Biscuit City

Chapter Fifteen
A Strange Development
July, 1863

We drove back to Eleanor’s mansion in Georgetown, but she was strangely silent until we had almost reached the bridge across to the town. While I did not mind that she had nothing to say, finally my curiosity got the better of me, and I asked, “Why is it you are so silent?”
She said nothing for a minute, and then spoke slowly. “I am wondering if it is worth all my time, effort and expense to keep you on your present assignment. Perhaps I should cut you loose and see what would happen.”
What would happen, I thought, would be I would become the happiest of men. “Why would you want to do such a thing?”
She sighed. “You have provided no information that I could have obtained more easily from other sources. Maybe this enterprise has been a mistake from the start.”
“So, let me go.”
“It’s not that simple. I need more information, and I think I have found a way for you to gather that information.”
“How so?”
“I will have you placed in the balloon corps.”
“What is a ‘balloon corps’?”
She sniffed. “It is a military enterprise which involves filling a large envelope with a gas that is lighter than air. This envelope is attached by cables to a large wicker basket in which several men may be put. The balloon is released to float perhaps 1000 feet above the ground, providing a kind of artificial place above all else by which a number of observations may be made. The generals are quite enthusiastic about this method.”
“Wouldn’t it be possible to shoot such a contraption down?”
She shook her head. “No, it is situated to far behind the lines of battle and too far away for any rifle or artillery to do harm. I know you are fond of avoiding battles, so this arrangement should suit you well.”
What would suit me well would be to away from you, I thought, but I said, “What do I do?”
“I will transport you to the lines near Fredericksburg where you will become familiar with this method of observation. When you are ready, you will seem to observe Confederate positions while in reality you will be observing the army you are a part of. You will then report anything you think I might of interest to me. And you had better find out more than you have heretofore. Your life will depend on it.”
I digested this bit of information. Apparently I was not going to be free any time soon. That blessed event would have to wait.
***
“All right, sir, all this is very easy. You step into the basket, and then we will hold the ropes and let the balloon lift you. There you are to observe and note anything that is significant. Is that clear enough?” The sergeant looked at me and watched as I climbed into the basket. I then waited for the rope holding the balloon down to be released.
The sergeant looked at me to see if I were ready. I nodded and he turned to the corporal holding the rope and nodded. I felt myself being lifted into the air and suddenly, I was higher than I had ever been before, even higher than the church steeple I and my friend used to climb up into. I could see so much, and I was delighted to watch birds flying below me.
The sergeant, who looked like a doll from my height, stepped off to one side and shouted up to me. “Are you all right, sir?”
I called back down. “Yes, I’m fine! This is so beautiful! I can see for miles!”
“That’s the idea, sir! You’ll get used to it.”
I can never become used to this, I thought. It was like being in the dream in which I could fly, which, in a sense, I was.
“Now tell me what you see!” The sergeant indicated by his motions that I should look all around me, which I did.
“I see a church over there, and beyond it, a river. Close to us I see some soldiers and a few tents. Further away across the river, I see the city of Fredericksburg.”
“Do you see any Confederates?”
“Let me see…yes, there are some over in the woods to the east of the city. Yes, they’re there!”
“All right, sir. Are you ready to come down?”
“No, but if I don’t come down now, I never will!”
“We’ll bring you back down, then.”
I felt myself slowly descending, and all that I had seen became hidden behind some trees. I was sad to not be able to see so very far.
“What did you think?” the sergeant asked as he helped my climb out of the basket.
“It was the most wonderful thing I have ever done!”
“I’m pleased you like it, but you’ll have a serious purpose when you go up for real. You’ll have to look where you’re told to look.”
“I’m accustomed to obeying orders,” I told him.
“Very good, sir. We’re done here. You’re to report for you first observation at 8 AM. Please be prompt! You’ll ascend with three other observers and a telegrapher. Do you have any questions for me?”
“No. I’m just eager to come back and go up again.”
“That will happen tomorrow morning. Thank you, sir.” He saluted, and I returned the salute. His crew began bringing the balloon down and emptying it of hydrogen. I watched them for a while and then went back to my tent.
Abner looked up as I came in. “How did you like it?”
“Abner, it was a wonderful experience! I could have stayed up all day! You’ll have to go up soon.”
“I’m glad you liked it. Do you think I could join the unit?”
“My sister arranged for me to be a part of it, so I don’t see why you can’t,” I told him, thinking that Eleanor would never want to grant me any favors.
“That’s great!” He was so excited at the prospect, I didn’t have the heart to tell him otherwise.
Abner went off to see if we had any mail, and I lay on my cot. I heard someone at the entrance and called, “Who’s there?”
The person came into the tent, but I couldn’t see who it was since the sun was behind them. “Who is it, and what are you doing in my tent?” I said.
As they came in, I could see who it was. Eleanor stood before me as I sat on my cot. I stood up.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“My, aren’t we full of questions? I don’t have to answer any of your questions.”
“All right. Tell me why you’re here.”
She laughed sardonically. “You think you’re so clever, but I’ll tell you anyhow. I came here to make sure you hadn’t run off again.”
“Couldn’t you have telegraphed the same question?”
“I could have, but I enjoy seeing the look in your eyes when you first regard me. It’s wonderful,” she purred.
This is really a sick and twisted woman, I thought.
“Well, here I am.”
“I can see that. Did you receive your training?”
“Yes. My first real flight is tomorrow.”
“Very good.”
“Yes, and—”
“I don’t care what you thought of it. I just want to make sure you go up, so I’ll stay here overnight and see what you do.”
Instantly any thought I had of enjoying my flight vanished, and a heavy darkness settled over me. Eleanor once again had ruined something, but there was nothing I could do about it. “I guess there’s nothing I can do about it,” I said weakly.
“You’re absolutely right. I will be there tomorrow, and you’d best be there as well.”
I hung my head and said nothing. When I looked up, she was gone.
She will continue to ruin my life, I thought, until something happens. And I hope that will be sooner rather than later.

Chapter Fourteen
Back to the Past
July, 1863

True to her word, the old woman served us breakfast the next morning, eggs and fatback bacon. I couldn’t remember the last time I had an egg, breakfasts in the army mostly consisting of coffee and hardtack infested with weevils. Another soldier told me to eat around them, but I didn’t want them that close to my mouth, so I picked them off and threw them into the fire. They sizzled when they burned.
It was another clear day that promised to be hot later on. Andrew and I walked along easily, sure that our charade would hold since we were moving deeper into Southern territory. I found out I was wrong, though. We had made it almost to Front Royal when we were caught up with by a band of Northern soldiers on horseback.
As they came toward us, I said, “I’m sorry, Andrew. I was wrong. I thought we’d be safe.”
“You couldn’t have known, Caleb. What do you think will happen to me?”
The soldiers rode up to us. The lieutenant asked, “What are you doing here?”
I put on my best poker face, although I didn’t play. I had watched plenty of games, however. “We’re coming from Gettysburg. I’m under orders to deliver this prisoner to headquarters, which I thought was in Leesburg. Turns out it wasn’t so we’re on our way to try to find the HQ in the Valley. Do you know where it is?”
The lieutenant had studied my face while I spoke. “May I see your orders?”
I shook my head. “The commander said it was urgent that I go, so he didn’t want to take the time issue written orders.”
“Who is your commander?”
“Colonel Martin, of the 71st New York.”
“I see. We’re to head north to look for any stray bands of Rebs, but I’ll talk to Colonel Martin when I get back from that. I hope for your sake that your story is true.”
“It is, Lieutenant.” He thought for a long moment and then said, “I have my doubts about your story, so I’m going to take custody of the prisoner. We’ll find someone he can tell his story to and proceed from there.”
“But my orders—”
“You don’t have written orders. It’s your word, and I have no reason to trust you.”
I saw that he was resistant, so I said, “May I speak with the prisoner briefly and see if I can learn what he knows?”
The lieutenant hesitated. “I suppose that would do no harm. Go ahead.”
“We’re going to withdraw a distance since the information might be sensistive.”
“All right.”
Andrew and I went off about 30 feet, and whispered together. “This development will do me no harm: I’ll return to my unit, but you might be taken off to a prison. Wherever you go, write me when you can. I’ll also let Laurel know where we are.”
“Who should I send the letter to?”
“Laurel, I think. Yes, that’s it. That way she’ll know where you are without my having to write to tell her.”
“All right.”
“Good-bye, my friend. I hope that we’ll meet again soon.”
“As do I.”
As we went to rejoin the group, I shouted, “Go ahead and be stubborn fool! You don’t know what will happen to you! I tried to help you, but you won’t tell me anything. I hope they hang you!”
“You can go to Hell,” Andrew shouted, rather convincingly, I thought.
I watched them take him away, and he looked back with a pleading look. The lieutenant saw that and gave me a long, penetrating look, but they didn’t turn back.
I felt bad. We had helped Andrew and he had become almost a son to us, and so he ended up in prison because of my miscalculation. I felt it was my fault somehow, and did hope we would be reunited soon. Providence has many twists and turns, and I prayed to myself, God, please let Andrew know that You are with him, and that I am praying for him. I would write Laurel and ask her to pray for him as well.
Since the group had an extra horse, I rode with them back to Leesburg, where headquarters was. I found my unit, and the fellows had a number of questions about my actions on the battlefield since they had last seen me before the battle.
“What happened to you?” Abner asked. “I didn’t see you after that first day. I guess we got separated.”
I nodded. “I ended up all the way over on the right flank. I witnessed Pickett’s charge, although I thought they all must have been suicidal and so I stayed back and watched.”
“And then you captured a Rebel?”
“That’s right. I think he was running from the charges and strayed off a little too far. Say, what’s going to happen to him?”
“Depending on what he’s done, he could be executed or he could be sent to prisoner. The ones around here Prisoners captured here are remanded to the Old Capitol Prison. Have you heard of it?”
“I certainly have,” I said, thinking of the months I spent there and Adolphus and learning to play baseball. How long ago and far away all that seemed.
“John.”
“Huh, what?”
“You looked like you were some place far, far away.”
“Sorry. I was thinking of something. Is there any word on what we’re going to do next?”
“Well, rumors are that we’re going to pursue Lee, all the way to Richmond if we can, take the capital and bring this war to an end by next spring. It would be sooner, but we’ll be in winter camp for several months.”
“Yes, I know. I tell you, those are big plans.”
“Well, I think there are plans and then there’s what happens. We’ve seen that all too often. I think the war will last longer than that.”
“Well, maybe it will. We’ll have to see.”
Just then I spotted a black carriage coming toward us, and a chill ran down my spine. There were thousands of black carriages in the area, but I was certain somehow that this one belonged to Eleanor. I cannot tell you how I knew, but it was a certainty to my mind. She was the last person I wanted to see on this earth, particularly after all I had been through recently.
Sure enough, the carriage stopped, and the driver climbed down and opened the door. There came a voice out of one of my worst nightmares. “John, come here. You can greet your loving sister, can’t you?”
“You have a sister?”
“Yes, and she is very wealthy and powerful. I’ll have to go with her, Abner.”
“Go with her? Isn’t that desertion?”
I shook my head. “It would be for most men, but my sister has the ear of men who are highly ranked in the government and in the military. She gets what she wants. I will hope to see you again, my friend. God go with you.”
“You’re sure you’re coming back?”
“No. I’m certain of it. This is good-bye, maybe for good.”
“Well, then may God also go with you.” Abner hugged me, which was one of the few times that a man had done that. “I’ll see you in heaven.”
“That is a certainty.”
I got into the carriage and took one last look back at Abner. He looking puzzled and maybe a little bit lost, and I felt sorry for him.
I climbed into the carriage and sat facing the evil woman. I could not bring myself to even think of her name.
Her calm, warm manner changed in an instant, and he face became rigid and strained. She hissed, “What did you think you were doing, running away from me? I have given you so much!”
“You’ve given me so much? I would say you’ve taken so much from me. How can you say that?” I said, feeling a surprising sense of calm.
“I say it because it’s true. What have I taken from you?”
“So much that I can’t even think of it all.”
“That’s not helpful.”
“I don’t care.”
She was silent for a moment, and then snarled, “Where did you go?”
“Some place far away from you.”
“I can make you tell me the truth,” she spit out, and I had no doubt she could.
I sighed and said, “In truth I was trying not only to get away from you. I wanted to get away from this terrible war. I took my family and we started west, thinking we could wait out the war where no on knew us, but my wife was kidnapped, and I pursued her through three states until I caught up with her and we were together again. We came back to Winchester, but I was caught up by the army and went to Gettysburg with them. I survived that, and you know that I was in Leesburg when you caught up with me.”
She smiled slightly. “Yes, all this is what I have heard. You have told the truth.”
I shivered. Somehow she had learned everything that I had done, and I did not know how she did it.
“You will come home with me and learn of your next assignment. The war is changing, and it is vital that we have accurate information.”
“I suppose I have no choice.”
“I suppose you are right,” she laughed. With that, she called, “Home, Reynolds!” and we were off.

