Our Kansas Home (2 page)

I wonder if
we'll
go back,
Charlie thought.

Charlie hadn't wanted to leave Massachusetts. He still missed Grandpa and his old dog, Danny. Sometimes, if he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine himself hunting bird nests in their old woods and catching polliwogs in the pond.

Still, Charlie was growing to like Kansas. He loved the way hawks soared in the big prairie skies.

Charlie liked the people he'd met, too. Especially his friend, Flory Morgan. Flory always made him smile. She
called him “Massachusetts Charlie,” and sang old river songs in her high, sweet voice.

The truth was Charlie didn't know where he belonged anymore.

Massachusetts or Kansas. Which was home now?

CHAPTER TWO
 

“There's the Free State Hotel!” cried Charlie. “I think it must be the grandest building in Kansas.”

“Now families have a fine place to stay when they arrive,” Ed said proudly. “But Sheriff Jones and the proslavery folks claim it's a fort. They say we free-state settlers might use it to overthrow the government.”

A crowd of men had gathered in front of the hotel. Charlie stood on tiptoes to look for Papa.

Wooden Ed squinted. “Can you spot him?”

“No. Oh, wait. There he is. Papa!” Charlie hollered. A tall, thin man with dark hair shouldered his way toward them.

“Good to see you, Ed,” said Papa, shaking Mr. Dillon's hand. “So it looks like more trouble.”

Ed nodded. “Sheriff Jones has been coming around for weeks, trying to arrest the free-state leaders. Especially anyone who helped rescue Jacob Branson.”
He gave Papa a long look and added, “They haven't noticed me. Yet …”

Charlie felt a wave of fear rush over him. Last fall Sheriff Jones had arrested a free-state man named Jacob Branson for no good reason. Some of Branson's friends had rescued him because they feared the sheriff might hurt him.

Charlie would never forget that night. He had hidden in the wagon. But Papa and Ed Dillon had stood up with the other free-state men.

Will Sheriff Jones go after Papa, too?
Charlie wondered.

“It didn't help that some fool shot at Jones a few weeks ago,” Ed went on.

“Now, that was wrong,” said Papa. “Is Jones all right?”

“He was wounded, but he's better,” Ed replied. “And madder than ever. He wants to punish the whole town. And destroying the hotel is one way to do it.”

Just then a man rode up and stopped his horse right in front of them. “They're coming!” he shouted. “Jones and his men are riding down from the top of Mount Oread.”

At that moment the man's horse reared. Its hooves
came down near Charlie and Lion. Papa grabbed Charlie, and pulled him to safety.

Lion yelped. Charlie made a grab for him, but Lion was spooked. He started to run, tail between his legs.

“Lion!” Charlie yelled. “Oh, I have to catch him.”

Before Papa could stop him, Charlie pushed his way through the crowd of men.

At the corner he stopped. He didn't see Lion anywhere.

It wasn't Lion's fault,
thought Charlie.
He couldn't help being scared.

“Lion! Here, boy!” Charlie yelled.

He turned the corner and froze in horror.

“Border ruffians,” he whispered.

I should run,
thought Charlie. But he couldn't make his feet move.

He was standing in front of the newspaper office. Charlie could read the sign: KANSAS FREE STATE. As he watched, four or five men smashed the door open.

They rushed inside, whooping and shouting. Charlie heard loud crashes and bangs.

Suddenly a chair came flying out the door. Charlie jumped back.

Then came a desk, and another chair.

Someone threw out a lantern.
Crash!
The glass broke into a hundred pieces.

Next came equipment, stacks of paper, and old newspapers.

A man came up behind Charlie. “They're wrecking the printing press. They won't stop until the newspaper office is destroyed.”

A shower of black metal poured out the door. Some of the bits landed at Charlie's feet. He bent down and picked one of them up. He turned the small piece of metal over in his hand.

“What is it?” Charlie asked the man.

“That's a piece of type. It's a letter the printer uses to set a page of print,” the man told him. “Won't be much good now.”

Then the man walked away, his shoulders slumped.

Charlie peered at the tiny object in his hand. It was the capital letter “L.”

“Words have power,” Momma had told him, when he first learned to read. Charlie hadn't understood what she meant. Now Charlie thought he knew.

These men didn't want anyone writing about making Kansas a free state. They didn't want people to speak out
against slavery. They didn't want anything to change.

One of the men came out of the building and pointed at Charlie. “Hey, boy, what you lookin' at?”

In a flash Charlie slipped the tiny letter into his pocket. He spun on his heel and ran hard.

