On To Richmond

by Ginny Dye

  Her heart had grown heavy with grief during the long night. She grieved the necessity to flee her home, yet it was much more than that. The knowledge that hurt the worst was the stark realization of what her country had come to - Americans forced to flee those they had once stood side by side with. The dark clouds that had settled over men in power now engulfed the entire country. Very few were able to see beyond their passions. To feel beyond their hatred or anger. To think beyond what was important to them. The clouds of passion had closed off men to themselves. They had shrouded the best of men’s heart from even themselves.

  Carrie, during the long reaches of the night, clearly realized it might soon be over. If the Union army truly was advancing on Richmond, the glorious Confederacy might be breathing its last breath. A country split apart by Civil War might be reunited. Yet only in a physical sense. Carrie knew that even if the South acquiesced to defeat by a more powerful military force, the passions that had ignited this war would continue. What would happen with the fury that was raging unchecked? It could not just be put in a bottle and corked. It could not be legislated away. It could not be swept under a rug.

  Carrie sighed deeply and stood to take a final look around her room. The sun would be coming up soon. She had promised Sam she would leave then. The glow of the moon dipping low on the horizon was all that illuminated her room. It was enough: Her dear bed, a gift from her loving father; the dresser with her mother’s silver brush set arranged perfectly; the bookcase that held her medical books; the vanity whose drawers held the letters from Aunt Abby.

  Carrie frowned. There had been so much she wanted to take with her. In the end she had chosen to leave it all behind. She had hidden some of her father’s valuable papers, but that was all. It seemed disloyal to all that held her heart to choose which was most precious. None of it would ever be able to be replaced if it was lost. Its physical counterpart might be found, but the memories that made it special would no longer be there. Yet it was more than even that. To take things with her meant she was leaving with the idea she might not be able to return. She was simply unwilling to acknowledge that. To do so would be to give up hope.

  During the long hours of the night, Carrie had also acknowledged the stirrings of excitement in her heart. Yes, she grieved leaving the plantation, but leaving also meant it could now be her time to be in Richmond - to see what could become of her dreams of being a doctor. She had done all she could to fulfill her responsibilities on the plantation. Was it really coming to a close? Or was it all a false scare? Would it be safe to return to the plantation in a few days? Maybe the South had won the battle she had heard and she could return to raise food.

  Finally Carrie turned to the mirror. It, of all her belongings, would have been the one thing she would have chosen to take. Of course, it was impossible. It would take two strong men to even move it. Slowly she walked over to stare into it. Now more than ever, she needed the courage and strength it represented. There was just enough light to send her reflection wavering back to her. She frowned when she saw her wide eyes and pinched face.

  She sank down onto the chair in front of it, cupped her head in her hand, and tried once more to lose herself in its depths. Did it have any secrets to tell her before she had to walk away, possibly never to see into it again? She knew she should be leaving, but she couldn’t tear herself away. Surely she would learn one more of its secrets before she must leave.

  “Miss Carrie...” Sam added a soft knock to the calling of her name. “It be time for us to be goin’.”

  Carrie nodded but didn’t move. “In a minute, Sam,” she called softly.

  Sam stood silently by her door for several minutes and then moved away. She could imagine the impatient look on his face. She knew she needed to go. Yet the mirror seemed to be holding her. Was it her imagination, or was it calling her? She stared into its depths until she felt as if her eyes were going to cross. Finally, in frustration she pushed back away from it. She had spent her whole life trying to understand its secrets. Maybe it just wasn’t possible. Maybe that was its greatest secret - the fact that there was no secret. It was just a beautiful mirror.

  Carrie immediately regretted her thoughts. She turned quickly and gazed once more into its depths. “Keep your secrets. Maybe one day I will understand,” she said softly.

  Then quickly she turned and grabbed the bag on her bed. Her packing job had been hasty. Thankfully she had plenty of clothes at her father’s house. She looked around once more, then took a deep breath and reached for the door knob.

