Promises to the Dead (11 page)

"I don't know who or what to believe," the judge said to Nate, "but as much as I hate to agree with Abednego Botfield, I smell the rank odor of mendacity."

Fearing the judge would lay all the blame on Nate, I thrust myself between them. "It ain't Nate's fault," I said. "He was just helping me, sir. I'm the one who stole Perry and you should be glad I did, for he's your own kin—"

That got the judge's attention all right. Towering over me as wrathy as one of them kings in the Bible, he roared, "My kin? What do you mean by that?"

Too late I recalled what Athena had told me about saying such things, but there was no taking the words back now. "Perry's daddy was the late Peregrine Baxter," I hollered, too wrathy myself to care what the man did to me. "That makes Perry your grandson. Your own flesh and blood."

Whilst I was talking, the judge was hauling me to the door. "Liar," he roared. "My son would never miscegenate with a slave!"

"If you saw him," I yelled back, "you'd know I'm telling the truth!"

The judge was so mad I doubt he heard a word I said, let alone believed me. With one last curse, he threw me out the door like I was no more than a bundle of rags.

I hit the ground so hard it knocked the wind right out of me. For a second I thought I was dead or paralyzed, but then I got my breath and picked myself up. The door was shut fast, but the kitchen window showed the lamp was still lit. I sneaked up and looked inside. The judge was talking to Nate, his face grim. Athena hovered nearby, wringing her hands with worry. There was nothing I could do but wait till the judge went to bed. Then, if I was lucky, Athena might let me in and tell me where Perry was.

It seemed like a long time, probably because I was cold and tired and wanted nothing more than a warm place to sleep, but at last the kitchen door opened and Athena peeked out. "Jesse?" she whispered.

I scurried into the house. "Where's Nate?" I whispered.

"The judge sent him to the cellar and told me not to go near him," Athena said. "He's mighty angry at both of us."

"And Perry? Where's he?"

"Come on," Athena said, "I'll show you."

I followed her down to a small storage room in the cellar where she put me to work moving a stack of barrels and crates. I recalled the judge poking around in the same place, but he'd contented himself with shining his lantern here and there. I guess Athena knew more about the cellar than he did, for the barrels and crates hid a tiny room the judge had missed altogether.

Inside was Perry, curled up in a blanket, sound asleep and as safe as a mole in the ground. I grinned a big grin, mightily relieved to see him.

"Crawl in there with him and get some sleep, Jesse," Athena said. "I'll fetch you in the morning after the judge has gone to the courthouse."

As quiet as I could, I wriggled under Perry's blanket, bone weary and glad for the warmth of his body. I thought I'd tumble into sleep the minute I shut my eyes, but long after Athena moved the crates back into place, I lay awake worrying. Even though I'd saved Perry from the widow, I was far from done with him. Grandson or not, the judge didn't want any part of the boy. It seemed we had no choice but to travel on and find Miss Polly.

When I finally managed to fall asleep, I dreamed I was sailing down the Bay toward home. The sky was blue and the water sparkled. I could see Uncle Philemon waiting on shore for me, waving to beat the band. My heart leaped with joy, but before the boat docked, the sky turned black and the wind commenced to blow. Uncle Philemon disappeared. Captain Harrison turned to tell me something, but he had Colonel Abednego Botfield's face. In his hand was a pistol, pointed at my head.

That was when I woke up to see Nate bending over me. One eye was swollen shut and his cheek was bruised, the colonel's handiwork. "Athena send me to fetch you boys," he said. "The judge has left for the day, and we got plans to make."

Nate woke Perry next. For a second the poor child's eyes widened in fear, but Nate told him not to worry. "You're safe now. That woman won't never get her hands on you again."

Athena met us at the top of the stairs. She'd fixed oatmeal for all three of us and a mug of steaming hot coffee for Nate and me.

Perry looked around the room wildly. "Are we safe here?" he asked. "What if somebody sees us through the window? What if the colonel comes back?"

Athena drew Perry on to her lap and rocked him. "Bless you, child, nobody's coming into the backyard to peek through that little old kitchen window. Company knocks at the front door. You're as safe as bird in its nest here."

Gently she scooped up a spoonful of oatmeal and offered it to him. "You eat this," she said. "You need to put some meat on those skinny bones and get strong."

