talked and the warmth in her brown eyes. Being knocked around all her life by strangers Laurie was reluctant to trust Faith.
“Faith,” Faith replied. “How long have you lived in Junction City?”
Stretching up on her tiptoes the girl leaned over the stone bench and looked into the well. Her head inches away from Faith’s. “Two days I think,” Laurie replied. “They didn’t want us in the last town. The sheriff told us to leave.” Faith turned and sat down on the row stones that formed a bench around the Well. Laurie sat down beside her. “Nowhere wants us,” the girl explained. “The other towns we were in were the same. The sheriff came round and told us to move on.”
Faith took the girl’s hand in hers. It had been a sad little speech full of hurt and confusion. “You hungry,” Faith asked hoping to distract Laurie from what was happening inside the wagon.
Laurie bobbed her head yes.
“Let’s go to my house and I will cook us something,” Faith suggested.
“I ought not to leave Pa,” Laurie explained. “He ain’t got no one to look after him.”
“Mother will do all she can to care for your Pa,” Faith replied. “Besides, I am hungry. It is almost dinnertime. You don’t want your Pa to worry that you are not eating. My father worries when my sisters and I don’t eat.”
“He does,” Laurie asked, bewildered. “But you’re big.”
“Big or little, Fathers worry about their daughters,” Faith replied.
“Can I see Pa first,” Laurie asked.
“I will ask Mother,” Faith answered. They walked back to the wagon and stopped near the tailgate. “Mother,” Faith called. “Laurie wants to see her father. Is it alright?”
Sheriff Walden came out of the wagon and stepped to the ground. His eyes were serious looking and his face grim. He took off his hat and held it between his hands in front of his chest. “Miss Gaines,” he said. Just Faith’s name yet she knew Laurie’s father was dead.
“I will take Laurie home and cook dinner. Will you come with us,” Faith asked.
“Yes, thank you,” Sheriff Walden replied. He stared at Faith a brief moment. Shaking his head at the renewed effect she was having on him. Women should not be so stunningly beautiful. If not a crime surely it was a sin.
They walked among the trees growing on the west side of town. Away from the businesses that housed the unsavory and often immoral practices of mankind. The sky overhead looked as
