He shook his head, recalling that that particular verse had been one of his late mother’s favorite. He pictured her with her smiling face and dimpled cheeks.
“Faith without work is dead, my boy,” she would tell him whenever they faced a difficult situation.
Unfortunately, the townsfolk who claimed to be Christians didn’t know that. Had he still been one of them, he knew that he wouldn’t have allowed Gabe Winters to intimidate him. He would have damned all consequences and stood up to him.
If only there was one brave person who would testify against the banker. Perhaps his bravery would give others the courage to come forward.
When Stephen told him that morning that he had heard rumors about the banker approaching some people about selling their lands, Adam had decided to pursue that line of investigations.
“I don’t know why he didn’t come to me or to anyone along this street. Maybe it’s too close to town and he’s more interested in lands close to the forests,” Stephen had explained when Adam asked him why the banker didn’t approach him with an offer.
After questioning some of the ranchers and farmers close to the forests, Adam was certain that Gabe had something to do with the raids in the area for the past five years.
After convincing them they could trust him, the ranchers and farmers had told him Gabe Winters now owned most of the lands in the area. They had had no choice but to sell to him. While some had moved away from Ruby Rock, they had stayed back to rent the land as they didn’t have anywhere to go.
The money they paid to live in their own land and harvest it or rear their cattle was exorbitant but they didn’t have a choice.
“You have a choice now,” Adam had repeatedly told them, but they hadn’t believed him.
The sheriff and his deputy's nonchalant attitude about their complaints had made them lose faith in the law. The banker carrying out his threats on those who proved stubborn didn’t help matters either.
Adam had promised them that he was there for them and the law would prevail, but they had chosen to remain in Gabe’s bondage.
He had tried his best to no avail to convince them. “If you can testify that Gabe Winters forced you to sell your land to him and threatened your life and that of your family, I assure you that we’ll have a case against him and he would be put away for a long time.”
Letting out a deep and frustrated breath, Adam said, “What am I going to do, Dark Knight? If no one is willing to testify and I have no evidence, there’s no way I can arrest Gabe and his accomplices. The magistrate will throw the case out and the townsfolk will believe even more that he’s more powerful than the law.”
Darkness had fallen by the time Adam headed home. Thankfully, the moon offered its light.
Adam was so deep in thought that he didn’t at first notice the riders heading in his direction across the fields. As they were quite far away, he could only make out their figures as they rose towards him from his right.
He didn’t worry about them initially, as he thought them to be ranch hands returning from town and heading to their ranches.
He grew alarmed as the men drew closer. He noted that the man leading the ride rode with one hand on the horse’s reins while the other handheld what looked like a pistol.
Adam knew he had cause to be concerned when a shot whistled past his ears. Aghast as Dark Knight neighed loudly, Adam nudged the horse to move faster. The men closed in on him rapidly. Their horses’ hooves thundered behind him.
Swiftly, Adam removed his own pistol from his holster, realizing that he might not be able to outride them. He turned around on the saddle and without aiming, shot at them.
Dark Knight galloped furiously ahead as the men continued to give chase and fire shots at him. Adam ducked his head and crunched his body on the horse as he returned the shots whenever he could.
When one of the bullets almost caught him in the shoulder, Adam understood that the men actually wanted him dead. He had thought that they might just be out to frighten him into giving up on his case.
Realizing that the men were out to do him in, most definitely sent by Gabe, he nudged his horse to move faster. His eyes darted in the darkness, looking for a rock or a boulder or somewhere he might hide to aim for the men. But all around him were fields.
Adam whirled the horse around just so that he could take proper aim. If he could get one of the men, he was certain that the rest would take caution.
As the first rider rode towards him, Adam straightened his outstretched hand and fired. The shot caught the man in the shoulder and he fell off the horse.
Quickly, Adam steered his horse around and continued the race away from the other two riders coming behind the injured man.
With his heart pumping fast, he geared Dark Knight on. Any minute he expected shots to whistle past him. But as none were forthcoming, and he no longer heard horses’ hooves behind him, he slowed the horse’s gait to a trot.
Adam chanced a glance behind him and saw that the riders had fallen back. Most likely inundated by his injuring a member of their gang, they had chosen to give up the chase.
Adam let out an enormous sigh of relief.
“That was close, wasn’t it?” he muttered and patted Dark Knight’s sweaty mane. “You did a good job, boy.”
