We came downstairs, each bearing a lantern, and went to the door.
I swung the door wide, and in the faint light of the lamp, there was a circle of men’s faces out on the porch. My eyes struggled with the darkness, but I could immediately see that all of them were armed, and again my heart bolted like a horse in my chest.
I realized one was Bill Smith. It was a relief to see his face, I will admit. The other looked a little familiar, but I could not remember his name. Thomas, maybe. He was from Lititz, and I rarely had any dealings with him.
Standing in the drive, there were four more, shotguns and rifles in hand, leashed dogs snuffling around their feet.
I asked Bill what was happening.
“We caught up with the men who killed Isaak and his family, Jacob,” he said. “Down at the Johanson farm. Nobody’d been checking in there for a few days, and I guess the place looks abandoned enough that they figured they could just settle in. When we were doing the sweep, one of the guys noticed that there was a truck there didn’t belong, looked like that old blue truck the Stolfutz girl told the sheriff about.”
“Was that the shooting?” I asked.
“Yeah. We got ahold of the sheriff and a couple of deputies, he deputized the lot of us, and we went down there. There was about six of ’em, looks like they’d been there for a day or more. We waited and watched, and called in more folks until the place was locked down right good.
“They went out to the truck at about two-thirty, middle of the night, all of them, all armed. I figure they were heading out to hit another house. No way that was happening. We couldn’t let ’em do that, so we, well, yeah. When they pulled out down the road, we were waiting. A couple of our guys were hurt, but we got pretty much all of ’em.”
“Dead?” I asked.
“Well, mostly. That’s why we’re here. A couple of them made it into the fields, jumped from the truck and took off on foot. The fields were pretty overgrown, and they managed to lose us. Thought we might have winged one, but I don’t think we can be sure. We got guys out there with dogs now, and we’re going to be checking in your fields, wanted to let you know what’s up. They’re around and they’re armed, and they’ve killed before.”
I nodded. I told them they were welcome to search.
“’Preciate it. And we’re also just letting y’all know to keep a watch out. If you see anything, just get word to my house, and folks will get word to us. We just want to be sure that no one else around here gets hurt, no more kids, no more Old Order people, nobody.”
I told him we would keep our eyes open.
“Seriously, Jacob. Be careful. Stay away from danger.”
A half smile came to my face. “We do. But we can’t seem to keep it from coming to us.”
He shook his head. I thanked him for his efforts to watch out for us.
“Thanks, Jacob.”
He took a half step down, but that moment, the dogs began barking, barking fiercely and pulling at their leads. The guns came up, but it was just Mike, coming out of the daadi haus to see what was happening.
He offered to lend a hand, said he had a rifle and knew how to use it, and asked if he could come along. Bill nodded, and said they could always use an extra hand and set of eyes. Mike ran back to the daadi haus, and returned with that carbine of his.
And they were off again, Mike with them, walking back down into the darkness. Hannah and I returned to bed.
IT’S BEEN A COUPLE of hours, and Hannah is back asleep. I am not, though. The dogs were barking for a while, and I was aware of Bill and the other deputies as they moved through the fields, but they moved on over an hour ago. I am simply awake, and I do not feel like reading. I feel I need to write about all this, to chronicle this uncertain time.
Outside the window, the first of the morning light is beginning to stain the sky. I will be tired today. Hard to be focused, when you have not slept. But focused or not, the cattle must be fed, the pigs must be fed, and work must be done.
October 26
Today blended with yesterday, like the sunrise slowly becoming day. I was weary all day, and I could feel myself moving more slowly as I worked.
It is like working while sick, when much has to be done and a cold has taken you. You simply get done what you need to, but at a different pace. Hannah was patient with me, and having Mike’s family with us made the morning go more smoothly. Mike came back in the early morning, rested, and then left again to join the deputies in their searching. We gave him food to sustain himself. He said he would be gone until they’d found the men, and there was a grimness in his voice.
Jon came by again, cantering up on Chestnut. It was good to see him riding again, and sharing what he had learned, although there was not much that was really new, of course. We had already heard everything last night. But it was good to see him.
It is late afternoon now, and I am too tired to write more. I will rest, for a short while.
THEY CAME AT DUSK.
I was at the front of the house grooming Nettie when they moved out of the shadows, the two of them, both lean and intent. One was taller, rangy, his eyes sleepy and lidded. The other moved behind him like a ghost, a full head shorter. The tall one carried a long gun, exactly like the ones the soldiers carry. The smaller one held an automatic pistol in one hand. He held Jacob in the other. His hand was tightly wrapped around Jacob’s upper arm, and I could see that Jacob was struggling not to cry out.
The tall one looked at me, with eyes that both saw me and didn’t see me.
“We need food,” he said, in a smooth, easy voice. “Hard times, eh? Folks gotta do what they gotta do, and right now, you gotta help us.” He smiled, and gestured toward Jacob with the rifle. His eyes were not smiling at all. “Right?”
I told him that we had food in our larder, and that he was welcome to take what he needed. As I said this, I heard an exhalation from behind me, and it was Hannah, standing on the steps to the kitchen.
“Why don’t you come down over here, ma’am,” the sleepy-eyed man said, smoothly and politely. “Who else you got here?” he asked. “You folks do have big families, don’tcha?”
I did not say anything, but it was then that Sadie appeared with a basket of eggs. She did not seem startled or upset, and when the man waved for her to come over and join us, she did so quietly.
“Any other family kicking around?” he asked. “I don’t like surprises, you know.”
I told him that this was all of our family. I did not lie. I hoped, in that moment, that Shauna and Derek and Tad would stay quiet and out of sight.
The tall man hurled a duffel bag toward us. “You and the boy go get us as much food as you can put in this bag. We’ll stay here to keep an eye on the ladies. Don’t you take long, now. I’m kinda in a hurry.” He grinned again.