Chapter Thirteen
Rally ‘Round the Flag
June, 1863

We caught up with the regiment near Front Royal, and Captain Reynolds delivered me to Colonel Martin so he could determine what to do with me. Reynolds had said they were so short on men, they’d take anyone, no matter what they did, but that was Reynolds’ opinion. He was not in charge. I waited on a stool while Reynolds went in. He came back after about a minute. “The Colonel will see you now. Good luck.”
I went in and recognized Martin from being with the regiment before. I saluted, and he returned the salute and said, “Sit down, Duncan, if that’s what your name is. What’s your story? Why were you away for so long?”
I gulped and decided to tell the truth. “Sir, my name is Caleb Dillard, and I was a Virginia regiment when the war started. I was captured and put in prison.”
Martin didn’t seem surprised by this, and I wondered why. “It’s a long way from being a prisoner of war to ending up as a lieutenant in the other army. How did that happen?”
“Well, sir, I learned to play baseball there, and at one of our games I noticed a young woman taking an interest in me. To make it short, her brother, who was in a Confederate prison, looks enough like me to be my twin. She helped me take his place in this regiment so I could spy on what you were doing.”
“I see. Did you succeed?”
“No, sir. I gave her some inconsequential matters, so minor that the became upset with me and threatened me.”
“What did she threaten you with?”
“With killing my family. She is very rich, very powerful and has a long reach. Recently she burned our cabin because we weren’t there and she couldn’t hurt us.”
“So you deserted and took your family away.”
“Yessir, we were gone for months, and then came back. I went to town to mail a letter, and that’s where Captain Reynolds found me.”
“And you’re back in the Federal army right now.”
“Yes, sir. That’s right.”
Martin sat back and studied the ceiling of his tent for a moment. “You know I could have you shot for desertion, but I think I understand why you did what you did. We’re getting ready for a big push to try to block Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania, if my information is correct. We need every man we have to do that, so I’m going to let you re-join your regiment. There could be further consequences for you, so behave yourself.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Yes, sir, I will sir,” I said, not really knowing what I would do. But once again, I was a Federal soldier.
“You’re dismissed.”
“Yes, sir,” I said as I saluted. “Thank you again, sir.”
Martin waved a hand. “I have bigger problems than you, Lieutenant.”
I went back outside where Martin told me where I would be issued a uniform, rifle and everything else I would need. As soon as I did that, our marching orders arrived, and we drove hard for Leesburg, where we crossed the river at Harrison’s Landing and went over to the north and the east, through Maryland toward Pennsylvania. The coming battle would take place wherever the two armies met, and no one knew at that time where it would be.
I was marching beside Abner, and we talked as much as we could while we were moving almost at the double.
“I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up,” said Abner.
“Me, either. I wonder what the gol danged hurry is.”
“We’re not generals, so we wouldn’t know.”
“We’re going to be dead not-generals after a while if we keep this up.”
“You’re right.”
We reached Emmitsburg on June 30 and slowed down. Abner looked serious. “I would be glad of an easier pace, but I believe it is a sign that we are nearing the site of the battle.”
“I have had little experience with such things, and so I trust your judgement.” I wondered how I could get through the coming battle and see my family again. I prayed to God that I would be spared.
“Are you afraid?”
“Yes, of course. I pray for safety for me and my friends, but I know that is no guarantee that we will come out of the fray alive.”
“I am the same way.”
We camped out overnight, and, sure enough, our officers told us that scouting reports indicated that Lee’s troops were to the west and north of us and could be expected to make a turn soon to meet us head on. They also told us the battle likely would be near the town of Gettysburg, a place I had never heard of. It was soon to be renowned throughout the whole world.
We heard of an encounter that morning between Confederate infantry and Federal cavalry near Gettysburg, and we made ready to move forward. Lee apparently arrived in Gettysburg mid-afternoon, but as we drove forward, we were met by our troops. We retreated, expecting to meet the enemy coming after us. That attack didn’t materialize because Ewell hesitated to press his advantage. This gave the North time to bring up fresh troops like us and to set up artillery.We held our position as night fell. We heard that Meade had ordered all the troops under his command—more than 90,000 of them—to Gettysburg. And so we lay down on our blankets but did not sleep, awaiting the dawn and a certain battle.
Abner and I talked for a while, but not too long, since there might have been people sleeping, although I doubted anyone got much sleep anyhow since everyone must have been like us, unable to sleep for thinking of what was coming the next day.
“Caleb,” whispered Abner. “Are you afraid of what’s going to happen tomorrow?”
“I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t scared. Someone I know said those who aren’t afraid before going into the battle are either stupid or just don’t understand the situation.”
“Have you been in many of these?”
“No. The ones I’ve been in I managed to avoid any heavy fighting and usually spent the time behind a tree. Some might say I’m a coward, but I say I wanted to see my wife and child again. I keep doing that, and then I’m wrenched away from them time after time. I don’t know what’s going on most times.”
“That’s understandable. I’ve heard fellas talk about the confusion of war, and I certain believe that.”
“Let me ask you something now. What do you think happens when you die?”
“I don’t know: I’ve never died.”
We chuckled at that, and then I asked again. “What do you think happens?”
“I truly don’tknow. I wasn’t brought up in any religion. My mother read these pamphlets that said that all of life is what we see here and there isn’t any heaven or hell, either. That doesn’t seem right to me, but I don’t know what to put in its place. What do you believe?”
“I did go to church, and so I believe that because I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I will be with Him in heaven through all eternity.”
“That sounds good. And you came to this by going to church?”
“Indirectly. I believe that going to church or reading the Bible doesn’t save you. They’re like good soil. Nothing grows unless a seed is planted, and that seed is the Spirit of God coming into our lives. It can’t do anything with us unless we ask it to. Are you thinking about accepting the Lord?”
“I am, but I want to think about it some more.”
“As our preacher used to say, ‘Tomorrow will be too late.’ I wish you would take the Lord and see how good it is.”
“From what you’ve said, I’ve noticed your life hasn’t been exactly good.”
“Yes, I have had some trials and temptations, but I have overcome those because Jesus was guiding me. I don’t want to try to force you to believe. That is strictly up to you.”
“I’ll think on it. Right now, I think we should be quiet and let anyone who wants to sleep do so, although like I said, there can’t be that many that are.”
“That’s fair enough. Good night, Abner. I enjoyed talking to you.”
“And I did you. Goodnight, Caleb.”
As I lay there awake most of the night, I thought about the battle and about Laurel and the boys at home. I prayed that they were all right, and I prayed that I could come through the upcoming battle in good condition. Thinking these thoughts, I closed my eyes and, to my surprise, fell asleep.
***
We were awakened by the sounds of artillery, and we scrambled to ready ourselves. Men and horses were running everywhere in such haste that it was a wonder that no one was hurt before the battle began. “Caleb! Where do we go?”
“Over to the right!” I shouted. “Be quick about it!”
We joined other soldiers in our regiment and those from other groups and began advancing toward the sounds of battle, which now included rifle fire. We topped a rise and there was the line of gray-clad soldiers with their rifles raised and shooting at us. I never got used to the idea that someone was trying to kill me or that it could very well happen at any moment. The Union lines cheered (why I do not understand) and started firing.
And so began the worst three days of my life. Anyone who has not been in a war cannot begin to understand the effect that the sight and sounds produce—the deep thunder of cannons, the crackling of rifle fire, the screams of the wounded and, worse yet, the groans and prayers of the dying. I saw many things too horrible to describe adequately—men with half their faces torn off, men missing arms and legs attempting to find them (to what purpose I do not know), soldiers blown high in the air by explosives, horses shot from under their riders, crushing them before dying themselves. All this I witnessed and more, and the next two days passed in a rapid succession of scenes pulled from a nightmare. I soon lost track of Abner in all the noise and confusion and wondered if I would ever see him again. That would have to wait until the battle was over, and even then such an outcome could not be guaranteed. It was extremely difficult to identify some dead soldiers, such was the damage caused to a human body by our horrid weapons.
On the last day of the battle, I was at the far end of the line when General Pickett ordered his troops to charge. In truth, they did not charge, but walked into a murderous hail of shot and shell which cut soldiers down like wheat before the reaper. I did not understand then why Pickett would order a maneuver that was bound to fail and at great cost of life. I found out much later that it was Lee who ordered him to make the charge, and he never explained what his thinking was. Possibly there was no thinking behind it, just a desperate attempt to make the invasion succeed. I think Lee knew somehow that Gettysburg would be his last chance to at least bring the North to the treaty table, since he understood that defeating them would be impossible.
Halfway across the field, I looked at what was going on and could bear no more, so I hid behind a huge rock, vowing not to add to the carnage, enemy or no or soldier or no. I lay there, listening to the screams and moans, when someone came over my rock and landed right in front of me. I brought my rifle up to shoot him, not wishing to die myself, when he called out to me. “Caleb! Caleb, is that you?”
He asked because both our faces were begrimed with gunpowder streaked with sweat, and, in my case, tears. “I am Caleb Dillard,” I said, and then I recognized him. “Andrew! What are you doing here?”
We put down our guns and he slid over to lie beside me. “A group of soldiers came by the day after you disappeared and gave me a choice: either I could go with them or they would shoot all of us. Of course I went with them and found myself part of the army.”
“But you’re so young!”
He smiled sardonically. “There are some younger than I. Boys, really. They are so desperate for soldiers, I am surprised they do not take women.”
I had heard of women in the military on both sides, but believe they did so voluntarily, to be near their husbands or lovers, but I said nothing. He was speaking of a different case. “Well, I am glad we found each other. Now we need to figure out how to get away from this and go back home without either of us being shot or arrested.”
He nodded. “I am mightily in favor of that.” What little of war I have seen has convinced me I want to see no more. I am with you.”
“Before you agree so readily, I have a question for you.”
“Certainly. Please ask it.”
“Do you know what desertion is?”
“Of course.”
“And if we leave without permission and they catch us, they can have us executed.”
“I am aware of that. I would rather take my chances with being caught that with being on a battlefield with all its uncertainty and violence.”
“Good. We understand each other, then.” I looked over the rock and wished I hadn’t. The carnage was beyond description. “Let us stay here until the fighting is over, and then we can make our escape.”
“But how? The field will still be swarming with soldiers.”
“I have a way. I believe the North will win, and I can act as if you are my prisoner and am taking you to the rear. Does this sound as if it will work?”
He nodded enthusiastically. “Most surely, but I would alsoagree to a less clever plan if I thought it would take me away from here.”
We lay there for hours, listening to the battle rage, and then a blessed silence quickly fell over the scene. From the cheers in the direction of the Northern troops,I could tell that they had won, and it would be safe to take my “prisoner” away.
“Let’s go, Andrew,” I said, “and remember to act as if you had been captured.”
We stepped out from behind the rock, and, while I had looked out at the field not three hours before, I still could not believe the number bodies strewn over the field. Why Lee had all those brave lads walk toward those murderous guns, we will never know. I said a silent prayer for all of them, Southern and Northern alike. The slaughter of the war had continued with this confrontation, and there likely would be much more of that to come.
A group of Union soldiers came toward us. “Hey, I see you got you a Johnny Reb!” called one. He walked up to us. “How’d you survive? Hide behind a rock?”
That, of course, was exactly what we had done, but I said, “I captured him over yonder, to the far side. He didn’t put up much of a fight.”
“Yeah, I’d say he was a coward,” the man said. He raised his fist to strike Andrew, but I stepped between them.
“The Colonel wants our prisoners to be able to talk to find out what they know. If you hit him in the face, he’ll find that will be difficult to do, so leave him alone. He’s my prisoner.”
The other fellow narrowed his eyes. “If I didn’t know better,” he said, “I’d say you had some sympathy for this coward. What outfit are you with?”
“Seventy-first New York.”
“I’ll just have to check with the colonel to see if your story’s true. If not, you’re both going to get a beating from me.”
I leveled my rifle at him. “I can fix it so you won’t be checking with no one about nothing.”
“You wouldn’t do a thing like that.”
“Try me. Say you won’t follow up. You won’t be the first man I’ve shot today.”
He hesitated, and something in my eyes made him reconsider.
“Well…well,” he said. “All right. This time. But if I catch out alone, it will go badly for you.”
“I welcome the opportunity,” I said, surprised at my boldness, but I had to get Andrew to safety.
The soldier muttered an oath and rejoined his fellows. I could see him gesturing as he talked, and knew he was relating the story of our encounter, but no doubt leaving out the part where he agreed not to check up on me.
“Come on, Andrew,” I said. “Let’s get out of here.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“I don’t know. Make it up as I go along, I guess, just as I did back there.”
We walked toward the rear, and we excited nothing but the most ordinary of interest. I was glad for that. We would need a lot of luck like that to make our plan work.
A lieutenant stepped in our path, and I saluted him.
“I see you got one.”
“I did. And he didn’t fire a shot.”
He nodded. “We’re holding prisoners down by that barn yonder. Go down there and turn him in.”
“Yessir.” I saluted again, and started walking with Andrew toward the barn. “Look around,” I whispered to Andrew, “and tell me if that lieutenant is watching us.”
Andrew turned his head and then said, “No. He’s walking off.”
“Good. I’ll think of what to do between here and there.”
“I hope you can.”
“Do not worry. I have become quite adept at last-moment fantasies.”
As we neared the barn, a plan occurred to me. “Here’s what we’ll do,” I told Andrew. “I’ll tell the officer in charge that you have valuable information and that I am under strict orders to take you to headquarters.”
“Do you know where headquarters is?”
“It doesn’t matter. We’ll get away from here and then figure out what to do next.”
“More fabrication will be needed. All right. You haven’t failed me yet.”
“And I pray I don’t this time.”
We stepped into the barn and went up to a table where two sergeants sat, taking information about each prisoner. “All right,” one of them said, “What’s this one’s name?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “He says he’s under strict orders to talk only to generals.”
“He what?”
I repeated myself as if I were talking to a child. “He’s only supposed to talk to generals because he has important information for us.”
“What kind of important information would an ordinary soldier have?”
“I don’t know. He won’t tell me because I’m just a corporal.”
“Are you being clever with me?”
“No, sergeant, just telling you what I was told. The colonel told me.”
“Which colonel? We have a lot of them.”
“He didn’t say. But he said if I didn’t get this prisoner to headquarters, it would be both of our heads.”
The sergeant sighed wearily. “Go ahead, then. Just when I think I’ve seen and heard it all, something else comes along.”
“Thank you, sergeant.” I saluted and turned to Andrew.
“Come on, Private What’s Your Name. Let’s go.”
“That’s not my name,” Andrew said.
“You won’t tell me your name.”
“That’s right.”
“Well, then.” I looked back at the table and made motions that signified that Andrew was simple minded. The two sergeants nodded, trying not to smile, and we went on our way to try to find out how we might get away from the war.
“They must have thought I was dumb,” Andrew observed.
“You did well to make them think that.”
“I did?”
“Just believe me.”
“All right. I will.”
And so we went off to look for some place in the lines we could get through and make our way home. I did not know how we would do that, but at least we would have to try. I have been in harder places than this, I thought, so I am certain we can work something out.

