Soldier Boy's Discovery (14 page)

She finished the cooking and called out, “Ezra, why don't you come and tend this meat while I take Pa something?”

Even as she spoke, a man came walking out of the falling darkness into the camp. He was a big, heavy man with a full beard and a pair of steady blue eyes.

“Yes, sir, can I help you?” Leah asked.

“I'm looking for a sutler named Dan Carter.”

“I'm Leah Carter. Dan Carter's my father, but he's ill right now.”

Her words seemed to trouble the visitor. He stood uncertainly, looked down at the ground, and stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Is he bad ill, does thee say?”

“I'm afraid so. We're taking him home first thing in the morning.”

“My name is Amos Golden.”

“Do you know my father, Mr. Golden?”

“No, lass, I don't.”

“I'll see if he's awake.”

Leah walked to the rear of the wagon, lifted up the canvas and said, “Pa, are you awake?”

“Yes, I am.” His voice was thin and tired but also determined.

Leah turned to the stranger and said, “Mr. Golden, he's awake if you'd like to talk to him.”

Amos Golden walked to the wagon and looked inside, though it was too dark to see anything. He cleared his throat and asked quietly, “Is thee Daniel Carter?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I'm sorry to hear thee is ill,” he said. “Not harmed in the battle, I hope?”

“No.” Dan Carter got up from his cot and came to the edge of the wagon. He awkwardly sat down so that he could see the face of the visitor. “What can I do for you?”

Golden again hesitated. He lowered his voice and said, “I have a message for thee.”

“A message? From who?”

“A young man. He says his name is Jeff Majors.”

Leah had been close enough to hear. She came at once and said, “Jeff Majors? Oh, where is he?”

“At my house. He's in pretty bad shape.”

“Was he wounded?” Leah demanded instantly.

“No, lass. He's sick. I think he was sick before the battle started, or so he said anyway. He's too weak to move.”

“What's the message?” Dan Carter inquired.

Golden looked suddenly at Ezra, who had come closer. He turned back to Dan, saying, “Is it all right to speak freely?”

“Yes, you can say anything in front of these two.”

“Very well. The young man says he is afraid of being taken prisoner by the Federal Army. He asked if thee will help him get to his home.”

A silence fell for a moment, and then Dan said, “Well, we'll do all we can, of course. He's a good friend of ours.”

“I don't know,” Golden said slowly. “He's in bad shape …”

“I understand, but God will make a way.”

At that Golden smiled. “Thee is a Christian man. That's good.” He hesitated, then said, “I fear the Federals will begin searching the houses for escaped Confederates. Already they've questioned my neighbors. If they come, I wouldn't be able to lie to them.”

Leah said, “We've got to get him, Father. We can't let him go to prison. He'd die there!”

“That's right,” Ezra said quickly. “I don't reckon our Yankee prisons are any better than the one I was in in Virginia. We'll have to get him.”

Dan Carter thought for a moment. But he was so weak that it seemed he couldn't think clearly, and he said, “You two will have to handle it. I can't help, but I can pray.” Then he turned to the big man, saying, “I thank you, sir, for your kindness. God will bless you for it.”

Golden nodded. “I will pray that God will give thee strength, friend Carter. What does thee wish me to do?”

“Can we drive the wagon right up to your house?” Leah asked.

“Why, yes. That would be no trouble at all. I will show thee the way. It isn't far.”

Ezra said, “It will take about half an hour to get ready and break camp. I'll hitch the team, Leah. You just throw everything we've got into the wagon. We've got to move fast.”

Leah did move fast, and by the time Ezra had the team hitched, she had all their belongings in the wagon. She hurriedly scribbled a good-bye note to Royal and tacked it to the tree their wagon had
been hitched under. They had already said their farewells earlier in the day, since Royal's army duties would have prevented him from seeing them off in the morning.

“I'm ready,” she said. “If you'll show us the way, Mr. Golden.”

“This way, lass.”

Jeff was asleep, but as soon as he heard a voice he opened his eyes. “Jeff?” the familiar voice said, and when he was able to focus, he whispered, “Leah, it's you.”

Leah bent over him. “Yes.” She put her hand on his forehead and said, “You're burning up with fever.”

