Whippoorwill (31 page)

***

“Well now,” Eulis said, as the townspeople watched them riding away. “That was a fine ending to an eventful day.”

Letty chewed nervously on her lower lip. If this day were only over, she might rest easy. But there was still tonight—and the sermon. After that, she had to find a believable way to get the preacher out of town and Eulis back into character. Unfortunately, her ideas had gone dry. The only hope she had was that Eulis would come up with something of his own.

Unbeknownst to her, he already had. If she’d had an inkling of his plans, she would have already been packing for an early escape. But she knew nothing except that people kept pouring town like mice to a threshing.

She’d not known there were this many people in the entire territory.

THE RECKONING

The arbor sat on the hilltop like a hen roost. Nothing above the brushy roof but sky. Nothing below it but rows of boards atop borrowed kegs and boxes. Slap-shod pews that slowly filled with a motley assortment of people as the day continued to die.

They’d been arriving for hours. Families in the territory eager for the first hint of religion to come their way in years. They came on foot. By horseback. In wagons. But they came.

Thin-faced, ropey-skinned men tanned to a leathery red like the dirt beneath their feet. Wind-blown and harried women, old before their time with children scurrying around their skirt tails like little quail trying to get up the nerve to leave the covey. The slip-shod pews slowly filled with a mingling of work-weary and weathered humanity.

Randall Howe would have been shocked to know that so many souls were thirsting for need of The Word. Eulis Potter was scared shitless that they expected it to come from him.

Chilled with nerves, despite the lingering heat of the dying day, Eulis clutched the bible to his chest. He would rather it had been a bottle of Turkey Red whiskey, but all in all, he’d made it through in better shape than he would have imagined.

Letty Murphy was sick at heart. She hadn’t thought it possible, but she felt worse than she had when her Jim had been killed. It had been, without doubt, the worst day of her life. She stared at Eulis with something akin to awe, unable to believe that he’d actually fooled so many, yet thankful that it had been done.

But the older the day got, the harder it became for her to separate Eulis the Preacher from Eulis the Drunk. The longer she looked at his clean-shaven face and neatly parted hair—the fine clothes and broad smile—the more believable he became.

June bugs began diving through the brushy rooftop, heading for the oil lanterns hanging beneath the rafters. Several hounds bayed from the settlers’ wagons as coyotes began howling on a nearby ridge. Blue shadows crept across the prairie. Night moths danced dangerously close to the lamp light while the people laughed and talked, waiting for the services to begin.

When no one was looking, Eulis gave the part in his hair a final pat and then clutched the bible even tighter, hoping that inspiration would transfer itself from it to his head. It was time. With a nod to Letty, Eulis started down the aisle between the pews, taking slow, measured steps that puffed dust onto the tips of his fine black shoes and gave him a trail-weary appearance the assembly could appreciate.

Letty headed for a seat down front. The urge to stay close to Eulis was still strong. She ignored the sly, side-long glances the men gave her, as well as the indignant whispers from the good women of the area. She knew better than most how far she’d fallen. They just didn’t understand that she felt obliged to sit as close to salvation as she could get.

After the day she’d had, her general store dress was much the worse for wear. Not only had the years of bright sunlight faded its front, but it had weakened the homespun fabric, as well. Her womanly charms were pushing their luck with each bounce of her step. The threads around the hand-worked buttonholes were fraying and stretching with each sway of her breasts. But Letty didn’t see, and if she had, was past caring. She took a seat at the outside end of the first pew, sighing with relief as Eulis continued on with kingly aplomb.

Eulis nodded and smiled to everyone he passed, relishing the silence that accompanied his arrival into their midst. It was a power unlike any he’d ever known. Yet in the midst of that power, was a fear that matched it. Fear that he would fail. Fear that they would be found out. He wondered how long it took to die when hanged, then stepped behind the pulpit and turned to face the congregation.

Letty stared at him, wide-eyed and pale from her front row seat.

