Woman of Courage Read Online Free PDF Page B

decide to come back.”
    “I am sure they won’t,” Amanda said with conviction. “God drove them out, and they will not return.”
    Harvey scratched his shaggy beard and frowned. “Just the same, it’s time we hit the trail. We’re wastin’ good daylight standin’ here, chewin’ the fat.”
    Amanda pursed her lips. “What art thou talking about? I am not chewing any fat.”
    “Gabbin’,” he snapped. “We’re wastin’ time flappin’ our gums!”
    A slow smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. “Oh, I think I understand now. Dost thou mean we are talking?”
    “That’s what I mean, alright. Now gather your stuff that’s scattered all over the ground and mount up.” Harvey turned toward his horse but suddenly whirled around. “And one more thing—you’re still theein’ and thouin’, and I wish you’d stop. It makes ya sound too uppity when ya talk like that!”
    Amanda grimaced. After what they had been through, the man was worried about the way she talked? “I am sorry if the way I speak offends you,” she said. “I will try to do better from now on.”
    “Thanks, I appreciate that.”

    “Tomorrow is the Sabbath,” Amanda mentioned to Harvey as they were setting up camp that night.
    “What about it?” he asked, not bothering to look up from the fire he was tending.
    “The Bible says that God rested on the seventh day of creation. It was His example to us.”
    “Uh-huh,” Harvey muttered with disinterest.
    “If God rested, then so should we.”
    “You can rest tonight on your sleepin’ mat,” Harvey shot back.
    “I am referring to a full day’s rest—on the Sabbath,” she said, stepping up to him.
    “How you gonna rest, knowin’ we’ve got all that ground to cover?” he asked gruffly. It was obvious that his irritation was mounting.
    “I think it would be best if we only traveled six days of the week and rested on the seventh,” she insisted, standing her ground.
    Harvey muttered an obscenity and spit on the burning logs. “Have ya gone loco, woman? We don’t have time to be sittin’ around on our backsides all day, restin’. I thought you was chompin’ at the bit to get to Oregon Territory and the Spalding Mission.”
    “I am,” she answered sweetly, hoping to soften the man’s temper. “But since the Lord rescued us from those terrible Indians earlier today, I think it is only right that we should honor His commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy.”
    “I’ll tell ya what, missy,” Harvey said, squinting his beady eyes, “you can ride on that horse of yours, prayin’ and even readin’ your Bible if ya want to, but we ain’t stoppin’ our travels for no day of rest, and that’s final!”
    “But … but I thought….”
    “Well, ya thought wrong!” He tossed another log onto the fire. “Now, if ya don’t mind, I’d like to have some supper, ’cause I’m hungry enough to eat a bear and a couple of jackrabbits besides.”
    Amanda placed her hands on her hips and thrust out her chin in defiance. “May I remind thee, sir, that I am the one paying thee to act as my guide? Therefore, I feel I have the right to decide when we will travel and when we shall rest.”
    He stepped close to her, so they were almost nose to nose. “Is that a fact?”
    “Yes, it certainly is.”
    Harvey’s deeply set eyes narrowed into tiny slits. “And may I remind you, Missy Pearson, that it’s me who’s gonna get ya safely across the Rocky Mountains, not God!”
    “What about the things that happened today?” she retorted. “Was it not obvious that God intervened on our behalf?”
    “Maybe He did, and maybe it was the fact that the Injun knew you were a Bible-thumper. Or it could have been just plain luck. Most Injuns are superstitious, and it don’t take much to spook ’em. Either way, I’m in charge here, so what I say goes!” Harvey slapped his calloused hands together.
    “Well, I do not like it one bit!” Amanda snapped back.
    “Whether you like it or