While we ate, Athena asked if we'd slept all right, were we warm enough, how did we feel, did we want more to eat, and so on. She felt Perry's forehead to see if he was feverish, she changed the bandage on Nate's head, she inspected his swollen eye, she forced me take another dose of the foul concoction she'd made for me while I was sick. Truth to tell, I believe we enjoyed being fussed over, even Nate.

The only thing I took exception to was the scrubbing she gave Perry and me. Much as I hated soap and water, it was good to put on clean clothes afterwards. Peregrine's castoffs, Athena said, still packed away in a trunk upstairs. My pants were a little short and Perry's were a little long, but on the whole we looked a sight more respectable than before.

When Athena had done what she could, she studied all three of us, sighed real heavy, and turned to Nate. "I know you're going to take your chances with the Yankee army, but what about Pamela? She must be in bad trouble with the Kirbys. You just going to leave her to face it alone?"

Nate shook his head. "I aim to get her out of that house one way or another. And the sooner the better. I don't think I'll have no trouble persuading her to come with me now."

Athena gave me a long look. "Jesse, are you still aiming to take this child to Miss Polly?"

"I promised his mama," I said once again. "I swore on her very grave."

Athena laid a piece of paper on the table. "I drew you a map. Look at it real hard. Make sure you know what you're getting into."

I studied Athena's handiwork, turning the paper this way and that, but I couldn't make no sense of it. Finally I said, "There must be some mistake. Surely you don't mean us to cross the Potomac River. Why, if we do that, we'll be in Virginia. That's south."

"If you want to see Miss Polly Baxter," Athena said, "Virginia's exactly where you have to go."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Athena hadn't finished what she was saying. Turning to Perry, she added, "You got more kin than Miss Polly, you know. Your mama's sister Hyacinth is in Virginia, too. The judge sent her to his brother's place to look after Miss Polly and Mrs. Baxter."

Perry stared at Athena, just as surprised as I was. "Mama never told me she had a sister," he said.

"You have a granny, too," Athena said. "Did your mama ever speak of her?"

Perry shook his head, still not believing. "I have a grandmother? Why didn't Mama send me to her?"

"She's a slave like you and your Aunt Hyacinth," Athena said quietly. "How could she help you?"

Perry didn't have an answer for that. But I was full of wonderment. Once I'd thought the poor child was all alone in the world. Now it seemed he had more kin than I did, both white and black.

"Is my grandmother in Virginia, too?" Perry asked. "I'd dearly love to meet her."

"Mr. Peregrine sold your granny south about eight or nine years ago," Athena said, "around the same time he sent Hyacinth here." She glanced at Nate, but he just sat there drinking his coffee as if all this had nothing to do with him.

"The last I heard your granny was on a plantation not far from where you're going," Athena went on. "But I believe there's a good chance she and Hyacinth—"

Nate got Athena's attention by slamming down his coffee cup. Scowling something fierce, he shook his head at her. It was clear a secret hung in the air between them, a secret Nate wanted kept from Perry and me.

Perry looked from one to the other, his face full of puzzlement. Like me, he wanted to ask more questions, but it was useless. Neither Nate nor Athena was about to say another word on the subject.

"Now, Jesse, about this map." Athena tapped my hand to get my attention. "You take the train from Camden Street Station to New Berlin and cross the Potomac on the ferry there. Mr. Cornelius Baxter's place is called Waterside. You can't see it from the river, too many trees. Just take the first road you come to and follow it to the top of the hill. Big brick house. Can't miss it."

She paused, and I studied the sketch she'd made, working hard to memorize the names of the places I had to go. I knew my letters, but sometimes it was hard to figure out the words they made. As Uncle Philemon often remarked, I was an ignorant boy and like to stay that way, and what did it matter as long as I knew how to hammer and saw.

"The house ain't hard to find," Nate put in. "Both Athena and me have gone there with the judge's family."

"How far is it?" I asked.

"Oh, forty, fifty miles," he said. "You'll be on the train most of the way."

"But what if somebody wants to know what I'm doing with a little slave boy?" I asked, ever the one to worry.

Perry gave me a dirty look, but Nate just shrugged. "Ain't nobody paying any heed to children these days," he said. "They got more important things to worry about what with the war coming and soldiers everywhere."

