Jordan's War - 1861 (13 page)

Chapter 16

Jordan was out of
breath by the time he caught up with the wagon which had just turned onto the
main road. He jumped in the back, tripped and nearly impaled himself on one of
the sharp scythe blades.

“Careful,” Jim
said. He’d turned around just in time to catch him by the arm.

“Why’d you leave
without me?” Jordan hollered.

“You were
lollygagging,” Eamon said. “We figured you weren’t coming.”

He resisted the
urge to punch Eamon as he knew the retaliation would be swift and severe.

“I told them you
was coming,” Gunner whispered when Jordan sat down beside him.

The road was dusty
and they passed no one as they headed south towards the old home place. The
path was overrun with weeds and ruts and the horses strained as they pulled the
wagon past the barn and over the hill to the house.

Eamon used to
tease Jordan that Uncle Abe’s place was full of spooks. He didn’t want to
believe in ghosts, demons, or yahoos anymore, but living with Grandma kept
these fearful images alive in his head long after most children had outgrown
their worry of these supposed myths.

“Is that yours?”
Gunner asked his pa. His eyes were wide as he took it all in.

“I guess so,” Jim
answered.

Jordan wondered if
Gunner was angry at his Jim for making him work in the mines instead of coming
back here to live and farm. He certainly would have been. Even though no one
had lived here for years, it was still in better shape than their other house.

“There’s the
house,” Jordan said to Gunner, and pointed in the direction of the building. It
was hidden within a cluster of tall oaks and Gunner didn’t see it until Pa
stopped the wagon.

“Get everything
unloaded before you run off,” Pa yelled and walked around to the other side of
the wagon to where Jim was sitting.

“I can’t believe
I’m back here,” Jim said then shooed Pa’s hand away and eased himself onto the
ground.

“Ain’t changed
much, has it?” Pa asked.

“No, it ain’t,”
Jim answered and grunted to clear the phlegm from his throat.

Jordan and Gunner
laid the last of the lumber on the ground and ran off.

“Let’s go inside,”
Jordan said and pulled Gunner towards the porch.

“Watch out for
them steps!” Pa called. “They’re probably rotten.”

“No they’re not!”
Jordan yelled back and bounded up and down on the top one. He heard the board
crack and scrambled to the porch before it broke. If Gunner heard it, he didn’t
say anything.

Pa did a pretty
good job at looking after the place. He used the fields closest to their place
for hay and sometimes he’d make Jake and Jordan cut down the grass around the
house. One time they found a nest of baby rabbits and brought them home to
Willow and Selie. They’d also see baby mice on occasion, but didn’t figure
Willow would want any of those to raise.

It was dark inside
and Jordan stopped for a second to allow his eyes to adjust. The windows had
been boarded up ever since Jordan could remember, but a few of the panes got
broken anyway. He heard something scurry across the upstairs floor and hoped it
was a squirrel and not a rat. A stale odor of dust and rot filled the air but
it was nothing a few open windows and a brisk mountain breeze couldn’t get rid
of. The curtains that remained on the windows were so faded that it was
impossible to tell what color they were originally.

The massive stone
fireplace in the front room was still intact and there was a small pile of
acorns and dead leaves in the back corner. The fireplace in the kitchen still
had charred wood in it, from a final meal cooked ages ago. The furnishings were
sparse, with only a few homemade chairs and a wobbly table. The place needed a
good sweeping as pine needles, animal droppings, and dead leaves littered the
floor. There was a pie safe sitting in the corner but both of the doors were
off and propped up against the wall.

“It has an
upstairs!” Gunner said and ran for the staircase. “And it’s not all fallen in!”

Jordan followed
him. The rail was a little loose but that could be easily fixed. There were
three rooms upstairs, all of ample size. Jordan walked into the first room at
the top of the stairs. The mice had destroyed the old mattress, but the iron
bed frame looked sturdy enough. The mirror on the dresser was so filthy that
Jordan couldn’t even see his reflection.

“Jordan, come
here!” Gunner shouted.

Jordan rushed to
the next room but Gunner wasn’t there. He ran back out and entered the last
room.

“What?” he asked.

“Looks like
someone’s been here,” Gunner said and picked up a small canvas satchel.

“Yeah,” Jordan
said. “I ain’t never seen that lying around here. What’s in it?”

Gunner unbuckled
the latch an acted as if the bag would jump up and bite him any moment. He
hesitated before he put his hand inside and when he did, he pulled out a
handful of papers and tossed them to Jordan as if they were on fire.

