Spake As a Dragon (58 page)

Walking his horse up to LaPree he
looks down and speaks to LaPree’s lifeless body, “The onliest
difference twixt them and you,” Nate said pointing with his finger,
“they are properly buried over there in that little cemetery under
that oak. Youse is gonna lay right there and let the crows and
ventures pluck yer eyes out, and what’s left the buzzards and worms
will take care of. Good riddance
Sir!
” Nate slips his
smoking .44 back into his holster.

Robert walks over, checks LaPree,
turns and steps over his dead body. As Robert’s boot slightly
grazes LaPree back, his silver spur jingles; he casually looks down
and sees LaPree’s blood seeping out and being soaked up in the
soft, dry dirt of the yard. He stops and mutters to LaPree, “You’re
blood used to run hot thinking of owning my farm, I hope that blood
is enjoying the farm now!”

Robert meets with Doctor Crawford at
his buggy. “Doc,” said Robert, “what now?”

“
As far as the killing of
LaPree, I am a well-respected member of this community, my word
will not be contested when I tell them LaPree went for his
forty-four first and Nate fired in self-defense.”

“
Thanks Doc, but the
killing of LaPree does not bother me in the least. Luke, Nate and I
have seen so many dead men one more doesn’t even raise our
eyebrows. I am thinking of this farm, what will happen to it
now?”

“
I suppose it will go up
for public auction in a couple of months.”

“
How much do you think it
will sell for Doc?”

“
With the War over, and
the saltpeter mine never materialized, this place is just a house,
barn and land. I’m thinking two or three thousand dollars should
about do it.”

Robert opened his saddlebag and handed
Doc a stack of money. “Here is five-thousand dollars Doc all U.S.
greenbacks, when the farm comes up for sale I would like for you to
buy it. Any money left over is yours to keep.”

“
Robert when I buy the
farm what am I to do with it?”

“
Put the deed to the farm
in the name of Nate and Isla Scarburg and send word to me at
Scarlettsville. Their farm was destroyed during the war and they
need a good, safe place to live. This farm will make them a perfect
home if they want it.”

Nate could not contain himself,
“Mister Robert, is you sayin’ this big ole farm is gwine to belong
to me and Isla?”

“
That’s right Nate, but
only if you want it. I can help get the saltpeter mine operating
and you, Isla and Nate Junior should have a comfortable place to
live and a good income from the mine.”

“
Oh, Mister Robert, you
don’t have to convince me – I’m sold! Yes Sir, we want
it.”

“
Doc, I’ll leave it in
your hands. Hopefully, sometime in the near future you will have a
fine neighbor and a good friend in Nate Scarburg and his beautiful
wife Isla. Of course,” grinning, “you’ll have to put up with their
teenage son Nate Junior, but you survived mine so one more should
be a breeze for you. Thank you for all you have already done and I
thank you in advance for your future efforts on my families
behave.”

“
No, thanks are not
necessary,” looking at Nate, “Sir it will be an honor and a
privilege to have you and your family as neighbors.”

“
Good,” says Robert
looking at LaPree lying sprawled out in the dirt, “let’s mount up
and get back to Scarlettsville. There’s nothing more to do here.
Nate has already cleaned out the trash.”

EPILOGUE

Morning came early this 3
^rd
day of July; the sun has barely appeared in the eastern sky, the
cool air of the night is beginning to be replaced by the hot, dry
air of this tranquil summer morning.

Standing at Scarlett’s main gate
holding hands are Robert, hair as white as the cotton that once was
produced in abundance in Scarlett’s fields, balancing himself with
a cane with a handle made with gold from the Good Luck mine,
Malinda, still beautiful as always holds onto him tightly. The
years have been good to her. If one did not know, one would think
she was twenty years younger. The blonde curls are still there, and
he still relishes that whiff of lilac.

At their feet, as always, are a couple
of Kentuck’s pups frolicking about. Scarlett is never without some
of Sam’s Walker coonhounds.

For years now this day always begins
at Scarlett’s entrance – they meet there to memorialize that July
day that happened so many years ago at Gettysburg, and to give
thanks to God for giving them the privilege to experience this
Anniversary Day one more time together.

They look across the morning mist
hugging close to the lily pad covered pond, up the grass-covered
hill to the once again beautiful Scarlett. All indications of the
past conflagrations have been removed, no charred ruins, no debris,
not even one burnt brick remain, all that is now gone. The six,
massive, white Greek columns on the front porch gleam in the rays
of the rising morning sun. High upon the hill Scarlett is the first
to catch the first glimmer of the morn’s sunlight. These columns
and the four red brick chimneys, two on each side that bookend the
main house, are the only remainders of the old Scarlett, but now
they are beautiful reminders of how glorious the new Scarlett has
become. However, there is another thing remaining from the past –
the family cemetery. It is peacefully situated off near the edge of
the impeccably manicured lawn, near a large oak tree. It has more
headstones than before, but otherwise it is the same except the
wooden fence has been replaced by one of wrought iron.

