The Cabin

By E. Vaughan Augurson

This book has all the elements that make for a great story. It has romance and mystery and murder and mischief. It is a real page-turner. Once you start reading it, you cannot wait to get to the end to find out answers that have surprising conclusions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 10, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504921503

E. Vaughan Augurson

E. Vaughan Augurson is a true Southerner, born and raised in Louisiana. She is a college graduate in radio/TV/film and loves all forms of art. She is the eleventh child of her parents.

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THE CABIN

E. Vaughan Augurson

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© 2015 E. Vaughan Augurson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 12/10/2015

ISBN: 978-1-5049-2149-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-2150-3 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Preface

1    The Saga Begins

2    The Sanatorium

3    Jacob’s New Life

4    Mrs. Wallace

5    Nathaniel and Martha Family Secrets

6    The Three Strangers

7    Agatha’s Vanity

8    Lloyd and Katherine

9    The Mysterious Baby

10    Nathaniel and Betty

11    Family Is Always First

12    The Start of Callie’s Adventure

13    Love

14    Betty’s Back

15    Secrets

16    Summertime Break (Rockpoint)

17    The Beginning of the End

18    Chandler and Mary

19    Closure

20    Engagements

21    Siblings

22    Meltdown

23    Revelations, Revelations

24    Old Doors, New Openings

Preface

There was a small, quaint cabin that sat on the outskirts of town. It was rustic and had been there long before the town was formed. If the walls could talk, what a tale they could tell about the many people who passed through those doors.

Like in any small town there are secrets, oh juicy secrets that if ever known or revealed, could cause suicides, homicides, and disrepair of apocalyptic proportions. There was never any need to fear, because everyone knew the unwritten rules of what to assume, without speaking a word.

It was the summer when everything that had been buried would come to light. And who would be the messenger? A young girl named Callie. Sweet, innocent Callie. If you were walking down a crowded street and not focusing on any particular building or shop or street sign, not even making eye contact with the people you pass, I mean not even a slight look of acknowledgment, you still could not help but be drawn to Callie.

It was always amazing how she had this power to capture people’s attention. You would think with such power she could attain anything or anyone she desired.

There is not one adjective that I can think of nor a combination of words, phrases, or clichés that could even come close to describing her. Callie is a wonderful name. The syllables roll off your tongue with the sweet sound of her name, Callie.

Her family was a very strict and disciplined lot. Everything has a place and everything is to be in its place was their motto. Callie was different, though. She tried to mingle with the local townspeople and be a part of the community, but little did the townspeople know the real reason sweet Callie wanted to win their hearts.

Callie’s grandfather was one of the founding fathers of Wishom. That was one of many blessings—or was it a burden?—that she carried. But, this was a dear little town, filled with interesting people—or should I say, interesting characters.

Callie never really wanted to leave. For her, living in Wishom was like being a big fish in a small pond. To leave and go somewhere different would be like being an itty-bitty fish in an ocean. Even though she complained about having nothing to do and nowhere to go, the peaceful, down-to-earth atmosphere and the sense of community made life there bearable.

The town of Wishom was a soap opera in itself, with many actors—and I mean many actors because they never really showed the true person that they were. Each person was playing some role and doing what was expected of them. Oh, yes, they performed their parts of perfection in the open, when the spotlight was on them, but in the dark corners and behind the drawn curtains, a whole completely different act was going on.

1

The Saga Begins

Jacob Northrop was a peculiar man. No one really knew where he came from, and he never talked about his past or even if he had brothers or sisters. He was always a little edgy when someone would ask him personal questions.

Many stories surrounded the old dodger. Some folks say he was a runaway convict from up north who had been in jail for murder. They would say that he caught a train down south and lucked up and met the old man Northrop, who took a fancy to him because he was the son he never had.

Another story was that Jacob was an immigrant from Scotland—that he came over with only eleven dollars and the clothes on his back. He worked his way down to the South and purchased a small piece of land to start his cotton business, which in turn grew and grew into a multi-million-dollar enterprise.

Then there was the story that is most likely true—that he, like other people from up north, came down to the South and cheated people out of their land to make his fortune. They say that he did buy a little piece of no-good land right next to a colored family, the Williams. Mr. Luther Williams had sharecropped and saved enough money to purchase that land. Then a survey team looking for oil came and tested the area and found that the vein was on Mr. Williams’s side of the land. Well, Mr. Northrop, being the wise businessman that he was, offered to first purchase his land. And, when he refused, Mr. Northrop offered to take the Williams’s yearly land-tax money to town when he went so they would not have to worry about trying to get to town or about not having paid their taxes. What a good and decent neighbor, they thought. That was until they found out that when he paid the taxes, he signed his name, and it looked on the books as if he had been paying the taxes all along. So when the oil company wanted to drill, they contacted Mr. Northrop. Well, to no surprise, Mr. Northrop claimed the land and evicted the family.