Jordan stooped
down and spread the papers out in front of him. Some of the words he didn’t
understand and his eyes were drawn to a map crammed inside one of the larger
papers.

“What are you
doing?” Jake asked.

Jordan jumped up
and tried to hide the papers behind him.

“Nothing,” Jordan
said and shot a look at Gunner.

“Pa wants you and
Gunner to help cut the grass,” Jake said.

“We’ll be down in
a minute,” Gunner said.

“What do you got?”
Jake asked and pointed at the bag.

“I said nothing.”

“I’m telling Pa
you found something,” Jake said and ran out of the room.

“What is it?”
Gunner asked. The floor creaked beneath his feet as he walked over to Jordan.

“It’s a bunch of
maps and other papers,” Jordan said and spread one out on the floor. “Look. . .
Here’s Lewisburg.”

“Where do you
suppose these came from?” Gunner asked.

“Maybe that spy
they killed up on the rocks,” Jordan said.

“Jordan! Gunner!”
Pa yelled up the steps. “Quit messing around and get on down here.”

Jordan stuffed the
papers back in the satchel and buckled the strap. They ran out of the room and
down the stairs.

“Jake said you
found something,” Pa said. “Let me see it.”

Jordan handed Pa
the canvas bag. Pa shuffled through the sack and handed it back to him.

“Go put this in
the wagon,” Pa said.

“What are you
going to do with it?” Gunner asked.

“I’ll give it to
Sergeant Hummel the next time he visits,” Pa said.

“Jordan said it
belongs to that spy that they killed,” Gunner blurted out. Jordan was standing
close enough to him to give him a hard elbow jab in his ribs.

“Sometimes
Jordan’s imagination gets the best of him,” Pa laughed. “Get on outside.”

Jordan picked up
one of the scythes and headed over to a clump of all grass and commenced to
swinging. The blade hit something and the handle stung his hand. He dropped the
scythe and pulled back the grass to see what it was. It looked like the
outhouse but the entire building was shorter than he was. He peeked through the
window cut in the door just to make sure he wasn’t mistaken. It seemed the
whole structure had sunken into the same hole in the earth it was meant to
cover. The wood seat was still intact but now it sat two feet or more below the
ground. He’d never seen anything like it.

“Hey Pa!” Jordan
called, and started giggling. “Jim’s going to have to build a new outhouse!”

No one answered.
He rushed out of the grass, fearing he’d been left behind again. He let out a
sigh of relief when he saw Jake and Gunner near the house. Jim sat on the front
porch steps and stared out over the farm. His blue eyes didn’t blink and he
seemed to be deep in thought.

He decided not to
say anything about the outhouse and go over to help Jake and Gunner. He heard
mumbling coming from the back of the house, near the root cellar. He crept
around the corner and saw Eamon and Pa standing over someone sitting on the
ground but Jordan couldn’t see his face because Eamon was in the way. He inched
closer until he could hear them. Eamon stepped out the way and Jordan saw the
side of the boy’s face. It was Isaac!

He was supposed to
have left a few days ago to enlist in the army. What was he doing here? Jordan
forgot all about eavesdropping and walked right over to where they were
standing. No one noticed him.

 “Have you eaten
anything today?” Pa asked him.

“I boiled some
potatoes last night,” Isaac said.

“Where’d you get
potatoes?” Eamon asked. “There ain’t been no garden around here for years.”

“I. . .I. . . I
got them from your cellar,” Isaac said. “I’m sorry Uncle Finnian.”

“No need to be
sorry son,” Pa said. “We’re all family. Your pa’s going to be real upset when
he finds out you didn’t make it to Lewisburg.”

“You ain’t going
to tell him, are you?” Isaac asked.

“I can’t keep this
from him,” Pa said. “But I ain’t seen him for a few weeks now.”

“I don’t want to
go fight,” Isaac said. “I ain’t like Nealy. Can’t you talk to him?”

“Lord knows if I
thought he’d listen I would,” Pa said. “But you know how he is and you can’t
stay here.”

“I can’t go home
either,” Isaac said.

“Eamon, you run on
home and get a sack of food and don’t let anyone but your Ma know Isaac’s
here.”

“Can’t Jordan go?”
Eamon said.

“I said get!” Pa
said.

Eamon turned
around to run, but ran into Jordan and knocked him over. He then mashed his
boot into Jordan’s shin and grinned at him before he headed for the path.
Jordan got up, brushed himself off and walked over beside Pa.

