The Royal Handmaid (26 page)

“And Lars isn’t a bad fellow either, but he’s easily led.”

“We may have to wait until I get on my two pins again. Until then, we’ll just have to make the best of it.”

Shep picked up a stick and examined it as if it had some meaning. When he looked up, his countenance was troubled. “I don’t know, Cap. Cerny and Charlie have been acting pretty bad toward the women.”

“I know, but I can’t do anything about it in my condition. Maybe if I could just get one of those guns—”

“I’m afraid they’d shoot you down if you tried.”

Captain Barkley groaned. He was not accustomed to being in situations he couldn’t handle, and the gloom he felt was etched across his heavy features. His eyes were fixed on the distance, where he could hear the voices of Novak and the other members of the crew. “We’ll have to wait until I’m strong enough,” he murmured. “Then we’ll see.”

****

Chip had taught the women that the soap they made with such an arduous method was not the only way of washing clothes. He had introduced them to pumice, an extremely lightweight stone that was readily available on the island. “All of my womenfolk back home use it when they run out of
soap. It’s almost as good,” Chip had told them. “And what’s more, you’ll never run out of it.”

Rena had gathered a bagful of clothes and gone to the stream with it. She had been doing Abigail’s washing as well as her own, and for half an hour she had been scrubbing, thinking with some concern of Abigail’s approaching labor. Karl was still not willing to help with the birth, and when asked for advice, he said little. She couldn’t understand his attitude, and it troubled her.

When she finished the washing, she wrung out the clothes as well as she could, then started back toward the camp to hang them on ropes to dry. She had come close enough to camp to hear muted voices, when Cerny Novak appeared from around the bend in the trail. She stopped abruptly. Nodding curtly, she said, “Hello, Novak.”

“Been doing washing, have you?”

“Yes.”

“Here, lemme help you carry that.” Novak reached to take the bundle of wet clothes.

“That’s all right. I can handle it.” Rena noticed that one of the pistols was in the belt holding up his faded jeans. With no shirt, his powerful build was obvious, and his hair was now long enough to hang down over his back. Rena started to hurry by, but he grabbed her by the arm.

“What’s your hurry?”

“Let me go, please.”

“Well, ain’t you got fine manners.” Novak grinned but did not release her arm. “Look here. There’s no sense in being so standoffish. I’m a perty nice guy when you get to know me.”

Novak’s grip was like steel. Rena felt a touch of fear, even though she was within calling distance of the camp. Determined to appear fearless to Novak, she said quietly, “Let me go, please. I need to get these clothes hung up.”

“Plenty of time for that. Look, things are a little different now. There was a time when you was the queen of Sheba and
I was just one of the slaves.” Novak pulled her closer. “A little different now, ain’t it?”

Rena was shocked that he would be so overt in his approach. She knew he had watched her, as he had watched the other women. There was a wolfish air about the man, and now it occurred to her that he considered her his prey. He suddenly snatched the clothes from her grip, and she tried to break away, but he was too quick for her. He threw the clothes on the ground and grabbed her by both arms, yanking her forward. She was powerless in his grip, but she managed to turn her face away as he tried to kiss her. “Let me go!” she cried, struggling valiantly to free herself. “Help!” she screamed. “Somebody help me!”

“Who you think’s gonna help you, sweetheart?” Novak leered. “What you been needin’ is a real man instead of that punk you got.”

“Let her go, Cerny.”

Novak whirled, keeping Rena’s arm gripped with one hand as he faced Travis, who had come up behind them. “You don’t want to do this, Cerny.”

“Butt out, Winslow!”

“I can’t do that. Let her go and things will be all right.”

Travis was no more than three feet away, his gaze fixed on Cerny. He stood in his usual relaxed manner, Rena noticed, yet there was an alertness about him. He seemed dangerous in a way he never had before.

“I’m tellin’ you to stay out of this,” Cerny muttered with quiet menace in his voice.

Travis saw a flicker in Novak’s eyes, and as the burly sailor’s hand dropped to the pistol in his belt, Travis sprang forward, throwing a powerful punch that caught Novak high on the cheek and drove him backward. Travis made a wild stab for the pistol but missed and caught Novak’s wrist instead. He tried to twist it, but the man was too strong.

