Marysvale by Jared Southwick Page A

wrist, twirled her around,
and grabbed her from behind. Quickly, I twisted the pistols out of
her hands. Both girls were stunned, and they seemed scared. I
leaned over and put the guns down on a nearby piece of furniture.
Then I released Hannah, who immediately dashed behind her
friend.
    “ There,” I said. “I’m not
going to hurt you.”
    The older one still held her pistols
up, nonetheless.
    With both girls now in front of me, I
had a better look at them, and predicted they were sisters. Both
had clear skin, rich green eyes, and long, flowing, dark brown
hair, which almost looked black (though the older one’s had a hint
of red). I guessed Hannah to be around fourteen. Both were pretty;
but they were gaunt, dusty, and haggard.
    Hannah turned to her companion, “I
couldn’t see her out back.”
    “ What have you done with
her?” demanded the older girl.
    “ If you mean Hannah, I let
her go,” I replied coolly.
    “ Do you think I’m stupid?
And if you think that stunt you did with my sister is going to buy
you some goodwill, it won’t. I don’t trust you,” she said
flatly.
    So they were sisters after
all.
    “ No,” I sighed. “I don’t
suppose I blame you; trusting strangers can be a risky
venture.”
    Raising the pistols slightly to
emphasize her point, she demanded, “Let’s try this once more—and I
am not going to ask again. Is she hurt?”
    “ I don’t know, probably…have
you seen the boat she takes fishing?”
    Hannah giggled, obviously aware of its
condition. The older girl shot a warning glance at her sister,
conveying the message to keep quiet.
    I looked into Hannah’s soul and found
it still open. She was amused by this exchange and felt measurably
more relaxed. She was also pure in heart. Once I knew she was
innocent, I felt guilty for invading her, and I stopped.
    I walked over to the overturned chair
I’d been sitting in, and sat it upright.
    “ What are you doing?”
snapped the older girl.
    “ Straightening the
furniture; this may take a while to resolve. Besides, you two look
tired.”
    I sat down.
    Hannah liked the idea and moved for a
chair of her own. Her older sister glared at her again, and she
sighed to express her disapproval, but stayed put.
    It turned out we didn’t have long to
wait.
    “ Hannah! Jane!” cried an
excited Sarah.
    The older one, Jane, flinched. I
cringed and braced for the impact of not one, but possibly two
shots from her pistols.
    Nothing happened.
    Sarah swept into the room and embraced
them both, forcing Jane to lower one of her weapons, as she and
Hannah were squeezed together like little dolls.
    Sarah released them. “My goodness, you
look starved! We must fix that.”
    Then turning to me, she said, “I
thought I told you to stay out of trouble.”
    “ Yes…that. Well, I suppose
I’m just gifted when it comes to trouble.”
    She broke into a smile then looked at
Jane.
    “ Oh, for heaven’s sake,
either shoot him or put away your pistols.”
    I shot Sarah a dirty look, and she
laughed.
    “ She wasn’t really going to
shoot you. Were you Jane?”
    Jane didn’t answer, but slowly put the
pistols back in their holsters.
    Hannah giggled and said, “She’s just
sore because she knows we were had when you grabbed me, and she
doesn’t like to lose.”
    Sarah broke in before Jane could
retort, “Well…you’ve all met; but have you been
introduced?”
    I answered, “The young, pleasant one is
Hannah; and the one who still wants to kill me is Jane.”
    Hannah beamed and said, “That about
sums it up.”
    “ Except for who you are,”
snorted Jane.
    Sarah introduced us.
    “ John, this is Jane and
Hannah Wolfe.”
    My eyes went up in recognition of the
name, and I remembered the story and the loss of their mother.
Knowing their heartache, and seeing the condition they were in now,
I felt compassion for them.
    “ Girls, this is John Casey.
He’s my guest here while he heals up.”
    Jane looked questioningly at Sarah and
was about to ask