Hearts of Grey

by Earl E. Gobel

  “So we would still own it and live here, right?” she asked.

  “Of course. I’m not selling or giving this property to anyone other than to you and Mike when I pass on, which won’t be for sometime. There’s that little thing about grandkids that I want to do,” he told her.

  “Good. Like I said, I like this old house,” Katie added.

  “Well, good ’cause so do I,” Grady answered.

  “Well, I have a question for you, Grady,” Melissa told him.

  “Go ahead. Now’s the time to ask, I reckon,” he responded.

  “What about Rings? We do have to find him. And it’s fairly obvious that Barnes won’t be much help. That would seal his doom, and in talking to Susie, she doesn’t remember where he’s buried. So what do we do?” she asked.

  “Well, you’re right about Barnes. But Susie I think in time will remember more than she does now. But if you’re asking me if I intend on digging up the countryside looking for him, then the answer would be no. That would be stupid and a complete waste of time. No, missy, for now I’m sorry to say thank good old Jack will stay right where he is, I reckon. But if we do find him, then he’ll be buried with a proper send-off right next to those fourteen men and those horses. Right here on Matterson property,” he told her.

  “Good. I think Jack would be happy here,” Melissa told him.

  “So do I, dear, so do I,” Grady said in a very peaceful tone.

  Everything Gets Explained

  As they sat around the table, Katie got up to answer a knock at the front door. As she opened it, she found herself staring at a very handsome blond-haired gentleman that she figured to be in his early thirties at least.

  “Yes, may I help you?” she asked.

  “You must be Katie. The reports said that you were beautiful, but I believe that to be an understatement,” he said.

  “Well, thank you for the compliment, but you are?” she asked.

  “Oh my, please excuse my bad manners. My name is Paul King, and I’d like to have a word with you and your dad if he’s around,” he said with a smile.

  “Yeah, he’s here, but we’re not doing interviews with any papers,” she responded.

  “Paper? Oh, you mean newspapers. That’s all right I’m with the U.S. Secret Service,” he said as showed her his credentials.

  She looked them over and shook her head. “All right, Mr. King, if you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to him.” Mr. King followed her, shutting the front door as he came in. As they walked into the dining room, Katie announced him to her dad, “He says that he’s with the Secret Service.”

  “The secret service? What did we do now?” Grady asked as he shook the agent’s hand. “Please have a seat.”

  “What I would really like would be a cup of coffee, if it’s not too much trouble?” he asked.

  “I’ll get it,” Katie said as she went into the kitchen with Melissa right on her heels.

  “Wow, the Secret Service right here in your house,” Melissa told her.

  “I know. It’s kind of exciting, isn’t it? But I wonder what it’s about,” Katie replied.

  “Well, let’s go back to the living room so we can find out,” Melissa told her. Katie didn’t say a word. She adjusted the flame under the kettle and headed back to the living room.

  “Well, that we’re all back here, let me see. I know that you’re Katie, Grady, and that makes you Melissa, and since you look like her, you must be Michael.” He looked at Rick. “I’m sorry, you’re?” he asked.

  “I’m Rick. Melissa’s fiancé,” he answered.

  “Well, glad to meet you, Rick, and it is truly an honor to meet all of you. But before I explain why I’m here, I must insist that everything that I’m about to tell you will stay just between us. It’s a matter of national security, well, kind of. Agreed?” he asked.

  They all agreed not to repeat anything that they heard tonight. Just as he was about to speak, the coffee pot started whistling.

  “Excuse me, the coffee is done,” Katie said as she went to the kitchen. A minute or two later, she returned with a hot cup of coffee for Mr. King, along with one for herself.

  “Okay, now where to start? Well, we’ll get the really important stuff out of the way first.” From his briefcase he removed four large envelopes, each of which had their names printed on them. He handed out the envelopes to each of them. “These are certificates of appreciation directly from the president of the United States,” he told them.