Chapter Twelve
The Coming Storm
June, 1863

We went to several other towns up the Valley, collecting five more soldiers as we did, although they were all enlisted. They all had different reasons why they weren’t with their unit, but none, I thought, was as good as mine. Most had just gotten tired of the war and of military life and left. I noticed that Reynolds was short almost to the point of rudeness with these other men. I suppose my reason for being absent disposed him to treat me more favorably, or maybe his treatment of them was because they were enlisted. I couldn’t tell which one it was.
We stopped for the night about ten miles from Front Royal when it became too dark to travel safely. Someone made a campfire, mostly for the light it gave since we had the usual meal of hardtack and dried pork. I had not missed that part of army life at all. It was worse than before since I had had Laurel’s cooking in the past few days. I tried to think of what I did miss about army life, and concluded it was some of my fellow soldiers, and certainly the ones on the baseball team, wherever they might be right then, and, of course, Adolphus. Thinking of these friends made me think of my family, and I hoped that John Green was able to tell Laurel what had happened. I would have to write her soon, although I did not know when that would be.
I sat next to one of the soldiers who was part of the group that caught me. He seemed to be a good young fellow, with blond hair and blue eyes. “What’s your name?” I asked him.
“Abner Putnam. I’m from upstate New York. Where are you from?”
“Same.”
“Which town?”
I knew nothing about that area beyond a few large cities. I certainly didn’t know the names of towns, but I took a chance and said, “Attica.” I figured I couldn’t go wrong with a classical name that I heard about from Alphonso. I assumed it was a place name, but Abner gave no sign that it wasn’t.
“I haven’t heard of that,” he told me. “It must be really small.”
“It’s so small I have to mark it with a rock so I can find it again.”
We both laughed at that. “So your wife was kidnapped and you took her back?”
“That’s right.”
“Where was she kidnapped from?”
I would have to change my story somewhat to make sure no one could find out too much about me. “From our home, about twenty miles from the town where you found me.”
He stared at the fire. “It must have been difficult having her taken from you like that.”
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through. We’ve only been married a couple of years.
“I see. That made it even harder. And where did you catch up with her?”
I thought that was so far away it wouldn’t matter if I told the truth. “It was in Chattanooga.”
“Did you have to shoot some people to get her back?”
I nodded. “I’m not sure how many. Four or five, I think. They were down inside a ship and I couldn’t see very well. But I got her back, and my son, too.
“You have a son?”
“Yes. He’s two.”
“That must have made it harder having him with your wife. I’m sorry you had to go through all that. You’ll have to tell me more about it.”
“I will. We’ll have plenty of time. Say, do you know where we’re going?”
“I don’t exactly know, but I heard we were going to try to get ahead of Lee’s army and make them fight us at a place that will be to our advantage.”
“I wonder where that will be?”
“I believe not even the generals know that. Say, it’s about time to turn in. We’ll talk in the morning.”
“Good night, Abner. Thank you for talking to me even though you know very little about me.”
“You have an honest face, and I feel as if I can trust you.”
“I feel the same way about you.”
We joined the others in lying down under a star-filled cloudless sky. As I had so many times before, my thoughts turned to Laurel and little Caleb, although now I had Andrew and Hiram and, I thought, now Clinton to think about as well. They had become a part of my family as surely as Laurel and Caleb were. And it was with these thoughts that I fell asleep.
 

Chapter Eleven
Happenstance
June, 1863

The next morning, we ate another of Laurel’s wonderful breakfasts, and I headed for town to take the letter to the post office. It was another beautiful day, and although I was pleased to be at home with my family, I enjoyed being by myself, walking along and seeing what I could see and hearing what I could hear. I could not believe how much I had missed being in this area, and it seemed everything around me conspired to reminder me of how beautiful it all was.
I came to town without seeing anyone and once again went along the backs of the stores and slipped into the post office. John Green was there behind the counter, and I was glad to see no one else was there. I had been lucky that way twice. “I have a letter to mail,” I told him.
“I’ll take it,” he replied, and I handed the letter over to him.
“Both times I’ve come in there has been no one here.”
“It’s a slow time. It gets busier later in the afternoon. I heard you had some visitors at your place yesterday.”
News does travel fast in a small town, I thought. “Yes, Virgil Dailey and some other men came over and did most of the work building a new cabin for us.”
“I hear they finished the whole thing. I’d say that that was a real neighborly thing to do, but Virgil’s a fine man.”
“He certainly is. It would have taken me a week even with my family’s help if they hadn’t done that. And they did a really nice job, maybe better than what I could have done. Well, that’s all I need to do here. I wish you well and I’ll see you next time.”
I turned to go out when suddenly the door burst open and a Federal captain came in, along with several other soldiers of varying ranks. He looked at me. “I’m Captain Reynolds of the U.S. Army, charged with finding soldiers absent without leave. What might your name be, sir?”
I had to think fast. If I used my real name and he found out I was a Confederate soldier, I would end up back in prison camp. Or I could tell him I was John Duncan of the 71st New York Regiment and end up back in the Union Army. Either way, I would be in the army and I would not be going home for a while.
“My name is John Duncan, of the 71st New York under Colonel Martin.” I looked directly at the postmaster, but I had known him for a long time, and I knew he would not betray me. He nodded, and I knew he would not contradict me.
Reynolds looked at Green. “Is he telling the truth?” he asked.
“Yessir, that’s who he is.”
“How would you know? He’s from New York.”
“He told me who he was. He came in here to mail a letter.”
“And you did not turn him in as a deserter.”
“I was going to wait until he left. If he thought I was going to do that, he might have shot me.”
Reynolds grunted in a way that made me think he believed John.
In any case, he’s away and not in uniform, so I’ll have to take him in and see what happened to him.
One of the sergeants grabbed me by the arm. Simon turned to him. “That won’t be necessary. We’re armed and he isn’t, and I haven’t met a man yet who could out run a bullet.
The soldiers laughed.I think it was just a matter of bad luck that these men came upon me.
Reynolds looked at me. “I am with the 71st. I don’t recall seeing you. What is your rank and why are you out of uniform?”
“I am a lieutenant, and I am not in uniform because I was given leave to go find my wife, who had been kidnapped.”
“I see. And did you find her?”
“I am most pleased to tell you that I did.”
“Well, you’re going to have to be separated from her again. The reason I have been charged with finding all absent soldiers in this area is that we’ll need every man we can find because Lee is planning to invade us soon, but I will check your story with Colonel Martin, and if all is not as you said, you will be tried and thrown in the stockade as soon as the battle is over. Do you understand?”
“Yessir, I do. Clearly.”
“Good. You will now come with us.”
“One moment, please, sir.” I turned to John. “Will you tell Laurel what has happened to me? And will you tell her that I love her? And little Caleb. Also please give my regrets to Andrew, Caleb and Clinton. Tell them I’m sorry I will not be there to help them. And tell all of them I will be praying for them.”
John nodded, and we went outside where a number of horses were tied to the rail. “Take the sorrel,” said Reynolds. “I assume you know how to ride a horse.”
“I do indeed.”
As we walked to our horses, I thought about making a run for it but decided not to since I couldn’t outrun a horse, any more than I could outrun a bullet. It would have been no contest.
We saddled up and rode out of town. People had come in along the streets while I was in the post office, and we made a spectacle for all to see. I saw people pointing and whispering as we rode past them. They must have been trying to figure out why I had been taken and where I was going. I tried to ignore them. I surely did not know what awaited me. I had fallen from the utmost happiness of having a home and being with my family to being forced to do something I really didn’t want to. It was about the worst thing that could have happened to me at that time. I would have to see what would happen next.

