Lone Pine Bride (The Brides of Lone Pine #1)(7)

“That’s dangerous,” she said as they forged forward. “You’ll confuse the horses.”

At least the horses were his, he thought, and this lady was quite a determined person and not at all what he expected ladies to be like. Certainly not demure as he was sure Rachel was. “It’s not my carriage,” he said. “And I can’t afford to replace it.”

“I’ll pay for it if it’s damaged. Why are all the places called Pine?”

“I don’t know.”

“I thought people who lived here would know that sort of thing,” she said.

Which he should know, he thought, and he would try to find out before he met Rachel in case she asked. He hung onto the seat as the horses raced forward and within minutes they reached Middle Pine.

“Oh, no!” They spoke together as they both looked at the houses ahead of them. Middle Pine and already most of the houses had collapsed though some were still in the process of doing so. There were forty five houses, Seth knew, and many of them were totally flattened. Some had fallen with a concertina effect which caused the walls to balloon and the roof to slide mostly at an angle. The adobe walls had obviously had no power to resist the violent shaking of the ground.

Tiles were rolling from roofs and shattering glass could still be heard as windows collapsed. People were running everywhere, some of whom had obviously escaped from their dwellings. There was screaming. There was shouting. There was crying. There was chaos.

The lady jumped from the wagon and the ground shook violently once again. She released the horses and they ran, while the carriage went backwards and rolled out of the village to become lodged against some trees which were still standing though at an angle.

Seth looked at the departing horses in mute despair. They might never return and the carriage was bound to be damaged. He would never be able to cope with the expense. But there was more at stake than horses and carriages and already the lady was running towards a house where someone was trapped under a piece of wood.

He should be looking for his fiancé but what could he do in the circumstances? The carriage was there but the horses had gone, thanks to this lady. He tore after her and pulled at the beam which had fallen on the man’s leg in an effort to free him. But it was too heavy and he didn’t know what to do. He was not at all weak, he knew, but the beam was huge. The lady came to stand next to him and started to pull with him.

It wouldn’t budge and there were cries for help around them which tore at Seth. Others were obviously trapped, but he had to free this man first. He pulled even harder and the ground humped once again.

As it did so the beam lifted a bit from the man’s leg and the lady held it and shouted above the noise. “Pull him out.” Seth pulled with all his might, Frederick was freed and she dropped the beam before running towards some shouts from the adjoining house.

“Where is your wife?” Seth asked Frederick.

“Down the road at the store with the children.”

Seth looked at where the store stood and Frederick’s wife emerged from it. She ran down the road with the children close behind her.

“We’ll come back to you.” Seth said and ran after the lady, desperately wanting to go back to Lower Pine to see Rachel but knowing he couldn’t at this moment. She must be terrified and he ought to be comforting her, but what else could he do other than go where help was needed?

“We need to get them away from the buildings,” the lady said. “Could a few men make stretchers out of doors? They might be able to pull them free.”

“We’ll see what we can do,” Seth said. Some men ran towards the area, desperate to pull out anyone who had been trapped. Over a hundred residents in the village and they had to ensure that all were safe, except that most of the houses seemed to have collapsed and nobody knew who was in them. It would be the same in Lone Pine, Seth rather felt.

“We must go from house to house.” Rex Taylor ran down the road towards them, a tall, burly man in his forties with whom Seth had a passing acquaintance.

“Where is your family?” the lady asked.

“Down the road there.” He pointed. “I’ve put them away from the buildings.”

“Good. We need to search the buildings one by one and call out. We also have to make sure fires don’t begin from stoves.”

“Yes. Maybe we should divide into teams.” Rex looked round as a few other men ran towards them. “There are forty five houses. Let’s take a few each but make sure your families are alright first.”

They were, they said, but there were other men running towards their toppled dwellings and not all of them would be empty because the men were working and women and children could be inside. A lot had come to see the stagecoach go through but not everyone, Seth was sure.

“I’ll come with you,” the lady said to Seth as the men divided into pairs.

“We can manage, ma’am,” he said.

“Women are not helpless,” she replied. “Come on.”

He followed her in the direction Rex had told him to go, a bit put out at being ordered, he had to admit. Rachel wouldn’t do that, and what was she thinking? He looked down the road then back at the sound of wagon wheels. The Reverend who lived in Lower Pine jumped out and ran towards them.

“We’ll take casualties to our house,” he said. “Some of the men are following to help here and they will check how things are in Lone Pine.” He looked down at Jonathon. “We’ll take you back to the rectory in a few minutes, also your family.”