  Katie slid hers out onto the table. It was beautiful. Printed on the very best white ivory bond paper where imprinted the words “Certificate of Appreciation” in twenty-four-karat gold lettering. It was done in the old English style script. Below that was printed “For services Rendered From a very Grateful Nation where Patriotism Is Everyone’s Duty.” It was embossed with the presidential seal and signed Dwight David Eisenhower, President of the United States of America, dated July 4, 1955.

  “He signed these yesterday?” Katie asked.

  “Well, actually last night. The president did plan on attending your unveiling, but for security reasons, he couldn’t. And for that, he sends his heartfelt apologies,” the agent told them.

  “Wow, the president of the United States here, at your house, Katie? That would have been too much,” Rick told her.

  “Yeah, I know,” she answered.

  “Anyways what I’m about to tell you may upset you at first, but hear me out, then you can yell at me,” the agent then told them.

  “I don’t understand,” Grady told him.

  “You will,” he said as he sipped from his coffee cup. “The president has asked me to ask you to stop digging any further,” he told them.

  “Okay, now, you have us at a total disadvantage. What are you talking about?” Michael asked.

  “There’s more to this story, isn’t there, Mr. King?” Grady told him.

  “Yes, sir, there is. A lot more,” the agent replied.

  “And if the president knows about it, then it must be something really important. Am I right so far?” Grady asked.

  “You’re right on track, Grady. Would you care to take a guess?” he asked.

  “If I guess wrong, would you still tell me?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir. And since I’m about to tell you everything anyways, what possible harm could it do?” he said.

  “Well then, let’s see. The president knows about it, so I would have to say that it would involve the president back then, which would be Lincoln,” Grady answered.

  “Congratulations, sir, you get an A,” Paul told him. “Anyone else? What about you, Melissa? You’re studying American history, aren’t you?” he asked.

  “Well, if it involves Lincoln, then I would have to say that he knew about the theft,” she answered.

  “Yes, but it goes deeper than just knowing about it,” he answered.

  “Was he involved somehow?” Katie asked.

  “Keep going, you’ve almost got it,” he told them.

  “He was the one that planned it or the one that hired the people to do it?” Melissa answered.

  “Give that pretty lady a gold star. Now when you think of America, three things have to have honor and respect. That’s the American flag, Old Glory, if you will, America’s symbol, which is the bald eagle, and the integrity of the President. In that office sits one of the most powerful men in the world. Everyone looks up to him to guide this nation for the next four years. And if the integrity of that office should crumble, the America as you know and love would fall apart. Interesting, don’t you think?” he asked.

  “But why would Lincoln do something like that?” Rick asked.

  “One word and everything else should fall into place for you. Gettysburg,” he told them.

  “But Gettysburg was in 1863. This happened in 1865?” Melissa answered.

  “Do you really think that you could plan and execute something this big overnight? No, it took years to set this up,” he answered.

  “I don
’t get it. What does the battle of Gettysburg have to do with what happened in Columbia?” Rick asked.

  “Melissa, would you like to answer that question?” Paul asked her.

  “Let’s see. I know that the battle itself was the largest battle ever to be fought in the Western Hemisphere, but I would have to say it because of the number of casualties, from both sides,” she told them.

  “Exactly. When President Lincoln heard the actual body count, he damn near fainted. In just three days of fighting, the Army of the Potomac lost over twenty-three thousand while the Army of North Virginia suffered over twenty-eight thousand casualties. That’s fifty-one thousand men . . . dead. And that doesn’t even count the thousands that were injured or maimed. And I heard that you ladies cried over a few dead horses. Well, five thousand horses died that day as well,” he told them as he waited for the numbers to sink in.

  “My God, that’s terrible. So many brave and courageous men dead. Makes you think, doesn’t it?” Katie said as she quietly wiped a tear from her eye.

  “Yes, it does at that,” Grady answered in a very remorseful tone.

