Within the Candle's Glow by Karen Campbell Prough Read Free Book Online Page B

husband’s death? One was named Josh … Josh Ragget.”
    “Yes.” Velma’s brown eyes widened. “That’s his voice—it had a raspy tone to it. It’s got to be him.” She motioned to Mr. Beckler.
    He walked over, bending close.
    “What?”
    “That rider. We think he was one of two gold miners who, a few years back, delivered news of my husband’s death.”
    “I wonder why he’s returned.” Ella gathered her skirt and rose from the quilt. Curiosity drew her to the bedraggled figure on the weary horse. She walked under the trees into the sunlight. “Josh?”
    “Ella Dessa,
stop
.” Samuel trotted toward her, reaching for her shoulder.
    She raised a hand to ward off her friend’s restraining touch.
    “Let the men deal with this.”
    “I know his name.” She quickened her steps.
    The stranger’s head turned. “Miss Ella Des … sa.” His shaky voice contained a note of awe, loud enough for all to hear. “You’ve grown. An’ you wear your hair up—like a lady.”
    “What brings you here? I pray it’s not to report another death.”
    Her dress dragged through the tall grass, bending the stalks in its wake. A knot of inquisitive people moved out of the shade into the sunlit field. She felt their stares and anxious whispers.
    Haunted dark eyes searched her face. A freshly healed wound marred his right cheek. His upper body swayed as his knees clenched the horse’s sides.
    “I’m starved.”
    “They’re fetchin’ food.”
    He slumped sideways in the saddle.
    She yelled for help and tried to steady his body, but she was too short. In slow motion, he slid from the saddle and landed at her feet. His hat came off, revealing greasy, black hair.
    Men surged forward.
    She knelt, resting her hand on Josh’s chest and searching for a heartbeat.
    “Let me.” Jim jostled her and knelt. He placed an ear to the man’schest. “He’s breathing. Is Granny here?” He turned, searching the crowd for their old midwife.
    “They’ll bring her,” Mr. Beckler said. “Best get him in the shade.”
    Within minutes, several men carried the man’s limp body into the shadow of a nearby oak. Ella knelt beside him, brushing long tangled hair from his face. He resembled a corpse—bone thin. His skin molded to his high cheekbones.
    “I cain’t kneel.” Granny Hanks, the settlement’s midwife and only doctor, hobbled to where the man lay. “Bring the bench I were sittin’ on. I’m too old to stand. Fetch a rag an’ water.”
    “I got water. Samuel’s bringing your bench.” Jim set a bucket in the tall grass and knelt beside Ella. Grasshoppers took to the air, their iridescent wings twirling in flight. “Did he say your
name
?”
    “Yes. Three years ago he brung word Velma’s husband died.”
    “So he’s a gold miner?” Their fingertips touched as he handed her a rag. His gray eyes searched her face.
    “Yes.” She dipped the torn cloth in the water, dabbing it across Josh’s forehead and sides of his neck, unable to keep her hand from shaking.
    “He looks like death.” Jim stood as his brother brought a bench.
    “Granny, here’s your bench.” Samuel positioned it so the old woman could sit. “That fellow’s horse has suffered some fearsome treatment. I’ll tie it to a tree until the preacher decides where to put this man.”
    “You!” Granny pointed an arthritic finger at a man in the small crowd gathered under the trees. “Come here.”
    “Granny, his name is Miles Kilbride,” Jim said, as the man removed his hat and hurried to obey Granny’s abrupt command. “He and his wife are visiting my sister and the schoolteacher.”
    “So? He can help. No strangers ‘mongst us.”
    Miles Kilbride!
    Ella bowed her head and stared at the long grass. She clenched the wet rag in her hand and watched water drip on her skirt. Her heart raced. The man’s handsome face and curly dark hair were the same as when he attended the schoolteacher’s wedding years before.
    It’s his last name written