Now Playing: Hellfire
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Episode One Concluded with:
The couple reached the second floor and entered
one of the rooms. The room was blue, dirty and didn’t have a window. The only
furniture in the place was a bed and a small side table which contained a vase
and a lantern that was already lit.
“There ain’t enough space here to turn around
in,” Hosea groused,
“People don’t come here to turn around.”
“Guess not.”
“Say what’s on your mind, you’re payin’ for it.”
Gail tried to sound harsh but couldn’t quite manage it.
“Gail, you need to come back to me and be my
wife!”
Episode Two
“No!”
“Can’t
you see, woman, you’re disobeyin’ the Almighty. God sent me to Hellfire to--”
“The
Almighty didn’t send you here, you got lost! You were headin’ for Collins but
confused north and south. Are you sayin’ the Almighty can’t tell north from
south?”
“I’m
sayin’ the Lord works in mysterious ways.”
“Sounds
more stupid than mysterious to me.”
“Well,
if that don’t--” Hosea began to pace about the room and collided with the bed.
The jolt seemed to calm him down. His voice became low. “The first time I saw
you, I knew you were special. I could tell you felt somethin’ like that about
me.”
Gail
smiled wistfully and Hosea noticed she was wearing the same red dress as the
first night he had seen her. Long black hair flowed over her bare shoulders.
The girl stood barely over five feet, with a pretty face highlighted by blue
eyes, a small nose, and a small mouth.
Hosea’s
voice became pleading. “Can’t you see, it’s just like the Hosea in the Bible!
He married a…well…a saloon girl, and then she left him and went back to
bein’…well… a saloon girl, but she returned to him and the second time around
it went fine.”
“I’ve
read the story. Felt sorry for the girl.”
“Why?”
“She
was named Gomer. That’s awful.”
“Well,
back in those days, they did get some fool notions about names. Look, what’s
happenin’ to us is what happened to those folks in the Bible, only you won’t go
along…”
“I
can’t go along, Hosea. I thought I could. I wanted to. But, I realized my
husband was a man who preached in the streets and got laughed at! I can’t live
like that. Go away, Hosea. Let me be what I am.”
“No!
The Lord wants you to--”
“Stop
tellin’ me about what God wants! You’ve got no right--”
The
door sprang open. A large boned, blond haired man stalked in. “What’s goin’ on?
Well, it’s the preacher man. You’ve been told to stay out, Hosea.”
“You
don’t order me, Lars Olsen. The Lord is on my side!” Hosea took a step toward the intruder. Olsen
laughed contemptuously, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Gail
took a few fast steps that placed her between the two men. The young woman put
a hand on Hosea’s chest. “Please Hosea, leave now. Lars Olsen will kill you and
enjoy doing it!”
Hosea
gently moved Gail away. “David defeated Goliath with a sling shot. Reckon I can
whup this owlhoot with my bare hands.”
“Is
that right, preacher man? Well, I’m gonna count to ten and then I’m gonna beat
you up, real good. Yeah, maybe I’ll do like the girlie says and kill you. So,
that Lord of yours better get busy and strike me down now!”
Tomorrow:
Episode Three of Hellfire
