As he made his way back to Tamsen, Pike squirmed against Burger’s grip, his boots straining for traction on the sand. “I’m sure you’ve whisked him away, just like the others!”
Jacob grumbled, “Not this crap again.”
“God is punishing us for allowing you to stay with us.” Pike managed to free his right arm by slamming on Burger. He rummaged in his pockets. “The Bible says, ‘You shall not allow a witch to live,'” she argues.
He took out his snub-nosed revolver and pointed it towards Tamsen.
She thudded to the ground, dirt in her mouth, the next thing she knew. Despite the fact that she felt no pain, she assumed she had been shot. Her spouse took a position in front of her. It gradually dawned on her: George had forced her out of the way so that he could confront Pike, who was unarmed and dressed in his nightshirt. A rush of sensation alerted her to what was going on. She was being pursued. Her husband had stepped up to the plate and defended her without hesitation. His typical bluster seems to have vanished.
Of course, Tamsen had been attacked before, but just verbally. Only suspicious looks, cold shoulders, and hushed murmurs were used. She was shaken since nothing had ever gone this far before.
Pike’s rifle was still drawn but not discharged, and he was perplexed and blinking at the unexpected turn of events. Before anyone could say anything, a gun rang out: Charlie Burger had shot William Pike in the back. As he dropped to his knees, Pike’s face lit up with utter shock. From where the bullet had gone through his chest, a patch of scarlet spread across his white shirt.
Tamsen gasped and struggled to her feet. The girls had awoken and were weeping. As a couple of their faces emerged in the tent flap, she yelled, “Stay inside!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Both Donner men raced to Pike, easing him to his back. Jacob yelled at the same time. The young man’s eyes were glassy, staring up at the night sky without a care in the world.
In response to the gunshot, Tamsen heard others pouring from their tents. There would be throngs, loud shouting, and more accusations in a second. Meanwhile, William Pike fought spastically for the pocket of his trousers with his right hand. Was it another rifle he was looking for so desperately? Did he intend to murder her, even if it meant taking his last breath?
Tamsen stood there, speechless, as he went into his pocket and pulled out a rosary. The varnish on the wood beads on string had worn off due to their frequent use. So, even in Lavinah’s rigorous Mormon household, he had stayed a Catholic in his heart. When Tamsen placed it in his palm and clenched his fist around it, he exhaled a sigh of relief. “I pray Lavinah forgives me,” he exclaimed, clutching the rosary to his chest. Then he remained motionless.
Tamsen slumped back in her chair, dizzy. What had compelled the man to pursue her? Pike appeared to be the last member in the group to shoot someone while they were sleeping. She wiped the spittle from her cheek and looked up to see Mary Graves, who was staring at her in wonder, standing in the crowd.
William’s wife, Harriet Pike, got through the crowd a fraction of a second before her mother, Lavinah. Both women knelt near the lifeless guy, Harriet shaking him by the front of his shirt, as if shaking him would bring him back to life. “William! “What have you done?” she cried, her voice terribly harsh, like if she’d just consumed lye.
Harriet was still trembling when Lavinah wrapped her arms around her. “Their boy has gone away,” Lavinah told George, her hands clutching Harriet’s arms tightly. Harriet was sobbing so loudly that her mother couldn’t be heard. “William awoke in the middle of the night to discover that he had vanished. He came to the conclusion that your wife was to blame.” She gave Tamsen a sidelong glance. “We pleaded with him to come to his senses, but he refused. We assumed he was going to look for the boy when he left. We had no idea he was going to show up.”
“There’s a missing youngster…” George spoke it again, as if he’d awoken from his stupor.
“Henry, my grandson,” I said. Lavinah fought back tears as she continued, “He’s just one year old.”
“I came across this.”