Timecachers (22 page)

“Please tell it!” said Sally. “I love scary stories.”

“I am not a child,” Billy stated, “so I won’t be scared by a story.”

A subtle nod of approval from Benjamin and Catherine convinced Adam. “Well, okay. If you’re sure it won’t keep you awake.”

Not to be outdone by Alice’s performance last night, Adam went to each of the lanterns and dimmed them as low as they would go. He returned to his seat, building suspense as he solemnly looked into each person’s eyes, one at a time. He kept his grave expression as he prepared to tell his story. The only sounds that could be heard were the night sounds of the Georgia countryside, insects chirping, frogs croaking, and an occasional creek, chirp, or groan from some unidentified night creature. He let a long minute pass before beginning, speaking slowly in a low, pensive voice:

“They made her a grave, too cold and damp
For a soul so warm and true;
And she’s gone to the Lake of the Dismal Swamp,
Where, all night long, by a fire-fly lamp,
She paddles her white canoe.

“And her fire-fly lamp I soon shall see,
And her paddle I soon shall hear;
Long and loving our life shall be,
And I’ll hide the maid in a cypress tree,
When the footstep of death is near.”

Away to the Dismal Swamp he speeds—
His path was rugged and sore,
Through tangled juniper, beds of reeds,
Through many a fen where the serpent feeds,
And man never trod before.

And when on the earth he sunk to sleep,
If slumber his eyelids knew,
He lay where the deadly vine doth weep
Its venomous tear and nightly steep
The flesh with blistering dew!

And near him the she-wolf stirr’d the brake,
And the copper-snake breath’d in his ear,
Till he starting cried, from his dream awake,
“Oh! when shall I see the dusky Lake,
And the white canoe of my dear?”

He saw the Lake, and a meteor bright
Quick over its surface play’d—
“Welcome,” he said, “my dear one’s light!”
And the dim shore echoed for many a night
The name of the death-cold maid.

Till he hollow’d a boat of the birchen bark,
Which carried him off from shore;
Far, far he follow’d the meteor spark,
The wind was high and the clouds were dark,
And the boat return’d no more.

But oft, from the Indian hunter’s camp,
This lover and maid so true
Are seen at the hour of midnight damp
To cross the Lake by a fire-fly lamp,
And paddle their white canoe!

Adam closed his eyes and lowered his head, indicating the story was finished. He waited, but heard nothing. He wasn’t getting the reaction he expected, but he kept his eyes closed until finally, he heard a cough, followed by a sniffle. When he opened his eyes, he saw Catherine, her arm wrapped around Sally, and both were shedding tears. Benjamin and Billy both nervously tried not to make eye contact with him.

“Way to spoil the party mood, dude,” he heard Sal say.

“Oh, my,” said Adam, “I didn’t mean to upset anyone.”

“No, Adam, your story was quite, uh, unnerving, that’s all,” Benjamin said, trying to keep his voice level. “But I do think it is time for us to turn in. Dawn comes early, and we will have another busy day.”

“May I sleep between mother and you tonight?” Sally asked Alice through her sniffles.

“Of course, Sally. I’ll tell you a short, happy story about Basil the Beaver before you sleep, so you’ll have happy dreams,” then to Adam, “Way to go, killjoy. For heaven’s sake, could you think of a gloomier story to depress everyone?”

Chapter twenty

T
rue to Benjamin’s word, dawn came early the next morning. All four travelers woke with sore muscles from exertions they were not used to. They were young and fit, so their soreness subsided quickly after a bit of stretching.

Benjamin organized his workers for the day, telling them they would be working in the peach orchard thinning the fruit. He explained that his peaches produced early fruit, and they were already in need of thinning. He demonstrated how to pinch off the unwanted blooms so that those remaining were evenly spaced and would produce large, healthy fruits. The goal was to encourage the peaches to grow large and be ready for harvest as early as possible. The larger and earlier the crop, the better the price he would receive at the market.

Benjamin also showed them how to prune the old, gray, center branches of the trees, so that sunlight could better penetrate the trees. Most of the pruning had been done while the trees were dormant, but there was always some touch up needed. The next serious pruning would not be required until late summer, after the harvest.

They worked in the orchard the entire morning. Alice and Sally joined them after their morning house chores were complete. The fruit thinning was less exerting than the plowing and spreading they did yesterday, but it was still hard, tiresome work. The orchards were planted on the hilly sections of the farm, which meant lots of walking up and down the hills and plenty of stretching overhead to reach the higher branches. No one complained; it was a perfect day to be working outdoors. The weather was beautiful again today, and by the time Catherine and Silvey brought the mid-day meal, the temperature was well into the eighties.

After they ate, Benjamin delighted everyone by suggesting that they show their appreciation for the gift of such a beautiful day. He said they should put aside their work for an hour or two and go fishing.

The Rogers favorite fishing spot was a few miles from the farm, and Benjamin suggested taking the wagon so they could spend more time fishing and less time walking. He told Isaac to hitch up the wagon and load it with all the fishing gear he could find.

When Isaac returned, they piled into the old, open-top wooden wagon, taking seats on the narrow side benches. The wagon was clearly constructed for farm work, with little consideration for the comfort of passengers. It rocked and jarred with each bump in the rutted road, shaking violently as they clung to the sides to prevent being ejected from their seats. Each bump brought a fresh round of laughter. They were all grateful for the break and delighted in the bouncy ride to the river in the warm sun.

The jarring trip came to a sudden halt as Isaac reined the horses to a halt. They piled out of the wagon, grabbed the fishing gear and followed Benjamin down a shady, narrow path that ran along the riverbank. He halted at a spot where several large, flat slabs of granite lined the water’s edge.

