Free Bridge to Cutter Gap / Silent Superstitions / The Angry Intruder by Catherine Marshall Page A

breeze. Now she wouldn’t have to live with the guilt of thinking she’d caused Mr. Allen’s death.
    Miss Henderson sat down across from Christy. “Now, tell me, Miss Huddleston,” she said suddenly, “why did you come to Cutter Gap?”
    Surely she must be joking, Christy thought. But one look at her face told Christy she was not. “Naturally, I thought Dr. Ferrand would have told you,” Christy answered. “I came to teach school, of course.”
    â€œHe didn’t tell me much. And anyway, I want to hear your version. Why are you here?”
    It was such a complicated question. Christy hesitated. Where should she begin?
    â€œI was so moved at the church retreat when I heard about the mountain people,” she began slowly. “I volunteered right away.”
    â€œLooking back,” Miss Henderson asked, smoothing out a crease in her skirt, “do you think you were carried away by the emotion of the moment?”
    â€œSomewhat, perhaps,” Christy admitted. She wanted to be completely honest with this woman. Something about Miss Henderson demanded honesty.
    â€œAnd Dr. Ferrand is eloquent,” Miss Henderson pointed out.
    â€œBut I’ve had plenty of time to think it over,” Christy added quickly. “If I’d wanted to back out, I could have.”
    â€œAnd why didn’t you?”
    â€œBecause I knew you were desperate for teachers. I’ve had a year and a semester of college, enough to start teaching. And—” She paused. It was so hard to explain what was in her heart. “I’d like my life to count for something.”
    Miss Henderson fell silent. It was different from the embarrassing lapses in conversation Christy had felt, talking to a boy she liked or a person she didn’t know. This was a silence full of meaning, a comfortable silence.
    Christy longed to tell Miss Henderson about the feeling she’d had that there was some special mission waiting for her. Maybe that feeling just came from reading too much poetry— or because she was young. But Christy didn’t think so. She wanted her life to be full. She wanted to laugh and love. She wanted to help others. Those were the hopes that had sent her on this wild adventure into the mountains.
    But she couldn’t explain those things, not yet. So she just sat silently, staring at her hands.
    â€œYou’ll need some information about your new job,” Miss Henderson said, suddenly changing the subject. “School opens on Monday next. Your coming gives us an official staff of three—David, you, and me, with Dr. Ferrand in overall charge.
    â€œBy the way, those at the mission call me ‘Miss Alice.’ David, you’ve already met. He just graduated from the seminary. He’s from Pennsylvania, like me.”
    â€œHow long have you been here, Miss Alice?”
    â€œI first came to the Great Smokies almost nine years ago. I started a couple of schools in the area, then I saw Cutter Gap and loved it. I felt this was my spot.” She gazed around the room. “I wanted this cabin to be a sort of sanctuary, a quiet spot for me and for other people, where they could talk out some of their problems when they want to.”
    â€œYou mean the mountaineers?”
    â€œThey prefer to be called ‘mountain people’ or ‘highlanders.’ And believe me, there’s plenty of problems for them to talk out. These people were brought up on a religion of fear. I believe one of our tasks here is to show folks a God who wants to give them joy. How they need joy!”
    Her eyes took on a soft, remembering look. “I am a Quaker, you may know. My father was a strict member of the Society of Friends. But he had one favorite saying as I grew up. ‘Before God,’ he would say to me, ‘I’ve just one duty as a father. That is to see that thee has a happy childhood tucked under thy jacket.’”
    â€œI like