“Has there been
anyone else around here?” Pa asked.

Jordan knew the
answer by the look on Isaac’s face.

“I seen two boys .
. . Soldiers . . . Federal ones,” Isaac said.

“Did they see you?”
Pa asked.

“Yes sir,” Isaac
said and stared at the ground. “They didn’t talk much. One of them left the
next day and the other one was gone this morning when I got up.”

“You got to get
out of here son,” Pa said and paced back and forth. “Them boys was spies. Home
Guard killed one of them. . . Up on the rocks.”

Isaac’s face
turned pale.

“If they find out
you was with them, they’ll come after you.”

“But I didn’t do
nothing,” Isaac protested.

“That’s the
problem,” Pa said. “You should have done something.”

“Where will I go?”

“Head for
Princeton,” Pa said. “Find Nealy.”

“I’ll go in the
morning,” Isaac said.

“You go as soon as
Eamon gets back,” Pa said and then looked at Jordan. “Get back to work and
don’t tell Gunner or Jim that Isaac is here. No use having everyone lying to
the Home Guard.”

Jordan walked off
around the house and grabbed his scythe.

Jordan didn’t get
much work done as he kept looking over his shoulder for Eamon. He should have
been back by now. The sun was heading west and they’d have to leave soon or
they’d be late for supper.

Willow emerged
from the trees running as fast as she could and carrying a sack over her
shoulder.

“Where’s Pa?” she
asked in between gasps. “You got to come home.”

“He’s over at the
cellar,” Jordan said. “What’s wrong?”

“Sergeant Hummel’s
at the house talking to Eamon,” she said. “The soldier they shot this morning
said that he was with a local boy. They’re asking him a lot of questions.”

“Let me have the
sack,” Jordan said and snatched it out of her hand. “Stay here.”

Jordan ran around
to cellar and found Isaac sitting inside with Pa.

“Where’s Eamon?”
Pa asked.

“Willow brought
it,” Jordan said. “She said Sergeant Hummel’s back at the house. The spy they
shot this morning told them he was with a local boy. They’re asking Eamon
questions.”

“The Home Guard?”
Isaac asked.

“Yes,” Pa
answered. “You get on out of here now and pray they don’t shoot your cousin for
your foolishness.”

Chapter 17

“I want to come
with you,” Jordan whined.

“No,” Pa said. “I
need you to pick up everything and help Jim get the wagon back home. We’ll have
to do this work another day.”

Pa was right.
Neither Jake nor Jim was strong enough to handle the team, especially on the
turnpike. He watched Pa race down the path towards home and disappear into the
trees. Willow ran after him, but she was unable to keep up. Jordan didn’t move
until he lost sight of Willow’s blue skirt in the shadows of the forest.

“Jake!” Jordan
called out. “Get this stuff picked up. We got to get going!”

“What’s the hurry,”
Gunner called.

“There’s Home
Guard at the house,” Jordan said. “Pa ran ahead to see what they want.”

It seemed to take
forever to gather up all the tools and put them back on the wagon. Jim was
unable to do much and Jake was no help at all, as he kept checking the same
places where he didn’t find anything the first time he looked. Jordan got so
angry that he made Jake unload all the boards they’d brought with them and
stack them inside the house. He cried the whole time and threatened to tell Ma,
but Jordan didn’t care. Only Jordan and Gunner were left to find everything and
load it up.

Jordan’s worry
loomed over him, heavy like the dark storm clouds that approached from the
west. His heart pounded and his stomach churned when he thought about the Home
Guard back at the house questioning Eamon. He hoped Pa made it home in time to
stop Eamon from saying anything stupid.

It was almost
suppertime before all the tools were accounted for. Jordan could tell how late
it was by how hungry he was getting, even though he couldn’t see the sun and
had no idea what actual time it was. He climbed up and sat beside Jim, who
fighting off a severe bout of drowsiness.

“Hurry up Jake,”
Jordan said.

“I could use a
little help here,” Jake whined.

“Does that look
like everything we brought,” Jordan asked Jim, ignoring Jake’s groans.

“I think so son,”
Jim said and examined all the items in the wagon. “We’d better get. That rain
will be here anytime. What’s that bag?”

“Something me and
Gunner found in the house,” Jordan said. “Pa said he was going to give it to
the Home Guard when he saw them again.”

“Hide it,” Jim
said. “I’d rather give it to them than meet them on the road and have them find
it on us.”

“I’m done,” Jake
said and climbed on the back of the wagon.