Chapter Ten
An Unexpected Blessing
June, 1863

The sound of birds chirping awakened me, and I lay still for a moment, wondering where I was. We had slept outside so many days, it was difficult to tell. Then I heard another sound, the snort of an animal. I rolled over and took my rifle before I left the shelter, crouching down in case it was an animal. We had bears in these parts, and I wanted to be prepared if this were a big one.
As I came out of the shelter, the sun was in my eyes, and so I could not tell who—or what—was there at first. Then I shaded my eyes and saw that what I heard came not from a bear but from a horse. And the horse was hitched to a wagon with all kinds of supplies to re-build our cabin, and I saw to my amazement, Virgil Dailey the blacksmith sitting on the seat as the wagon pulled up to where I was. Five men walked behind the wagon.
“Hallooo!” Virgil called.
“Why, hello, Virgil. I’m surprised to see you here.”
“Well,” he said, climbing down from the wagon, “word got around about your cabin, and a bunch of us got together and decided to come help you re-build it.”
I couldn’t think of what to say for a moment, but then I finally found my tongue and said, “Why, thank you, Virgil. That’s very neighborly of you.”
He shrugged. “You might have to do the same for me one day. You never can tell.”
“No, I can’t.”
Laurel came out of the shelter, shading her eyes from the sun as well. “Laurel, this is—”I started to say.
“I know,” she said. “Mr. Dailey the blacksmith. Thank you so much, Mr. Dailey.”
“Please, m’am, call me Virgil.”
“Well, Virgil, have all of you had breakfast yet?”
He climbed down from his wagon and stood there, twisting his hat in his hands. “About half of us have.”
“Well, then, why don’t I fix some for everyone. I’d have to do it anyhow, and it’s only a few more. I have Hiram to help me. He’s a good cook.”
“I don’t know any Hiram.” The blacksmith looked puzzled.
“He’s a young man we came across in our travels, and he decided to come with us.” Hiram came out at that moment.
“Look, Hiram, all these people have come out to help with the cabin. We’re going to fix them breakfast. Can you help me?”
Hiram, still sleepy, mumbled, “Yes’m.”
“All right. You wake the others up and all of you wash yourselves good. I left the soap and a washcloth out and you can get some water from the cistern. And wash good behind your ears, all of you!”
I had to smile at Laurel treating all the boys as if they were her own. I supposed she learned how to do that by having to deal with a number of boys when she was a teacher. She knew how they were.
And so, while the men unloaded the wagon, along with help from Andrew, Clinton and me, Laurel and Hiram fixed the meal. With the wagon unloaded, we fell on the breakfast, and ate as if we had never eaten before. Everyone agreed that it was an excellent breakfast. “That was mighty good, m’am,” Virgil said. We surely do thank you for it.”
“Well, I thank you for coming to help us. It will be so much easier to have a cabin. We have so many things we need a place for, that will give us the space for them. I can’t thank you enough.”
And so, we started on the cabin. Virgil had erected cabins before, and he started by dividing us into groups—one of bring materials from the wagon, another to lay out the walls while still others notched the logs. The last crew lifted the logs into place at Virgil’s direction. I was on this final crew, which was composed of the younger ones among us. Even at that, we struggled to lift the heavy logs.
“Be careful with those, “ Virgil called. “They’re heavy, and if one of the drops on your foot, you’ll surely know it.”
One of Virgil’s friends looked at him as he and another man finished putting a log into place. “Don’t you think we know that, Virgil? We’re the ones who know how heavy they are.”
“I know you know it, Francis. I was just making sure you knew what would happen if you dropped one of those on your foot.”
We continued working, and when the supply crew had unloaded all the logs and put them for the notching crew to do their work, the first crew joined the others on the walls. By that time, we were halfway up the windows, and so it took two men to carry the log to its place where they passed it to two other men who were standing on the wagon that Virgil had brought over. From that, they moved each log into position.
About then, Laurel came out to see what progress we were making. “You’ve done a lot already,” she said. “Lunch is almost ready. Do you wanted to stop for a break and eat it?”
At this she was greeted by a chorus of approval and cheers. These fellows must like to eat, I thought. I could have kept going, but thought I should stop and make the acquaintance of those workers I didn’t know, and there were several of them.
We went to where Laurel had spread out our lunch on some trestles and logs. “Who put together the trestles?” I asked her. I hadn’t noticed them as they were being built.
“It was Hiram and Andrew. I think they learned how by putting the shelters together.”
“They are amazing young men and learn so quickly,” I said.
She smiled and said, “I couldn’t agree with you more.”
Laurel and I waited while the others went through and got their food. Then we loaded our plates and went to sit with two of the workers I did not know. They put their plates on the ground and stood up as we came closer to them.
“Mr. Dillard, my name is John Sears, and this is my friend George Watkins. Thank you for the food. It’s really delicious.”
“You’re welcome, but my wife Laurel here is responsible for the meal. You should thank her. And call me Caleb. My friends do.”
“All right, Caleb,” said Sears. He turned to Laurel.
“Thank you for fixing all this food. As I said, it tastes so good.”
“It’s nice to meet you both,” Laurel said. “And I’m glad you’re enjoying your meal, but I had help from the three boys. May we join you?”
“We’d be honored,” Sears said. “Please sit down.”
We sat and started eating. The food was good. “What do you do for a living, Mr. Sears?” I asked.
“First of all, call me John, Caleb. I’m a mason. I’ve worked in towns all around here. It’s a good way to make a living.”
“I see. I’ve always admired anyone who can do what you are capable of. And what about you, George? What kind of work do you do?”
He finished chewing a bite and said, “I help out in the blacksmith shop. That’s how I found out about this—Virgil told me.”
“Thank you. I didn’t know what. Seems like Virgil knows a lot of people.”
“Yessir, he does. He can’t help it with his shop on the main street and a parade of people constantly going by. I don’t see how he gets any work done, but he does.
We sat and talked as we ate our lunch, and as we were about to finish, Virgil stood up. “This certainly has been a wonderful meal, and I think we should thank Mrs. Dillard for it.” Those gathered around broke into applause, and I saw Laurel blush.
“It is we who should thank you for all you’ve done,” she said. “We couldn’t have done it so quickly without you. Thank you. We will forever be in your debt.”
“You are so welcome,” Virgil replied. “And don’t worry— we’ll be sure to have something we need help on soon!”
This pronouncement was greeted by general laughter, and when it subsided, Virgil said, “I know you’re almost finished eating, so when you are finished, go ahead and take a half-hour break. Take a nap or play cards, I don’t care. Just be ready to get back at it in 30 minutes. I’ll tell you when the time is up.”
This was also greeted by cheers, and the workers dispersed all over the site. Some lay down for a nap while others talked, or, as Virgil suggested, played cards.
“What do you want to do?” I asked Laurel.
“I have all this to clean up,” she responded.
“Oh, come on and take a break. It will all still be there waiting for you.”
“I know. That’s why I want to do it now, but I’ll be glad to spend some time with you.”
“That’s what I want. Now, what do you want to do?”
“Let’s just talk.”
“All right, what do you want to talk about?”
“Well, after the letter you received from Eleanor, I’m worried about what she might do, or what people she might send to do us harm.”
“I know that’s worrisome, but I’ll be here to protect you. And the boys will help me, just as they did in Tennessee.”
“That’s right. They did well with that situation, as did you. Thank you, Caleb. I feel better now.”
“Good. Is that enough talk for you?”
“Why do you ask? Do you want to take a nap?”
“Frankly, yes. I’m tired from all the work.”
And so we both lay on the grass, side by side, and drifted off to sleep. It seemed like no time at all that we heard Virgil calling, “Up! Up! Time to get up!” and we opened our eyes to the men around us sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of our eyes.
“My,” Laurel said, “It looks like most everyone took a nap.”
“I’m not surprised,” I said. “We’ve been doing some hard, tiring work. Time to go at it again.”
With the amount we had done in the morning, we didn’t have that much left to do. We finished about 2:00, with the last log being laid at the apex of the roof. When it was lowered into play, everyone cheered and clapped.
“I’d say we’re done,” Virgil said to me.
“Yes, we are, and it looks great! Thank you for all that all of you did.”
“You know what I’ll say to that—”
I nodded my head. “Yes, yes, I’ll have a chance to help all of you at some point.”
“That’s it exactly. Now let us get our tools and we’ll be on our way.”
“I’m forever indebted to you and to everyone else.”
Virgil waved his hand, and went about doing his share of loading the tools. Then he climbed in the driver’s seat and waited for the rest to climb up into the bed. They waved and shouted their good-byes.
The four of us, not including little Caleb, who was asleep in the new cabin, stood and waved back. “Thank you,” I called. “God bless all of you.”
We watched them until they went out of sight, and then turned to each other.
“So what do we do now?” Andrew asked.
“I don’t know about you,” I said, “but I could use another nap.”
“I’m not sleepy,” Andrew said.
“I’m not either,” Hiram added.
“Why don’t’ you start moving our things into the cabin. I can sleep outside.”
“I’ll tell the boys where to put the stuff.” Laurel looked at them and they nodded.
“All right. You do that, and I’ll help you when I wake up.”
I found a soft spot to lie on and soon I fell asleep. It was a welcome rest.
***
I woke up, and, judging the time from the sun’s position, was surprised at how long I had slept. I looked over to the place where we had piled our belongings and was pleased to see that they all had been moved. I went into the cabin to find Laurel directing the boys as to where everything went.
“I see you’re awake,” she said. “Did you have a good nap?”
“I surely did, but I slept much longer than I intended. I see you have everything moved in.”
Laurel smiled. “Yes, the boys worked hard. Even little Caleb helped.” She tousled his hair. “He’s a good boy.”
“Let’s sit down and talk about what happens next,” I said. We went over and sat on some boxes the supplies came in.
“We’ll need some proper furniture,” Laurel said. “How much can we afford?”
“We won’t have to buy all of it. In fact, I can make most of it,” I replied.
“I didn’t know you could do that. You’re amazing.”
I shrugged. “You do what you have to do. Say, getting away from the task at hand, I just realized I haven’t read Alphonso’s letter. Do you mind if I read it to you? Then you can see what he has to say.”
“Of course I don’t mind. I do want to know what’s in the letter.”
I tore it open and started reading. It was good to see his wonderful penmanship. I could never write like that, even with centuries of practice.
June 15, 1863
My dear Caleb,
I have not heard from you in so long, and I pray earnestly that nothing untoward has happened to you. I will send this letter to your home address and pray that it will find you there and well, along with your family..
I am in good health and have very little to complain about. I am at present encamped with Lee’s army near Culpeper, the place where your adventure began, following our campaign at Chancellorsville, which went well for us, save the loss of General Jackson, who was shot by his own men and died shortly thereafter. The word is that Lee said, ‘I have lost my good right arm,” and indeed Jackson was that. We shall miss him sorely.
The rumor is that we will invade the North, going up the Valley to meet the enemy wherever God and Providence may see fit. We believe Lee’s plan is to defeat the Northern troops and then drive on to Baltimore and then down to Washington, where he aspires to negotiate a treaty bringing an end to the war and recognizing our claim to sovereignty and independence. I am for anything that would end this war in any way. I wrote that I have little to complain of, but among those things, this war and its brutality and bloodshed are chief among my complaints. I have lost too many friends and seen too many grievously wounded and crippled to wish this conflict would continue one second longer. I feel as if I cannot bear much more. We began with high hopes and aspirations, and those have been trampled in the mud and blood and broken bodies. It is hard to remember what we are fighting for, and I wish for the calm and companionship of home, although I am not sure it will be standing when this conflict is over. I pray to God that it will and I pray that the war will be over with soon.
I also pray that I may see you after not too much time has elapsed, and then we can be together as we were at the beginning of the war. I still think of those days quite fondly.
May God bless and keep you, my friend. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Your friend and comrade who is longing to see you,
Adolphus
When I had finished, I gave the letter to Laurel so she could read it in case she had missed anything in the hearing. She sat down and perused it quickly (since she was a teacher, she read much faster than I), put it down by her side, and looked up at me, stricken. “Poor dear Alphonso. I can tell he has suffered as much as one who has not been injured or killed can, and yet he asks after you and all of us. I can tell from this letter what I learned from those you sent me that he is a fine man, and one I wish to meet one day. I wish there were something more we could do for him besides write him a letter.”
“If you will help me with the spelling of some of the words, I will write him back quickly. I know that he is anxious to hear from me.”
She got up and came over and slipped into my arms. “Of course, my love. You know I would do anything for you.”
I went outside to show the boys what I wanted done with the garden the next day, which would finish their projects for the moment now that the cabin was built. They would have to move some large branches and rake and cut out the weeds, as I had told them, but I wanted to be sure they understood what I wanted. I came back inside where I found Laurel putting little Caleb to sleep. She motioned to me to be quiet, and, in a few minutes, took the sleeping lad and put him on a pallet in the corner. We all would be sleeping on pallets until I could build the beds, but it was better than lying on rocky soil. She made certain he was sleeping and then quietly came over to me. “I’m ready to help you with the letter,” she whispered, and I nodded my head.
It took a while because we had so much happen to us since the last time I saw Alphonso, but she helped me with it all and I said, “I’ll take it to the post office tomorrow. I want Alphonso to know of our condition post haste.”
She regarded me with a smile. “You are such a good man, but I knew that before I married you. I’m so glad I did. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“And I am glad I married you,” I returned. “I do not want to think what my life would be like without you, either.”