“I know, but I've got to get out of here.” He shifted his head and saw Ezra coming into the room, followed by Amos Golden. “Ezra, help me.”

“Why, sure I will, Jeff. Me and Leah, we'll get you out of this.” He turned to Golden. “I reckon we'd better take him right now.”

“If the patrol stops thee, thee may have trouble. Maybe all would be held and tried as spies.”

“We've been in trouble before, the three of us.” Ezra grinned and winked at Jeff. “Get ready for a little trip,” he said.

“Let me put on my clothes,” Jeff pleaded. “I can't go in this nightgown!”

“Thy clothes are too ragged to wear,” Golden protested. “And mine are too big for thee.”

“You can wear some of mine, Jeff,” Ezra said. “I'll go get them.”

Jeff was so weak he hardly knew what was going on. He was aware that Ezra had taken over and had sent Leah from the room with the women. He tried
to help with the clothes, but he was so frail he could do little.

But soon Ezra had him fully dressed. “Can you stand up to walk?”

“We can take him,” Golden said. “I carried thee in my arms once—now I will do it again.” Without further ado, he stooped over and in his mighty arms picked the boy up. Jeff's head bobbed as the big man carried him outside and laid him on the pallet of soft blankets Leah had made in the wagon, next to the cot that held her father.

Dan Carter greeted him warmly. “Jeff,” he said in a sick man's voice, “looks like the two of us are going to make a hospital. But we'll make it all right.”

The Goldens came into the yard, and Jeff thanked them all.

Then Amos said, “Thee had better stick to the back roads for a while.”

Leah climbed up on the seat beside Ezra and cried out, “Thank you. Thank you so much, all of you.”

“Thee is welcome, daughter. We will pray for the young man and thy father.”

Soon the wagon was trundling down a rough road.

The air was silent, but Leah and Ezra were tense.

“The cavalry sometimes sends out patrols on roads like this to pick up deserters. Sure would hate to meet any,” Ezra said.

However, they were fortunate, and two or three hours later Ezra drew up the team, and the two of them climbed into the wagon.

“You all right, Jeff?” Ezra asked.

Jeff nodded weakly. “Just get me home.”

Leah said, “Pa, I don't know what to do. You need to get home to Kentucky. Jeff needs to go to Virginia. We can't do both.”

Dan Carter was lying still on his bunk. The rough road had shaken him, and he must have felt almost as bad as Jeff. However, he lifted his head and smiled. “I've been wanting to see my Uncle Silas for a long time—and it looks like the time has come for me to do it. Take us to Virginia, Ezra.”

Ezra looked at the two sick men and nodded. “Yes, sir. I'll sure do that. Just lie there and take it easy. With God's help, we'll make it fine!”

T
he journey from Sharpsburg was difficult for the travelers. The countryside swarmed with Federal patrols, for many Confederates were still trapped on the east side of the Potomac. Some had been too badly wounded to make the journey across the river, while others had gotten separated from their units. As the wagon was driven down the back roads, Ezra kept a lookout for Union patrols. Several times he spotted them coming by the dust clouds their horses kicked up, and he managed to pull off into the shelter of the thickets. Early on the second day, however, he was taken by surprise. “Look! There's a Federal patrol coming.”

Leah looked ahead to where Ezra pointed. A troop of some fifteen cavalry had rounded the bend ahead of them.

“What do we do, Ezra? It's too late to hide.”

“Let me do the talking,” Ezra said quickly. He leaned back and said loudly enough for the two sick men to hear him, “Federal cavalry ahead. You fellows just keep your heads down, and we'll be all right.”

Leah watched with apprehension as the lieutenant in charge of the troop threw up his hand and brought the patrol to a stop. The horses chuffed and pawed the dust, and the lieutenant eyed them sharply. He was a small man with a bushy cavalry mustache and tawny hair that fell over his shoulders in a very unmilitary manner. Leah thought he
must have been influenced by the Union general George Armstrong Custer, who—she had heard—wore his hair in such an outlandish fashion.

“What's your business?” the lieutenant snapped in a high-pitched tone. He rode a large black horse and pulled back cruelly on the bit as the animal tried to buck.

