Spake As a Dragon (29 page)

Sary drops the hoe she was working
with and starts for the front gate, “Come on Mizz Malinda lets done
go see what them fellers were up too.”

Nearing the gate Malinda can see the
man has nailed some type of paper to the post – walking closer she
can see the words
Eviction Notice
. She tears the sign from
the post and reads it to Sary. “It says here that I have to come up
with $52.26 in ninety days or the sheriff is going to throw us off
this place. A month ago is was only $25.00.”

Back at the house Malinda and Sary sit
on the front porch. Malinda is worried, she doesn’t have the money
and there is no way to get it. “Sary go find Steven for me, would
you, please.”

“
Steven I want you to go
down to Doc Crawford’s house. William and Isaac are down there now,
tell William to see how much money the doctor will pay for Blaze –
he has wanted her for a while.”

“
But Mama, you’re talking
about Blaze!”

“
I know son, but I’m
trying to find a way we can still live on this place,” she then
explains to Steven the Eviction Notice on the fence post and the
need for $52.26.

DOC’S

“
Boys, your mare has a
good case of stable canker. Leaving her in a wet stable too long
causes it. Has that been the case?”

“
Yes sir,” answers
William. “We have kept her in the barn since them Home Guards ride
by so often. We’ve been afraid they would see her in the pasture
and take her for the Army.”

“
I fully understand boys,
but you must do a couple of things. First clean out her stable of
all wet hay and replace it with some dry. Next go out in the fields
and dig up some Pokeroots. You boys know what Poke looks like don’t
you? Yeah, I thought so, take the roots and place them in a pan and
boil those roots until the water is tainted with a yellowest-orange
color. Put this liquid into a bucket and fill the bucket with cool
water. Dip Blaze’s hooves into the liquid every few hours for a
couple of days. She’ll be fine after that, just keep her stable
dry!”

As William and Isaac leave and begin
walking up the road toward home, they hear Stephen yelling as he
runs down the road towards them. “Wait William, wait!”

Breathless Stephen tells William he
must see how much Doc Crawford will pay for Blaze. Both William and
Isaac argue with Stephen about selling – he tells them the whole
story that Malinda had told him. They must have $52.26 in ninety
days or they are going to lose the farm.

The three boys gloomily walk back to
Doc Crawford’s barn. Doc is sitting on a keg of nails making an
entry in his journal. “Back so soon boys? See you got Stephen with
you, what else can I do for you boys?”

“
Mama sent Stephen to ask
you if you are still interested in buying Blaze? Our land taxes are
overdue and unless we pay within ninety days the sheriff is going
to throw us out,” Matthew said.

“
Of course Matthew, I
would like to buy Blaze, but these War times have been hard on
everyone – I know in normal times she would be worth much more, but
all I can afford to pay is $20.00 in U.S. money. I wish it were
more, but I have no ready cash. Most times I get paid with a
chicken, eggs and vegetables. Hard money is not very
plentiful.”

“
Much obliged Doc, I’ll
have to go back and give Mama your offer.”

“
No hurry boys, just keep
Blaze in a dry stable and soak in the Poke water two or three times
a day and she will be fit as a fiddle.”

Chapter
Thirty-One

STRATEGY AT THE
FARM

William, Isaac and Stephen find
Malinda and Sary still working in the vegetable garden. Malinda
sees them coming and runs to meet her three boys, “What did Doc
say?”

“
Oh, he just said Blaze
had canker on her feet and a dry stable and soaking in Poke root
juice would cure her right up.”

“
No, not about Blaze’s
hooves, what did he say about buying her?”

William was the first to complain,
“Mama, surely we can’t sell Blaze it will be like selling one of
the family.”

Malinda looks at the sad faces of her
three sons, young Stephen has tears running down his face. She is
as distraught as they, but she is also a realist too. “Boys go
round up the other children and I will explain our
situation.”

The whole family, including Sary, sits
on the front porch as Malinda begins to describe their dire
situation. She tells them they are two years behind in their land
taxes. The sheriff has just sent out a couple of deputies who
nailed an eviction notice on the front gate. She explained they
must come up with $52.26 in ninety days or the sheriff is going to
foreclose of their farm. Even with the selling of Blaze they are
still short $32.26, and they have no way to raise that much
money.

William, the oldest begins, “But Mama,
surely we can raise the money in three months time, can’t
we?”

“
Son, I have been giving
this much thought, so has Sary, we probably can come up with a
couple of more dollars but we just can not get all the money in
time. I know, we still have the two mules, but to survive we must
have them to make a crop this coming season. Without them, we will
starve, no matter where we live. Besides both would fetch no
more’en $10 or $12 dollars. ”

William asks what does his mother
intend to do. He again states that the family does not want to get
rid of Blaze, anything but selling the mare. Malinda reminds them
they cannot raise the $52.26 even after selling Blaze, and they
surely cannot come up with the entire amount of money.

Looking at William and Isaac, “You
know Captain LaPree is after you two. We can’t keep you hid out
forever, he is going to get you both before too long, and I agree,
I don’t want to sell Blaze either. I thank Doc for his offer, but
it is simply not enough money to stave off our situation.” Malinda
continued to state they have two choices stay here and have their
land ripped from under them or pack up their wagons and move back
to Scarlett in South Carolina. She said she had bad news of
Scarlett.

“
Kids I know you young
ones will not know who Uncle Isaac and Aunt Linda Lou are – Isaac
is your father’s brother. Your father had transferred use of
Scarlett to him before we moved to Alabama.”

Malinda continued telling about Isaac.
“You all remember that man that stopped by last week? He was James
Pool. James lived in Scarlettsville, but the War had ruined his
farm – killed or confiscated all his livestock except the one mule
he had hid out, burned his house and barn and killed his oldest son
who was only fourteen when he protested joining the Army, so he was
moving his family to Texas.

