The Lieutenant's Promise (9 page)

“Okay.”

Easing herself away from Susie, fighting the pins and needles in her legs, she walked stiffly to the slanted door at the top of the steps and slid the bar aside. The voices hadn’t come closer to the barn, so the men must have gone to the house.

That thought gave her no comfort.

The sun was high in the sky when Em stepped out of the root cellar and quietly closed the door. “I’ll be right back, Susie.”

No one was in sight, but the number of voices near the house increased. She leaned around the corner of the barn. Two wagons were parked in front of the house and one was leaving. Men, their clothing covered in dust, carried bloody soldiers inside the house.

Which side had they fought for? She thought some of the uniforms were gray, but most didn’t wear uniforms.

She had no choice but approach them and find out who they were, and how long they expected to remain in the house. Where were she and her family supposed to go now?

As she approached the house, a man in his shirtsleeves, drenched in blood, came out onto the porch. Seeing Em, he said, “Ma’am, we’ve requisitioned you house for our wounded.”

“I see that. Where’s my family? What have you done with them?”

“The house was empty when we arrived.” He quickly examined the next man being carried inside. “Find him a bed, if there is one,” he ordered.

Em hurried to the cellar doors. “Ma, Maggie, it’s safe now.”

Hearing the bar being slide back, Em reached for the handle and helped lift the slanted door. “I must go to Susie, she’s terrified of being alone.”

“I hear people in the house,” Ma said.

Em wiped the sweat on the back of her neck with her palm. “Maggie, will you please get Susie? Let Rufus out, too, but keep the pigs inside.”

Maggie ran off to do so.

Picking up Harvey, Em explained, “Some soldiers have been brought here to tend their wounds‑”

Shots rang out in the distance as the chickens squawked and fluttered about.

Ma grabbed Em’s arm. “They’re shooting at us!”

“Get back inside and bar the door. I’ll go make sure the girls are safe.”

She ran across the yard, uncaring whether someone fired at her. Men shouted from the porch, but she couldn’t make out what they said with so many yelling at once.

Maggie and Susie were crouched inside the barn. “We heard shots. Em, are they going to kill us?” Maggie asked.

Susie wept quietly in her sister’s arms.

“I’m sure they’re only shooting at each other. What good would it do to kill us? We must stay out of site until they stop. Let’s go in Le‑” She caught herself before calling the room Levi’s. “Go hide in Jasper’s room. I will see what I can discover.”

“Em, don’t go,” Susie cried.

“I’ll be safe, don’t worry, sweetie. You count to a hundred and see if I can be back that fast, all right? If I don’t, you can have my piece of the berry pie I baked last night.”

That brought a smile to the eight year old’s face.

No more shots had been fired, but still Em peered out the barn door before stepping out.

A wagon filled with men sitting or leaning in the back passed the house and came toward the barn. She couldn’t leave her sisters if men were coming.

Running back to Jasper’s room, Em threw open the door just as Susie counted seventy-four. “See, I told you I’d be back. Let’s have a race to the cellar door, okay?”

Maggie frowned, but Em scowled back, warning her to silence.

“I’ll beat you both,” Susie said, running to the door on that end of the barn.

“There are wounded men coming in here. I don’t want Susie to see them. We have to hurry.”

Maggie began to run. Em followed.

Once her sisters were safe with the others in the cellar, Em returned to the front of the house.

Soldiers still carried their wounded inside, or aided them in walking, and one limp man was carried out and laid under a tree. Was he dead? What would Susie and Harvey think if they saw dead men in the yard?

For the first time since she left the root cellar, her thoughts slowed enough to think about Tom and Levi. Were they all right? Had they been wounded and taken to a neighbor’s house?

Mounting the steps, she crossed her porch. “Who’s in charge here?”

No one stopped what they were doing, nor did they answer.

She grabbed the sleeve of the nearest soldier. “I must speak to someone about you all taking over my house.”

The man who’d spoken to her earlier came out of the boys’ room. “What’s the problem here?”

Em blinked. Was the man blind? She motioned to the men sitting in chairs, lying propped against the walls, moaning and bleeding onto the wooden floor. “You’ve filled my home with soldiers and brought the battle to my door. Someone is shooting at your men outside.”

“We raised the yellow flag, they won’t shoot anymore.” He turned and went back to examining the wounded.

She raised her hands, then let them drop as the hopelessness of the situation became clear. Looking about the room, she tried to determine how she could help. They needed something to bind the wounds, and water to wash with. She went first to the cupboard where their linens were kept and pulled out a stack of sheets. Seeing an uninjured young man helping another to sit, she said, “Here. Tear these up for bandages.”

The blank look in his eyes made Em feel sorry for the young man. This was very likely his first battle. Still, he would be able to march on to the next site, where some of the other men looked unlikely to walk out of the house again.

The site was overwhelming, especially not knowing where Tom and Levi were. They couldn’t be dead, she’d know it in her heart, wouldn’t she?

Needing to stay busy, she hurried around the house to the cellar. “It’s me,” she called as she opened the door.

She explained what was taking place upstairs and what the man, apparently a doctor, had said about the shooting. “I think you and the children should remain in here. Some of those soldiers look a fright. Maggie, Billy and I will haul water to the house. I don’t know how long they plan to stay but I’ll let you know what I learn.”

“Be careful, Em. Are you sure it’s safe?”

“Their only care is to treat their men. If we stay out of the way they should leave us alone.”

Em told Billy to find extra buckets in the barn. As she and Maggie walked to the well, she said, “I’m afraid for Tom.”

“And your lieutenant.”

She gave her sister a small smile. “Yes, and Lieutenant Lucas. I know Tom will write when he can, but how long will that be? And if‑if the worst happened, will they let us know?”

