Glimmers of Change (47 page)

Moses could tell by the sun’s position that it was almost ten o’clock. The growing tension in his body told him they were running out of time. “It’s time to get back to the fort,” he told Roy.

Roy nodded but continued to move forward into the bayou, plunging through the shallow waters. “We already found three of our men,” he said angrily. “What if there are more?”

“Then we’ll come back for them,” Moses said evenly. He glanced at the rest of the men spread out around them. “It won’t help anyone if we are attacked.”

“What makes you think they are coming back?” Roy demanded belligerently.

Moses sighed, knowing he would feel the same way if he spent the morning finding the bodies of friends who had been gunned down or beaten to death. “They’re coming back,” he repeated patiently. “It’s up to us to keep the rest of the men from getting hurt,” he said, letting the urgency creep into his voice. “They have wives and children waiting for them in the fort.”

Roy turned and stared at him, the fury in his eyes fading into anguish. Slowly, he nodded his head. “Let’s go,” he called. “We gotta get back. You won’t do no good for your family if you get killed.”

The rest of the men glared at him, but they slowly moved in his direction. Moses breathed a sigh of relief as they came together and headed back toward the fort. His relief was short-lived. He could feel the danger before he could hear it, but moments later the sounds of horses and yelling men split the quiet streets.

Roy exchanged a wild-eyed look with Moses. “Run!” he cried.

The whole group broke into a run, but Moses knew it was too late. His mind spun as he tried to figure out what to do. Suddenly he stopped abruptly, raising his hand in command. The whole group stopped, turning to him for direction. Moses looked around and dashed for a shadowed opening between two buildings.

When he had all the men huddled together, he gestured for them to listen, talking as quietly as he could. “It’s too dangerous for us to all stay together. We will all be easy targets for a mob of men with guns. We have to split up. No more than two together,” he ordered. He paused, knowing he may be talking to some of these men for the last time. He had hoped he left violence behind on the battlefield, but it had followed him to Memphis. “Do whatever you can to get back to the fort. It’s the only place you’ll be safe. Use the alleys behind buildings. Stay off the main roads,” he said firmly. He locked eyes with all of them. “Good luck.”

He motioned to the first two men. “You two go out the back.” He waited a couple minutes and then gestured to the next go. “Go,” he said urgently.

Several minutes later, he was alone in the opening with Roy. “Guess it’s just the two of us,” he said easily, swallowing his fear just as he had on the battlefield. There would be time for fear and emotion later. Right now his life depended on clear thinking. He walked between the buildings to the back alley, peering out and listening. When he heard nothing that would indicate anything in close proximity, he nodded to Roy, ducked his head and started running.

Gunfire and screaming broke out on the street behind him, but no one had entered the alley. Moses knew there was nothing he could do to save the blacks who had dared to venture out into the streets. He cursed himself for staying away from the fort so long, but he couldn’t waste energy on regrets right now. He and Roy reached a corner and stopped, peering out around a building. Moses groaned at what he saw.

Two of their group were pressed up against a building, held there by four policemen. One of the police was shouting at them. “You shot one of our own yesterday!”

“I didn’t!” Tony pleaded, his eyes bulging with fear.

“He weren’t there!” Bernie insisted, his eyes both frightened and angry. “I tell you, he weren’t there.”

Moses closed his eyes for a brief moment and then forced them open again. He already knew what was coming.

“It was you!” the policeman screamed. “And if it wasn’t, you still ain’t nothing but a useless nigger.” He sneered and fired his pistol.

Moses saw the spurt of blood erupt from Tony’s leg. For just a moment he had hope they would be content with shooting him in the leg. His hopes splintered when two more of the police raised their guns, silencing both of the soldiers with a bullet to their heads.

“No!” Roy cried as he crouched to spring forward.

Moses clapped his hand over his mouth and pulled him back, shoving him into an opening he had spied during their run. “Be quiet!” he hissed. He prayed Roy’s cry had not been heard over the melee in the street. “There is nothing we can do now.”

Roy fought him briefly and then sagged into his arms, sobs shaking his shoulders. “They ain’t done nothing,” he muttered, his eyes wild with grief. “They ain’t done nothing.”