Seeing as he was now a man of God, Eulis tried not to stare at her body. But it was hard to look away. She appeared as if she’d been tamped and packed inside that two-tone dress like gunpowder down the barrel of a long rifle. Sweat beaded and ran out from under her brown curls like rainwater down a pane of glass. He looked away, unwilling to let her fear feed his own. His gaze slid from Letty to the rest of the congregation.

Seventy-odd people stared back.

Unsmiling.

Unmoving.

It was a daunting and fearful sight.

Snickers came from the back benches.

Another whisper from the front.

His nervousness increased. The urge to look down and check his fly was overwhelming, but he was afraid that if he found it undone, he wouldn’t have the courage to turn and fasten it up. Moisture ran down the inside of his pant legs and he prayed for all he was worth that it was only sweat.

A horse neighed.

A child cried.

And a hound bayed as a sliver of moon appeared in the night sky over the arbor.

He took a deep breath. It was now or never.

The congregation shifted nervously. He felt them slipping away. His throat tightened. Where on earth did one start a sermon. Then it came to him. A song! They needed a song.

“You there.” He pointed to Will the Bartender. “I’m told you have a fine singing voice, sir. Would you be so kind as to step forward and lead us in some songs?”

Will swaggered as he got up from his seat. To be called upon by such a man was an honor. He would have been shocked to know that it was Eulis who had asked. Nevertheless, he felt great pride that someone knew of his gift.

“I’d be honored,” Will said, and turned to face the congregation. “First we’ll sing, Nearer My God to Thee. After that, we’ll do, Oh for a Thousand Tongues to Sing. Then we’ll finish out with a round of Onward Christian Soldiers. Would that be all right with you, Reverend Howe?”

Eulis nodded. At this point, anything was all right with him.

Will the Bartender burst forth into song. His exuberance was such that even though some of the congregation didn’t know the words, they still made a joyful noise unto the Lord.

Eulis said a prayer of his own while the people sang. There was no getting around the fact that when the songs were over, he would have to begin.

Letty was fidgeting in the seat below. Although Eulis refused to look directly at her, he could see that faded blue-white dress from the corner of his eye, fluttering like a moth to a flame. She hadn’t been still a minute since he’d taken the pulpit and he wondered if she just needed to pee. If she did, it would be simpler all around if she snuck out beyond the glow of lantern lights and took a leak behind one of the wagons. There wouldn’t be anyone out there but a dog that might see her. Then he wondered why he cared who saw her bare behind. There were few men in the territory who hadn’t seen all there was to see of Letty Murphy.

He set the bible down on the pulpit and inhaled, then closed his eyes and counted to ten. Not because it was calming. It was just as far as he could count and not lose track. The bible fell open to the middle with a plop. Eulis looked down at the jumble of words and knew that it would take him a month just to sound out the ones on the page before him.

Before he knew it, the singing was over and it was time to begin. As a child, Eulis had heard many sermons. And without fail, every preacher he’d ever heard had put the fear of God into him in such a way that he would crawl beneath the covers of his bed and hope he woke to see another day.

He looked at the people once more. They were waiting. He took a deep breath and leaned forward. Staring intently into their faces, he suddenly slapped the flat of his hand against the open pages of The Book.

“REPENT!”

Two women halfway down the aisle and three seats to the left shuddered in their seats, clutching their children to their bosoms.

“SINNERS ARE AMONG YOU!”

He pointed in random throughout the congregation and succeeded in making several people give their neighbors a suspicious glance.

“WHISKEY IS THE DRINK OF THE DEVIL!”

Someone shouted, “Amen!” A woman wailed in agreement.

My God,
Letty thought.
Has he lost his mind? He’s talking about himself… and about me.

“FORNICATION IS THE DOWNFALL OF THE FAMILY!”

A man fidgeted in the back of the arbor as his woman glared him into next week. Eulis gloated. He was hitting home with some truths, he could feel it.

He leaned forward again. This time, his eyes glowing with the fire of knowing he’d become a powerhouse until himself. Letty buried her face in her hands, refusing to look at the monster she’d unwittingly created. Hearing these truths being uttered from his mouth was painful. It was almost as if he’d become the preacher he was pretending to be.