  A sudden clatter of heavy boots caused her to freeze, her heart racing wildly. Was she too late? She flew to her window and peered around the curtains. Her heart sank at the sight of six Union soldiers mounting the steps. She looked around wildly, but she knew the answer already – there was no escape. The only way out of the house was through the ground level.

  “Open up in there!” a voice shouted, as a steady banging began on the front door.

  Carrie quickly calculated the distance from her window to the tree outside. Immediately she discarded the idea. Even if she made the jump, which was doubtful, there would be no way to get past the soldiers.

  “Open the door or we’ll bust it down!” came another shouted command.

  Carrie could hear Sam’s measured footsteps across the floor. She could imagine the fear he was feeling. Not for himself, but for her. She was sure he was berating himself for not getting her away sooner. Carrie groaned as she heard the door slam open.

  “Can I help you soldier boys with something?” she heard Sam ask calmly.

  “You bet you can, old man,” a new voice said sternly. “We’re looking for one Miss Carrie Cromwell.”

  Carrie’s heart sank further. How had they known she was still here? She was sure Sam had hoped to distract them and give them what they wanted so they would leave. But they were here for her!

  Sam’s voice was still calm. “Ain’t nobody on this here plantation but slaves. Miss Carrie done left some days ago. Same as everyone else ‘round here.”

  “You’re lying,” a voice said coldly. “Where is Miss Cromwell?”

  Sam continued on calmly. “Like I said, Miss Cromwell ain’t here.”

  “You’re lying!” the voice shouted. “Get out of my way, old man. We’ll find her ourselves.”

  Carrie imagined Sam pulling himself up erectly. “I don’t reckon you boys got any reason to be in this house.”

  “Look, old man. I ain’t got nothing against you. But I don’t know why in the world you want to protect someone who chained you in slavery. Not that it matters. I just want you out of my way.”

  “I be right sorry...” Sam began again. He never finished his words.

  Tears rolled down Carrie’s face as she heard Sam moan and drop to the floor below with a thud. That’s when she began to move toward the door. She could not allow her friends to be hurt in her defense.

  A shrill voice below stopped her. “What are you doing picking on an old man for? Didn’t he tell you Miss Cromwell isn’t here?” Opal’s voice was loud and strident. “You ain’t got no business in this house.”

  Carrie groaned again as she imagined Opal receiving the same treatment as Sam. With a determined tilt to her chin, she reached for the door. She was going to put a stop to this.

  She had barely laid her hand on the doorknob when she felt herself grabbed from behind. She opened her mouth to scream, but a hand clapped across it muffled her scream to a low moan.

  “Shhh, Carrie. We have to get out of here.”

  Carrie gasped and spun, her eyes bugging in her face. “Moses?” she whispered. She could think of nothing else to say. Stunned, she wondered how he had suddenly appeared behind her. Her eyes traveled over his shoulder to a gaping hole in the wall.

  A clatter of boots on the stairs broke into her shocked senses. Moses grabbed her hand and pulled her quickly toward the hole in her wall. Then they were inside. Moses released her, then reached out and pulled a handle. Instan
tly they were shrouded in darkness. Moses reached out and took her hand but didn’t move. Carrie remained frozen beside him. They listened as footsteps pounded along the corridor of the second story. Doors were flung open one by one.

  “This is the last room, Captain. I reckon we’re going to find our little lady cowering in here. Too bad we had to be a little rough on that other woman to get here.”

  Carrie gasped as she wondered if Opal was all right. Moses squeezed her hand in warning. Suddenly she heard the door to her room fling open. The stout wood crashed against the wall, and then heavy footsteps approached within feet of where they were standing, barely breathing. If the situation had not been so serious, Carrie might have smiled at the imagined looks of frustration on their faces.

  There was a brief silence and then, “Captain! She isn’t in here!”

