The Farmer’s Daughter Followed the Pig One Morning—What She Found Changed Everything
Chapter 4
She emerged from the rocks just as her father came around the last boulder, two other men trailing behind him. Ezra Holloway’s face was tight with a storm of relief and fury, his graying hair wild from the search.
“There you are.” His voice cracked. “What were you thinking, wandering off like that? These hills are dangerous. Especially for a girl alone.”
“I’m sorry, Papa.” Mae forced her voice to stay steady. “Pearl broke through the fence again. I couldn’t let her get lost. We need her too much.”
Her father’s gaze went from her face to the pig and back, and she could see the worry slowly turning to something sharper — suspicion, maybe. “Did you see anything unusual out there? Any strangers? Any sign of trouble?”
The question hit her like a blow to the chest. How could he know to ask that? She felt the weight of the documents against her ribs, burning like a brand.
“No, Papa.” She made herself look confused. “Just rocks and thorns. Why? Is something wrong?”
Before her father could answer, one of the men stepped forward. Mae recognized him — Mr. Vance, who ran the general store in town, the man who’d sold her father seed on credit all spring. But something about his expression made her skin crawl.
“We heard there might be a dangerous man hiding in these hills,” Vance said, his eyes fixed on her face with a stillness that felt wrong. “Someone who’s been stealing from decent folk. If you saw anything at all — anything suspicious — you need to tell us right now.”
Her blood turned to ice. How did they know? And why did Vance seem so interested in her answer? She thought of Gideon’s warning — the railroad has people everywhere. What if this search party wasn’t really looking for her at all?
“I don’t understand.” She put a tremor in her voice that wasn’t entirely fake. “What kind of dangerous man? Should I be scared?”
Her father moved protectively closer. “Nothing for you to worry about, sweetheart. Just someone who might be trespassing on our land. If he’s out there, we’ll find him.”
But Vance wasn’t finished. “The thing is, Miss Holloway, we have reason to believe this man might be injured. If you found him, you might think you were helping someone in need. But he’s not what he appears to be.”
The pouch seemed to burn against her skin. How much did Vance know? Was he working for the railroad, or was this terrible timing?
“I only saw Pearl,” she insisted. “She led me through some rocks, but I didn’t see any people. Just wanted to get her home before she got into real trouble.”
The third man — someone Mae didn’t recognize, tall and quiet, with the flat eyes of a man who’d done hard things — spoke up. “Maybe we should search those rocks ourselves. If there’s someone hiding up there, we need to find him before he causes more problems.”
Her heart nearly stopped. If they searched thoroughly, they’d find Gideon. In his condition he couldn’t run, couldn’t fight, couldn’t even hide. But if she protested too strongly, she’d only make them more suspicious.
“Papa,” she said carefully, “maybe I should get Pearl back to the pen first. She’s already caused enough trouble today.”
Her father nodded. “Good thinking. Take her straight home and stay there. Lock the doors and don’t come out until we get back.”
As the men turned to organize their search, Vance caught her arm — gently, but firmly. “Miss Holloway. I want you to think very carefully. Sometimes when we’re scared or confused, we forget details. If you remember anything at all about what you saw out there — anything that seemed out of place — you come find me immediately. It’s very important.”
The way he said very important sent chills down her spine. This wasn’t the casual concern of a helpful neighbor. This was a threat wearing a smile.
“I will,” she promised, pulling free of his grip. “I’ll remember.”
She led Pearl back toward the farmhouse, and behind her she could hear the men dividing the rocky area into sections, systematic and patient. It was only a matter of time. Her mind raced through options, and every one of them ended badly — warning Gideon was impossible without being seen; telling her father everything was a gamble she couldn’t take with Vance listening.
Thirty minutes. She had maybe thirty minutes before they found the cave. She just hoped it was enough.
Mae secured Pearl in the pen and ran inside. In the kitchen, her fingers closed around the great iron bell her father used to call workers in from the fields. It was heavy and cold, and her plan was desperate and stupid — but it was the only one she had.
She climbed onto the roof of the chicken coop, bell in hand, and began to ring it with everything she had, screaming at the top of her lungs.
“Fire! Fire in the barn! Papa, help!”
The sound split the morning like an axe. Across the yard, she saw the men freeze, turn, and come running, abandoning their careful search of the rocks. Her father reached her first, pale with panic.
“Where’s the fire?”
Mae pointed toward the old storage shed. “I saw smoke coming from behind there. It looked bad.”
The men rushed past her. She climbed down from the coop, heart pounding, and watched them kick through old hay and peer into every corner. There was no fire, of course. There had never been a fire.
“I don’t see anything.” Vance’s voice carried suspicion like a smell. He studied the area with the practiced eye of a man who knew what real fire damage looked like. “No smoke. No scorch marks. Nothing.”
“Maybe it was just dust in the sunlight,” Mae said, trying to sound embarrassed. “From this angle, with the morning light… I was so scared about what you said about dangerous men that I guess I panicked.”
Her father put a protective arm around her shoulders. “It’s all right, sweetheart. Better to be safe than sorry.”
But Vance wasn’t buying it. He turned to face her, and his smile had gone sharp at the edges.
“Funny. Funny how the girl sees imaginary fires right when we’re about to search the one area where someone might actually be hiding.”
The accusation hung in the air like a blade.