Then she looked up. With tears drying on her face, she saw Eulis Potter in a new and frightening light. Maybe he
was
a man of God! What if he’d
become
that which they’d buried? She gasped at the thought. The way she saw it, there could be but one explanation. Either God had taken a hand in their misdeeds and decided to right the wrongs, or the ghost of the real Randall Howe had risen from his unhallowed grave and taken over the body of Eulis the Drunk.

Letty moaned, swaying where she sat. Several people nearby looked at her with renewed speculation. This was a powerful preacher indeed if he’d gotten the attention of a whore like Letty Murphy.

Eulis glanced toward Letty. She was turning paler by the minute. He feared the events of the day were finally getting to her, but he couldn’t spare her more than a moment of thought. The congregation was in the palms of his hands and he had no intention of giving up his glory. This feeling was as strong as a stiff drink and he began to wonder if it was possible to substitute one for the other.

And all of a sudden, a pair of hounds that had been tied to a nearby wagon suddenly broke loose. They came running down the center of the aisle, baying and howling as they went. The momentary disturbance sent a round of giggles skittering across the assembly. Some young boys bolted, dashing after the dogs in a flurry of skinny arms and legs. Men on the aisle seats began doing their part by grabbing at the trailing ropes as the dogs ran past. But they missed, and the dogs continued toward a destination only they knew.

Eulis grinned. Nothing like a little action to liven up the place. While he was waiting for someone to curtail the animals, he happened to look up into the brushy arbor above his head. Within seconds, his heart skipped a beat. Two black, beady eyes were looking back. He stiffened with fear.

Dear Lord, it’s the devil!

He looked closer, and then relaxed. To the best of his knowledge, the devil did not have a small, pointed nose or black, mask-like markings on his face. The urge to giggle with relief was overwhelming as he realized it was only a half-grown raccoon that had taken refuge in the brush arbor roof. That explained why the dogs had come running. They’d probably picked up the animal’s scent.

But it would seem that the raccoon had enough of arbors and dogs. While everyone was involved in corralling the hounds, the raccoon leapt down from the roof, bouncing once at Eulis’s feet and then running for the closest shelter, which happened to be underneath the skirts of Letty Murphy’s store-bought dress.

“HELLSFIRE!”

Eulis didn’t mean to shout. But he was so startled by the raccoon’s sudden descent that he jumped back in fright. It was only after he saw the varmint disappear that he realized he was the only one who’d seen him fall.

The congregation may have missed the animal’s leap, but they hadn’t missed hearing the preacher curse. All eyes turned away from the dogs to the front of the arbor in time to see Letty Murphy jump from her seat. With a shriek of pure terror, she commenced to tearing at her skirts, screaming and clawing in wild abandon.

Eulis stared in disbelief as her eyes rolled back in her head. It was then he realized that the raccoon had gone up her dress!

Letty beat at her clothes and commenced to tearing at her hair. “I’m possessed! Help me, Jesus! I’m possessed. The Devil is clawing at my legs, so help me God! Save me, Jesus, save me!”

Several people jumped to their feet as the hounds bolted past. But they couldn’t catch them. They were after the raccoon that had, once again, escaped unseen.

Eulis was stunned by Letty’s behavior, as well as her sudden attack of conscience. And right before his eyes, she suddenly fell to the floor, twitching and jerking like a woman in a fit.

Someone jumped up in back and shouted, “Hallelujah!”

The congregation was impressed that the preacher’s words had been strong enough to sway a strumpet from the White Dove Saloon. And it was obvious she was swayed. She’d dropped to the floor before their eyes and now was crying and talking all crazy. Not a one of them understood a word that she said.

They began to mutter among themselves. This was powerful preaching indeed. The preacher hadn’t been in the pulpit five minutes and already the town’s worst sinner had gotten The Holy Ghost and was lying in the dirt and talking in tongues.

The raccoon was gone, but the spirit that it had delivered unto them was not.

“Praise the Lord and Reverend Howe,” someone shouted.

It was followed by a chorus of “amens” that stirred Eulis’s very soul. For a moment, he was speechless, but he knew it was imperative to continue now that he had them firm in his grasp.