Chapter Nine
Coming Home
June, 1863

The next town was Stephens City, which meant we weren’t too far from home. It turned out that we didn’t have to buy any whiskey because there was a doctor in town. A man came walking toward us, and I called, “Hello! Is there a doctor in town?”
He stopped and stared at Andrew. “What happened to him?”
“A boar attacked us, and we’re all lucky to be alive. Andrew here got the worst of it, so we need to have someone look at his wounds. They’re not that bad, but I’m not a doctor, and I want one to look at him.”
“He looks pretty bad to me. You’d better get him to a doctor quick!”
“We plan to. Is there one in town? Is he far from here?”
The man shook his head. “You’re in luck—Doc Stephens is about halfway down this street, to the right. He’ll be there unless he’s in the saloon next door. He has a kind of problem, understand? If he’s drinking, you will have done a better job patching this fellow up than the doc could do. It’s a shame, because he’s a good doc when he’s sober.”
I winced. The last thing we needed was a drunken doctor. “Thank you, friend.”
“You’re welcome and good luck. From the looks of all of you, you’re going to need it.”
I looked around at the others. It had not occurred to me with all that had happened how dirty and bedraggled we all looked, as I’ve heard people say, like “something the cat dragged in.” Because the boar was bigger and could do more harm than a cat, we probably looked worse that something the cat dragged in.
We went down the street and found the place the man indicated. The large front window had “Dr. James Stephens, M. D.” painted in gold across it. I looked in. No one was there, but I said, “Go on in and see what you can do to start treating Andrew’s wounds, all of you. I’ll go next door.” I had a grim expression as I went next door. I didn’t know what I would find, and I didn’t want to think about it.
When I reached the saloon, I went in and stood there for a moment as my eyes adjusted to the dim light. When they had, I saw an older man sitting in a chair with his head on a table, snoring loudly, an empty bottle of whiskey on the table before him.When I saw that, I knew we were in trouble.
“Can I help you, my friend?” The bartender stood behind the bar, polishing a glass.
“I don’t want anything to drink. My friend was attacked by a boar. I came in here to see what shape the doctor was in. My answer’s right there.” I gestured toward the doctor splayed out at the table.
He laughed. “That doctor ain’t doin’ any doctorin’ right now, as you can see. Even if he were stone cold sober, I wouldn’t take my best dog to him. He’s put more people in the ground than the undertaker. You’ve caught him in his habitual state.”
“But we need him.”
He shrugged. “A lot of people need him, but he doesn’t care. Go ahead and wake him up, but be careful. He usually comes out fightin’ when his sleep is interrupted. He’s even crazier when he’s drunk, and don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Thanks for the warning,” I told the bartender. I went over to the doctor, grabbed him by the shoulder and shook it vigorously.
“Now you’ve done it!” exclaimed the bartender.
I ignored him, and said, “Doctor Stephens! We need you! Wake up! Now! We have an emergency.”
He grunted and tried to take my hand off his shoulder. I shook it again, even harder. “Wake up, man! It’s important.”
He suddenly sat up and tried to punch me in the face, but he missed and fell on the floor. I stood over him. “Let me give you a hand up.”
He made no move, but continued to lie on the floor. Since he was a dead weight, as most drunks are, I wasn’t sure I could bring him to his feet. I grabbed him by the wrist. “Come on. Let me pull you up. I want you to come with me.”
He opened one eye. “Jus’ one more drink,” he slurred. “Jus’ one more before we go.” Falling to the floor seemed to have taken the fight out of him, but I didn’t know how long that would last. If I wanted to get him up and treat Andrew, I would have to act quickly. I bent down over him and said, “No! No more drinks right now! You can have another after you treat my friend. Come on! I’ll help you up!”
I got my hands under his arms and lifted his dead weight with great difficulty so that he stood on his feet, swaying back and forth. The bartender looked on, bemused.
“You could help me, you know,” I said to him.
“No sir,” he answered. “I tried helping to pull him up, and he broke my jaw. I ain’t anxious to repeat that experience. I’m sure you understand.”
“I’m not sure I do.” I slowly dragged Stephens toward the door. He wasn’t getting any lighter. Finally I guided him to the door, and we went out into the street.
I heard the bartender call from inside, “Remember what I said about him puttin’ people in the ground. And watch out. He’s usually sick to him stomach after he wakes up.”
“We’ll be all right, no thanks to you!” I told him, although I was unsure about what would happen.
Somehow I managed to drag him to his office and up the steps where we went inside to find Andrew lying on the examination table with his shirt removed.
“What took you so long?” Hiram asked.
“The doctor was drunk, sitting at a table. At first he wanted to fight me, but he took as swing and missed, but that calmed him down. The thing was, I had to drag him over here because the bartender wouldn’t help me.”
“I see,” Hiram said.
“If you’ll look at him, most of his wounds are on his upper body,” Laurel said. “Hiram has known exactly what to do. We’ve cleaned his wounds, put whiskey on them, and bound them up. I think he’s ready to go.”
I knew that Laurel would know something about what to do, but Hiram surprised me again. Apparently he knew more than she did. “How’d you know what to do?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “There were plenty of knife fights around the wharf. I just did what I thought was necessary, and when most of ‘em survived, I figured I must be doing all right. So I kept it up.”
“How many people like this did you fix up?”
He shrugged. “Maybe a hundred in the past two years.”
“That’s a rough place.”
Hiram shrugged. “I managed to get along, in spite of it all.”
“I’m amazed at all you were able to do—that you can do.”
He shrugged again. “You do what you have to when there’s no one but you sober most of the time. Or maybe that was all the time.”
Laurel looked at him hard. “You didn’t need to drink that whiskey.”
“Just think of it as my fee.”
I just shook my head and went over to Andrew. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better. I might survive. I had good doctors.” He grinned at Laurel and Hiram.’
“That’s good, because the so-called ‘doctor’ in this town is worse than useless. The bartender said he would take his best dog to him.”
“Oh. Well, anyhow, I feel like traveling again, so let’s get going.”
I nodded. “The sooner we leave this place, the better.”
During all this, the doctor had crawled into a corner and fallen asleep. I looked over at him. “Good riddance to that one,” I said. “Let’s get out of here as fast as we can.”
We loaded up again, glad to leave the doctor and feeling blessed that Andrew’s wounds could be attended to, but leaving us to wonder why we had come into town in the first place. If only we had known, we could have saved ourselves the time and effort, and been that much closer to home. But such was not to be, and we made our way out of town, walking slowly and thinking about what had happened.

***
We were blessed by good weather the rest of the way and had no more obstacles along our way. We didn’t even encounter a human being, much less a wild animal. That was all right with me, and I thanked God for our smooth passage. That evening, we came to a place I recognized, one near our house. I was excited to be home and prayed that nothing had happened to it. We had been gone a long time, after all.
We came to a long rise that led to the path to our home, and Laurel exclaimed, “I know where we are now! We’re so close! I could never forget what this looks like!”
We quickened our pace, and when we came to the last hill, we broke into a run in spite of our heavy loads. But when we topped the hill, we stopped when we saw what was left of our cabin. Actually, there wasn’t much left. It had burned to the ground. We had not left much there, but whatever little it was, it was completely gone.
Laurel burst into tears. “I can’t believe this! This is when you brought me home after we were married. This is where I gave birth and took care of Caleb. This is where we planted our garden and ate what we grew. And now it’s all gone! We were happy here until the war came and took you away. Damn you! Why did you go? Why did you go?”
I took her into my arms and tried to console her. “You still have all those memories, Laurel. By going to the war, I only did what I thought was right. We talked about it, remember? And we can build another cabin, and with Andrew and Hiram’s help, it will be better than the one that burned.”
“I don’t want another better cabin, no matter who works on it! I want our cabin!”
I could not her recall carrying on so about something that could not be changed, but then I thought, she had been through a lot—trekking for miles, being kidnapped, being in a flood and seeing someone attacked by a wild boar. I think all this had worked to strip her of whatever strength and optimism that she might have had left. I knew that she would regain both, eventually, but it was going to be hard for her and hard for all of us.
“All right, then, for now we’ll build a shelter like we did on the way up here and spend the night in it. In the morning, I’ll go to town and get supplies and see if anyone has any idea about who did this. We’ll be all right. I promise. We’ll be all right.”
She would have none of it, tearing herself out of my arms and sitting on the burned grass, a perfect picture of misery. Normally she would have not done anything deliberately to dirty her clothing, but such was the extent of her distraction. Hiram and Andrew had not said anything during this whole display, but they came right over to her. Andrew put his hand on her shoulder and said, “Caleb’s right. And you have me and Hiram to help. We’ll get it done. You know we will.”
“That’s right,” Hiram said. “Fixing all this will be easy compared to what we’ve just been through. We’ll all work together. You’ll see.”
Laurel turned her tear-stained face up to them. “Thank you, boys. I’m feeling a little better now. You just said the right words, and I’m so glad you’re with us. I love you as much as I love little Caleb.”
Hiram and Andrew both looked at the ground, embarrassed. There was silence for a minute, and then I said, “All right, let’s get started on the shelter. Pile all our belongings on that patch of grass over there that isn’t burned. I’ll look through the burned area to see if an ax survived the fire. I hope it did, because having one will make a big difference.”
We set to work moving our goods to the unburned grass, and then Andrew and Hiram and I scoured the burned area for any sign of an ax. Laurel worked on organizing what we had piled up, with little Caleb helping as best he could. He couldn’t carry much, so Laurel gave him some small, light objects to carry. He was happy to help, and he carefully placed everything he was given on the grass. He and Laurel made rapid progress, and so they finished their task by the time we had the corner posts put in. It wouldn’t take much longer to finish our lean-to.
“I hadn’t even thought of eating,” Laurel said. “I’ll start on our supper.”
We had found an ax, and I cut the poles we would need, while Hiram and Andrew moved them to the area of the corner posts. We attached the poles to the posts and then ran more poles across the structure so we could add pieces of bark for a roof. We did this the same way we had when we were on our way home, and worked more quickly since we were familiar with what we were doing.
We finished about the same time as our supper was ready, just as we thought. “Come and get it,” Laurel called as Hiram put the last piece of bark into place.
“There!” he said. “That’s done!”
“Good work, boys,” I told them. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shelter built in so short a time. You learned quickly from our experience on the road.”
We enjoyed our supper. Laurel had done a marvelous job, as usual. After we ate, we quickly moved our belongings into the shelter and fixed places for us to sleep. We were all ready to start on the cabin the next day after I had gone to town and come back.
The boys, as usual, fell asleep quickly, so Laurel and I had time to talk before we did. “I would say we’ve made a good recovery from having our cabin burned,” I said.
“But we still don’t know who did it. Do you have any ideas?”
“The only person I know with cause to hate me would be Eleanor. I bet she did it.”
“I’d bet on that as well. What an awful, evil woman.”
“You’ll get no argument from me about that. Now kiss me and let’s do what we’ve been wanting to do every since we got here.”
“Well, you’ll get no argument from me about that as well,” I said, and then I was in her embrace.
***
The next morning, Laurel and I were up early, sorting some of our supplied. We let the boys sleep since we knew that they were exhausted from the journey and also from the previous day’s events.
“Do you want to eat now or wait and have something with the boys?” Laurel asked.
“I’ll eat now. I’m eager to get to town and come back as soon as possible.”
“All right. Ham and biscuits all right?”
“You bet. Just what I wanted, in fact.”
While Laurel fixed breakfast for us, I went over to the site of our burned cabin and tried to calculate if we could build a bigger one. After pacing off the distances I concluded that we could indeed. I went to tell Laurel the news.
She saw me coming and said, “It’s ready! Come and eat it all up!”
We sat on the ground, and Laurel brought me a plateful of food. Then she went to get hers.
“I’ve been out measuring,” I said, “and we have room for a bigger cabin.”
She nodded. “That’s good. We have two more boys now, and they’ll take up space.”
“I’m glad we have them with us. They’ve been a big help.”
“Yes, they have. The best. I don’t know what we would have done without them.”
We ate quickly, and I gave my plate to Laurel to clean although I didn’t know how she was going to since the well housing had been burned, along with the bucket and rope. I knew she would figure something out. I stood up.
I pulled her to her feet and took her in my arms. “It will be all right. I promise. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
She nodded, smiling. “You be careful and come back to me. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
I stepped back. “I feel the same way about you. I need to go now.”
I started walking toward town, feeling the separation from my family with every step I took. I told myself I would be back soon, and that all would be well. It had to be.