  “And to make matters even worse, General Meade allowed Lee to escape back into Virginia. Had he stopped him right there, the war would have been over that day. But it wasn’t over for three more years,” Paul told them.

  “Damn, that’s a hell of a price to pay for just one mistake,” Mike said.

  “It sure was at that. So on the following day, Lincoln met with his chief military advisors and told them to find a way to end this war. ‘And do it now. I don’t care how you do it, just get it done. Too many of our men are dying.’ Or something along those lines anyways. So they came up with this brilliant plan. Beautiful it was in design and thought only. But in reality, it was a screw up from the word go,” Paul said as he finished his coffee. Melissa went to get him a refill. When she returned, he continued. He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed to Grady. “Those are the names of those fourteen skeletons that you found in that makeshift grave. The president would like you to post their names on a marker so they’ll never be forgotten,” Paul explained.

  “No problem. But how did you come up with the names of fourteen slaves?” Grady asked.

  “Who said that they were slaves? Those were fourteen brave volunteers from the first Negro regiment of the Union Army. They knew the risk that they were taking. And they paid for it with their lives,” Paul told him.

  “Well, I’ll be damned. I never thought of that,” Grady replied.

  “But if the Union Army or you say Lincoln knew about the gold, how did they lose it after they stole it?” Mike asked.

  “Good question. The answer would be stupidity. While the drivers were in fact Union soldiers from the 54th Regiment of Massachusetts, which, if you didn’t know, was the very first Negro unit ever to see actual battle under the command of a young but brave Colonel Robert Shaw. Anyways, they were told to drive the wagons, but they were never told that they were supposed to go to Atlanta, and not Savannah. And by the time the Union command figured out that something was wrong, they were only able to catch up with the last two wagons. But there wasn’t any gold on those wagons, just personal stuff that was stored in the banks,” Paul explained.

  “But if the Union Army knew about it, why didn’t they stop them?” Mike asked.

  “They tried. But picture this in your mind. You have six wagons of stolen Confederate gold while a small regiment was assigned to protect the wagons. So every time that they had to report something that wasn’t happening as it should have, they would have to send a small detail back to headquarters wherever that was. Those soldiers disappeared off the face of the earth. And before long, there wasn’t very many troops guarding the gold at all. Then they disappeared too. And finally, the gold was gone. Vanished like it was never there. Unbelievable,” Paul said as he stood up to stretch.

  “So what did Lincoln say when he learned that the gold had disappeared?” Katie asked.

  “Well, the records indicate that he was as mad as a wet hound taking a piss in the wintertime. Please excuse my language, ladies. I sometimes forget to watch my manners. I do apologize to the both of you,” Paul told her.

  “It’s quite all right, Mr. King. We’ve heard a lot worse from my daddy over here,” Katie replied.

  Grady just threw his daughter an uneasy stare.

  “Well, I guess so. All of that work and planning and for what? Nothing,” she proclaimed.

  “Oh, no, it wasn’t for nothing. Not at all. Remember, just ninety days after the gold was stolen and Columbia was burned, Lee surrendered. Our history books will tell you that he was beaten. But the truth of the matter was that the Confederacy was flat broke. Rumors even say that when Lee turned over his own personal firearm, it was empty of all the caps. Some say because they couldn’t afford to buy any. Think about that,” he told her.

  “So Lincoln’s plan did in fact work. I mean it did end the war, didn’t it?” she asked.

  “Yes, it did. And that’s why it’s so important to preserve his name and maintain the office and the title of the president of the United States. And if you were to ask each American who was their favorite president, an amazing 82 percent of them would say Lincoln. So it’s extremely important that his name remains untarnished at all cost. There’s only one known document that can tie Lincoln to all of this,” Paul said as he looked at Grady.

  “And where is that?” Grady asked.

  “Well, the very last person to have it was, well, your brother, Jack,” he said as waited for a response from Grady.