“Lion. Here, boy,” Charlie called as he ran.

Charlie wanted to find Lion more than ever. He felt scared to be walking alone.

He called again.

All at once he heard a bark. Lion came running toward him.

Lion leaned against Charlie's leg and pushed his wet nose against Charlie's hand. He plopped to the ground and rolled over to have his belly scratched.

It wasn't my fault that big horse scared me,
Lion seemed to be saying.

Charlie couldn't help smiling. “Come on, Lion.”

“There you are,” said Papa as Charlie slipped in beside him. “Hold Lion close, now.”

Charlie heard shouts and the pounding of hooves.

“They're here,” said Ed grimly.

CHAPTER THREE
 

“Kansas is ours!”

“Let's see how strong the Free State Hotel really is!”

“Get rid of this fort! Down with treason!”

The shouts of the Missouri men filled the air. Charlie craned his neck. Everywhere he looked he saw men on horseback, bearing down on the hotel.

He whispered to Papa, “There are so many.”

“Maybe eight hundred,” said Papa. “But don't worry, Charlie. They're after buildings, not people.”

Ed nodded. “Everyone in the hotel got out safely.”

“But can't we stop them? Can't we do
something?”
Charlie cried.

“Not this time,” Ed said, laying his hand on Charlie's shoulder. “Jones is still angry that we defied him last fall, when we rescued Branson. Now he has eight hundred men with him. And the proslavery government is on his side.”

“But … but … we can't just stand here!” Charlie said.

Papa looked at Ed Dillon, but Ed shook his head. “The townspeople talked about it. In the end we figured that if we fought back, Jones would use it as an excuse to burn down the whole town.”

As Charlie watched, the border ruffians pointed a cannon straight at the Free State Hotel.

“But the hotel is made of stone,” Charlie said. “They won't be able to hurt it, will they?”

Papa put his arm around Charlie's shoulder. He didn't say a word.

Boom!
The cannonball flew clear over the roof of the hotel. The townspeople cheered.

Lion began to whine. The hair on his neck stood straight up. Charlie held him tight. “It's all right, boy.”

Boom!
The cannon fired again. This time the cannonball hit the hotel, but the walls didn't crumble.

“Hurrah!” shouted the townspeople.

Charlie felt like jumping up and down. “It's too strong, Papa. They can't wreck it.”

“I hope you're right, Charlie.”

Sheriff Jones ordered his men to explode a keg of gunpowder inside the hotel.

Crack! Bang!
The air filled with smoke. The hotel still stood. The townspeople cheered once more.

“Maybe he'll give up now,” said Charlie.

“I'm afraid not,” said Wooden Ed, pointing. “Look, they're trying to burn it down.”

Papa sighed. “Once the mattresses and beds catch fire, the floors will go.”

Charlie looked around him. The townspeople had stopped cheering. Slowly the smell of smoke seeped into the air. Soon Charlie heard a crackling sound coming from inside the hotel. Clouds of smoke billowed overhead.

Now it was the border ruffians' turn to cheer and shout. The people of Lawrence knew it was too dangerous to fight Sheriff Jones and his men. Still, it was hard to watch. Charlie saw Papa clenching his fists. Ed Dillon bit his lip so hard it started to bleed.

Sheriff Jones began to laugh. Charlie heard him say, “I can make these free-state men bow before me in the dust and kiss the laws of Kansas Territory! Come on, men. Let's go.”

As the border ruffians were about to leave, one of them wheeled his horse close to Charlie. He pointed at
Papa and Ed Dillon. “Hold on a minute. You two look familiar. Weren't you part of that group of traitors who stole our prisoner last fall?”

Charlie felt ready to burst. Without thinking, he shouted, “Jacob Branson wasn't stolen. He was
rescued!”

“That's enough, Charlie. Hush.” Papa placed a strong hand on Charlie's shoulder.

The man shook his rifle at Papa and Ed. “Well, if you were there that night, you're lucky you haven't been arrested yet. Watch out!”

He spurred his horse, and galloped off.

Charlie swallowed hard. “Will that man have you arrested, Papa?”

“I don't think so, Charlie.” Papa said softly. “We're not well-known leaders like the others.”

Ed Dillon chewed his lip. “That's so. But maybe we
should
lie low for a few days. My sister has a place out of the way, twenty miles north of town.”

Papa shook his head. “Ed, I can't leave my claim, especially now. Sarah would be alone with four children, including a baby.”

“Your wife would want you to be safe, James,” insisted Ed.

Charlie looked from Mr. Dillon to Papa Suddenly Charlie knew what he had to say.