The Captive Heart Read Online Free PDF

see his daughter with a half-breed Mexican. I have great respect for your father and I will not betray his trust.”
    â€œThen you are fond of me, but you hold back because of my father?”
    â€œJah, and your religion.”
    â€œBecause I am Amish?”
    â€œBecause you are Christian.”
    â€œBut, Domingo, your own mother is a Christian.”
    â€œJah, and it was never easy for them. Because my mother was a Christian, she saw the world in a different way.”
    â€œAll right, then tell me. How does a Christian see the world so differently from a Nahua?”
    Two little boys chased each other down the street and dodged right between Miriam and Domingo, forcing them apart, but then he held out his arm for her to take it again as they walked.
    â€œIn ancient days,” he said, “the Nahua earned the favor of the gods by conquering other tribes and offering the lives of their prisoners—their enemies —as a sacrifice. Ours is a religion of the strong, and in Mexico it is good to be strong. But the Spaniards brought with them a new religion that tells us we should be kind to our enemies and sacrifice ourselves . Their priests tell us we should be content to be poor and enslaved, that we should turn the other cheek, that we should grovel in the dust and bear insult with meekness and gratitude—insult at the hands of the very Spaniards who brought us this religion.”
    â€œBut the Bible says—”
    â€œ Your bible. Not mine.”
    She stared at him then, at the fire in his eyes.
    â€œYou are full of anger.”
    â€œThree hundred years’ worth,” he answered.
    The truth of this was in the set of his jaw. A history of conflict and oppression lay deep in his bones. He was too close to it. Only an outsider, a yanqui with the pacifist underpinnings of the Amish, could see the whole picture, and she had to try to make him see it. She squeezed his arm and spoke softly.
    â€œWhere will it end, Domingo? The Nahua conquer other tribes, the Spaniards conquer the Nahua, the revolutionaries conquer the Spaniards, and one day someone will conquer the revolutionaries. Bloodshed begets only anger, and more bloodshed. Don’t you see? Ours is a Gott of love. The only way for men to live in peace is to conquer anger itself, and the only way to do that is through forgiveness—through love. You will not find forgiveness with a gun in your hand. Sooner or later someone must say enough . When men find the courage to lay down their weapons and listen to each other, then they will find peace.”
    His expression did not change. “Spoken like a Christian,” he said, and it did not have the ring of a compliment. “But this is Mexico. Here a man must fight or die. In the end, I think Mexico will tell us whose god is right, Cualnezqui. Your father would die for what he believes, and I admire him for that, even if I do not understand him. I admire you too, for you are not only beautiful, you are wise and good. But this is a very high fence, Cualnezqui, and you must understand that my feelings are not important. I will respect your father’s fences, no matter what I feel.”
    His reasons were sound and his words well chosen, but they still stung. Maybe it was the pain of rejection, or maybe it was because they were nearing the mercado where Rachel might see them, but Miriam let go of his arm. Warring emotions raged inside of her as she pulled away and withdrew behind the safety of a blank stare. Her lips tightened into a thin line and the words came out flat and colorless.
    â€œThen please stop calling me Cualnezqui. My name is Miriam.”

Chapter 5
    W hile Ira and John mapped out their plots and broke ground for houses, their sons started digging a huge irrigation well just like the one Caleb and his sons had dug the year before. Miriam and Rachel spent the next week teaching the boys how to make adobe out of the dirt from the well; the girls had become