  “My brother, Jack? Why would he have it?” he asked.

  “Do you have any idea what Jack did for a living? I mean, really?” he asked.

  “Well, to be openly frank with you, no, I don’t,” Grady told him.

  “Let me tell you the truth about your brother. He loved America more than life itself. And he wasn’t afraid to lay down his own life in defense of his country. When December 7, 1941 rolled around, and the attack on Pearl Harbor was under way. Your brother was in Washington DC standing not more than three feet away from the President Roosevelt when he received the telegram of the attack. Did you know that?” Paul asked.

  “I had no idea. But why was he there?” Grady asked.

  “Well, they had just finished having lunch, and they were talking about what Jack had told and shown him—two gold double-eagle Confederate coins. Now both the President and Jack knew what those coins were and the importance of recovering all of them.

  “Jack tried to get the president to send him to Hawaii to help with the destruction that was left after Japan’s surprise attack there, but Roosevelt insisted that he return to Savannah and find the rest of the treasure.

  “Jack told the president that he wasn’t an official of the U.S. government and wouldn’t have any authority to do anything in Savannah. So the president picked up the phone and called the director of the Secret Service and told him to make Jack an agent. Well, in order for him to be effective, he needed a code name, so when the Roosevelt asked what name he wanted to use, Jack looked down at his hands and replied with ‘Rings.’ And from then on, he was known as Rings. And I might also add that this was the only time in history that the president had ever used his power to the point that he had for Jack. It never happened before or since. Now since every other agent had to go through the training and whatever else was required to be an agent and Jack was appointed by the president, he pretty much had unwritten clout to do as he wanted whenever he wanted. I bet you didn’t know that about good old Jack either, did ya?” Paul asked.

  “You know, I do recall him telling me some wild stories about him having lunch with the president on more than one occasion, but hell, I always thought that he was just spinning a tale, a wild one at that,” Grady told him.

  “So what you’re actually saying is my Uncle Jack was an agent for the government? Wow, I’m impressed,” Katie told him.

  “Well, Jack was in a league of
his own. But when he sent those coins to Washington, the doors threw open to greet him. But in everything that he did, he was always watching his back as well as everyone else’s too. But when he got down here, he made one mistake, a mistake that would ultimately cost him his life,” Paul told his now captive audience.

  “And what was that?” Grady asked.

  “Well, to answer that, let me ask you one question. What is your first impression of this Barnes character? Would you see him as dangerous or what?” Paul asked.

  “Maybe underhanded, sly, rude, but no, I wouldn’t consider him dangerous, not at all,” Grady answered.

  “Wait a second. I have a question. Why do we and everyone else just call him by his last name of Barnes. Doesn’t he have a first name. I really don’t care, but it’s been bugging me for the longest time,” Rick told them.

  “Yeah, he does, but when you find out what it is, I mean, what it says on his birth certificate, you might understand why he never told anyone,” Paul explained.

  “Well, don’t just keep us in suspense. What’s his real name?” Melissa asked.

  “On the official records, his name is listed as Beatrice Anne Barnes,” he told them.

  “Beatrice? That’s a girl’s name. You’re kidding, right? I mean Beatrice Anne Barnes, surely you’re just kidding. Aren’t you?” Katie asked.

  “No, not really. That’s the name that his parents gave him all right, Beatrice Anne Barnes. I guess that they really wanted a girl but got him instead,” Paul told them.

  “Well, I’ll be. Beatrice? Now that’s just downright funny. But from your question about him being dangerous and all, am I right to assume that he was—how do they say it—a wolf in sheep’s clothing?” Grady asked.

  “Sir, I could not have explained it any better if I had tried. He was extremely dangerous. In fact, when we were told about your discovery, we sent almost three hundred agents here just in case,” Paul told them.

  “No way. I didn’t see no three hundred secret service agents running around here. I think you’re pulling my leg, sir,” Katie told him.