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“With both Michael and myself to protect you, nothing is going to happen to you,” Alberto said stiffly.
“But when I am alone with . . . Nathan . . . ?”
Alberto reached inside his jacket pocket and handed something toward Maria. “Here. You will need this more than I ever will,” he said thickly.
“What. . . ?” Maria asked, letting Alberto place a heavy object in her hand. Then she gasped aloud when she looked downward and saw that it was the gun that Alberto had found aboard the ship. Her gaze turned sharply toward Alberto. “The gun? What are you doing . .. with … the gun . . . ?”
“I usually carry it with me,” he said, looking her way, his eyes wavering. “Tonight I almost had to use it when I began fighting alongside Michael. But my fists were weapon enough this night.”
“But. . . what… do you think I can do with such … a violent thing . . . ?”
“Keep it with you. Mainly at night when Hawkins can enter your room and demand from you what you don't. . . want to . . . give him,” Alberto said sullenly. “And when trouble between the coal miners and Hawkins begins wholeheartedly, I want to be sure you are protected in some way. A gun is the best. All you need is to pull the trigger if you are in a position to have to protect your life from either Hawkins or his men.” He looked toward Maria, his eyes having become two dark coals. “Do you understand, Maria? Do you?”
Maria shifted the gun from one hand to the other, not liking the feel of the heavy, cold steel “I don't know, Alberto,” she whispered.
“You had just better heed my warning, Maria,” he grumbled, slapping the reins angrily.
“But you? If I have the gun, what will . . . you . . . have for protection . . . ?”
“Papa has a very adequate shotgun. I shall get it out from storage and shine and clean it. It can do for myself.”
Maria hung her head, feeling the tears wetting her cheeks. “Alberto, I hadn't thought that being in America would mean . .. violence. . . .” she mur-mured.
“Being in America means many things, Maria,” Alberto grumbled. “Many. . . things. .. .”
Chapter Seventeen
Having just poured the used washwater down the back steps of her Papa's house, Maria wiped her hands on her apron, making sure to not soil her new dress. Its silken folds rustled about her as she moved to the back window, peering into the distance. She had heard a constant hammering since having kissed her Papa goodbye this morning. It seemed to her that the hammering had begun as soon as the whistle from the coal mine had reverberated through the air. What could it mean? It was surfacing from the coal mine's direction. Neither her Papa nor Alberto had mentioned anything new being added to the community nor to the coal mine area.
Maria shrugged, pulling her apron from around her waist. She only hoped that by laboring so hard she hadn't destroyed the sweet smells of the perfumed bath she had taken earlier in the morning. But she had so wanted to return home to help her Papa and Alberto in any way she still could. Doing their laundry and removing the dust from their meager possessions was all that she could do at this point. She hadn't yet made any progress in securing any of Nathan's money. Only then could she purchase a wooden ice box for her Papa's kitchen. She would even purchase a fancier stove for him, with embossed nickel trimmings. But now? All she could do was make them as comfortable as possible.
Going to the bedroom, she looked slowly around her. Maybe she could at least purchase a new bedspread and curtains the next time she was in Creal Springs. She could tell Nathan she needed the money for a new .. . hat.. ..
“Even a mirror is needed in this house,” she fussed aloud, reaching upward to touch her hair, wondering if it was in its upswept mass of curls, remembering taking so much extra time with it early this morning, knowing that Michael would see her in whatever way she would happen to arrive at their appointed meeting time.
Her eyes traveled downward. She loved the trimming of this dress with its open-work embroidery of soft colors and the low-cut bodice emphasizing the firm grace of her breasts. The dress, of a rose color, seemed appropriate enough for this fine day of spring. The fullness of its skirt would make it even more accessible for Michael's wandering hands.
Maria's heartbeat increased as she headed toward the door. The time was right. Michael would be waiting. The only thing that was causing uneasiness inside her were the threats of the night before from both Michael and Alberto. Would Nathan have ways of knowing about her and Michael? He did have many . .. representatives… .
As Maria moved from the house and down its front steps, she tensed, listening. The hammering thuds had increased in intensity. She moved out onto the street, peering in the distance, toward the coal mine tipple, and what she saw made her heart skip beats. “Why would they be building a . . . fence . . . around the coal mine . . . ?” she whispered to herself She looked around and saw others on their porches, watching . . . silently watching. . . .
Something grabbed at Maria's heart. There was something threatening in what she was seeing. A fence . . . meant. . . even a worse kind of prison for the coal miners. It didn't make any sense.
She lifted the skirt of her dress into her arms and began to run, gasping for air, until she reached the iron bridge, then stopped once again, looking behind her. The fence was quickly taking shape, surrounding the whole coal mine. . . .
Turning, she rushed toward the tallest of the Indian grasses, looking anxiously around her, hoping to see Michael's familiar stance, but she saw nothing. All that surrounded her was the slowly weaving grasses and an occasional bee buzzing around her head. All else was as it had always been before. Silent. No movement. Nothing.
Maria's hands went to her throat. “Michael,” she whispered. “Where are you?” She stumbled through the grass, desperately seeking around her, hoping to find him lying, waiting. But still nothing. She went to stand, waiting, hearing only the thuds of the hammers and the sound of the wind as it whipped around her, lifting her skirt upward, and pulling her hair free from its pins.
When another sound surfaced from beside her, she swung around and grew limp as Michael moved into her direction and soon had her in his arms, hugging her tightly to him. “I almost didn't make it,” he said thickly.
“I'm so glad you did,” Maria sighed, lilting her lips to his, searching. She moved her body into his, feeling the same rapturous quivering of excitement flowing through her as his hands reached down and secured a breast.
“Maria, my Maria,” Michael said, moving her to the ground, settling next to her, lifting her dress, caressing her. “Things are quickly changing, my darling,” he said, withdrawing his hands, looking away from her.
Maria followed his gaze. He was also hearing the hammering. He had also seen the fence. “Michael, what's happening?” she asked, reaching up to trace his facial features with a finger. “Why… the… fence… ?”
Michael's blue eyes softened as they turned to search her face. “As we had expected,” he said gruffly. “Nathan knows too much about the plans of our union. He's preparing for the worst.”.