“
No one
has done anything,” Moses muttered, his own eyes filling with hot tears. His mind spun as he tried to figure out a way to get back to the fort that didn’t include the main streets. He knew he was at a serious disadvantage because he didn’t know the area. “Roy!” He shook the sobbing soldier’s shoulders. “You’ve got to help us get back to the fort.”

Roy shuddered, trying to control his tears. “What?” he managed.

“We can’t cross that street,” Moses said, forcing his voice to remain calm, trying to block out his fear that he may never see Rose again. Never see John. Never see Hope. He fought to bring his thoughts under control. “You know this area. Is there another way to get back to the fort?”

Roy gasped as he tried to breathe, but the wild look in his eyes gradually faded. He stared out from the opening, his mind searching for an answer. Finally he nodded. “We can go back the way we come and then cut over a few streets. We might have a chance if we come up from behind the fort. It will take us longer—”

“Let’s go,” Moses snapped, not letting him finish his sentence. He edged out from between the building and waited for Roy to join him.

Roy broke into a run. Moses kept up with him easily, his eyes scanning the alley for any sign of movement. In less than two hundred yards, they ducked back into another opening, moving east away from the river. For a moment they left the horrifying noises of the riot behind them.

Remaining silent, Roy worked his way east. They stopped at the edge of every building, watching to be sure it was safe to advance before sprinting forward. Roy raised his hand in a signal to stop when they reached a narrow alley cluttered with garbage from the shanties crowded onto the lots. “We turn south here,” he whispered. “We’ll come up behind the fort. If we’re lucky, there will be someone manning the gate at the rear.”

“And if not?” Moses asked quietly.

“Then we climb the wall,” Roy said grimly, his eyes once more focused and determined. “Whatever it takes, we’ll get in the fort.”

Moses nodded, took a deep breath, and prepared to sprint forward. A sudden sound froze him in his tracks. The sound of a door crashing open was unmistakable. “Wait!” he hissed.

Roy went rigid, his eyes darting everywhere to determine where the sound had come from.

Matthew was in the midst of the mob when violence exploded again. His eyes widened when he caught sight of several uniformed men from the Third darting between buildings.

“They’re trying to get back to the fort!” Robert yelled.

Matthew nodded grimly. “I can’t imagine why they are out at all! I can only hope Moses had enough sense to stay there this morning.” Something was churning in his gut that warned him Moses might not have made that choice, but he decided to keep his thoughts to himself. When Robert remained silent, Matthew knew he was already thinking the same thing.

“Where are
they
going?” Robert muttered.

Matthew looked in the direction Robert was gazing. He frowned as he saw four policemen separate from the mob and head east.

“Go after them,” Peter urged. “Crandall and I will stay with the main mob. If we’re going to report what is really happening, then we need to see everything we can.

Matthew nodded. None of them retained any hope they could stop the violence, or even help the victims. All they could do was make sure the country knew the truth about what had happened when it was finally over. He clasped Peter and Crandall’s hands tightly. “Be careful,” he urged, before he and Robert broke away to follow the policemen.

They remained far enough back to not alert the police of their presence but made sure they didn’t lose sight of them. Matthew peered around a corner and held up his hand in command. “They’re surrounding a shanty,” he informed Robert quietly.

They both watched as the policemen approached the primitive home. Sparse clumps of grass sprang up from the tiny dirt yard. A few tomato plants struggled to survive against the rickety fence.

“Get out here, Dickerson!” a slightly built policeman with dark hair yelled. “It’s time to pay up for being a Yankee soldier.” His voice dripped with anticipation and hatred.

“You can’t hide from us,” another taunted, his full face red from exertion. His stomach bulged against his uniform as he settled himself in a threatening stance. “We know you’re in there!”

“I hope he got out of there last night,” Matthew growled. He tensed with disbelief when he saw the door open slowly. Surely whoever they were after wasn’t going to walk right out to them. He opened his mouth to yell a warning, but Robert’s sharp squeeze on his arm reminded him it would be futile.

“Why looky there!” another policeman sneered, his strong Irish accent supporting his bright red hair. “We got us a nigger smart enough to know he can’t be getting away.”

Dickerson, a tall, lean man with glistening dark skin stepped out of the door, but as soon as his feet hit solid ground he darted to the left and began to run toward an opening between shanties a few yards away.