As the two fell to the ground struggling, Rena rolled out of Novak’s grip. Novak’s fist caught Travis high on the forehead.
Travis avoided the knee that was aimed at his groin and managed to jam his elbow at Novak’s mouth. The impact was solid and brought a gasp from the burly sailor. The two men struggled over the pistol, rolling on the sandy ground and striking blows where they could with their free arms.

Novak staggered to his feet, dragging Travis with him. Both had bloody faces now and were driving in blow after blow, some of them awkward but all of them doing damage, for they were both strong men.

Travis was holding his own for the moment but knew he couldn’t win against Novak’s superior strength. A hard jab landed on Travis’s shoulder, and then as Novak pulled back for another strike, Travis grabbed his right wrist. With a twist he lifted the arm and stepped under it, using a trick he had learned from a wrestling champion, and Novak spun in the air and went crashing down. Travis jerked the pistol from his hand, but even as he did a voice rang out.

“All right, Winslow, drop the gun!”

Travis turned to see Charlie Day standing not ten feet away with the rifle aimed directly at him. He had no chance at all, so he tossed the gun onto the ground. “All right, Charlie,” he said.

“Get away from him.” Day moved over to stand beside Novak, who was getting to his feet.

Novak wiped the blood from his face, eyeing Travis with an odd expression. He picked the gun up, and for a moment Travis thought he would shoot him.

But Novak laughed instead. “Well, you’re the first man that ever put me on my back like that, Winslow.”

“Let me shoot him, Novak!”

“Shut up, Charlie. You’re not shooting nobody.” Novak held the pistol easily in his hand and became aware that the others had gathered and were watching. He studied the group, noting the fear in their eyes, and then he turned his attention back to the tall man in front of him. “Travis, it was
a fair fight, but there won’t be no more of it. I’ll kill you if you step out of line again.”

“I believe you would.”

“You know I would. Now, all of you watch what you’re doin’ or you’ll be sorry.”

Novak and Day turned and left. The others gathered around Travis, with everyone talking at once.

“Your face is all cut,” Rena said to Travis.

“I’ve had worse.”

“Come on. I’ll clean you up.”

The two went back to the camp, where Rena got a dish of water and a clean cloth. She began to dab away at the cuts. “I wish we had some kind of antiseptic.”

“Doesn’t amount to anything. I’ll be fine.”

Rena stopped her nursing, suddenly frightened over what could have happened. “You know, I’ve never had a problem like this.”

“I have.” He grinned wryly. “I’ve been in lots of fights.”

“You must be careful, Travis. He’s got a wicked streak in him. He’ll shoot you if you give him an excuse.”

“I don’t think so. I think he’s a better man than the one we see.”

She shook her head. “I don’t believe that’s true.” She was quiet for a moment, then said, “You know, Travis, I’ve always been able to solve my own problems. If I couldn’t, I would take them to Dad. I used to have enough self-confidence for ten women, but I don’t have it anymore.”

“That may be a good thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I think God builds our faith by putting us into situations we can’t handle. That’s the way I’ve learned what little I know about the Lord. Maybe God’s getting you ready for something that calls for great faith.”

Rena’s shoulders sagged. “I’m so tired, Travis. I just don’t know anymore. I think the whole thing was a mistake coming out here, bringing these amateurs.” Her voice was bitter, and
her hopelessness was evident. She was not the same woman, Travis knew, who had left the States months earlier. He took her hand and held it for a moment, smiling. She met his gaze and noticed how his skin was deeply tanned and without a wrinkle, and his full beard made him look ruggedly handsome. She also saw in his face an approval of her, and more than that, she thought she saw a clear, bold expression of warmth. This brought a flush to her face.

Travis said gently, “You’re growing in grace, I think.”

Rena did not know what to say to this, but the intimacy of the moment was interrupted when she heard Jimmy Townsend calling. She turned and saw the young man running toward them, his face pale.

“What’s wrong, Jimmy?”

“It’s . . . it’s Abigail. She’s having her baby.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, it’s happening now. Where’s Karl?”

“He went fishing. I’ll go get him,” Travis said. Without another word, he turned and plunged off down the beach.

“Come along. You don’t want to leave her alone, Jimmy.”

“No, but Karl’s got to help. He just has to!”

“He will,” Rena said soothingly. “Come on, now. Let’s go see to her.”