“That's a spirited horse you've got there, Lieutenant,” Ezra said quickly. “Ain't never seen a finer one.”

The lieutenant seemed pleased by Ezra's remark. “There's not any better,” he said. “Finest cavalry mount in the whole United States Army.” He relaxed in his saddle and stared at Leah, who was wearing a pair of men's overalls for the journey.

She also wore a white shirt, and her blonde hair caught the sunlight. “Is the battle all over, Lieutenant?” she asked innocently.

“Sure is, miss. We whupped the daylights out of the Rebs! Run them clean back to Richmond,” he announced proudly. Then he cleared his throat and assumed a more businesslike expression. “You're headed straight for Rebel territory, you know. What's your business?”

“Well, Lieutenant,” Ezra said. “We've got a couple of sick men in here. They got the fever. They could use a doctor.”

The lieutenant studied Ezra, then said, “I'll have to take a look in that wagon. Got lots of Rebs trying to make their way back South.”

“Oh, that'll be fine, Lieutenant,” Leah said at once. “Come along.”

The lieutenant dismounted and handed the reins to a grizzled sergeant, then advanced to the rear of the wagon.

Leah jumped to the ground and walked beside him.

He was a small man, no taller than she, and he straightened as though to make himself appear taller.

Leah drew back the cover of the wagon and said, “Pa, are you awake?”

Dan Carter raised himself to a sitting position on the cot that Ezra had fastened firmly to the floor. “Yes, I'm awake, daughter.” He looked over at Jeff. “Son, you awake?”

Jeff still had a high fever and had been awakened by the stopping of the wagon. Now he lifted himself on one elbow and peered drearily at the end of the wagon, where Leah stood with the cavalry officer. “Yeah, I'm awake,” he mumbled. “What is it?”

The lieutenant stared at the two men, bent over to assure himself that there were no other inhabitants, then said brusquely, “Checking for Rebs, mister. Sorry to have disturbed you. I think there is a doctor on up at Jessieville. Looks like you best get there as quick as you can.” He stepped back from the wagon, probably breathing a sigh of relief that he hadn't gotten close to the infected men, and Leah closed the canvas covering. “Sorry to be a bother, miss,” he said.

Leah smiled at him, her green eyes taking him in fully. “Oh, that's all right, Lieutenant. I know you're just doing your job, but we are worried about my folks.”

The lieutenant twirled his mustache. He was somewhat of a dandy, no more than eighteen years old. “Maybe I'll check in later at Jessieville just to see how your folks are doing,” he suggested.

Leah thought quickly and said, “That'll be fine, Lieutenant. We'll all be glad to see you.”

The lieutenant grinned, went back to his horse, and swung into his saddle. “Forward!” he shouted as if he were leading a charge across the battlefield.

Leah and Ezra watched the patrol thunder down the road, and Ezra turned to grin at her. “Well, that was kind of fun, wasn't it?”

“Yes, it was,” she said slowly. “But I don't think I want to have many more adventures like that.”

Leah climbed back up into the wagon seat, Ezra said, “Giddap,” and the horses started plodding along.

“That lieutenant might check with the doctor in Jessieville,” she said. “That might be a little dangerous.”

“I hadn't thought of that. Maybe it'd be best to stop. It wouldn't hurt to have the doctor look at them anyway. Neither one of them is doing too well.”

They hurried on and did manage to find the doctor. He was busy with wounded men, but, after looking Dan and Jeff over, had both good news and bad. He was a middle-aged man, short and spare, with a pair of light blue eyes. “I don't know what it is they've got,” he said. “Not cholera and not scarlet fever. Looks like trail fever.”

“What's that?” Ezra demanded.

“Well, nobody knows exactly, but when the folks take the trail to California they just get fever. Nobody knows what it is.”

“Can you give them anything for it?” Leah asked.

“No, just bed rest, water, and lots of prayer.”

“We'll do that.” Leah smiled. She reached into her purse and paid the doctor's fee, and then they went back to the wagon.

When they were on their way again, she said, “Well, if that lieutenant checks, he'll know we stopped here anyway.”

“Reckon that's right. But I'm going to get off this main road. Don't want to be stopped again if we can help it.”