He told me Uncle Isaac and Aunt Linda
Lou had also been killed by a bunch of thieving Union deserters who
rode onto Scarlett seeking any valuables they could find. Cousin
Linda Lou and the rest of the women folk hid in the root cellar as
the men of the plantation fought off the plundering malcontents. A
couple of the plantation’s men were wounded and Isaac and Linda Lou
were both killed at the foot of the front steps trying to prevent
them from entering the big house. In addition, one field hand was
also killed. The men succeeded in running the scavengers away, but
not before they burned the big house.

Mr. Pool said the overseer Levi and
Ora Lee are alone living in the guesthouse, and have no idea how to
run a plantation. He states they have no help, what so ever, all
the men are away in the Army and after the fight all the workers on
the plantation ran off too.

Levi is at his wit’s end. Planting
season is upon them and he is asking if we could come for a visit
and straighten things out, Levi sent word by Mr. Pool that the
Union forces have left that part of South Carolina, so we don’t
have to worry about Yankees. And to make matters worse after Uncle
Isaac was killed no one was able to run Scarburg Mill and it is now
closed!

Before this situation with the
sheriff, I was considering a trip to Scarlettsville to see if we
might be of some help. Now I see this as an opportunity to
permanently move back to Scarlett. I know now we cannot win the
fight here with Captain LaPree. If only Robert were here to tell us
what to do.

We are a family and I realize you are
just children, but it is your future we are deciding, we are going
to vote, everyone will have a vote, from the youngest to the
oldest. Here is what I purpose we vote on: first, do we stay here
and get our land taken, if so, where do we live? Second, do we go
back to South Carolina and try to do something with
Scarlett?

I’m going to give you a twig and a
stone William will pass his hat around. If you want to stay, drop
in the twig, if you want us to go back to Scarlettsville drop in
the stone. The majority of twigs or stones will decide.

There will be a total of seven votes,
six for you children and one for Sary – I will not vote, I will
abide by your decision.”

The hat passes around the circle and
Sary cast the last vote. “All right, the decision has been made I
will count the votes.” She takes the hat and begins to remove the
‘votes’... a stone... a stone... the last object removed was a
stone – seven stones and no twigs. “Scarlettsville here we come!”
Malinda announces as a cheer goes up around the group.

“
Stephen, go back to Doc
Crawford’s place and thank him for the offer, but tell him just as
soon as Blaze is well we are leaving for South Carolina and will
need Blaze. Wait a minute,” she said running into the house and
within a couple of minutes returns carrying a piece of paper. “This
is a Quit Claim Deed that I have just written out giving our farm
to the Doc. Tell him it is his if he can pay the $52.26 before the
end of June.

Chapter
Thirty-Two

COLONEL ADAMS

Robert seems to withdraw from reality
after the death of his friend Ben. For months on end he lies in his
bunk, eats very little, talks even less. However, the winter is
passing and spring is coming – one can smell it in the air. The
freshening breeze off Chesapeake Bay is beginning to feel a bit
warmer and blows the stench of the prison away on some days, giving
the prisoners a break, if only for a little while.

Robert gave his small shop on
Pennsylvania Avenue to one of his friends who gives him an
occasional dollar or two. This small sum is enough too barely keep
Robert alive.

His memory had totally returned months
earlier. The only indication of the bullet wound to his head was a
bad scar on his forehead close to the hairline. The bayonet wound
to his chest left only a small scar in front and a smaller one on
his back. Lying on his bed staring at the top of his tent, he
thinks of his farm in Alabama, especially his wife Malinda and his
children. Also, he cannot help but remember Luke and Matthew. The
last he saw of them was at Gettysburg. He wonders if they live or
are they buried along with thousands of others in un-marked graves
all over the battlefield.

The entrance into his tent by a Union
sergeant breaks his reverie. The sergeant walks up to Robert’s bed
and asks, “You be Sergeant Robert Scarburg?”

Startled, Robert turns to face his
questioner, it has been a long time since anyone has addressed him
by his military rank and full name, “Yes, I am Sergeant Robert
Scarburg.”

“
The Commandant of Lookout
Point is of the understanding that you can read and write a fair
hand. Is he correct in his assumption?”

“
Well, uh...uh... yes of
course I can read and write. Why would he ask?”

“
The Colonel’s orderly, a
Sergeant Owens comedown with a sudden sickness and died. The Army
won’t send the Commandant a replacement. The Colonel needs someone
to send and receive his correspondence and answer it if necessary,
and he needs someone now! He figures that someone is you. Now git
yerself up and follow me to see the Man.”

Walking into the building, the
Commandant uses as his office Robert waits in the outer room until
the Union guard opens the door, motioning to Robert, “The Colonel
will see you now.”

Robert removes his forage cap, which
now is but a few rags held together by just enough thread to keep
it from totally falling apart, walks into the office. Sitting at a
large oak desk is a stoutly built man wearing a Union officer’s
double-breasted bluejacket with two double rows of nine gold
buttons. On his shoulders are shoulder boards with an eagle
signifying the rank of full colonel, a bird colonel as the enlisted
men refer to such officers. The shoulder insignias are trimmed in
blue. A couple of strange ideas come to Robert as he salutes the
Colonel. The jacket the colonel wears is a U.S. Army general’s
coat. The shoulder boards trimmed in blue signified he was an
infantry officer. An infantry general, now a prisoner-of-war camp
commandant colonel, albeit a bird colonel, something isn’t adding
up.

Holding his salute he addresses the
Colonel, “Sergeant Robert Scarburg, reporting to the Commandant, as
ordered Sir!”

The Colonel appeared busy writing and
did not lookup. Gesturing a faint salute he orders Robert too,
“Stand at ease.”