“Run!” Matthew breathed, biting back a groan when the policemen raised their guns and fired, the explosions shattering the early morning. Dickerson had run barely ten feet before he fell, clutching his abdomen as his eyes rolled in agony.

“That will show you not to leave your old mistress and master,” the slight policeman snapped. He stepped up to Dickerson, kicked him to make sure he couldn’t get up, and then rifled through his pockets. “I got twenty-five dollars!” he called jubilantly, hoisting a fistful of money into the air before he raised his gun again. “We need to finish this nigger off!”

“Don’t waste another bullet on him,” the burly policeman answered, lifting a hand to push the pistol down. “We got him in the stomach. He ain’t gonna live long.” His lips curled as his eyes shone with glee. “Let’s go find us another one. I heard about another
veteran
just around the block,” he said contemptuously. “They think they can hide in their homes, but we’re about to teach all of them that we’re going to get them one way or another.”

Matthew exchanged a silent look with Robert. Never had he felt such shame to be an American, or to be a white man.

“They’re going to try to slaughter all of them,” Robert stated in a broken voice, his eyes blazing with fury. “I can’t believe there are no troops coming out to stop this mayhem.”

Matthew pushed aside his shame and disgust, moving out into the street to follow the quartet. “Come on,” he said heavily. “We’ve got to follow them.”

“I don’t know that I can just keep following them while they slaughter defenseless people,” Robert answered slowly. “Do you really think we’re going to do any good?”

Matthew shook his head. “I don’t know,” he admitted, “but we have to try. I’ve been predicting it was going to take a disaster to make people in the North realize the truth of what is happening in the South…” His voice trailed away as a sudden hopelessness flooded him. Would it really make any difference at all?

Robert grabbed his shoulder. “Lead on,” he said stoutly. “You’re right. All we can do is try.”

Matthew flashed him a look of gratitude and turned right to follow the policemen. Two hundred yards later he stopped to peer around a building.

“Get out here, Cannon!”

“They’re after another one,” Robert said angrily. “I hope this one has the sense to stay inside.”

“It won’t matter,” Matthew sighed. He stiffened when the red-haired policeman, evidently too impatient to wait, strode forward and kicked the door in. It gave way easily before his heavy boots.

“Mama! Daddy! They’s come after us!”

“There’s a girl in there,” Matthew groaned, just as he saw a medium built man with light caramel skin appear at the door, obviously trying to block the soldiers from his family.

The stoic look on Cannon’s face said he knew what was coming.

“There’s a woman in there,” the slight policeman said, gloating anticipation in his voice as he rubbed his hands together. “I been right lonely for a while. I don’t mind the little ones either. A lot of the boys had their fun last night. I figure it’s my turn now.”

Cannon’s lips curled back in a growl before he launched himself at the policeman, pulling out the knife he had hidden behind his back. The other men lifted their pistols but it was too late. The policeman, a look of utter surprise on his face, slumped to the ground. Shots rang out a second later. Cannon collapsed, shooting a look of apology toward the house before his eyes closed.

The remaining policeman, the only one who had remained silent so far looked down at the stabbed policeman with disdain. “We ain’t down here to rape nigger woman,” he spat. “I’m here to kill them and just move on. Sean was a fool!” He stepped toward the house, raising his pistol.

“We can’t just leave him,” the burly policeman protested.

“Sean isn’t dead,” the other policeman snapped. “He’s just bleeding good. We’ll come back for him, but I’ll not be letting him stop me from what I came to do.”

Matthew and Robert exchanged another look. Neither one of them could sit idly by while these man shot a woman and her child. Both of them, without saying a word, began to edge forward.

Moses had crept forward as soon as he heard the door crash in. He was willing to watch silently as they called for Cannon because he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop anything. But it was when he heard the child cry out that his blood froze. “Felicia!”

He felt Roy’s eyes on him. “Felicia?”

“The little girl,” Moses snapped, his brain spinning as he tried to decide how to save her. “I made friends with her when I was at her school a few days ago.” Keeping one eye on the house, he reached slowly for his weapon. He knew he was outnumbered, but he would not just quietly watch something happen to the little girl he had already grown to love. He could still see her eyes shining with bright courage that morning when she had come to school as usual because of the things he had said.