****

To Jimmy the minutes crawled by like hours. Karl had come back from the beach and had gone to see Abigail, but the sight of her wan face and her agonizing cries practically destroyed him.

“Can’t you give her some of that dope Chip found, Karl?”

“It wouldn’t be good at this stage, Jimmy. She has to help push.”

“Oh, I wish we’d never come to this place!” Jimmy muttered under his breath. “What’s going to happen?” he asked Meredith and Rena, who were comforting Abby. “I don’t know anything about having babies. Back home they just take
care of it at a hospital and come out and tell the husband when it’s over.”

“Come outside, Jimmy,” Karl instructed.

Something in Karl’s voice startled Jimmy. As they stepped outside, he said, “What’s the matter? Is something wrong?”

“Yes, there’s something wrong,” Karl said as they moved further from the shelter. “The baby is turned the wrong way.”

“What does that mean?” he whispered.

“I’m not an expert, as you know. As a medical student I observed several deliveries and all of them went well, but this one . . .” Benson swallowed hard and ran his hand nervously across his forehead. “I’m no good for this, Jimmy.”

Jimmy grabbed Karl’s arms and practically shouted, “You’ve got to be, Karl. Nobody else around here has even observed a delivery!”

Karl pushed Jimmy’s hands away. “You can’t ask me to do something I can’t do!” he wailed, his voice on the verge of panic. He turned and walked away blindly. Jimmy stood there as helpless and frightened as he’d ever been in his life. He heard a voice and felt a touch and turned to see Pete standing there beside Lanie.

“What’s wrong with Karl?” Pete asked.

“He . . . he says he can’t do it. He can’t help Abigail.”

“But he’s got to!” Pete exclaimed.

“Let me go talk to him,” Lanie said.

“Come along, you’d better go back and be with your wife,” Pete said, taking Jimmy by the arm.

Jimmy was trembling. He loved his wife with all of his heart, and now he feared that he was about to lose her. “She can’t die, Pete. She just can’t!”

****

Abby’s screams drove some of the group far from the camp. Among the crew, only Chip and Oscar were able to bear it. They sat silently by the fire, exchanging haunted glances. Even
the tough-minded Oscar said, “I’ve never heard such screams. My wife never carried on like this when she had our son.”

Chip agreed. “Yeah, it’s bad. How long can a woman go on like that?”

For the others, the time dragged by. Karl had disappeared, and no one knew where he was. Meredith and Rena stayed with Abby, trying to comfort her but not really knowing what to do.

Finally Rena, her face drenched with sweat, said, “I’ve got to go find Karl. You stay here, Meredith.”

Rena ran out of the shelter and quickly found Travis. “You’ve got to help me, Travis,” she cried. “I don’t know what’s wrong with Karl, but he’s got to do something!”

“You’re right.” Travis agreed. “Whatever his problems are, they can’t be as bad as what Abby’s going through. Nothing’s more important right now than Abby and that baby.”

They hurried out together in search of Karl and found him five minutes later. He was sitting in the woods, his face pale and covered with sweat. When they approached him, he couldn’t meet their eyes.

Travis grabbed him by the arm. “Karl, I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but I’ll tell you this. You’re going to come back with us and do whatever you can to help Abby. If she dies, she’s going to die with you looking right at her.”

“I can’t go back. I just can’t.”

“What’s wrong with you? You’re the one most fitted to help,” Rena cried. “Don’t you care?”

“Don’t I care? Yes, I care! I care too much.”

“What does that mean?” Travis asked in exasperation. “The woman is dying!”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“Then why won’t you help her?”

Karl tried to turn away, but Travis kept a firm grip on his arm. His eyes looked haunted and his lips seemed paralyzed.

“You’ve all wondered why I gave up on my dreams of becoming a doctor. All right, I’ll tell you. I had a problem with
alcohol, and I let it get in the way of my work. In a drunken state one day, I ordered the wrong medication for a woman who was in labor. She died because of my carelessness—and her baby too. I can never forgive myself as long as I live!”

Rena saw the torture in Benson’s face. “That’s in the past, Karl. Now you’ve got a chance to make up for it.”

“I can’t, I’ve told you! Do you know what’s going to have to happen for her to live?” Benson asked slowly, his voice unsteady. “She’ll have to have a caesarean. That baby will never be born normally. If she doesn’t have an operation, they’ll both die.”