By the time the crops were all planted,
Lafayette brought up his status at breakfast one day. “All of you have been
mighty good to me. You’ve saved my life. It’s time I headed on to Taladega
County. I have a family to look after. I
might even be able to get my Marshal job back, If I go now.”
James spoke up. “You can’t set out afoot,
LaFayette. Those three horses we found on the way home are as much yours as
they are ours. Take the big Pinto. He’ll get you there. We’re pretty well
stocked up with jerky, thanks to Tom and Josh. Take enough with you to get you home.”
LaFayette was on the trail early the next
morning.
Now that the crops were planted, James and
the boys had ten acres on the far side of the back forty that needed to be
cleared. They wanted to expand their corn acres if they were going to continue
to make a living there. But first, James decided it was time to go into town,
and find out what was going on in Tennessee after these four hard years of war.
He
found out much about Bad Bob that day. When he went into the saloon, a big old
boy he didn’t know was doing a lot of talking. Some of the other men were
referring to him as Bad Bob. James could already have guessed that.
“They tell me some towns around here are organizin’
ta protect themselves from all th’ black folks that are showin’ up around here.
They call it the KAK. Some of those ol’ boys are dressin’ up in sheets and
masks, spreadin’ around that these are ghosts of killed soldiers. They go out
at night and scare th’ livin’ daylights outa th’ black folks. If that don’t get
rid uv them, they haul th’ menfolk out an give them a good whoppin’.”
“Men, we gotta organize. Protect our women
folk. Not enuf that we done fought this war, now th’ black folks are takin’
over our land. Ya’ll need ta do like my family does. Th’ Dudley’s don’t never
allow no black folks to even get close ta our place.”
James had heard enough from Bad Bob. But even
worse than that, far too many of the men around him, some who James had thought
to be good men, seemed to be agreeing.
James spoke up. “Just where did you do all
your fightin’ in this war, Bob? I never saw you at any battles I was in. Word
has it, you spent your time hidin’ out in th’ swamps. What you’ve been sayin’
sounds like your kind of fightin’, Bob. Hidin’ out behind a mask, with all yore
scummy friends ta back you up.”
Bob was livid. “I been hearin’ that th’
Thackers have been givin’ food to some of these folks. An lettin’ um camp on
Thacker land. We don’t need your kind encouragin’ them to hang around here. We
need to encourage them to keep movin’, gettin’ away from here.”
“How would you know all that, Bob, unless
you been hangin’ around my place? These folks goin’ through are just trying to
stay alive, like the rest of us. And I best not see you around my place again,
Bob.”
James had a lot to think about on the way
home. He had poked the bear, and
stirred him up. Oh well. Men like Bob were usually cowards, when it came down
to it. He didn’t think he had much to worry about from this loudmouth. He just
likes to talk.
*
With
the war over, Sam was no longer needed at her guard duty post. Millie had done
a lot of guard duty, too. But she did a little more than scare strangers off.
And she thought it was a lot of fun, finally getting to use her skill with the
big gun for something practical.
Continued
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