MY, WHAT BIG MUSCLES YOU HAVE, DOCTOR!

"MDWBMYH" or "The Bet" 

Part One 

The day was clear and the sun shone brightly in the fall sky. It would most likely be one of the last nice days before
winter set in at Cutter Gap. Christy and David decided to take advantage of the weather and go riding up into the
hills. David led Christy higher and higher, her horse nervously picking its way over rocks and through the
underbrush, until she thought she would grow dizzy from the spectacular view. They ventured onto a precipice and
looking down found themselves to be directly over the river. If she looked carefully Christy could spot the
chimneys and wood-smoke peeking out of the trees, marking the cabins of the people she had come to call family
here in Cutter Gap. Christy closed her eyes and breathed deeply. 

Suddenly a small animal burst out of the trees, racing directly towards Christy's horse. Her horse let out a cry of
surprise and galloped off, leaving in its wake a very startled Christy who, in relaxing her grip on the reins had
consequently fallen off of the horse and over the edge of the precipice. David let out a shout of alarm and was off
his horse in a flash, joined seconds later by Doctor MacNeil who had just emerged from the trees leading his horse
and had also witnessed Christy's accident. 

Peering over the edge they both breathed a sigh of relief to see Christy alive and seemingly unharmed, lying on a
ledge ten feet below them. Several small bushes had broken her fall and as she shakily stood up, brushing dirt and
twigs off of her skirt and out of her hair, she looked up to see the smiling faces of David and Neil looking down on
her. "This is hardly a laughing matter," she said indignantly. "We're just thankful you're alive," said David, trying
to look serious. "Are you hurt?", asked Doctor MacNeil, making no attempt to hide his smile of amusement and
happy relief that she was alive. "I'm fine," replied Christy, "Please get me out of here." Both men stood up to take
stock of the situation and she could hear them arguing above her. Neil's thick Scottish brogue mingling with
David's voice, both men so confident in their own scheme to rescue Christy, and too stubborn to compromise and
work together. to be continued.... 

Part Two 

"Gentlemen.", called out Christy, and the two faces popped back into view. "The scenery is very nice down here,
but the day is getting late, I'm hungry, I'm tired and I'm cold so, if you would be so kind as to get me out of
here....please!", she said. They nodded their heads and disappeared again. Christy sighed and sat down, expecting
a long wait. She heard their voices grow louder and louder, than break off. She heard David yell that he was going
back to the mission and than there was silence. 

Christy stood up, anxious that they had both abandoned her. She called out and than gave a small cry of alarm
when Neil's grinning jack-o-lantern face suddenly appeared directly above her. "Don't you worry, I'll have you out
of there quicker than you can blink.", he called down confidently. And before Christy could batt an eye he had
swung himself over the ridge, nimbly picked his way down the slope, and was standing in front of her. While
Dr.MacNeil was a big man, it was mostly muscle, and Christy silently marveled to herself at how a man of his
stature could so easily climb down the slope. 

"Now than Miss Huddleston," he said formally. "This might be something of a break with the convention your
Asheville folk hold so highly but...", he cleared his voice, "Your present situation is far from conventional." Christy
nodded solemnly and Neil struggled to keep a straight face. "If you would place your arms around my neck."
Christy did. "Now hold on tight," he said, swinging her easily up and into his arms. Christy gripped him tightly,
struggling not to giggle outloud as his days worth of beard tickled her face. "Not so tight," said Dr.MacNeil in a
strangled voice. "Sorry," said Christy, relaxing her grip a little. 

"Here we go," called the Doctor merrily, trying to make light of what could become a deadly situation for both of
them. If he stumbled or hesitated, or if she lost her grip, they could both tumble to their deaths. Always maintaining
a firm hold on her, he slowly worked his way up the embankment, shifting her in his arms and relying on the brute
strength and muscle that life in Cutter Gap had honed and perfected in him over the years. to be continued.... 

Part Three 

When they finally reached the top, Neil held her in his arms and strode over to his waiting horse. "Dr.MacNeil, I
am perfectly able to walk.", said Christy in mock anger. "I know.", responded the Doctor simply. "But after a fall
like that one can never be too sure.", he said, hoping that his excuse satisfied her. Swinging her up onto his horse
he joined her seconds later and swung the horse around towards the mission. They rode together in silence until
Christy thought to say, "Thank you Neil...But where did David go?". 

"Back to the mission, to get some rope or some such thing.", said the Doctor, with a twinkle in his eye. No sooner
had he spoken than they heard someone riding towards them, it was David. "Reverend.", said Doctor MacNeil as
they rode past him. David was shocked into silence and angrily swung his mount around to follow them back to the
mission. "You look tired Doctor, a man of your age shouldn't strain yourself...I can take Christy for a while.", said
David after a few minutes of silence. 