At this point, Mr. Williams was upset and angry and went over to talk to Mr. Northrop to confront him about the land. The next thing anyone knew, the sheriff went over to the Williams house to tell Mr. Williams’s family that he had attacked poor Mr. Northrop and was threatening to shoot him for stealing his land. In wrestling for the gun, Mr. Williams was accidentally shot in the head. Now, everyone knew this was not the way it happened and that it was all a lie. But those were the times, and that’s the way things were. So Mr. Northrop was not tried for murder, because the sheriff ruled the killing self-defense. He had a lot of influence in the town. The town kept hush. No one really knows what happened to Mrs. Williams and the rest of the family, or else no one is saying if they left town or were driven out.

After all that, Jacob Northrop made his first million in oil; he started buying up all the land around him and renting it. They say that he was not always mean. He was married before to an evangelist’s daughter when he was a young man. That evangelist was a strange man. He would leave his wagon about three miles outside town and walk into town with his followers. They did not call him an evangelist but a prophet.

The first time the prophet came into town, he walked around and left leaflets and put up posters saying that there was going to be a revival meeting. He invited anyone who wanted to hear the Word and be healed to come to the meeting and meet Prophet Jonas. Well, most people came just because they were nosy, but there were some who really needed a word from God—remember, these were hard times, and most people in this small town had nothing. But there were always people who caused trouble—there was certainly no shortage of them in Wishom—and this was no exception.

The prophet had a young daughter named Sarah, and she was beautiful. She wanted most of all to leave her father and find her a husband. She would sneak out of camp and meet Jacob Northrop.

Jacob came to the services late. The prophet was in the middle of his healing session, which was a sight to behold. He would start speaking in an unknown tongue, and another man would interpret what he was saying. The crowd was excited and praising the Lord. This was a perfect cover for Jacob and Sarah. They could go off and not be missed.

It was later, when she made it back to the campground and tried to sneak into the wagon without making any noise, that Sarah realized her father knew what was going on. As she pulled open the curtain to get in the wagon, her father was standing there. Father, you startled me. I didn’t think that you were still awake.

He looked at her with a cold-stone stare. "Why do you bring shame on yourself? Why bring shame on this family? Do you think me a fool? I know you’re out there fornicating with that young fellow. How does it look? I preach against it, and there’s my own flesh and blood! My own daughter cannot set an example. You are never—and I mean never—to see that boy again. You hear me?"

Sarah tried to explain to her father that they were in love and that nothing had happened. He would not hear of it. He just stormed off.

That next morning, Sarah was very determined to talk to her father and get everything out in the open. She said to him, Father, you have to give me a chance to explain. But again, he did not want to hear of it. She continued to plead with him to just meet Jacob and give him a chance to show him that he is a good man. The more she insisted, the more Jonas protested. She could not end it with Jacob, she explained.

It is best that you get out of my sight, you heathen, he scolded Sarah. Why have you done this to me? Did I not treat you well and love you?

Sarah answered sadly, Why can’t you see it is not about you, Father? You’ve always done what you thought was best for me. I love Jacob. Have you ever loved someone, Father? You don’t understand. You have never let yourself truly love someone. You probably never loved Mother, did you?

He just turned and walked away from her.

Jacob and Sarah were both young, and life was exciting. They were truly in love. Jacob would meet her behind the tent stage, and they would go into the pasture. It was amazing how bright the moonlight made the meadow, and it would shine off the stream. They would go swimming.

I prayed to God that you would come, she said to Jacob one time when they were out together. My father is so upset with me, and he doesn’t think we should see each other. All day all I could think of was seeing you one more time and trying to remember your face, your smile, your touch, and how it felt to be in your arms. I asked God to give me one more day with you, so if we were never to be together again … I would remember everything about you. And you came. So he answered my prayer.

Stop that, Jacob said to her. We are going to be together, I promise. Nothing can stop us. Don’t worry. I’ll talk to your father. He has to see that we are serious and that we are in love. Now, come on in. The water is nice and cool. Let’s take a swim and enjoy this time we have now.

When they finished swimming, they got out of the water and went to the cabin. He went in first and laid out the blanket before he