Spake As a Dragon

by Larry Edward Hunt

  He walks up close to John Scarburg and they talk quietly, the ‘Colonel’ turns to the crowd, “Mister Scarburg requests a word with his youngest daughter Margaret.”

  Luke standing closest to Malinda, “Mother, this is not the way we rehearsed – Pappy is supposed to ask to speak to our grandfather Thomas his youngest son, what is happening?”

  Malinda looks at Isaac who was to play the part of John’s youngest son Thomas and shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head as tho’ bewildered. Steven and Thomas Henry, playing the parts of William and Isaac stand on the bench next to the hooded Mark with looks of amazement too. “Okay, Lizzie, I don’t know what Mark is up to, but walk on over there to the bench. We will just have to see what is going on.”

  Lizzie is hesitant at first to go, but with prodding she leaves the crowd and walks across to the bench. She nervously glances from side to side. She is very apprehensive because she was not told she had a part in today’s spectacle. She was worried since she had no lines to speak and does not know what to do. Arriving at the bench she knew from yesterday’s practice Isaac, playing the part of little Thomas, steps upon the bench and he and his father whispered to each other. She supposes she will do the same.

  She climbs upon the bench and moves closer to Mark. Close enough to clutch his pant leg. When she grasped his leg. he reaches down and swoops her up into his arms while removing his hood.

  At first Lizzie cannot believe what she is seeing – it is not Mark Holmes at all – it is her...her... father...Robert! She is speechless, and scared, she can just barely remember what her father looked like. This man resembles him, but she wasn’t quite sure.

  At first a murmur spread around the crowd, now there is complete silence. Malinda sees Robert, but she like Lizzie is not quite sure who this man is, for certain it is not Mark Holmes. She takes a step or two toward the bench as Robert and Lizzie get down. The whole place is stunned – is this Robert Scarburg?

  It was! Everyone finally realized who was standing in their midst – the father of all these children, Malinda’s husband and their long thought dead neighbor. For minutes, they all could do nothing but hug and kiss. Neighbors coming by slapping him on his back and wishing him well, others telling him how glad they were to see him back from the War.

  Finally, the excitement subsided somewhat and they all learned that Robert had arrived early this morning and by chance met Mark at the Mill. Mark had explained the day’s events when Robert got the idea to surprise them with his appearance during the ‘hanging’ on this special day.

  Everyone is milling about. No one is now sure what is to happen next. Malinda senses the anxiety in the crowd and climbs upon the mayor’s wagon – “Good friends and neighbors, things did not go as planned,” She said looking at Robert and smiling, “The return of my husband Robert is wonderful,” there is a roar of applause, “but the day’s activities are not over yet. Everyone get some more drink and refreshment and let me speak for a moment with my husband then we will have the dedication of the monument under the oak tree.”

  “Robert,” Malinda asks as they sit at one of the tables about the Mill’s grounds. “Why did you never post me a letter during all the time you were gone?”

  Robert was aghast. He could not believe what his wife was saying; she had never received any of his letters. This has to be a mistake, “Malinda, I posted you a letter every chance I had. Sometimes I could not due to the lack of writing material, but I must have sent you at least one letter a month, you should have received dozens and dozens of letters. You know, that is strange I never received any posts from you either; however, I always just believed you had no way of knowing where I was and there in the end I knew you did not know I was in a prisoner of war camp at Point Lookout.”

  He went on to tell how disheartening it was to see other prisoner’s receiving mail from their loved ones. He said he would stand eagerly by the man distributing the mail just waiting for his name to be called. Month after month he followed the same routine, but he never heard his name. He said he hoped and prayed for some word from his family. He wondered in they were still in Alabama, had something happened to them, were they alive? These questions gnawed at him constantly. The uncertainty of it all weighed heavier on him than the misery he suffered in the prison.

  Malinda sat, not drinking just listening to the words Robert spoke. She said she had much to tell him too, but the folks gathered for the celebration wanted to complete the day with the unveiling of the monument to Robert’s grandfather and his uncles. She thought since now that Robert was home, it should be his honor to unveil the plaque.

