Free The Fiery Ring by Gilbert Morris

darkness would conceal her. She watched the two men as they approached the one who was sleeping. The bigger man rolled him over. She heard a voice protesting, “What do you want?”
    “Everything you got. You got any whiskey?”
    “No.”
    “You got some money, though.”
    “No, I don’t.”
    “Don’t lie to me.” There was a meaty sound of a slap and a muffled grunt, and then the big man straightened up. He held something up to the light that filtered in through the slats of the car and said, “Well, looky here, Roy. We got a preacher with us. See, he’s got a Bible.”
    “I don’t need no preaching,” Roy said.
    “He’s got some dough too. We can use that.”
    “Give that back to me.”
    The big man laughed and said, “Shut up or I’ll kick your head off.”
    Joy’s heart froze, for these two men clearly had evil intentions. She made herself as small as possible, and the trainstarted up again. The sunlight suddenly illuminated the end of the car as the train rounded a curve, and the man called Roy said, “Look, there’s another guy back there.”
    “So there is. Maybe he’s got somethin’ to drink.”
    The two approached, and Joy pulled herself back as far as she could get into the corner.
    “Hey, you got any whiskey?”
    Making her voice as rough as she could, Joy said, “No, I don’t.”
    “You got anything to eat?”
    “A couple cans of beans.”
    “Let’s have ’em.”
    Joy knew it was useless to argue. She reached into her sack and brought out the two cans of beans. The smaller man snatched them up. “Gimme a can opener.” He waited until Joy handed it to him and then proceeded to open one. He handed it to the big man, who tilted the can up and began eating noisily. Roy opened the other can, and the two men ate like starved wolves.
    “You ain’t got nothin’ to drink?” the big man said.
    “No, and nothing else to eat.”
    “You got money though, I bet. A few bucks.”
    Joy panicked. What if she lost her egg money? “No, I don’t have any. I’m broke.”
    Something about the voice suddenly caught Roy’s attention. His hands shot out, and he snatched the cap from her head. Joy tried to prevent it but was too late. She felt her hair, which had been tucked inside the cap, fall around her shoulders and knew she was in bad trouble.
    “Hey, Earl, this here’s a girl!”
    Earl had seen the shiny blond hair spill out and laughed. “How about that!” He reached out and grabbed Joy’s arm. “You’re in luck today, sweetie. What’s your name?”
    “Joy.”
    “Well, Joy, you got a couple of good-lookin’ boyfriends here.” He pulled her close and grabbed her hair, pulling herhead back. “You’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you? Well, I ain’t had me no lady friends for some time now.” Earl laughed. He brought his face close to hers. Joy yanked her head away but felt his lips slide over her cheek. “Come on, don’t be shy.”
    Joy knew there was little hope of being rescued from this situation. Earl was as strong as a gorilla, and his hand held her like a vise. She begged, “Please don’t hurt me. Leave me alone.”
    “A little lovin’ never hurt a girl,” Earl said, his voice thickening. “Just relax.”
    “Let that girl alone!”
    The grip on Joy’s arm did not loosen, but she felt Earl turn around and saw Roy do the same. They were staring at the man who had advanced toward them. He was not an impressive figure. He was no more than average height and seemed quite young. He had black hair, dark eyes, and an olive complexion.
    Earl stared at the man and said, “I suppose you want her, huh?”
    “I said leave the girl alone.”
    “Why, preacher, you can have your turn with her—soon as we get through.”
    Joy felt a tiny ray of hope. At least one man had some decency, but suddenly Earl let go of her arm and stepped toward the other man. He shoved him backward and said, “You stay out of this or I’ll break your face.”
    “You let her alone, and