The church bells rang throughout the hills. I awoke to the singing of the church choir. The new church building had recently been built next to my house. My home sat on a patch of land in northeastern Oklahoma and i had moved here towards the end of the Dust Bowl. The Oklahoma landscape seemed mysterious to me, a single twenty-two year old bachelor. But I had always been on my own.

Ever since Pap had left to join the war, I learned to be independent as he had never returned. Ma died giving birth to me. My motto had become, "Survival of the fittest."
After I rose up out of bed and shaved, I cleaned myself up for church. "Better late then never", Pa had always said. As U wakjed through the church's front doors, Brother Jon stopped the service and said, "Ahh. Mr. Jacobs! You live only a stone's throw from our building, yet you always seem to manage to sleep in."
I thought for a moment, then decided to take the embarrassment without retaliation. As he carried on with the service, I noticed some new faces in the crowd. Mainly, I noticed an Native American couple. It had been years since there had been an Indian family in these parts, but I guess we were trying to look past race and into a person's soul.

After church I spoke to a few of my closest friends along with Miss dalton, the daughter of our preacher who was sweet on me. I soon walked back home and settled in for the evening. Later that night I woke, hearing someone speak in a language I was not familiar with. When I looked outside, I saw no one.

Climbing out of my bedroom window, I carried a lit candle. Into the woods I walked until I saw the Native American man talking to another. By the way they stood I knew they were up to no good. I snuck up behind the man to listen, like a lion after its prey. They saw me despite my stealth. "...train...robbery...", I heard. The dark skinned man turned, and in a fury, ran off into the woods.

Following him and keeping a distance of ten to twelve feet, I was almost on him. Then the unbelievable happened. I heard a voice say, "stay absolutely still." It was Brother Jon and he had a gun.

He had been the one speaking with the "Injun" and it was then that he told me to gather up his daughter and move back to Ohio. He said to mail him a card as soon as we arrived. "And don't ask no questions," he growled. Looking at the pistol in his hand, I turned and ran back to my house. Gathering up my belongings and savings, I headed to Brother Jon's house. The beautiful Miss Dalton was waiting for me with two tickets to Ohio. It seems her father had tired of preaching. We walked to the station and boarded the train. It picked up speed as it left the station, and ever since my life has been a blur.

I now live back in Ohio with my lovely bride and children. And there is no sleeping in on Sunday.