As Robert and Malinda watch this
morning scene they can only think – time went by too swiftly, where
did all the years go? It seems that only yesterday they were young
with their children playing underfoot rather than the coonhounds,
yet in a way it seems like ages ago. Where did all the years
go?

Now they are in the autumn of their
adventurous life, how much longer will it last? They have no way of
knowing, but one thing they know when it ended a new adventure will
begin. That is the way they have lived all their lives, why should
they change now?

Nate and Isla live happily on the farm
in Alabama, Nate Junior joined the Army and is fighting Indians out
West somewhere; Luke and Catherine have long ago moved back to
Kentucky and operate the highly successful Good Luck gold mine with
William as the mine’s Superintendent, he never got to live the good
life in Knoxville; Sam lives in Rochester, Minnesota using his part
of the gold money helping Doctor Mayo run his clinic; Matthew, Kim,
and Mark have moved to New York and established a manufacturing
facility providing artificial limbs to the needy, most without
cost. Kelly’s husband is one of their managers.

All Robert and Malinda’s children are
married and gone. No longer can children’s laughter be heard at
Scarlett except on those rare occasions when some of the
grandchildren come for a visit. Yes, they are all now gone with the
exception of course Sary, their lifelong friend and ‘adopted’
family member, who will stay with them until she dies.

“
Isn’t it truly
magnificent and so tranquil Robert?”

“
I do not know if
magnificent is a grandiose enough word, my dear, but I love the
word tranquil, for I remember back to that terrible day on the
battlefield at Gettysburg, the day I truly thought I was dying.
Tranquility I prayed for, but serenity could not be applied to the
action of those days – brave warriors of the South trying to
annihilate the gallant warriors of the North. The battle between
our two opposing forces was appalling, the noise was unbearable the
fury was indescribable, and in all that carnage I thought I
beheld... beheld...”

“
Robert... darling what
was it you saw, saw what?”

Looking deep into her emerald green
eyes he softly utters:

“
...I beheld another beast
coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and
he spake as a dragon.”

###

Other books by Larry
Hunt

The P.H.O.T.O.
–

The Search (Vol
1)

(A Scarburg Family
Adventure)

ISBN:
1452315638

Reviews:

“
Spell-binding novel
written by a master craftsman of the English language with a
fathomless mind for science fiction, the military, and somewhat of
the occult. I could not put the book down till I had consumed it
and discovered the truth of the “The P.H.O.T.O”! If you believe in
alien technology and the U.S. Government has secrets they do not
want known, then this is the novel for you! I do hope that there is
a follow on book. Great read and I highly recommend!” Lonnie Joe
T.

“
Great first book by new
author. Well-developed plot with action packed adventure. A little
more military detail than I am familiar with but the details give
the reader a vivid picture of what is happening. This is an up and
coming author whose craft continues to improve in his following
novels. He has an unusual style that is a breath of fresh air from
all the authors who use the same style in book after
book.”

The P.H.O.T.O.
–

The Saga Continues (Vol
2)

(A Scarburg Family
Adventure)

ISBN:
1458180094

“
The Scarburgs escape the
confines of the jungles of Southeast Asia and develops and staffs a
CIA black-ops facility know only as S.C.A.R. (Studies Concerning
Antiquated Records). This top-secret group uses S.C.A.R. to
research and explain events in the Earth’s past history that the
Aliens help create.”

21 November 2012 – The
Calendar Beckons

(A Scarburg Family
Adventure)

ISBN:
1458195616

“
This adventure finds the
Scarburg family, now working for the S.C.A.R. facility, lead by
Captain Robert Scarburg, Jr., traveling to Mexico and Egypt to find
and unravel the mysterious message the Aliens left as a warning
thousands of years ago – 21 December 2012 and its disastrous
consequences.”

Justification for
Killing

(A Scarburg Family
Adventure)

ISBN:
1301287512

“
This is Larry Hunt’s next
chapter in the adventure of the Scarburg family... What if it is
November 22, 1963 once again, but this time JFK survives his
assassination rendezvous with Lee Harvey Oswald. In this exciting,
time-traveling, sci-fi adventure the Scarburg family time-travels
to Dallas, TX in an attempt to change Earth’s destiny. To change
the future they must make sure JFK is assassinated. Yes, they must
make sure the President dies!

Find out what kind of
harrowing adventures Captain Scarburg, Forrest, Olive Marie, Bud
and Lou must undertake to shift the Earth’s destiny from one
Parallel Universe to another.”