By Way of the Rose Read Online Free PDF

and we have guns!”
    “Yeah, but we don't have a jaw bone of an ass, so let's go.” Daniel tried to make light of the situation. John hung his head. “Son, I need more faith than I have right now and I don't want you killed.” They solemnly walked away. John looked back. Tears filled his eyes and he quickly swiped them away. Daniel reached out and put his arm around John's shoulders. “You know, you're a bigger man than those so called men we just saw. My heart swells when I think of how you alone wanted to plow into them with all their mighty force. I'm proud of you.”
    “Yeah, Poppa, there were a lot of them. But I know those mean ones have no souls. And there were a few there on our side.”
    “Those with no souls will shoot you dead.”
    “Not if God don't want them to.”
    “Well, God gave you to me to protect. He knew I would stop you. So we are still in God's will.”
    “I understand Poppa, but... ” Just then they heard a faint moaning sound coming from just beyond the bushes.
    “Shush.” Daniel held his arm out for John to stand still. Then there was a rustling. He cautiously edged toward the sound. Suddenly an Indian woman jumped up holding her swollen belly and struggled to run away. She collapsed to the ground. Daniel shoved his rifle into John's hands. “Hold this,” he commanded as he went to her. She clawed at the ground trying to get away. Daniel bent down beside her and put his hand gently on her battered face. Her eyes held the look of terror. “It's all right, I won't hurt you.” He spoke softly. “You are going to be fine.” Daniel lifted her up in his arms and carried her quickly towards the cabin. John followed as fast as he could while wrestling with the two heavy guns.
    Everyone jumped to attention as Daniel burst through the door with this Indian woman in his arms.
    “What's happened?” Marion leapt toward them.
    “She's one of the Indians they're relocating. My bet is that she broke away somehow. Maybe she was left for dead. After what we just saw there's really no telling what happened to her.”
    “Bring her to the bed.” Marion opened the door to their bedroom. As Daniel passed with the woman Marion gasped. “My good Lord, She's been beaten to a pulp! And she's pregnant too! How could anyone do something this vile?”
    Daniel laid her down. They cleaned her wounds and talked softly to her until her terrified eyes closed in an exhausted sleep. That night she gave birth to a baby girl. Marion lay the baby in the waiting arms of her mother who tried to raise up but was too weak. “Sehoya” she moaned as she tried to pull a carved row of beads from around her neck. She looked at Marion and gestured toward the baby. “Sehoya". Marion helped her get the beads from around her neck. The mother weakly smiled and placed them over the infant's head and held the baby close to her breast. The child had hardly warmed her mother's arms before the woman went limp and her eyes glazed over. Marion stared in shock and disbelief.
    “Oh, my good Lord above, Daniel, she's dead! I— I think she's dead!” They watched the baby squirming and searching for her mother's milk. The tiny infant began whimpering. Daniel bent over, closed the woman's eyes and picked up the baby. He held her toward Marion.
    “She's hungry. You still have our little one's milk. You can nurse her.”
    “I couldn't possibly.” Marion clasped her chest. “This is the milk meant for our baby. I can't feed our child's milk to an Indian.”
    “This baby doesn't know anything about being an Indian, it's hungry. Our baby is gone.”
    “I've never suckled any child but my own.” Marion continued to protect her breast. “It's just not right.”
    John looked at his mother. “Momma, if I had died when I was born I would be glad if you fed my milk to a hungry baby, no matter what kind of baby it was.” Marion looked from John to Daniel to the dead woman as she relaxed her grasp and took the infant in her arms. She sat