Before I got out of earshot, I called, “I don’t think you’ll get this far, but if you do, start working on the garden. It needs cleaning and weeding. Good-bye!”
I hadn’t gone far when Laurel called out to me, “Caleb, come back! I want to give you a list of what we’ll need.”
“All right! I will!”
I went back to her and watched as she wrote out her list. Her reddish hair shone in the sunshine, and I noticed again how small her fingers were and how quickly and neatly she wrote. She looked up at me, and I was lost in her beautiful eyes. “Here you go, Caleb.”
“Huh? What? Did you say something?”
She smiled. “I said, ‘Here you go, Caleb.’ You were somewhere else for a time. Here’s the list of what I’ll need from town.”
I took the list and looked at it. “Yes, I can get all of these, easily. I’m leaving now. Again.”
“Don’t be long,” she said. “I can’t get enough of seeing you.”
I smiled. “You may be sure that with all the time I was without you, I won’t tarry to see you again!”
I went outside where Andrew and Hiram were already starting to build the shelter. As I watched, little Caleb came out and started helping them carry small branches one at a time to where they would build the shelter. I had to smile at the little fellow doing what he could. I wish more people were like that.
I walked quickly to town, mindful of Laurel’s admonition, and eager to return to her. I walked carefully behind the buildings along the street to the post office, so as not to see by anyone who would want to have a lengthy conversation with me which could be anyone. I slid along the outside wall of the post office without having seen anyone, turned the corner and went inside, praying that there wouldn’t be anyone at all inside, although there usually was.
As it turned out, I was in luck. It was one of those rare times when no one was inside, and as I came in, John Green had his back turned, sorting mail by throwing it into a number of slots in a box that sat on a table. He heard me and turned around.
“Caleb Dillard! It’s so good to see you! Where have you been? Folks have been saying your whole family was dead, and you with them, but obviously I guess you aren’t. What about your family?”
“They’re fine, Fred.”
“Well, where have you been?”
“Laurel and little Caleb were kidnapped and I had to go after them. I had no choice.”
“Lord in Heaven, of course you didn’t. What sort of man would take someone’s family from them. I’m assuming it was a man.”
“In fact, they were taken twice by two different bands of men.”
“Two! One would have been one too many! I never heard of such! Where in the world were you when all this happened?”
“The first time, we were in Missouri, and the second, Tennessee.”
“What awful luck! What were you doing so far from home?”
“I’d rather not say specifically. I’ll just say that I thought we’d be in danger if we stated here.”
“And you ran into danger after you left. It seems there’s no place that’s safe these days, what with the war and all. Just knowing about it does funny things to people’s minds. I hear all kinds of stories. But you’re back safe and so is your family.”
“That’s right, we are.” I didn’t want to take the time to tell him about Hiram and Andrew. In our small town, he would find out soon enough.
“Listen, John,” I said, “I have to get back to her. I just stopped by to pick up my mail, if there is any and to get a few things from the store.”
“I’ve been keeping it back here. I’m supposed to return it after a certain time, and that time was up two weeks ago but I had a feeling you’d show up again. Here it is. There’s not too much of it.”
“That’s all right,” I said, taking the slim stack of envelopes from him. I looked through them. Most were from the army, wanting who knows what, and there was one from Alphonso that I put aside to read when I got home. The last one, however, stopped me cold. I recognized the handwriting on the envelope as that of Kathryn’s. I tore it open with shaking hands and read this:
I will find you or your family and it will not go well for any of you. Believe me. Setting your cabin on fire was only a beginning. Beware. You have made me very angry and all of you will pay for it in a dreadful way.
I read it over again. “John, when did this one come in?”
He thought for a second. “Last week, I think. Yes, that’s it. About four days ago.”
That meant that she had some idea of where I was. How she could have, I did not know, but it meant that, once again, I would have to be extra careful. I was growing tired of having to do that, and hoped the situation would come to an end, and quickly. I didn’t see how it could, but I could always pray for a change in my situation. I turned back to John.
“Nice seeing you, John. I’ll see you the next time I come into town.”
“I hope you will,” he said. “Folks around here are fond of you, so don’t go running off again any time soon, you hear?”
I laughed. “I won’t if I can help it.” I left the post office and went down to the mercantile. Fortunately there was no one I knew in there, either, and soon I gathered everything up on the list and brought it to the counter. “You need some help carrying that?” Peter Hill, the manager, looked over his glasses at me.
“I can manage it, Peter, but thank you for the offer.”
“You sure? I got a boy to help me here just recently. I know he’d like to get out of the store for a while, and he’ll be glad to help you.”
“Well, on second thought, maybe I will take some help. What’s the boy’s name?”
“Clinton Dailey. His dad runs the blacksmith shop.”
“I know him. He never talked about having a son, but then I never talked to him that much, so that’s not surprising.”
Peter chuckled. “Actually, he has five sons. Folks say he’s glad to come to his shop, between the boys and his wife. If you know what I mean.” He winked at me.
A boy about fourteen years old came down one of the aisles. “Clinton!” Peter called. “Help Mr. Dillard take his purchases home.”
“How far is it?” Clinton asked me.
“About three miles.”
“Aw, that’s not bad. Are these your boxes?”
“Yes. You take this one right here and I’ll take the other one.”
We picked up our baxes, walked out of the store and started down the street. “Are you in school, Clinton?”
“Yessir. I just finished eighth grade, but that’s as far as I can go around here. I’d like to continue and go someplace in Winchester if we can afford it.”
“What would you like to do?”
“I’d like to be a teacher or a minister.”
“Maybe my wife can help you with that. She used to be a teacher before we got married and had a son.”
“I’d like that. That would be very nice”
“You can meet her when you get to my place. She’ll be glad to see you. I should tell you, though, that, unfortunately, our cabin burned down when we were gone. I don’t want you to be shocked when you see it.”
“How’d that happen? Do you know?”
I didn’t want to upset him, so I said, “We weren’t there at the time, but it probably was a lightning strike. But we know we can rebuild it.”
“I’d like to help when I could. My dad says I’m good at building things like that. He can’t do it, even if he is a good blacksmith.”
“That would be wonderful if you would help us.. We’ll talk when we get to where I live.”
We talked easily about all manner of things as we walked along, and I thought how pleasant it was to be with this young man and to find out what he thought. Before I knew it, we came upon the rise beyond which my property lay. Maybe I should have said “home,” for that was where my family was. We topped the rise and started down the other side, and while we were aways off, Hiram saw us and waved. “Hello!” he called. “Come see what we’ve done.”
I was surprised to find that they taken up all the branches from the garden and had made a good start with cutting out the weeds. It wouldn’t take them that much longer to finish doing that. We came up to Hiram and Andrew. “I’m so pleased at what you’ve done!” I told them. “We can finish this shortly after lunch. This is wonderful!”
Andrew beamed. “Thank you, Caleb. And Hiram worked as hard as I do, even though he’s not as big as I am. I tell you, he is a wonder!”
Hiram looked down, embarrassed. Apparently, he was unused to such praise. It occurred to me that he had had much of it in his life.
I turned to Clinton. “Boys, I want you to meet Clinton. He wants to help us with the cabin, and he tells me that he is good at building such things.”
“Hello,” Hiram and Andrew said, more or less in unison. They weren’t much on the social niceties.
“Where’s Laurel?” I asked the two boys. “I need her to tell me what to do with what I bought.”
Hiram pointed to the edge of the clearing where I could see Laurel sitting with Caleb in her lap. “She’s over there with little Caleb. She’s trying to get him to sleep.”
“All right. I’ll leave the goods here and not disturb them for now. In the meantime, let’s keep working on the garden.”
With Clinton to help, we made more progress on the weeding than I had originally thought. We’ll finish before lunch, I thought, and then we can start doing some planting.
After bout half hour, Laurel came over to see us.
“Hello,” she said, looking at Clinton. “Who’s this?”
“It’s Clinton Dailey,” I said. “He’s one of the blacksmith’s sons.”
She shook Clinton’s hand and smiled. “Yes, I know of your father. Don’t you have four brothers?”
Clinton nodded. “Yes’m. And all younger than me. They give my mother a merry chase, as she likes to say.”
“I see.”
“Clinton’s going to help us with the cabin,” I said.
“That’s wonderful!”
“And he wants to go to Winchester and become either a teacher or a minister. I told him you would help him.”
“That’s very commendable. I’d be more than happy to help.”
“Thank you, m’am.”
“You’re welcome. Caleb.” She turned to me. “I’ll tell you where to put the things you bought if you’ll tell me where we’re going to rebuild the cabin.”
“In the same place, but it will be bigger. We can use the chimney since that wasn’t too badly damaged.”
“All right. I can carry something to the place, and I sure the boys want to help.”
“Oh, that reminds me . Wait a minute. I have something for these lads.”
The boys looked on curiously as I went through one of the boxes. I pulled out a bag and handed it to Hiram. “Take only one for now,” I told him.
“What is it?” He asked. Then he opened the bag and looked in. He wrinkled up his face. “What are these? “
Andrew came over and looked in. “You mean to tell me that you don’t know what peppermint drops are?”
“No. I never saw one before. They smell good, though.”
“They taste even better. Try one.” The two boys each took a drop out of the bag and put it in their mouths.
Hiram’s eyes grew big. “It’s so sweet and wonderful! I never tasted anything like this.”
I felt sorry for Hiram, who had apparently never had any candy of any kind, but I enjoyed watching his reaction.
Clinton took one next. All three boys sucked on the drops, closing their eyes at the sweetness. Apparently neither Clinton or Andrew had had much candy as well, so I was glad I’d gotten it for them.
Laurel smiled at the scene. “They certainly are enjoying the candy. I’m glad you got it for them.”
I smiled. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
Laurel looked over at me and asked, “Was there any mail?”
“Yes, there were some letters from the army and one from Alphonso. I haven’t read it yet. I wanted to save it.”
“That’s good. I’m glad you heard from him. I wonder what he’s doing now.”
“I’m sure he’ll write about that in the letter. Oh, and there’s one more letter. I’ll tell you about that message later.”
She looked at me with a puzzled expression, but said nothing. We walked a little way beyond where the boys were and I handed her Eleanor’s letter. She frowned when she saw the return address, but then read it quickly and looked up, stricken. “Oh, Caleb, when will we ever be rid of that diabolical woman? She’s always there, frightening us or worse. It was she who had our cabin burned, and I just don’t know what she will do next.”
I shook my head. “Neither do I. Her evil is beyond understand, but I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to keep you and our family safe. I lost you once for a space, and I never what to lose you again. Look, the lads are finished with their candy. Let’s go organized.”
We spend the rest of the day working on the shelter and the garden. Laurel fixed a wonderful dinner for us with Hiram’s help, whom she said was a remarkably good cook. “Where did he learn to do that, I wonder?”
“I don’t know for sure. Possibly from the ‘ladies’ who helped him.”
“You know, that makes sense. They had to eat as well, and there’s no reason to think they weren’t good at it.”
After supper, we relaxed by the fire, sitting under the shelter that the boys had built, talking and laughing. I looked around at their faces and thought, this is what I have missed so much. I am truly blessed. I can’t think of any place I’d rather be, or anyone else I’d rather be with.
Later, when all the young ones were asleep, Laurel sat beside me and I took her into my arms as we watched the fire die slowly. One thing led to another there, and then I led her to lie down where we had the sweetest consummation of our union I think we have ever had. I was happy beyond measure, even though, of course, I did not know what the morrow would bring.