“We can’t stop it!” Roy whispered urgently.

Moses turned to him. “I know,” he admitted hoarsely, “but Felicia is going to know someone tried to save her. You’ve got to make it back to the fort, Roy. I want you to let Rose know I tried to come home to her.”

Roy stared at him wildly and then slowly reached for his pistol. “Tell her yourself,” he replied evenly. “What’s the plan?”

“We’ll have to kill them,” Moses said, realizing exactly what kind of consequences could come down on them if they were caught. He knew they would have to move quickly.

Suddenly, before he could even take a step, a woman came racing from the house, throwing herself down on the ground beside her husband. “Billy!” she sobbed.

Moses watched in stunned silence as the burly policeman, without a word, lifted his pistol and fired into the woman’s head.

“Mama!” Felicia appeared at the door, her eyes wild with grief and anger. “You shot my mama!” she screamed, her lithe body taut with fury. “How come you shot my mama and daddy?”

Moses growled and began to move forward.

Roy grabbed his arm. “Wait!” he whispered. “Moses, look! Ain’t them the men who were with you in the fort?”

Moses shook his head to clear his eyes. Matthew and Robert were moving forward, their hands gripping thick pieces of wood.

“Hey!” Robert yelled. “What’s going on? Did we miss all the action?” His voice was thick with frustration. “I see you got us some more niggers!”

The policemen, surprised by anyone else’s presence, all turned away from Felicia.

Felicia’s eyes suddenly met Moses’s across the narrow alley. He was still crouched, ready to spring. When her mouth flew open, he raised his finger to his lips and shook his head firmly. “Be quiet,” he mouthed. He wanted to tell her to run, but he knew she had little chance of outrunning their pistols.

Felicia remained still, her eyes locked on him with desperate hope.

“Who are you?” one of the policemen asked suspiciously.

Robert and Matthew continued to advance. “We missed all the fun yesterday,” Matthew said gruffly. “I’m not letting all this happen without killing me a nigger.”

The policemen relaxed. “There are plenty more waiting for us,” they assured him, looking at each other as they laughed.

Matthew took advantage of them looking away. Moving in unison, he and Robert sprang forward, swinging their wood with deadly accuracy, cocking their arms back to swing again before the policemen’s faces even seemed to register that they were under attack.

Moses heard the thwack of wood against the men’s heads, watching as the four of them seemed to collapse simultaneously. Only then did he break from hiding and dash across the opening.

“Mr. Samuels!” Felicia cried, tears coming for the first time.

Matthew and Robert spun around, shocked looks on their faces. “Moses?” Their eyes moved past him. “Roy?”

Moses knelt down as Felicia flew into his arms, wrapping her up tightly. He gazed up at Robert and Matthew. “Thank you,” he said quietly. He peered down the road. “We can all exchange stories later. I suggest we get out of here.”

“I think you’re right,” Matthew agreed, his grieved eyes locked on Felicia.

“She’s coming with us,” Moses said. He held Felicia back for just a moment and looked down into her face, aching at the pain he saw etched there. “Can you climb on to my back and hold on real good, honey?” he asked softly.

Felicia nodded bravely but then her face crumpled into a new spate of tears when she looked back at her mama and daddy. “We’re leaving them?” Her voice was barely audible.

Moses hugged her again, fighting to bring his emotions under control. “They’re gone, sweetheart.” His mind wouldn’t form any more words.

“Dead?” Felicia whispered.

Moses bit back an angry curse as he held her away from him and looked into her eyes. “Yes. I’m so sorry,” he said gently. “I’ll come back and get them later, but first I have to get you to the fort where you are safe.”

Felicia gazed up at him. Slowly she nodded. “Okay, Mr. Samuels. I’ll get on your back, and I’ll hang on real good.” In a cracked voice, she added, “I played this game with my daddy, too.”

“And can you be real quiet, Felicia?” Matthew asked tenderly. “We don’t want anyone to know where we are.”

Felicia nodded somberly, courage and fear flickering in her eyes.

Moses, still kneeling, waited for her to clamber onto his back. Then he stood, turning to Matthew and Robert, his thoughts spinning with gratitude for what they had done. “Roy knows a way to come up around the back of the fort.”