Lying in the dark in the back of the wagon with only some straw for bedding, I was freezing beneath the dead soldier’s coat and increasingly annoyed while listening to Charlotte.
I understood we were in danger, but the girl kept crying and whining. If she continued in this manner, the soldiers would put a bullet through her head and then through Emily and me for not getting her to quiet down.
Emily had tried to soothe Charlotte.
“There, there,” she’d say. “Everything will be all right.”
“No, it won’t,” Charlotte had wailed. “Papa’s dead.”
“True, but we’ll find a way to escape, and then we’ll be free,” Emily whispered.
“No, we won’t. We’re going to die!” Charlotte had moaned. “They will kill us, just like they killed Papa.”
After about thirty minutes of failed attempts, Emily had hissed, “If you don’t shut your damn mouth, that moment will come sooner than later. And I, for one, am not ready to die yet. Are you?”
“Sister!” Charlotte cried, the shock in her voice evident. “Father would be appalled by your profanity!”
“Well, he’s not here, is he? Neither will you be if you don’t shut up!” Emily said in a low, fierce voice.
Charlotte finally hushed, huddled between Emily and the side of the wagon. She still whimpered, but in a manner that could be ignored.
I probably wouldn’t have gotten sleep anyway. No way could I get comfortable with my hands tied behind my back. I tried rolling this way and that. I even tried lying on my stomach, but the hay tickled my nose and made me sneeze. And I didn’t want to disturb Emily, who lay beside me. Finally, I gave up and curled up on my side, listening to the snores of the soldiers.
“So you really want to find a way to survive, Emily?” I whispered.
“Of course I do,” she whispered back. “I will not allow these horrid men to get the best of me.”
I liked her gumption.
“Then, we need to devise a plan,” I said quietly.
“Why should we devise a plan when we’re all going to die?” Charlotte whispered.
“If you don’t have anything positive to contribute to the conversation, please keep your opinions to yourself,” I said, inches away from losing my temper.
I hoped Emily wouldn’t take offense at my sternness with her sister.
“She’s right, Charlotte,” Emily whispered. “When we’re out of danger, you can complain all you want. But now is not the time.”
She directed her attention back to me. “Any ideas?”
“First, it seems obvious that we must get our hands untied. Only one of us needs to get untied to free the others.”
“How do you think we can do that?”
“Not sure.” The wheels in my mind kept turning. “How tight are your ropes?”
“Tight enough that I can’t feel my fingers anymore. You?”
I wriggled my hands. There was no free play at all in my wrists. “What about your sister?”
“Charlotte,” Emily whispered. “Charlotte. Are you awake?”
We both listened for a response, but I only heard Charlotte’s deep, ragged breathing.
“I think she finally wore herself out,” Emily said. “What now?”
I thought of the dagger strapped to my thigh next to the gun. If Emily could get to my thigh, she might be able to wiggle the blade free of its sheath. But I didn’t think I could get my pants down that easily without free hands.
