Miss Katie's Rosewood (35 page)

W
e'd only gone probably a mile, though by then we were off the main road and on a narrow wagon track through the woods barely wide enough for the wagons, when Papa reined in and told everyone to be as quiet as they could be
.

The crickets and other animals had finally gone to sleep and we could hear faint sounds of horses and shouts and saw just the hint of flickering torches through the trees in the direction of the house
.

We sat and watched nervously and listened. If they set either the house or the barn on fire, there would be no mistaking it!

Behind us Jeremiah brought his horse alongside our wagon
.

“Mister Templeton,” he whispered, “I been thinkin' . . . why don't I ride a little way back, real careful an' quiet, an' see what's goin' on? Ef dey does come lookin' fo us, I'll lead 'em on a wild-goose chase. But effen dey don't, leastways we'll know.”

“I don't know, Jeremiah . . . I hate to risk it.”

Papa thought a minute more, then slowly nodded
.

“You're right. Knowing would help us a lot. But you
mustn't let them hear you.”

“I's keep the horse quiet, you kin count on it.”

Jeremiah turned his horse around and rode slowly back the way we had come
.

It became deathly quiet. If we hadn't all been so keyed up and frightened and been through such emotions, we would have been sleepy. But no one was!

We waited . . . kept watching . . . and kept waiting
.

If they found us like this, trying to run away, they would probably kill us all and dump us in a gulch. In a way we were in as much danger here, or more, than we would have been back at Rosewood
.

At last we heard the sounds of a single horse. It grew louder, then through the blackness we heard a voice
.

“It's me . . . it's Jeremiah.”

A few quiet exclamations of relief spread through the group
.

“Dey's gone,” he said when he reached us. “Dey's headin' back ter town an' Rosewood's safe. Dey didn't do nuthin'.”

We didn't exactly shout for joy, because we knew we had to keep quiet just in case. But we almost did!

Right then I think the thought crossed every one of our minds that the easiest thing to do would be to go right back home and get into our own beds
.

But it wasn't our home anymore
.

And going back wouldn't solve anything anyway.

Our future lay ahead of us, not behind. We had made our decision and there was no turning back
.

As we settled down, Papa flicked the reins and clicked his tongue to the horses and we jostled into motion
.

“You girls might want to crawl back there and get
some sleep,” he said. “We've got a long night ahead of us.”

When I woke up, the sun was shining, though it was still fairly early. It was chilly and dew was on the ground everywhere. I smelled coffee
.

I sat up. There sat Papa and Uncle Ward and Henry and Josepha around a small campfire talking quietly. Josepha's eyes were red like she'd been crying. The three men were somber
.

It was a serious time. What we had done would take some getting used to. The sadness was going to last awhile
.

I got up and went into the woods and then came and sat down by the fire
.

“Get some sleep?” asked Papa
.

“I reckon I did,” I smiled. I cuddled up next to him and he put his arm around me. “Where are we?” I asked
.

“Who knows!” he chuckled. “Probably eight or ten miles from Greens Crossing . . . hopefully north.”

“What are we going to do?”

“Keep moving hard for another day or two until we're out of reach of anyone hearing about us or reporting our whereabouts back home.”

Rob now wandered toward us from where he and Jeremiah had been sleeping
.

“Morning,” he said. “This is quite a family I've gotten myself mixed up with! You always lead such exciting lives?”

Papa and Uncle Ward laughed so loud it woke up Katie and Aunt Nelda. I guess we didn't have to try to be quiet anymore!

Josepha wiped at her eyes and struggled to her feet
.

“Well, I reckon it's time we see what we kin rustle
up fo breakfast,” she said. “Dis here's gwine be a long trip—we's better git started wiff sumfin' warm in our bellies.”

We continued on, so slowly it seemed in those big wagons, all day. As we got further from Greens Crossing, Papa and Uncle Ward led us back on main roads and we began moving a little faster. By the end of the second day we were probably twenty-five miles from home and the men thought we were out of danger
.

But exhaustion was finally setting in too, from the weeks of work in the fields, then the escape in the middle of the night
.

We stopped and made camp about five o'clock. The men made a fire. Josepha and Aunt Nelda and Katie and I got to work boiling some potatoes and fixing some beans and bacon. I can't remember anything ever tasting so good!

While we were sitting around the fire that evening, Katie finally asked what the rest of us were probably all wondering
.

“Uncle Templeton,” she said, “where are we going?”

“I don't know exactly, Kathleen,” Papa replied. “The first thing we had to do was get far enough away that we were safe. Now I suppose it's time we made some plans. Mr. Watson gave us money to help us get to wherever we want to go. Maybe we better decide where that is.”

“Don't forget my money, Templeton,” said Aunt Nelda. “I've got it safe and sound.”

“I won't, Nelda,” he said. “Why, that's over three hundred dollars between us all. We're rich. We can go wherever we want!”

He paused and the smile faded from his lips
.

“But it may be that we've all got different ideas as
to where that might be,” he said. “Nelda, you'll probably want to be getting home. If you want, we could put you on a train and—”

“I'm not leaving the rest of you now,” she said. “I haven't had so much excitement in years! I know you've had to leave your home. But we're safe, and that's the most important thing. And as far as where to go, you are all welcome with me in Philadelphia . . . though it might be a little crowded.”

“We appreciate that, Nelda,” said Uncle Ward. “We all appreciate it a lot.”

“There's you too, Rob,” said Papa. “You may be wanting to get home too.”

“I'm in no hurry, Mr. Daniels. I came down to North Carolina to help. That still goes.”

