Julia answered, “Neither of you understands. Love is important. I believe this is a message meant to be believed and not seen. In 1 Corinthians, it says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
West shrugged as Julia closed the golden lid, and he said, “I suppose you know best. You did spend all those years at the convent.”
Julia smiled, “I spent a lot of time reading my Bible before I went to the convent. I think you should spend a bit more with yours, and you’d realize how important love is.”
West didn’t answer but untied Kate and handed the end of the rope to Julia. “You can make sure she doesn’t run off while I carry this chest back down to the horses. It’s too heavy for you to carry.”
Julia knew she could carry the chest but allowed West his moment of masculine bravado and followed him with a subdued Kate as they headed down the hill.
Chapter 14
Colby was waiting for them at the bottom of the hill. He shook his head when Julia, Kate, and West came into view.
“I see you found Miss Kate. Did you need to bind her up that way?” Colby inquired. “She’s just a little bit of a thing and a lady.”
“She killed a priest,” West said. “She attacked another priest in Smiley. We can’t take the chance that she’ll escape.”
“Say it ain’t so, Miss Kate. You didn’t kill no priest, did ya?” Colby asked with sadness and confusion running across his face.
“It wasn’t intentional. The man fell and hit his head. I didn’t mean to hurt the priest in Smiley. Never mind. You’re a man you’ll never understand,” Kate grumbled as her eyes cast daggers in Colby’s direction.
Colby shook his head again as he carried his rifle and disappeared into the trees.
“You have a cruel streak, Kate Mulligan,” West commented. “I can’t wait until the marshals come and get you.”
“Marshals?” Julia asked. “We’re not taking her in?”
West shook his head. “No, she’s charged with murder. We’ll let the marshal’s take that responsibility, It’s a long ride to New Mexico.”
Kate groaned. “It was a long ride here. I don’t look forward to the ride back.”
“Maybe they’ll bring a tumbleweed wagon, and you won’t have to ride a horse,” West told her.
“Tumbleweed wagon?” Julia asked. “What is that?”
“It’s a jail cell on wheels. They use it to carry several criminals or ones that are considered extremely dangerous. Murder of a priest and the fact that she’s a woman makes her dangerous to transport,” West explained.
“I didn’t kill anyone,” Kate shouted.
“Tell it to the judge,” West said. “C’mon, let’s get the horses and take this chest back to Father Dominic.”
They arrived back at Smiley’s station just before dusk. West hurried inside to speak with Smiley while Julia kept watch over Kate.
“Are they going to hang me?” Kate asked.
Julia stammered, “I, I don’t know. I didn’t know they hung women. I think you’ll go to prison for quite some time.”
“Maybe,” Kate replied. “The judge and jury will all be men. None of them will care why I needed that chest of gold.”
“You’ll have the opportunity to tell them,” Julia explained.
“It won’t matter. They’ll say it was intentional, and I killed the priest for no reason because the chest is empty. I suppose the chest itself is worth something, but not enough to get me a child. This was all a waste of time,” Kate whined.
Julia, at a loss of what to say to Kate, sat quietly and waited for West to return. Kate kept mumbling about her troubles, and finally, tears ran down her cheeks. Julia let her cry, hoping it might ease her mind.
West walked out of Smiley’s and strode to Julia’s horse. “No sheriff in town means no jail either. I sent a telegram to the marshals and told them we have Kate. Smiley said he’ll tell me when an answer comes in, and we can keep Kate in the barn. There’s a couple of empty stalls.”
Julia nodded, “I take it we keep her tied up until the marshal’s arrive since there’s not a jail cell to lock her in.”
“That’s about it,” West answered. “I’ll stay in the barn to watch her, and you can get some sleep back in our room.”
“Absolutely not,” Julia insisted. “She’s as much my prisoner as she is yours. We’ll take turns watching her and sleeping in one of the stalls. I already told you I’m not opposed to sleeping in a barn.”
After they made Kate as comfortable as possible in a stall tied to a post, West left to check on any incoming telegrams and to bring food back for both Julia and Kate.
Julia sat on a wooden crate, not knowing what to say to her prisoner. Her heart felt for the young woman, but she did cause the death of the priest and attacked Father Dominic. Was it her place to question Kate or have a conversation with a prisoner? She remembered from her training that she could write down anything Kate said as evidence, but was it correct to play on the young woman’s emotions to get her to talk? She didn’t have to make that decision. Kate began talking again.
“I was serious before,” Kate stated. “I know you love that man, and you don’t have to kill him. Just hit him over the head and tie him up. The chest is worth money, and we can get away and sell it. I’ll share it. I can always find another way to get enough money to get back to that orphanage or find another. There are always people willing to turn a blind eye when cash is involved.”
“You have a very cynical view of the world. You should have spent some time in a convent the way I did learning more about love and peace than hatred and greed,” Julia admonished.
“Maybe,” Kate