“We have had good luck fishing in this spot,” said Benjamin. “Find yourself a comfortable rock and have a seat.”

The team found fishing with cane poles more difficult than the modern casting rods and reels they were used to. After some practice, they mastered flipping the long poles and sat comfortably on one of the warm boulders watching the bobbers.

Benjamin caught the first fish, a medium size black bass that put up a pretty good fight, which he landed expertly. Adam noticed that Benjamin spoke a few words to the fish as he put it onto the stringer, and asked what he was saying. Benjamin explained that he apologized to the fish and thanked it for giving its life so they could have a fine fish dinner. Adam wondered if the fish accepted his apology.

Benjamin had been correct; it was indeed a good spot. It wasn’t long before everyone caught at least one fish. In less than two hours, Benjamin said they had caught sufficient fish for the evening meal. They loaded everything back into the wagon for another bumpy ride back to the farmhouse.

While the women prepared the fish, the men spent what was left of the afternoon hours back in the orchard. Benjamin positioned the workers close together so that they could easily converse; wanting to spend more time talking with the team to learn what actions they decided to take. Benjamin and Catherine were very concerned that their visitors were not prepared for the hazards of the world they now found themselves in. Tomorrow he would take them to New Echota, and he was not sure they were ready to face the dangers they would encounter there. Yes, they were good people, but they acted as if they had been sheltered from the harsh realities of the world all of their lives. He felt they would need more patience and strength of character than they arrived with. Benjamin hoped he could urge them to be cautious and discreet. He tactfully eased into his planned conversation.

“Tell me, Adam,” Benjamin said, “in the world you are from, has the United States taken a position of prominence in the world?”

“Most definitely,” Adam answered. “The USA is a world leader, and is considered to be the strongest, most influential, and wealthiest of all countries. And the USA does everything it can to bring democracy to the people of other countries and lead them away from other oppressive forms of government.”

“How do the other countries react to that?” Benjamin asked. “The USA, even in your time, is a young nation. Do not the other countries, who have their own well-established cultures and traditions, resent the US for asserting its philosophies upon them?”

“Well, yes, sometimes that happens,” Adam said. “But diplomacy is used more than aggressiveness. Harsh lessons have been learned by the US that it is better to effect change from within. The USA has gained much respect both through its humanitarian efforts, and its use of strength as a last resort. Our country has not always handled things appropriately; there are many shameful incidents in our past, as there have been in every other country. We’ve done far more good in the world than bad however; we believe more so than any other country.”

“Then is it the goal of the USA to make all other countries mirror images of themselves?” Benjamin asked. “Even if the USA believes itself to have the best form of government, is there no room for diversity? Is not the preservation of a country’s culture just as important as having an ideal government?”

“Yes, of course,” said Adam. “The US doesn’t want to destroy anyone’s culture. We just want to insure that all people have basic human rights. We want to eliminate the societies where one faction oppresses another. All people should be treated equally.”

Benjamin let that comment pass, not wanting to elaborate on how the Cherokee Nation had been treated. “Is not the oppression of some factions a large part of many cultures? For example, slavery in this country…”

“In my time, slavery was eliminated,” said Adam. “Not easily; doing so caused a great rift within the nation, and much bloodshed.”

“I see,” said Benjamin. “I sensed the anxiety of you and the others at the mention of our slaves. There are only a small percentage of slave owners due to the expense, but the large farms and plantations could not exist without slavery, at least the way they operate today. The elimination of slavery must have been devastating to those operations.”

“Fortunately, most people believe that basic human rights for all people are more important than plantations,” said Adam.

“Did you know that many American Indian people were also sold into slavery?” Benjamin asked.

“I guess I knew that but had forgotten,” said Adam. “How can you justify owning slaves then, knowing your own people have been subjected to it?”

Benjamin shrugged his shoulders. “The tribes themselves captured and traded slaves long before the arrival of the whites. Some were treated harshly while others were accepted into the capturing tribe. We have black slaves because the whites tell us that is what must be done to run a farm successfully. As you have seen, many other ways of the whites have been adopted by progressive Cherokee families, such as mine, because we have decided that is the best way for us to deal with the current situation. But there are also many Cherokee who are adamantly opposed to abandoning any of our traditions. They believe we must live by the rules of our ancient customs. It can be difficult for a person to change his ways, simply because someone says his ways are better. As you say, a nation can sometimes get better results using tolerance and example rather than coercion. It would be good to remember that is true when dealing with individuals also.”

“I think I’m getting your message, Benjamin. You’re warning me to expect that folks in this time aren’t likely to accept guidance from us just because we tell them our way is best for them.”

“I was only talking to you about the policies of the United States. But you are a wise man to apply that logic to your own situation,” Benjamin said with a grin, pleased that his point had gotten across.

Chapter twenty-one

A
fter the fish feast and evening chores, the group once again retired to the front porch. Tonight Benjamin addressed them in a serious voice. Since this would be their guests last evening with them, he wished to express his gratitude for their hard work and good company. He also wanted to speak to them about tomorrow’s trip to New Echota.

“But first, I would like to ask Billy if he remembers the story of the Bride from the South,” Benjamin said.

“Yes,” said Billy, “sure I do. It was when the North went traveling and visited the South, where he met the daughter of the South and wanted to marry her. Her parents objected, and told North that ever since he had come to visit the people had been complaining that it was very cold and they were freezing. North loved the daughter, and pleaded with them to allow them to marry, and her parents finally said they would agree as long as he would take her back with him to his own country to live, which he did. But after they were there for a while, the weather became warmer and warmer, and the ice houses that the people lived in started to melt. The people told North that it was because his new wife was from the South. Her nature was so warm it would soon melt their entire village. So North had to give up his new wife and send her back to live with her parents in the South.”