  Carrie could hear another set of footsteps approaching. “Are you sure? Look everywhere. That old man was protecting someone. She has to be here.”

  Carrie continued to hold her breath as her closet was flung open. She could hear clothes being ripped from hangers and hooks. Then she heard someone drop to the floor, evidently looking under the bed. There was a long silence, and then a heavy stream of curses filled the air.

  “How in the world could she have known we were coming?” one man asked.

  Another long silence was his only answer.

  Finally a commanding voice broke the silence. “I want this house completely searched. The lady herself is not so important. What I want to know is how she found out we were coming. That I would like very much to know.” He paused.. “Once we have found her we will spread out and look for food. Empty the root cellar, the smoke houses, everything! When those are clean, we’ll take what we can of the crops. There won’t be a lot, but there may be some early crops that are producing. We can bring back help with wagons to get more.”

  Carrie stiffened in protest, but Moses pressed her shoulder warningly. She knew any noise would be fatal. There was a heavy clomp as the soldiers moved out of the room. When they were all gone, Carrie turned to Moses. Now that they were alone, questions screamed through her mind. But again he pressed her shoulder.

  “That girl didn’t disappear into thin air,” a heavy voice growled.

  Carrie froze as she realized not all of the soldiers were gone.

  “I aim to find her,” the voice continued. “Adams sure got my appetite up for some real loving. I don’t care what the captain said. There ain’t no reason we can’t have a little fun in the middle of all this.”

  “I don’t think the captain will be any too happy if you try anything,” another voice warned.

  “To blazes with the captain! I almost got killed a couple of days ago when we had to fight them Rebels. If I’m gonna die any day, I might as well die with some loving. Adams seemed pretty sure this little lady would make us a good lover. I aim to find out!”

  Carrie cringed against Moses as she felt his muscles tighten in fury.

  The other voice continued thoughtfully. “How do you figure that lady found out we were coming? It just doesn’t seem possible.”

  There was a brief silence, and then the voice Carrie had quickly learned to fear broke it. “I been doing me some thinking. Ain’t Moses a spy for us because he knows this area so well?”

  “I reckon.”

  “Did you notice how he took us to all the other plantations and farms but steered us away from this one? This looks to be a right big place. Surely he knew about this place.”

  The other voice was a little more thoughtful. “What are you driving at, Clyde?”

  The answer was quick and hard. “I think our spy might just have come from this plantation. Maybe he has a little more loyalty to his Rebel owners than he’s been letting on. We ain’t seen him since last night. Maybe he took off to come warn her.”

  “But he ain’t in this house,” the other voice protested. “And that old man downstairs wouldn’t have made us rough him up if he wasn’t protecting somebody.”

  “Yeah. I thought about that, too. But still, there is something more to this than we can see. I aim to figure out what it is! I aim to ask that old man some questions.” With that final statement, there was a sound of clomping boots and then silence.

  Only then did Moses lean over to whisper in her ear. “Don’t say a word. Just follow me.”

  Carrie heard a scrape and then a match flared, its brightness almost blinding her in the pitch black darkness. She watched, amazed, as Moses quickly lit a candle and held it high. She stared around her. They were in a tunnel! Now that her fear was beginning to abate, she was consumed with curiosity. The hole in the wall had appeared behind her mirror. She had a thousand questions but they would have to wait. Moses was making his way slowly down the tunnel. She had no choice but to follow him.

  The candle cast flickering shadows against the solid brick walls of the tunnel. They went about thirty feet straight ahead until they reached a solidly built wooden staircase. They descended, and Carrie knew they must be on the first floor of the house. She could hear men yelling and talking as they searched the house. As Moses and Carrie moved along quietly, they came even with what must be her father’s library.

  Moses stopped abruptly when he heard the captain’s voice, but he didn’t blow out the candle. Carrie knew he was afraid their footsteps would be detected though she was sure the solid brick flooring was absorbing any sound. Her fascination with the surprise tunnel was so complete she almost missed what the captain said.