Papa nodded in appreciation. “I suppose what I'm saying,” he went on, “is that maybe now we've all got our own lives to live. Rob, you and Kathleen plan to get married. Maybe you'll get your own place in Hanover. Jeremiah, you had yourself a job—maybe you and Mayme will go back there after you're married. Henry and Josepha, you have had to leave your nice new house, but when we get Mr. Watson's money from Rosewood, we'll all split it up fairly and I promise that you will be able to buy yourself a new place somewhere. As for Ward and me, I suppose we can get by most anyplace. Maybe it's time for us to hit the trail again, maybe go back to California like we've talked about . . . go visit the Hollisters and Micah and Emma, I don't know. All I'm saying is that maybe we ought to split up Mr. Watson's two hundred dollars right now, and you'll all be free to go wherever you want to go.”

It was silent. His words sounded like a death sentence to my ears! I didn't want everybody to leave and split up!

The silence continued. Everybody was just staring at the ground
.

“But, Uncle Templeton,” said Katie at last, “it sounds like you want us all to leave and go our own separate ways.”

“I didn't mean that, Kathleen,” he said. “I just figured that everyone's got to make up their own minds what they want to do and where they want to go. We're all adults, so I can't be telling everybody else what to do.”

“Meanin' no disrespect, Mister Templeton,” said Henry, “but me an' Josepha, we'd jes' as soon stay wiff you an' Mister Ward whereber you go, dat is ef you wants us. We's kind er figger dat we's a family, 'specially us old folks. Kind er late ter be splittin' up now, dat's what we's thinkin'. California's a mite far fo da likes er us ter go, but maybe someplace closer by where we kin put down new roots an' settle down agin.”

“Me too,” said Katie. “I want to stay together too.”

“And me,” I said
.

Papa looked at Rob and Jeremiah
.

“What about you two young men?” he asked. “What are your plans?”

“I ain't got none yet, Mister Templeton,” said Jeremiah. “Mayme an' me, we ain't had a chance ter talk 'bout it. We figgered we'd be at Rosewood. All dis has happened mighty fast. So wiff all dese changes, I reckon I'm thinkin' we ought ter stick together a spell.”

Papa looked at Rob
.

“Katie and I have talked about our future,” he said. “But we've decided nothing. I know how important all of you are to her. This is Katie's family and I told her that I would never want to take her from her family. And now you are my family too . . . or will be, I hope, before too long. I know you would be welcome at my
parents' home. Like Nelda said, it would be a bit crowded. But in the absence of other possibilities, it is something to consider on a temporary basis.”

Gradually all eyes turned toward Katie
.

“Ever since Mayme and I went north,” she said, “I've been wondering about the future. The way things are,” she went on, “I don't know if I want to live in North Carolina anymore, or anywhere even close to it. I don't want to have to worry about what people think about my best friend, or about Jeremiah or Josepha or Henry or anyone else. I want to live somewhere where people are respected for who they are inside.”

She looked around at all of us, then smiled at me. Then she looked back to Papa
.

“I suppose I am ready to leave,” she sighed, “and find a place in the North, or someplace else where we can be a family.”

She glanced at Henry and Josepha
.

“I guess I agree with Henry,” she said. “California seems pretty far. Couldn't we find someplace to live together closer than that!”

A few chuckles went around. Again it was quiet. Nobody was anxious to interrupt with their own thoughts at a time like this. We knew Katie had more to say
.

“As I have listened to what everyone's been saying,” Katie went on, “I realized something. This—right here, all of us together . . . this is Rosewood. We didn't leave Rosewood . . . Rosewood left Greens Crossing. We are Rosewood. It is the family that made it a home for us all. I will miss that dear house and everything there, my special place in the woods, all the memories. And the graves of our loved ones are here and we will never forget that. I'll even miss dear Mrs. Hammond.”

We all laughed, and for the first time realized how
fond of her we had become
.

“But I would rather be with you all,” Katie went on, “even here like this, around a campfire, sleeping on the ground or in that wagon, with no home at all, than to have ten Rosewoods without you.”

I looked into Katie's eyes as she spoke, and I could see she was doing what she always did at a time like this. When things got really hard, Katie always seemed to go down inside herself and think about things and come out stronger in the end, stronger than most people knew she was, maybe even stronger than she knew she was herself
.

But I knew. I had known all along. She said that we were all Rosewood. But I knew that more than anybody or anything . . . Katie herself was the strength of Rosewood. She was what held us all together
.

We were all quiet and stared into the fire
.

There was no more talk after that night of splitting up. Wherever we went, we were going together
.

The following day Rob rode up beside our wagon
.

“Could I talk to you a minute, Mr. Daniels?” he said
.

“Sure,” Papa answered. “One of you girls want to take Rob's horse?”

“I will,” said Katie as Papa reined in
.

“I'll go ride with Jeremiah awhile,” I said, jumping to the ground
.

I ran back to Jeremiah and he pulled me up behind him. Katie mounted Rob's horse and Rob sat down on the seat beside Papa
.

“Something on your mind, son?” said Papa as they continued on
.

“Yes, sir,” said Rob. “I mentioned this to Katie a while back, but I didn't want to say anything about it
to everyone until I saw what you and Mr. Daniels thought.”

“Go on,” said Papa. “I'm listening.”

“I know you don't have definite plans yet . . . but I had hoped that Katie and I would be able to settle reasonably near my family. And you have your sister in Philadelphia, and as I understand it, you were raised not far from there.”