"I assure you I'm perfectly fine Reverend, thanks all the same." replied the Doctor gleefully, tightening his grip on
Christy, who was by this time practically asleep. 

When they arrived back at the mission, Dr.MacNeil helped Christy to dismount, discharging her into the worried
arms of Miss Alice who hastily helped her into the mission. The two men were left alone. "What do you think that
you have to prove Doctor?", asked David. "I don't know what you mean.", said Neil innocently. "To Christy, to
me, to yourself....you both could have been killed.", shouted David. "Aye, but we weren't.", said the Doctor
arrogantly. "Were you trying to impress her?", shouted David. "I mean what did you expect Christy to say?"
continued David, and than mockingly raising his voice to the highest possible pitch, utterly trying and ultimately
failing to imitate his perception of Christy's high womanly voice said, "My Doctor what big muscles you have?!?" 

The doctor burst out laughing, nearly falling onto the ground in his mirth. But this only served to make David even
angrier. 

"I'll bet that you could never get Christy to even say anything remotely similar to that, I'll bet you could never
even get her to say anything about your muscles at all!", shouted David. 

The Doctor, by now doubled over from the effort of laughing, straightened up and managed to say between bouts of
laughter, "I'll take that bet David." to be continued.... 

"The Bet" Part Four 

So David, against his better judgement as a man of the cloth, but unable to resist beating the Doctor, accepted the
bet. A time-frame of one week was agreed upon, and other rules and stipulations were set forth, with the prize
simply being the satisfaction of winning and showing who was the better man. 

All week David tried to keep Christy away from Dr.MacNeil, and all week Dr.MacNeil tried to impress Christy
with feats of strength. Doctor MacNeil chopped wood for the mission house, helped Dan Scott raise his cabin,
carried water for Christy, put an addition onto the school-house, wrestled the pigs out from underneath the
school-house and into a pig-sty that he had fashioned and built. He cleared away boulders and trees so Christy
could plant a large garden, he built a large wagon that the mission could use to haul things in, he gave the children
rides on his back, stacking them on two or three at a time and so on and so on. Whatever Christy asked him to do
he did. In fact, he took to spending so much time helping at the mission that he threw up a small cabin next to the
mission that he could use, and that could later be used as a guest house. 

Christy was quite impressed with how sociable the Doctor was becoming and at his eager willingness to help out at
the mission. She felt sure in her heart that God was slowly working in Neil MacNeil's life. But as the end of the
week began to draw to a close Neil began to worry that he was going to lose his bet with David. The two would
exchange menacing glances at dinner and angrily jostle each other whenever they passed near one another. to be
continued.... 

"The Bet" Part V 

Finally, it was the last day of the week and David felt sure that he had won their bet. That afternoon the entire cove
was gathering for a celebration at Dan Scott's cabin and David felt sure that there would be no opportunity for Neil
to elicit from Christy any acknowledgment about his large muscles. In the middle of the festivities however, a large
tree that someone had begun to chop down and than forgotten about, crashed through the forest with a large roar
landing directly on David. Amazingly David was unharmed, save for his leg, which was pinned under the trunk of
the large tree. Everyone gathered around the fallen preacher, and Christy, in pushing her way to the front cried out,
"Get Doctor MacNeil!! he has the biggest muscles!" David groaned at her proclamation and the prospect of losing
the be. Christy, thinking he was groaning in pain knelt down beside him, hoping to comfort him. 

Doctor MacNeil, having heard Christy's plea, burst through the crowd and without hesitation, braced his legs and
using all of his strength slowly lifted the large tree off of David's leg. The other men pulled David out and
Dr.MacNeil set to applying his skills as a doctor to fashioning a crude brace for David's leg. Assuring David that
his leg was only broken, and not badly, Dr.MacNeil loaded him onto a makeshift stretcher and with the assistance
of a few other men carried him back to the mission. Neil helped him into the mission and after ensuring that he was
lying comfortably in his bed gazed down at David. 

"I guess I won that bet Preacher.", he said, leaning against the door-frame. "I guess you did Doctor," said David
grudgingly. Just than Christy walked into the room. "David, thank goodness Dr.MacNeil was able to save your
leg.", she said to David. "And Doctor MacNeil, you have helped to improve the mission so much this week, I can't
think how we'll ever repay you." 

Than she looked at the two of them, and with a twinkle in her eyes said in the sweetest voice possible, "It must be
those muscles of yours Dr.MacNeil ...What Big Muscles You Have, Doctor." The two men looked at her in
astonishment but she merely laughed at them and walked away. 

David and Neil looked in bewilderment at her retreating form, both slowly realizing that between David's shouting
and Neil's laughing, Christy couldn't help but overhear them that night of the bet. Than they looked at each other
and burst out laughing, before shaking hands and nodding in agreement that Christy Huddleston was truly, the best
there was. 

THE END 

by Miranda