Chapter Eight
Farther Along
June, 1863

We did come to a medium-sized town that evening, and asked around until we found someone who could tell us where the doctor’s office was to be found. When we came through the door, he looked as if he were starting to leave. He stood up. “I’m about to close. What do you folks need?”
I pointed to Hiram. “He broke his arm.”
“How’d he do that?”
“We were caught in a flash flood from the storm.”
“What in the world were you doing out in that?”
“We’re trying to get home.”
“I see.Where are you folks headed?” he asked.
“Near Winchester.”
He grunted. “You be careful. There’s a lot of troops from both sides in that area. Now let me have a look at this little fellow.
Hiram bristled at being called “little,” but he climbed on the examining table and let the doctor look at his arm.
“Who splinted this?”
“I did.”
He chuckled. “Obviously you had to improvise, but you did a good job. That worked to use a branch as a splint.”
“Thank you.”
“This is a simple fracture, so I’ll splint it with a real splint, and you can be on your way.”
He worked quickly and soon said, “There you go! Better than new. Does it hurt?”
Hiram shook his head.
“Off you go, then. I’m headed home to eat. Would you folks like to have dinner with us?”
Laurel looked at me, and I shook my head. “That’s a most generous offer, but we have food and are eager to be on our way.”
“Suit yourself. If you ever come back through this way, I hope you’ll take me up on my offer.”
“We will,” I said, thinking that we would never see him again. He was too far from Winchester for that to happen. “Say, I didn’t catch your name.”
He chuckled. “That’s because I never told you. I’m Simon Reed, M.D., but you already knew that.”
“I’m Caleb Dillard,” I said, “and this is my wife Laurel, our son Caleb in her arms, and these two fellows are Hiram and Andrew.”
“Is Hiram the one with the broken arm?”
“Oh—sorry I should have told you before. Yes, he is.”
Reed went over to Hiram. “Next time you’re in a flood, remember to stay out of trees.”
He laughed, but Hiram just looked at him. He didn’t seem to find it funny.
I paid the doctor, and we watched him go off down the street.
“I’m exhausted by all we’ve been through,” I said to Laurel. “I’d like to sleep in a real bed tonight, so if this place has a hotel, what if we rent some rooms?”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Laurel answered. “I’m tired too.”
“We’ll do that. We need to clean up as well.”
We found the hotel and went in. From the way the desk clerk looked at us, we must have looked like something that got dragged through the mud, which we had, after all.
“I’d like two rooms for the night,” I told the man.
“And baths?” he asked, no doubt thinking of his clean sheets.
“Certainly,” I said. “We wouldn’t want to get your beds dirty.”
He put the keys to the rooms on the counter. “Bathroom’s down the hall, and check-out time is 10 AM.”
“We’ll be gone before that. Thank you.”
“Thank you for staying here. Have a good night.” I went with Andrew and Hiram into their room.
“Wow! Look at this!” Andrew cried. “I’ve never been in a hotel room before! It’s so nice!”
His enthusiasm made we wonder what the house his parents had was like. Hiram said nothing, but I knew he had never been in a hotel. He lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
“Let him sleep,” I whispered. “We’ll go out to eat in about an hour, and I’ll call both of you then.”
Andrew nodded. “All right. And thank you for letting us stay here.”
“I’d say we earned it, wouldn’t you?”
Andrew grinned, and I went out, going down the hall to the room Laurel, Caleb and I would share.
I found Laurel sitting in a chair in the room, watching Caleb fall asleep on one of the beds. “That’s what I want to do,” I whispered.
“So do I,” she answered, standing up, and pulling me by my hands over to the other bed. We lay on it, embracing and kissing each other.
“I still can’t believe you held on to Caleb during the flood,” I said, looking in her face.
“I had to do it. It were as if God reached down and gave me strength.”
“And as you said, a mother’s love is strong, and that love enabled you to do what you did.”
We were silent for a while, and then she said, “Do you think we’ll make it home?”
“I do. Do you think we won’t?”
“I don’t know. I was sure of it until the flood came.”
“That’s not likely to happen again. The storm was really unusual.”
“But there are other dangers.”
“There are always dangers, but we all have each other, and that will allow us to make it through.”
“I certainly hope so. I know you said you wanted to sleep, but stop talking now and kiss me.”
And I did.
***
The next morning, we gathered in the hall outside our rooms, carrying everything we needed to.
“Did you two sleep well?” I asked Andrew and Hiram.
“Yessir! Just great! Best night’s sleep I’ve ever had!” Andrew was obviously enthusiastic about his stay.
“And you, Hiram, did you sleep well?”
He nodded and said nothing. I was starting to think that he would only communicate with nods. That was better than shakes of his head, I supposed.
We went downstairs and put our keys on the counter. The desk clerk heard us and came out. “You folks sleep all right?” he asked.
“Yes, we did,” I answered, speaking for Hiram.
“Well, that’s good.”
“Would you tell us where we could eat some breakfast?”
He thought a moment. “There’s a boarding house about three blocks down. That’s where you want eat. You’ll come to a saloon before you reach that, but don’t eat there. Several people in town have had food poisoning after they ate there.”
“Thanks for the warning. Good-bye.”
“Good-bye. You folks be careful, now, or at least more careful than you’ve been before.”
We laughed at that, all except Hiram, who put on a sour look. Apparently he found breaking his arm was a sobering experience, and I supposed I didn’t blame him.
We ate quickly, and we set off, glad to make an early start, heartened by our stay and anticipating being home relatively soon as compared to the time we’d been away..
The weather was fine after the storm of the day before, and we made good progress. We stopped for lunch in an area of the mountain where there were large crags. We could see for miles from our vantage point, and I thought how beautiful this area was. I loved it through all the seasons, but I was glad we did not have to push our way through snow as some no doubt had had to.
We had almost finished lunch when Hiram sat up. “I hear something.”
Knowing that his hearing was better than that of the rest of us combined, I asked, “What does it sound like?”
“Grunting. But it’s not a person. It’s some kind of wild animal, and it sounds like it’s mad.”
How he could tell the animal was mad, I didn’t know, but when he said that, I knew what it was. “It’s a wild boar!” I said. “Everyone, get on top of the biggest rock you can find! Hurry! Quickly!”
We scrambled to climb up on the rocks, although Andrew moved more slowly than the rest of us, for some reason. His rock was further away, so it was from my vantage point on top of my rock I saw a gray blur coming toward him. “Andrew! Look out!” I called, but it was too late. The boar was upon Andrew, slashing at him with its tusks again and again.
I was frozen for a moment. My rifle was with our supplies, and I couldn’t get to it without endangering myself. I decided to take a risk and slid down the rock, skinning my hands and tearing the seat of my pants although they were made of a heavy material. I didn’t realize I had done either until later.
I dropped to the ground and ran over to where my rifle was. All this time the boar was busy with Andrew, having taken him down and goring him all over. He could die from loss of blood if I didn’t do something quickly.
I ran over to where my rifle was, checked to make sure it was loaded, and tried to train it on the madly charging animal. “Shoot!” Andrew shouted. “Shoot! Please!”
Of course, I had to wait until I had a clear shot, and it seemed like hours until I had finally had one, although I’m sure it was only a matter of a few seconds. I squeezed the trigger, and saw my first shot go into the animal’s abdomen. It squealed with pain and rage and turned, looking for its tormentor. It saw me and charged. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hiram sliding down from his rock and coming over to Andrew. Hiram pulled him up onto a small rock with amazing strength for someone so small. I wasn’t sure they would be safe there from the boar for long. I shot the animal again. This time, as it was coming on, I caught him in the shoulder. He staggered and lurched, but recovered himself and kept coming toward me. At least he wasn’t coming for the boys, I thought, which was good since they weren’t armed..
I had heard that boars were notoriously difficult to bring down, particularly if they are enraged, and this one certainly must have been one of the hardest. He covered the distance between us far faster than I would have believed. All at once he was on me. I held up the rifle to try to keep him off me, and watched as he hit it with his head and fell to the ground. He seemed dazed, and that gave me time to raise my rifle and shoot him again. He moved just as I did so, and while I intended to shoot him in the head, the shot hit him in the other shoulder. He shook that off and leaped at me again. I ducked, and he missed me, sliding to a stop on the rocky ground still squealing with rage and frustration.
“Hit him in the head!” Andrew shouted. Apparently he had seen this sort of thing before or had hunted boar, but I wondered if he realized that was exactly what I was trying to do. A shot to the head would surely take care of him, I thought.
I chambered a round and got off a quick shot. This time the bullet did hit him in the head. I watched it as it exploded. The animal, finally, after a hard fight, was dead. A welcome silence descended on us.
“That was some shooting!” Hiram exclaimed. “I didn’t know you could handle a rifle like that!
“I wouldn’t say that,” I told him. “If you noticed, I had to shoot him four times before I finally got him.”
“I’ve heard of people using more shots,” Hiram said, leaving me to wonder how he knew that, unless there were boars along the wharves where he came from, which I doubted. But he did say ‘heard of’ and not ‘saw,’ so maybe somehow he knew what he was talking about . In any case, he was certainly a mystery.
The others climbed down from their rocks. Laurel handed Caleb to Hiram, came over to me and embraced me. “You amaze me,” she said. “Boars are so hard to bring down.”
“It seems like everyone thinks so. It was my first, and I’m glad I could kill him before he hurt any of us, but it was close. Come on, we need to see about Andrew.” I went over to him and checked his wounds. They didn’t look that considering what damage a boar could do.
“Laurel, tear one of your slips into about inch wide strips. We’ll use them to bind his wounds. They’re not very deep. We’ll have to get some whiskey to pour on them to prevent infection.”
The others watched as I bound Andrew’s wounds. “Did you learn to do that in the army?” Laurel asked.”
I nodded. “Yes. I had too many opportunities to do this.”
“War must be so awful,”
“It is,” I said grimly.
I finished with Andrew and put my hand on his shoulder. “Can you walk?” I asked him.
“I think I so, but I’ll probably need someone to help me.”
“Hiram and I can do that. We’ll switch off.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hiram nod his approval of my plan.
“Don’t forget me. I can help as well,” Laurel said.
“Oh, of course. I’m sorry I didn’t think of using you for this, but that’s good. It’ll make it easier on all of us.”
I helped Andrew to his feet, and so we set out again, headed for the next town, wounded, dirty, tired, but still standing—and walking, I thought. Thank God for all that. Thank God.