“Let’s not think of that,” Maggie said.

They carried water to the house until all three of them were dripping with perspiration. They took a break to sit in the shade for a few minutes. Not long after they sat, three horses came up the drive. Two Union soldiers had a third man over the horse between them.

Maggie grabbed Em’s hand. “What are they doing here?”

Billy rose to his knees. “Will there be more shooting?”

“No, they wouldn’t ride up in the open like that if they were here to fight. You two stay here. I’ll go speak to them.”

As she crossed the yard, she prayed they weren’t bringing Tom’s body home. Yet what other reason could they have for coming here, knowing the rebels had made their hospital here?”

One of the men dismounted. Em ran to hear what was said. The doctor came out the door.

The soldier spoke. “We bear the body of General Lyon. We wish to bring him inside until we’ve arranged transportation.”

The Confederate doctor nodded. “We’ll make room for the general.”

Em’s eyes welled with tears. General Lyon was the commanding officer over Levi’s company, and all the others fighting for the Federal Army of the West. In addition to the sorrow she felt for him, panic filled her entire being. If the general had fallen, what hope was there for the men who rode into the battle first?

Drawing in a breath to steel herself against her emotions, she followed the Union soldiers inside. The Confederate wounded made a stir, but said nothing directly.

“Bring him in here,” the doctor said.

Ma’s bed.

Em stood in the doorway as they laid him on the bed. The general’s uniform was barely dirty except for the blood on one side of his jacket from the shoulder down. He was pale behind his thick beard, and his eyes weren’t fully closed.

The touch of a gentle hand on Em’s arm drew her attention away from the officer. “Ma, what are you doing here?”

Ma walked past Em and held out a counterpane to one of the Union soldier. “Here, you may cover him with this.”

When Ma reached her side, Em whispered, “That’s your wedding quilt.”

“It’s the best we can do for the general,” Ma whispered back. “Come.”

Leading the way to the kitchen, Ma said, “We’ll need to cook for everyone. Bring up a bushel of potatoes and have Susie gather eggs. Tell Billy to keep Harvey out of trouble.”

Em stood for a moment and watched Ma bustle about the kitchen. She hadn’t moved like that since Pa died.

“Did you hear me?” Ma asked.

“Yes ma’am. I’m going.”

Em and Maggie helped fry up sliced potatoes and eggs, piling them into large bowls on the table. They didn’t own enough dishes to serve everyone, but those soldiers who could eat would find a way.

When Ma took Harvey down to the cellar for a nap, Em whispered to Maggie. “Come with me.”

Outside, Maggie spoke softly. “Where are we going?”

Em headed toward the far cornfield. “I can’t sit here and not know if Tom and Levi are safe.”

The closer they got to the cornfield, Em’s fears escalated. The bodies of men and horses lay scattered in the field. Uniformed and not, blues and grays lying where they’d fallen.

Some Union soldiers went from body to body, apparently looking for signs of life, then moving on.

Em ran to them. “Do you know Lieutenant Lucas? Or Private Gilmore?”

“No ma’am.”

“How can I learn whether they were injured or not?”

One of the older men said, “It could take days, missy, before we can take roll. Some have ridden off to Springfield already. The best I can tell you is to look for yourself.” He pointed west. “The battle stretched to the far side of the plateau. There may be a thousand men killed or wounded. I don’t see how you’ll find them.”

Maggie sniffled at Em’s side. “What should we do?” she asked as the men went back to their task.

“Let’s search a little while longer, at least. I can’t sit by and wait. What if they’re wounded and no one is helping them?” She was beyond tears, beyond tired, but she followed a path through the corn that still remained upright.

The evidence of battle increased when they crossed Wilson Creek. Trees were blackened in some areas. The sisters only saw a few bodies as they climbed the hill, but on the plateau they found devastation. The sight made Em’s knees week.

“Look at them all,” Maggie said softly. “Are they all dead?”

“If not, they likely will be soon. We’d better split up. Levi and Tom would both be in uniform, so we can skip all those not in blue.”

It was a gruesome task, rolling men over to see their faces, sometimes finding they had none. Em began to think she’d never eat again, her stomach was roiling so badly.

She was oblivious to the activity on the plateau as she worked. She almost didn’t hear the voice calling her name. She looked up to see two men in the distance with a mule between them. One man wore Union blue, the other, a dark-skinned man, wore regular clothes.

“Em!”

It was Tom.

She broke into a run. “You’re alive!”

When she got closer, she recognized Jasper, their hired hand, and Fred, their mule. Then she realized a body was draped across Fred’s back.

Em stopped dead. “Tom? Is it‑” She couldn’t say the word.

“He’s not dead, Miss Emily,” Jasper said.

“We’re taking him to the house,” Tom added. “He’s hurt bad. The others left him, saying he wouldn’t make the trip to Springfield, but I could let him die alone.” He didn’t stop walking.

Her throat closed. She couldn’t draw air. Suddenly she remembered who was at the house and ran to catch up. “They’re using the house as a hospital. The Confederates. We can’t take Levi there. Won’t they take you both prisoner?”

“Can’t we take him to Jasper’s room?” Tom took off his cap and wiped his sleeve across his forehead.

“No, they’re in the barn, too.” Hope rose inside her as an idea hit. “The springhouse. He’ll be safe. A doctor’s treating their men at the house so perhaps I can get some medicine for the lieutenant.”

“It’s not likely they have much. Maybe I can ride Fred to Springfield and get some.”

“Let’s wait ’n see how he’s doing in the morning,” Jasper said.

Pain shot through Em’s stomach. He had live. He just
had
to.

The springhouse was far enough from the other buildings on the farm that they hoped they could get Levi in unobserved.