  “Attention! Attention everyone. Let us all gather at the old oak and we will conclude the festivities for the day.”

  Malinda and Robert stood in the midst of the crowd next to the sheet-covered monument. Robert stepped forward; this once six-foot, 185-pound, black haired man was almost unrecognizable. He barely weighed more than 120; his beard and hair were almost white he struggled with his speech. All standing around could see the evidence of the past few years of War on his body.

  He grasped the corner of the white coverlet and looked at the crowd, “Folks,” he said trying to recognize those gathered around him, “Hey there Hack, good to see ya, oh, how do you do Mrs. Hunt, them dumplings of yours was still as good as I remembered,” tipping the brim of his hat, “Howdy Abner, good to see you. I’d heard you got hit at Shiloh, you doing okay?”

  From within the crowd, “Doin’ good Robert, good to see you too.”

  “I’m just glad to be home and I’ll get around to seeing you all as soon as I can, but right now Malinda has something planned that I’m not quite sure what it is. She told me to say a few words and then pull this sheet off this rock, well here goes...”

  Once the covering is removed everyone squeezes in close trying to see what is chiseled on the face of it. Robert steps up and holds his hands into the air, “Friends, I know everyone cannot get up to the front to read these words so I will read what is written for you.” He then in a loud voice read the words:

  IN HONOUR AND IN RECOGNITION OF

  JOHN SCARBURG

  WILLIAM SCARBURG

  ISAAC SCARBURG

  FOR HUMANE AND LIFE SAVING CARE

  RENDERED TO FRIEND AND FOE ALIKE

  ON THIS PLACE

  IN APRIL 1781

  The crowd was silent...suddenly the fife, drum and bugle broke out into a rousing rendition of “Dixie”, one of the few tunes they knew. When the tune ended the cannon in front of Masonic Hall Number One fired. Its blast reverberated through the trees. Everyone cheered and men threw their hats into the air, Robert raised his hands, “Folks, as most of you know this stone is for my grandfather and my uncles. As I lay dying on the field of battle at Gettysburg, the events of that fateful day during the Revolutionary War in April 1781 flashed before my eyes. Some have said right before you die your life will flash before you, well I can’t rightly say I saw my whole life, from beginning to that very moment, but I did see Pappy, my grandfather. Along with Pappy I saw my uncles William and Isaac standing on this very bench underneath this same beautiful old oak. I tell you it was as plain as if I am seeing you now. I saw my father Thomas, just a small lad, run to my grandfather, climb upon this bench and they whispered something to each other. To this day I know not what,” Laughing, he said, “That wasn’t flashed to me! The reason, I believe, I saw that vision was at that time we as Americans were fighting the British to become a free and independent nation, and eventually, although my Grandfather John Scarburg and my two Uncles William and Isaac would never see it, the budding thirteen colonies would blossom into what would became the United States of America.

  I left home over three years ago fighting against that very flag that mine and your relatives fought and died for. At the time I enlisted, we had reason to be displeased with those that ran the Government of these United States and we decided to fight for what we believed was right, just like the Patriots of old did, but we did no
t win our fight. We had the guts and gumption but not the manpower and war materiel.

  Now the fight is over, my body and the scars on many of the bodies standing here today will attest to that fact, but we are once again the United States of America. We had our say, spilled our blood and buried our dead, now I stand before this monument which commemorates those earlier sacrifices and say to you, our Civil War is over, we must now work together to heal not only the South but the country as a whole. This is our country now, both North and South together. If anyone could hate, it would be I...nearly two years in a Yankee prisoner of war camp can make a man hate, but hate eats at your soul and destroys the spirit from within. The days ahead are going to be hard, for to the victor goes the spoils, but just remember we have seen hard times, the future ahead has got to be better. I thank you all for coming today – may God bless you one and all.”