Chapter Seven
Tales of the Flood
June, 1863

I opened my eyes. I hurt all over and there was no sound at all, and I wondered if I had gone completely deaf. Then I heard the flood rumbling somewhere below us, and suddenly the memory of what had happened rushed in on me.
I was lying in a tangle of limbs and dirt, and I didn’t know how I was going to extricate myself. I tested my arms and legs further, and they didn’t seem to be broken, at least not as far as I could tell. I could see, and my hearing returned bit by bit. That’s a blessing, I thought. That was very good. I looked around for the others, but didn’t see anyone for the piles of debris that dotted the mountainside. That was surely one mighty flood, I thought, but I knew that I would have to get out from where I was and call them.
With a mighty effort, I wriggled my way out of the pile, falling to the ground where I lay for a few minutes to recover my strength. Then I gingerly stood up. Checking myself all over, I noticed I had scrapes in every possible place. I hadn’t felt them because I was occupied with getting out and finding the others. That was most important. The scrapes didn’t hurt too badly right then, but I knew they would be much, much worse later.
I looked all around me and called, “Laurel! Andrew! Hiram! Where are you?”
After first no one answered me, but then I heard a weak voice say, “Over here, Caleb,”
“Where? I can’t see you,” I said. “Who is it?”
“It’s Hiram. Walk toward the sound of my voice. I’m stuck in a tree right behind you. I’ll need your help to pull me out. I can’t move.”
I walked slowly toward the voice, intent on finding whoever was speaking. There was so much clutter between me and him, I was no more than ten feet away from a fallen tree when I saw Hiram lodged in some of the branches. He looked about like I did, but he was holding his arm as if it hurt him.
“Hiram! Let me get you out of there!”
“Careful with my arm! I think it’s broken.”
“I’ll be careful. Don’t worry.”
I worked to free him from the branches. Like me, I did so with some difficulty. Then I had him sit down on a rock. I could tell just by looking at his arm that it was broken. I had seen several of those in the army.
“Are you in a lot of pain?” I asked him.
He nodded, unable to speak from the pain.
“After we find the others, we’ve got to get you to a doctor. There’s probably one in the next town we’ll come to. It’s a pretty good size. In the meantime, I’ll splint it as best I can after we find them. Can you walk?”
He nodded again, grimacing and bearing his teeth. I knew if he were doing that, it must have been painful indeed, since Hiram didn’t show much emotion or reaction to pain in general..
“Good. Let’s walk over here and I’ll have you lie down in a clear spot. Then I’ll walk around and call for the others.”
I gently lowered him to the ground at a place not too far off and then I started walking back and forth in ever widening arcs as best I could with all the branches in my way. I would also see if I could find a blanket for Hiram if I could, but it was going to be slow going.
“Andrew!” I called. “Laurel! Caleb!”
After about ten minutes, Hiram called over to me. “I think I heard someone calling you.” It was good that the pain apparently had eased enough that he could talk.
I went over to where he was and listened. The voice was faint, but I could tell it belonged to a young man. “That has to be Andrew,” I said. “Andrew! It’s Caleb! Keep talking! I’ll come over to you.”
I followed the sound of his voice until we saw that he was, like Hiram, stuck in a tree. I worked to pull the branches away from him, and finally moved enough of them that he could climb down the trunk. When he got close enough, I put out my hand and helped him the rest of the way.
“Are you injured?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “No injuries, thank God, but I’m sore and a little dizzy. I guess that’s to be expected after you’ve been thrown about in a flood.”
“I would say so. Now you rest here for a moment and when you feel like it, then you can help me find Laurel and Caleb.”
“Where’s Hiram?” Andrew asked.
“I found him, but I think he has a broken arm. He’s down the slope a bit, lying down. He was really shaken up.”
“I’m sure he is. I know how I feel, and I don’t have a broken arm.”
“True. I’m going to look for Laurel and Caleb now.”
“I hope they’re all right.”
“So do I. I’m going to look upslope for them. Join me when you’re ready.”
“I will. Good luck.”
“Thanks.” I left him and moved up the slope, pushing limbs out of the way and clambering over fallen trees and started calling for Laurel, hoping she could hear me. I had to move very slowly, so it took me a while to cover any distance at all. After about five minutes, Hiram said, “I hear a woman over here.” It turned out that he had found both of them, possibly because he was younger and his hearing better. And they were down the slope from where he was, so I had been going the wrong way.
I came back down toward Hiram, went past him, and came upon Laurel standing on a branch high in a tree.
“Laurel!” I called. “Are you injured? Is little Caleb all right?”
“No, Caleb. I’m all right. Thank God I’m all right.”
I noticed she had something in her arms. “Is it Caleb?”
She turned her bundle toward us. “Yes, it’s little Caleb. And he seems to be unharmed.”
I was amazed. “I’m so glad! How on earth did you hold onto him during the flood?”
She regarded me with determination. “I knew that a mother’s love is stronger than anything, and that thought gave me the strength to hold onto him. I just held him the whole time, and he didn’t make a sound. He’s a brave little boy.”
I felt my eyes tear up for a moment. Laurel had done what none of us could do, I thought, and because of her, our son was alive. It was a miracle of love, and I thanked God for it.

Chapter Six
For Better and Worse
June, 1863

I thought it would take us another six days to our place near Winchester. The distance was shorter than other legs of the trip, but we would have to climb some pretty good elevations.
About six hours out of Lynchburg, I loved over toward the west and noticed some heavy dark clouds gathering on the horizon. “Look!” I called. We’re going to have a gully washer! We’d better find shelter! Look for a cave or overhang among the rocks! Hurry!”
We looked, but try as we might, the best we could do was a small overhang that wouldn’t do much to protect us from the elements. We needed more, much, much more. We would have to build something, and quickly.
“Laurel, you stay here with Caleb. Hiram, Andrew, you come with me! We’re going to build a lean-to.” I had had a lot of experience building things with wood through the years since I lived on a farm, and the other two fell in with me and started felling small trees using their big knives. I found four trees equidistant from each other in a rough square that look like they would serve to anchor the rest of the construction. “We’ll use these to tie the poles to that will hold the roof,” I told them. Then we’ll put some other branches across and secure some pieces of bark to form a roof. It will leak some, but that will be better than being in a downpour. It’ll keep the worst of the rain off us.”
We hurried around, hacking at trees like madmen. When we had all the timber we needed, we secured the poles we had cut to the four trees I had found, and then placed more poles across the first ones. Lastly, we put pieces of bark on those poles. We had the lean-to put together in short order, much more quickly than I would have thought possible.. I looked back up at the clouds. “I think we will have just enough time to move everything in here. Hiram, run back to where we were quickly, and tell Laurel the shelter is done. And both of you carry as much as you can. We’ll be coming right after you and take the rest!”
Hiram took off at a run, as I had told him, and we followed more slowly. We met the other three as we were coming up to where they had been.
“Caleb, do you think this will keep the rain off?” Laurel looked worried.
“I’ve made a number of these and been in them in all kinds of weather. You’ll have to trust me.”
She looked in her eyes. “I do. And you’re a wonderful man.”
“Thank you, my love. I married a wonderful woman.”
They kept going down the mountain, and we toiled our way up to the overhang, stopping for a moment when we got there to catch our breath. We quickly grabbed all we would need in both arms, leaving the rest under the overhang. It would be all right there, and we would retrieve it after the storm. We hurried back down to the shelter, nearly falling several times in our haste to find Laurel and Hiram organizing what we had. We put what we had carried down the mountain where Laurel told us to. “That goes here, Andrew, and Caleb, you put that over there.” She knew exactly where each item needed to be.
I looked back up at the clouds building behind the mountain. As I watched, they spilled over the top and came down toward us. “Here it comes!” I shouted. “Hurry! Everybody in the center of the shelter. Hold on!”
I had spent a lot of time outdoors and witnessed so many storms, but this one coming up looked to be the worst once I had seen. The clouds were so black they looked blue, and they seemed to have a depth to them. The lightning flashed and the thunder boomed, sounding more like artillery than a natural occurrence. Then I heard a roaring, and I hoped it was not a tornado.
When the rain came, we could not see much beyond the edge of the shelter. The rest of the world disappeared not far from where we stood. A wind tore fiercely at the structure, and a few small limbs from the top flew away.
“Is this going to hold?” Andrew asked. “This is such a terrible storm.” I could barely hear him for the noise.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in a storm like this. I hope we won’t be struck by lightning or wash away. And I think I might have heard a tornado.”
“Oh, I hope not,” Laurel said, and, although I could not hear what she said after that, I could tell she was praying. I bowed my head and joined her.
“Lord, we know that you are mightier than any storm. We pray that your mighty power will guard and protect us. That is what we ask for, Lord, in our time of need. These things I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.”
I looked around when I had finished, and saw Andrew and Hiram were praying as well. I had thought Hiram was not religious, but maybe this would cause him to make a start on becoming so. I hoped so, anyhow.
In my experience, most strong storms like the one we were in had lasted fifteen minutes at the most, but this storm raged with the same intensityfor half an hour without showing signs of stopping.
Then, suddenly, it finally began to let up, so we could relax and let go of the trees we were holding.
“I’m glad that’s over,” Laurel said.
“As am I,” Andrew answered.
“And we’re all in one piece,” I added.
“Wait,” Hiram cautioned. “What’s that sound?”
A low rumbling came from the mountain above us, and I knew in an instant what it was. “Flash flood! It sounds like a big one!” I cried. “Get in a tree, as high as you can go, quickly!”
Hiram and Andrew would not need any help to scale any tree quickly, but Laurel had little Caleb, with her, and so climbed a tree would be more difficult for her. “Come over here!” I shouted, motioning her to two trees that were close together. “I’ll go up first and brace myself on one tree. When I’m fixed, then hand Caleb to me. After you climb above me on the other side, I’ll pass Caleb back to you, and we’ll work our way up that way. This is the only way we can do this. Let’s go!”
We went up as best we could in that fashion, which was harder than I thought it would be. Finally, after some struggle, we were at least 20 feet above the ground. The sound of the flood had grown so that we couldn’t hear each other at all.I hoped that wouldn’t affect our attempt. I kept motioning with my head to Laurel to go up! Up! Up! Go up, I kept urging her. And she responded, struggling mightily to take Caleb from me and then giving him back when I had climbed above her.
We had reached about 30 feet when the flood struck in all its fury. I looked over at it just after I had passed Caleb back to Laura. The water stood like a moving wall, 30 to 40 feet high, and I just knew we were going to be overpowered by it in only a few scant seconds. I looked at Laurel and found her eyes that I had looked into so many times before. “I love you,” I mouthed and then the dirty brown wall laden with rocks and branches struck and I knew no more.