Athena nodded. "You won't have no trouble, Jesse, as long as you don't do anything to attract notice." She went to the fireplace, reached into a bowl on the mantel, and pulled out a handful of silver coins. "Use some of the grocery money for your train tickets," she said. "The judge will never miss it. Should be enough for the ferry as well."

I thanked her and pocketed the money. Nate rose to his feet. "Let's go before someone comes knocking on the door."

Athena hugged Perry. "Nate's right. Linger too long and the colonel might show up again."

"Ain't you coming with us?" I asked. "The judge is bound to be mad as the very devil when he finds out Nate's gone."

"Don't you worry about me, Jesse." Athena drew herself up tall and folded her arms across her chest. "The judge won't do nothing. He needs me to take care of him."

She opened the door and let in the morning smell of wood smoke and city dirt. "Just promise me one thing," she said. "Find Hyacinth as soon as you get there. Don't talk to nobody till you talk to her. The judge sends Polly down there every summer for the fresh air and Hyacinth always goes along to wait on her. She knows all there is to know about that family. Knows the lay of the land, too." Athena chuckled. "Why, Hyacinth's even got her own cabin she's down there so much."

"Come on now, Athena," Nate said softly. "I know you hate to see these children leave, but I got to get going whilst I can."

Without giving me a chance to do more than call good-bye to Athena, Nate hustled Perry and me down the alley to Centre Street. I expected to see the colonel come around every corner, but for once there was no sign of the old devil. Even so, I was sure I hadn't seen the last of him. Somewhere, sometime we were bound to meet again. I only hoped I'd be ready for him.

CHAPTER 12

Near Pratt Street, Nate ducked into an alley. We were so close to the docks, I could smell the Bay. All of a sudden, I was so homesick I could scarcely keep myself from running off to search for Captain Harrison. If only I could go sailing home to Uncle Philemon. Let the old codger skin my hide. I'd thank him for it. What's more, I'd bring him all the turtles in the marsh. A bushel of crabs, a bucket of oysters, a string of bluefish, a muskrat—whatever his heart desired I'd get and never say a word of complaint.

I glanced at Nate. If I was to scarper right this second, he wouldn't dare chase me through the streets of Baltimore. What's more, I could leave Perry with him. Nate could take the child to the army camp, say he was his son or something. Surely the Yankees would have room for a boy as small as Perry.

But the trouble was, Nate hadn't made no promise to Lydia, had he? I was the one who done that. So I stayed where I was, bound by a dead woman to keep my word.

Nate hugged Perry, but he shook my hand as if I was a man like him. "You be careful, Jesse. The colonel's bound to be on the lookout for you and that child."

"You be careful, too, Nate," I said, ashamed of the evil thoughts I'd been entertaining. "And don't be too trustful of those Yankees. You never know what them characters are up to."

After a few more farewells and warnings, we parted ways. Left alone with Perry, I took his arm to hurry him along. I half expected him to pull away, but he trudged beside me, saying nary a word.

The Camden Street Station was mobbed with folks. Seemed like half the city of Baltimore was leaving for someplace else. To add to the crying babies and pushing crowds, Federal soldiers marched here and there, following orders shouted by officers. Some folks jeered the soldiers, but most were too busy with their own affairs to pay them or anyone else any attention.

I was glad of the crowd, for it made it easy to buy our train tickets without attracting undue notice. The man took my coins without so much as looking at me. "Next train leaves in five minutes," he said and turned to the customer waiting behind me.

Perry and I boarded the train with a large crowd of soldiers. I figured a bunch of Federals would have no interest in a couple of boys. Like Nate said, they'd have other things on their minds. Keeping the rebels from blowing up the railroad, for instance.

Before the train even left the station, some of the soldiers had their cards out. One played a mouth organ. Another had a banjo. They were full of high spirits, laughing and joking and smoking the vilest cigars I ever smelled.

The whistle blew, the cars lurched, and soon we were moving. Perry slumped lower in his seat and pressed his face against the window, but this was my first train ride and I aimed to enjoy it. So I joined in the jollity and sang "Old Dan Tucker," "Camptown Races," and "Buffalo Gals" along with the soldiers. It didn't matter if I knew all the words or not. I just hollered away.