  THE BIBLE

  Later that evening the whole family gets together on the front porch of the guesthouse. They are eager to hear of Robert’s experience in the War; however, before he will talk he is still troubled by the mail or absence thereof. Why he asks did their letters not get to him and moreover why did his not reach them? He reasoned their letters might have gotten lost, delivered to the wrong place or simply just thrown away by some low-down, lazy mail clerk in the Army. But he emphasized that in three years he would have had at least one low-down lazy mail clerk that wouldn’t have all thrown all his mail away! And to add to the mystery, why did his letters never get delivered to his family?

  Malinda sat listening to Robert complain when she suddenly remembered, “Robert, in Alabama we had trouble with a half-breed name Simeon LaPree. He was Captain of the Home Guard.” She explained the running trouble she had with him. “Robert we could not pay the land taxes. We had gotten two years behind and owed $25.00. That rascal LaPree told me he was going to own our farm and a month or so later when they posted the eviction notice I then owed $52.26. LaPree and the carpetbagger county judge kept raising the amount. LaPree was determined to get our place in revenge for me keeping William and Isaac hid from him. All along he wanted them for conscription into the army and I wouldn’t give them up. I believe if I could have raised the $52.26 the judge would have raised the amount when I tried to pay.” She conveniently omitted the part where LaPree tried to clandestinely force his attention upon her.

  “Do you think he had any influence with the mail service at Albertville?”

  “Robert, I’ll tell you this much - Simeon LaPree and his cohorts had control of everything in the county, including, I’m sure, the mail. Now that you mention it every time I went into the postal office the mail clerk took my letter and said he would make sure it got into the outgoing mailbag personally.”

  She further explained that they tried to sell Blaze to Doctor Crawford, but they still could not raise the tax money. Finally, being desperate, she told Robert the only choice they had was for her to take the family and move back to Scarlettsville. She told about loading the two wagons with most of their belongings threw all the children aboard and made sure Sary had the huge family bible and they headed east to South Carolina. She told how William and Lizzie fell overboard crossing the Tallulah River and how they camped for nearly a month beside the river hoping against hope that the two children would show up. She explained how sad the remaining trip was knowing William and Lizzie had drown, but how thrilled they were to find both waiting for them at Scarlett when they arrived. William held on to a limb and floated downstream until he got ashore, Lizzie held onto the wooden box, which carried Robert’s grandfather’s old family Bible until she reached William. Both caught a ride on a river barge to Scarlettsville.

  “Wait a minute! Did you say Lizzie was holding onto grandfather’s old Bible in the river?”

  “Yes, well actually she held onto the wooden box which contained the Bible.”

  “You know today while I was talking at the dedication of his stone in front of the Mill I said while I was dying in the Devil’s Den I had a vision. I saw Pappy, Matthew and Isaac being hanged back in April of 1781. Remember I also said my father climbed upon the bench and spoke with grandfather, now here is what is important: I said I did not know what my father and Pappy said to each other, when you mentioned that big old family Bible it all came back to me, I did remember.

  In my vision, I heard what Pappy said to Thomas my father. Father said, “Yes, Pa, I hear you, but I don’t understand, is it the big Bible?”

  Grandfather answered, “Yes, but don’t worry my son, someday it will make sense to you. Promise me you will never forget. Keep the black ostrich plume to remember me by, and someday you will find it will be most valuable.”

  “Robert, that black ostrich plume was in the Bible. I gave it to Matthew the day you all went to enlist in the Army. Had it not been for that black feather Luke and I would never have found him working with Mark Holmes at Gettysburg.”

  “The feather? How...? What...” Robert was confused.

  From a chair on the porch Kelly spoke, “That’s right, I met Malinda and Luke on the Emmitsburg Road, almost at the very spot where Matt was shot in the leg. Malinda was searching for any information about her soldier son. I had seen hundreds of dead, dying or wounded soldiers those awful days and her son was but one of thousands, but when Malinda mentioned the black ostrich plume I knew she was speaking of Matt. I had seen him and his feather on the day of Pickett’s Charge. I carried her and Luke to see him and my Pa at the workshop.”

