Courting Faith by Kay Stuart

Author:Kay Stuart [Stuart, Kay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781494705084
Published: 2014-01-04T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Royce entered the classroom and noticed a sheet of paper had been slipped under the door. Picking up the paper he read Miss Ferguson’s heavily penciled words. ‘I am not feeling well and have decided I shall not be able to teach classes tomorrow. Please take the Elementary children into your classroom for one day. Thank You. Miss Ferguson.’

Children! Fourteen Children! Royce panicked at the thought. He could foresee bedlam. Children running to and fro screaming and crying all over his classroom! His blood ran cold. Then, he remembered Elizabeth Gaines. She was a wonderfully gifted teacher often helping him with fifth grade lessons.

Royce’s next thought was just as disturbing. Was Miss Ferguson really ill or did she have an errand to run for her brother Milton. Closing the door behind him, Royce made his way across the Elementary School yard. He stopped and listened at the corner of the building. Only the sound of falling rain reached his ears. Silently he walked to the back of the school. Miss Ferguson’s window was dark. In fact, her entire house was dark. Royce followed the line of trees until he could see inside the corral. No shadow moved. He crossed the distance and slipped through the fence rails. The corral was in deep shadows under the trees. The rain made the ground squishy under foot as he crept across the corral. Milton Ferguson’s horse was gone!

“I’ll be damn,” Royce whispered, frustration sounding in his voice. Now what did he do. Did he return to his rooms or chance investigating Miss Ferguson’s claim of being taken ill. He knew he would not be able to sleep until he knew for certain what Miss Ferguson was up to. Silently, he crept across the yard keeping in the shadows as much as he could. Testing boards on Miss Ferguson’s front porch before placing his full weight Royce moved cautiously along the porch with his back pressed against the building. He tried the front door and found it locked. Inching towards the window Royce peeked inside Miss Ferguson’s room. It was difficult to see inside with the porch shading the front of the house. He tried the window and felt the frame move under his fingers. A moment later he was stepping over the windowsill into Miss Ferguson’s bedroom. His thoughts made cold shivers run down his spine.

Royce stood listening for sounds. The house was quiet. Too quiet. Reaching into his denim pocket he pulled out a metal container of matches. He struck a match cupping his hand around the flame. A mound of covers concealed an occupant in the bed. Standing silently Royce listened intensely. No breathing. Nothing broke the silence inside the room. Was the woman dead? Stepping cautiously Royce made his way across the floor. Leaning over he peered at the mound of covers. Then reaching out he touched the top of the blankets. No movement! No sound! Miss Ferguson was not in her bed. A mound of blankets made it appear as if she was sleeping to anyone looking through the front window.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.