  “The girl doesn’t seem to be here. But I have a feeling she hasn’t gone far. I want you to put three of the men on watch for her. The rest I want to gather food. We’ve wasted enough time here!”

  “Yes, sir!”

  The next sound they heard was disappearing footsteps. Moses let his breath out, and they moved on until they came to another set of stairs and descended into a lower part of the tunnel. Carrie knew they must be parallel to the basement. The air was heavier and carried a lot more moisture. She reached out to touch Moses, but he shook his head and continued on. She knew he was not willing to talk until they were farther from the house.

  Just then he stopped and held up his hand. Without saying anything, he pointed to the outline of a door in the wall. Carrie leaned forward to gaze at the barely visible door, its looped handle resting almost solid against the bricks. It must lead into a part of the basement. She tried to ascertain where they were. The closest she could figure, they were almost directly under the kitchen. Suddenly she remembered the wall of shelves holding all the herbs she had bottled. Was there a door hidden in those shelves? They had been there for as long as she could remember.

  Her amazement grew as they continued along. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined her house held such a secret. How had Moses known about it? That intrigued her almost more than the tunnel.

  They made several more turns before Moses finally came to a stop. Then he turned to her. “I think it’s okay to talk now.”

  Now that it was safe to talk, Carrie could do no more than stare at him. Suddenly the reality of the situation hit her, and tears flooded her eyes. When Moses opened his arms, she walked into them. A moment later, sniffing back her tears, she stepped away. She wouldn’t waste their precious time crying. She took a deep breath and looked up at him. “You know I have a thousand questions. Why don’t you just start talking?”

  Moses nodded. “I will. But let’s get out of this tunnel. I’m not sure how long my candle is going to last. We don’t want to be stuck in the dark.”

  Carrie nodded. It took them just a few more minutes to travel the rest of the tunnel. She gazed around her as they walked. The tunnel was circular and tall enough for even Moses to walk straight. Who had built this thing? How long had it been here? Why was it here?

  Then her mind flashed back to the house. How were Sam and Opal? What about the children? All she could do was pray the Union soldiers wouldn’t hurt them. She hoped Sam was right - that they di
dn’t have a fight with the slaves. Other concerns crowded in, though. What would the slaves do if they had no food? How would they survive with her not there to run things? Impatiently, she shoved the thoughts from her mind. There was nothing she could do about them now.

  Finally, they broke out of the tunnel. Carrie stared at the gentle lapping swells of the James River just feet from where she stood. Moses waved her over to sit on a rock right next to the entrance. There was no chance anyone would sneak up on them. The entrance commanded a view of the river bank a hundred feet or more in either direction. The entrance itself was well concealed with a heavy growth of brush.

  Carrie gazed at Moses. She wasn’t sure which question to ask first. Finally she said, “I got your letter from Aunt Abby. I’m so glad you made it safely.”

  Moses nodded. “I could take all morning just to tell you about that trip. I reckon it will have to wait for another time.”

  Carrie couldn’t miss the anxious look on Moses’ face. She knew it had to be more than just worry for her safety. Then she remembered the last conversation she had heard between the soldiers in her bedroom. The one called Clyde - he’d talked about Moses. She’s almost forgotten it in her amazement over the tunnel. “You’re a Union spy?”

  Moses nodded. “I told you I would find a way to help the Union.” He answered Carrie’s next question before she asked it. “Rose is doing fine. She’s in school and helping Aunt Abby around the house.”

  Carrie was glad to know her friend was okay, but her mind quickly moved on. “If you don’t reconnect with the rest of the men soon, you will be in danger.”

  Moses nodded again. “It’s not me I’m so worried about. I can figure out a story to keep them at least guessing. It’s Sam and the rest I’m worried about. That man Clyde can cause a lot of trouble.” Then he shook his head. “First we got to get you out of here safely.”