  “Oh my, thank you so much my dear. Luke and I had just come from that dreadful place called Devil’s Den. We were looking for anyone or anything that might give us a clue to your fate. We did not know whether you had lived or died, all we found was the rock where Luke said he last saw you. I saw the blood stains on the rock and on the ground and the scratches you had made on the stone where you must have leaned against.”

  “Scratches? Scratches Malinda, what do you mean? I remember no scratches. What did they look like?”

  “I’m sorry Robert, but it was a while ago and I can’t seem to recall exactly what was scribbled there.”

  Luke spoke up, “I do Mother, I remember precisely what was written on the stone.”

  “Speak son, tell me what was there,” said his father.

  “Father it was a letter and some numbers. I remember they read:

  2K168

  “Father, what did that letter and those numbers mean?”

  “Luke, I’m not quite sure, but in my vision, I heard Pappy give those numbers to my father and I believe I might have an answer to this mystery. Our old family Bible belonged to Pappy my grandfather John Scarburg, when I returned from the Indian Wars all that was left of Scarlett were the four fireplaces on either end of the burnt remains and one other thing – grandfather’s big Bible. Malinda and Granny had saved it from the flames after the Indian attack.”

  “Father, that day at Devil’s Den you kept asking Matt and me to get you a Bible. Do you remember why you wanted a Bible?”

  Staring off into the distance without really seeing Robert answers, “Yes Son, I think I do, now!”

  Chapter Sixty-One

  THE MYSTERY

  Once Robert had made an announcement that he believed he knew what the “2K168” meant. Everyone on the porch sat waiting in anticipation of the answer.

  Robert finally spoke, “All my life, at least since I was a small lad old enough to know, I have always thought grandfather’s Bible was important. I did not know why, but today sitting here among you all it has all come back to me. Father must have told me about the 2K168, the black feather and the big Bible while I was young. I must have been so young that I forgot what he said. The key to the mystery must be in Pappy’s big Bible.”

  Everyone moved from the porch into the large area of the parlor. Robert requests the Bible and they all crowd around the table. Under the light from a couple of kerosene lamps, Robert opens the big book. Looking at those standing around him he asks, “Now think about th
e “2K168,” does anyone have any idea what that could mean?”

  Little Lizzie, barely able to squeeze up to the table says, “Father could that ‘2K’ mean the Second Book of Kings and the other numbers are the Chapter and Verse?”

  Robert looks at Lizzie and grins, “From the mouth of babes!”

  Robert begins flipping through the Old Testament looking for the Book of Second Kings, “Come on children, you all had to remember the books of the Bible in Sunday School.”

  The children start reciting, “Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1st Samuel, 2nd Samuel, 1st Kings, 2nd Kings...”

  “Stop that’s it, okay here’s 2nd Samuel, 1st Kings yes...yes...2nd Kings. Now, Chapter Sixteen, yeah here it is,” scanning down the page with his index finger, “Verse 8:

  ‘And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and sent it for a present...’

  Mattie Ann was the first to speak, “What does all that mean? Do you understand Father?”

  “I don’t know girl, but it is certainly a mystery. I suggest we all go to bed, get a good night’s sleep and maybe with our minds rested and refreshed we might put this puzzle together.”

  * * * * *

  The alarm clock sitting on the fence post next to the barn announced it was sunup; time to begin a fresh new day. Robert was already awake before the rooster crowed, and had been for a while; he had spent a terribly restless night. Robert could not get the Bible verse out of his mind.

  At the breakfast table, no one speaks. It was as if someone had died. No one wanted to be the first to say something; finally, Mattie Ann clears her throat and says, “I’ve been giving Pappy Scarburg’s Bible some serious thought...” At this proclamation the others sniggered and grinned, she paid them no mind and continued, “Now what if Pappy was trying to tell us about some real silver and gold?”