Mail Order Bride: The Master: A Historical Mail Order Bride Story (Mail Order Brides) by Lily Wilspur
Authors: Lily Wilspur
Ads: Link
rid of me. There ain’t nothin’ you can do about it. Is there?” And he stuck his gun right into the Master’s face.
The Master stared hard at Bartlett over the top of the gun. He acted as though the gun wasn’t even there. “I’m telling you for the last time, Noah. Turn around and walk out of here while you still can. I won’t tell you again.”
“It seems to me,” Noah replied. “that you aren’t exactly in any position to tell me to leave.” He cocked the hammer of his pistol in front of the Master’s eyes.
Matthew wished he could close his eyes, but he remained riveted to the scene. The Master tucked his hand into his coat buttons and turned back toward the altar in a gesture of defeat. Matthew’s heart sank. Was this the end? Had the Master really given up, too?
Noah must have thought so because he laughed his most sinister laugh, not only at Polly and the Master, but at the whole impotent congregation who sat there staring at him but couldn’t raise a finger to stop him.
Noah laughed over his shoulder and swung his head back around toward the couple at the altar. He brought his pistol up again, his thumb on the hammer and his finger compressing the trigger to carry out his threat.
But as he did so, the Master swung around, too. He twisted around so fast, Noah didn’t see him until it was too late. The Master whirled around, flinging out his left hand as he turned. He struck the pistol so hard with the back of his hand, it flew out of Noah’s grasp and sailed into the aisle.
Noah’s eyes flew open but the Master didn’t stop. His right hand threw back the lapel of his coat. Matthew and the rest of the congregation gasped in unison. When they thought he had been staring at the altar in dejected defeat, he’d actually been unbuttoning his coat. He flung the coat open, and the whole congregation saw a gun belt hanging around his hips.
In one fluid motion, he slapped Noah’s pistol away with one hand and pulled his own gun with the other. Before Noah could recover, he found himself staring down the barrel of the Master’s pistol as helplessly as the Master so recently stared down the barrel of his own.
The Master’s voice rang against the rafters of the church. “Now, you listen to me, Noah Bartlett. I’m not going to shoot you in a house of God, so that leaves you with two choices. You can leave now and never show your face to me again as long as you live, or you can pick up your gun and meet me outside. We’ll settle this, man to man, once and for all.”
The congregation watched in stunned disbelief at the turn of events. Matthew barely breathed. Noah Bartlett set his jaw in a mask of determination, but he didn’t laugh at the Master the way he did before. His eyes slipped back and forth between the barrel of the gun in his face, the Master’s steely eyes, and the aisle where he hoped to catch sight of his own gun.
“Go ahead,” the Master invited him. “Go pick it up. It’s right there next to the Porter family pew. Pick it up and carry it outside, and we’ll settle this in the street.”
Noah hesitated one more minute until the Master jerked his head toward the aisle again. Noah gulped and turned his back on the gun. He slunk up the aisle, picked up his own pistol just where the Master said it would be, and hustled out of the church.
Chapter 13
The Master followed Noah outside and the rest of the congregation flooded after them. Matthew and the other boys weaseled their way through the crowd to the edge of the street to get the best view of the confrontation. But they didn’t shout and run around in excited explosions of energy like they usually did. They crouched down on the verge of the street to be out of the way, and they kept silent so as not to distract the combatants.
Polly came out last and stood at the top of the church steps. She looked like an angel on top of a Christmas tree in her white gown and her veil still covering her face. She watched the drama in the
The Master stared hard at Bartlett over the top of the gun. He acted as though the gun wasn’t even there. “I’m telling you for the last time, Noah. Turn around and walk out of here while you still can. I won’t tell you again.”
“It seems to me,” Noah replied. “that you aren’t exactly in any position to tell me to leave.” He cocked the hammer of his pistol in front of the Master’s eyes.
Matthew wished he could close his eyes, but he remained riveted to the scene. The Master tucked his hand into his coat buttons and turned back toward the altar in a gesture of defeat. Matthew’s heart sank. Was this the end? Had the Master really given up, too?
Noah must have thought so because he laughed his most sinister laugh, not only at Polly and the Master, but at the whole impotent congregation who sat there staring at him but couldn’t raise a finger to stop him.
Noah laughed over his shoulder and swung his head back around toward the couple at the altar. He brought his pistol up again, his thumb on the hammer and his finger compressing the trigger to carry out his threat.
But as he did so, the Master swung around, too. He twisted around so fast, Noah didn’t see him until it was too late. The Master whirled around, flinging out his left hand as he turned. He struck the pistol so hard with the back of his hand, it flew out of Noah’s grasp and sailed into the aisle.
Noah’s eyes flew open but the Master didn’t stop. His right hand threw back the lapel of his coat. Matthew and the rest of the congregation gasped in unison. When they thought he had been staring at the altar in dejected defeat, he’d actually been unbuttoning his coat. He flung the coat open, and the whole congregation saw a gun belt hanging around his hips.
In one fluid motion, he slapped Noah’s pistol away with one hand and pulled his own gun with the other. Before Noah could recover, he found himself staring down the barrel of the Master’s pistol as helplessly as the Master so recently stared down the barrel of his own.
The Master’s voice rang against the rafters of the church. “Now, you listen to me, Noah Bartlett. I’m not going to shoot you in a house of God, so that leaves you with two choices. You can leave now and never show your face to me again as long as you live, or you can pick up your gun and meet me outside. We’ll settle this, man to man, once and for all.”
The congregation watched in stunned disbelief at the turn of events. Matthew barely breathed. Noah Bartlett set his jaw in a mask of determination, but he didn’t laugh at the Master the way he did before. His eyes slipped back and forth between the barrel of the gun in his face, the Master’s steely eyes, and the aisle where he hoped to catch sight of his own gun.
“Go ahead,” the Master invited him. “Go pick it up. It’s right there next to the Porter family pew. Pick it up and carry it outside, and we’ll settle this in the street.”
Noah hesitated one more minute until the Master jerked his head toward the aisle again. Noah gulped and turned his back on the gun. He slunk up the aisle, picked up his own pistol just where the Master said it would be, and hustled out of the church.
Chapter 13
The Master followed Noah outside and the rest of the congregation flooded after them. Matthew and the other boys weaseled their way through the crowd to the edge of the street to get the best view of the confrontation. But they didn’t shout and run around in excited explosions of energy like they usually did. They crouched down on the verge of the street to be out of the way, and they kept silent so as not to distract the combatants.
Polly came out last and stood at the top of the church steps. She looked like an angel on top of a Christmas tree in her white gown and her veil still covering her face. She watched the drama in the
Similar Books