“Gunner!” Jordan
hollered and tucked the satchel under a piece of tarp. “We’re leaving.”

Gunner ran out of
the house with an old handsaw.

“Did we bring
that?” Jordan asked.

“I don’t know,”
Gunner shrugged. “It looks a little rusty. Maybe not.”

“We can clean it
up,” Jordan said.

“Good,” Gunner
said. “We’ll need a saw when we move.”

“Can you take the
reins?” Jordan asked Jim.

“No,” Jim said.
His voice croaked and he grunted to clear his throat, spitting a stream of
phlegm on the grass. “You better take them.”

Jordan stood up
and switched places with Jim. He gave a slight whistle and a gentle tug on the
straps and they were off. He glanced back and felt ashamed of the way the place
looked. Grass was cut in places but grew tall and wild in others. None of the
work Pa had planned to do, such as patch the roof or mend the porch rails, was
even started. The entire afternoon felt like a waste of time and now Eamon was
in trouble.

Large drops of
rain began to fall from the sky and splashed on the parched road in front of
them. Soon it was pouring, but there wasn’t any thunder or lightening. It was
one of those steady rains that would stay with them for a few hours and give
the land a much needed drink of water.

“Hurry up Jordan,”
Jake said and reached for the tarp bundled beneath the seat so he could put it
over his head.

“Leave that
alone,” Jim said.

“But me and
Gunner’s getting wet,” Jake whined and rolled his eyes.

“You heard me,”
Jim warned.

Jake folded it
back up, shoved it back under the seat and pouted as the rain ran down his
forehead and dripped off the edge of his nose.

It took longer
than expected for them to reach the house. Jordan saw two strange horses
seeking refuge from the rain beneath one of the massive oak trees. He stopped
at the house to help Jim down from the wagon.

Jake and Gunner
ran inside before Jordan could solicit their help with either Jim or the hitch.
Jim had already eased himself to the ground and walked back to the porch by
himself. Jordan waited in the rain until he’d climbed all the steps. He’d never
hear the end of if he ran off and Jim fell.

He took the wagon
over beside the barn and walked around to unhitch the horses. There was no need
to hurry because he was already soaked. He wondered how far Isaac had gotten
before the rain drenched him. He probably didn’t make it down the mountain.

He walked back to
the house and took his boots off on the back porch. He didn’t hear any yelling.
The satchel!
He completely forgot about it. He shoved his feet back in
his boots and ran out the back door without bothering to tie them. Only now had
the rain soaked into the ground enough to make the path muddy.

The bag was wet
where the tarp had fallen away, but the contents inside were dry. He put it
underneath his shirt and hurried back to the house.

When he came back
inside, Willow and Selie was in the kitchen kneading dough. A pot in the
fireplace had not yet started to boil and there was a pile of potatoes to be
peeled.

“What’s going on?”
Jordan asked.

Willow looked up
at him with tears in her eyes. Selie’s bottom lip hung down and she never took
her eyes off the table.

“What is it?”
Jordan asked.

“Keep your voice
down,” Willow hissed and motioned for him to come closer.

“They arrested
Eamon,” she whispered. “They took him away a little while ago.”

“Who took him?” he
asked.

“That awful Luke
Vander and some other soldier,” she said. “They’re digging through everything
now. It’s disgusting; those men touching our things.”

“What are they
looking for?”

“Evidence of
spying,” Willow said. “They even searched the house. Sergeant Hummel and
another soldier are down at the barn now.”

“I didn’t see them
and I just came from there,” Jordan said. Evidence of spying?
Oh that’s just
dandy
. Jordan felt the buckle of the
evidence
cold against his
stomach. He walked out on the porch and stuffed the bag in the bottom of the
wood box and piled kindling wood over top of it.

“Why didn’t
Grandma see this?”

“I’m certain she
did,” Willow replied. “She just couldn’t make no sense of it.”

“Did you see it?”
Jordan asked.

Willow lowered her
eyes and shook her head.

“What’d Pa say?”

“Nothing, except
that it wasn’t Eamon. They didn’t believe him. That Federal soldier they shot
up on the rocks said he’d met some local boy. Those men think it was Eamon and
that he was helping him.”

“Where’s Ma and
Grandma?”

“In the front
room.”

Jordan bent down
and tied his laces.

“Where are you
going?” Willow asked.

“To get Eamon,”
Jordan answered and ran out the back door.

“You’d better wait
until Grandma gets done,” Willow said. “She might see something.”