Hogarth II

by Vicky Saari

  “Ya! Greta said she is doing good. Ve vill keep her unless she gets sick, too. You know, Mrs. Hogarth, you need your rest,” he struggled to speak. “I vill burn the kinder’s bedding and check at the inn to see if they need any help.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Hamburg. Good night.” Jessie sank against the doorway and mumbled, “We’ll begin to know who is next by morning.”

  *****

  These were some of the saddest days in Hogarth’s long life. They were the kind of memories he had hoped to ignore. He would have, too, if he, himself, were not laying spread out across the meadow. For the moment, his past was preferable to his present.

  “How ya comin’ down there, Dave? You need any help with the tower?” Charlie inquired, more to be friendly than anything else.

  Dave paused in his actions just long enough to look up and see Charlie leaning over the edge of the roof. He shook his head, picked up a stone, and brushed it with a wire brush before he responded, “Nope! I’m good.” A moment later, a stone that he had just set into place rolled to a halt at his feet, and overhead, he heard Charlie snicker.

  Chapter 12

  As the evening sun lowered over Sethsburg, uncertainty accompanied it. At the Parson homestead, Caleb, Brad, Moses, Nathan, and Jonathan Pritchett had finished their last batch of lumber. They had no idea how many coffins would be needed but figured they’d find a use for anything left over. They already knew about Mrs. Maynard and the baby. Some thought it might be a good idea to bury the mother and baby together. In the end, it was decided to build a smaller box for the baby. Before they were finished, word reached them that they needed more.

  Sarah and young Jessie both searched their houses for enough fabric to line five pine boxes for the stricken mother and her four children. Despite the late hour, they used Jed’s wagon to haul the boxes into the village. The next morning, as the lay pastor for the town’s only church, Jonathan Pritchett organized a simple funeral in front of the church/schoolhouse. Caleb, young Brad, and Job had dug five graves on the hill near Brad’s father. The Turners and Hamburgs brought the other Maynard children to give them a chance to say their good-byes and sing hymns to send their mother and siblings on their way. Mrs. Hamburg and Mrs. Turner had also helped the children pick a few flowers from the woods to share with their mother. Pritchett ended the service with a solemn prayer, and as the wagon made its way to the Parsons’ cemetery, everyone else was drawn toward the inn, where Jessie and Martha were attempting to rest.

  Sarah watched the procession roll toward Brad’s lone grave plot. She was glad that her late husband would no longer be alone. Considering her new baby was only two days old, she wasn’t quite up to being her normal self, and for just a moment she relived the grief she had felt years ago when her Brad had died and left her alone in the wilderness with a child. Fortunately, the Hogarths had taken her in. Years later Sarah and Jed had married. Now young Jessie was stepping in to care for her children. She watched her husband’s sister call young Jed and Catherine in and ready them for bed. It seemed odd to think that the young woman before her was the same child she had taken to her own breast when her mother fell ill. Perhaps it was because of this that she was bothered when she realized that the looks that passed between young Jessie and her oldest son, Brad, were not quite familial. Although there was no blood kin between the two, she wasn’t sure if this was an appropriate relationship for them to pursue. She made a mental note that as soon as Jed came home, if he came home, they’d need to have a talk. However, even she had to admit that out here in the wilderness there wasn’t much of an opportunity for young people to meet. Her own stepbrother, John, and brother-in-law, Luke, were two examples. They had each married one of the Hodges girls.

  “They kinda remind me of you and Brad when you were that age,” Abner cut into her thoughts as though he had read her mind.

  Sarah was caught off guard by the accuracy of Abner’s observation. “It might have been different if Brad’s mother had married my pa when I was younger,” she snarled. “As it was, we were practically marryin’ age when we met.”

  “But Brad’s ma never knew about Minnie and your pa?” he quizzed in return. “That John’s the spittin’ image of your pa?”

  “You knew about Pa and Minnie?” Sarah questioned.

  “Tain’t many secrets on the frontier,” Abner snickered as he ducked away from Sarah’s mock slap. “Things aren’t the same as they used to be. Take those people there.” He pointed toward the cemetery. “They been here a good two years and ain’t been a soul to visit them, not like folks used to.”

  Sarah watched as Abner headed for her old cabin. She knew he’d be sound asleep before the sun went down. Meanwhile, inside she heard young Jessie singing to the children and watched the men returning with an empty wagon. She knew Abner was right, and she was bothered by her own reaction as much as by the situation.

  At the inn in Sethsburg, a somber mood was slowly beginning to warm up as the neighbors discussed how they should deal with the four remaining Maynard children. Until the next of kin could be found, Abigail would stay with the Turners, and Joe would stay with the Hamburgs. For the time being, it was agreed that Todd and Mattie would stay on at the inn provided they were willing to help with the work for their room and board. “Mattie can help me with the kitchen and cleaning after school, and Todd can help John look after the stable,” Cindy said.

  Mattie and Todd sat quietly while the grown-ups around the room seemed to take over their lives and make a lot of plans for them without consulting them. “Ma and Pa wouldn’t want us to be taken in for charity,” Mattie chimed in with her hands on her hips. “I think Todd and me could take care of the little ones by ourselves. We do have a home, you know!”

  Todd said nothing. Instead, he walked out the door and around to the back of the inn. He was trying hard to not cry. He was the oldest and the one who was supposed to know what to do. He didn’t know which made him maddest, not knowin’ or losin’ his mom, dad, and four siblings at the same time. At the moment, he just hurt so much that he couldn’t really think. Try as he might, he just couldn’t keep the tears out of his eyes. After a few moments, he sat on a stump and gave up the struggle and broke into deep, sorrowful sobs. He didn’t even know if he had a grandma or grandpa or aunts and uncles. Those were things his parents had never talked much about. The little house in Sethsburg was the first home he’d ever really known in his twelve years, as they had moved from one town to the next. Pa was always lookin’ for that pot of gold and so far, they’d never found it.

  “It looks like you need a friend,” a voice came from behind, and a kerchief was held out to him. “Is there anything I can do to help?” Zeke sat down on the stump beside him. “You’re about the same age I was when I left home the first time. I went into the village to learn how to be a blacksmith. Don’t tell anyone, but there were times when I was sure I’d made a mistake. More than once I had to take long walks so Mr. and Mrs. Jones wouldn’t know I’d been cryin’. They worked hard to make me feel at home,” Zeke confided. “I was sure I was all grown up and knew what I was doin’, but I have found out that even when you’re grown up, there are times when a man needs to cry.”

  “Thanks,” Todd spoke as he took the handkerchief to dab his eyes and blow his nose before he handed it back. “Do you think Mr. Seth would let me drive my Pa’s team so we can keep our house? I already know how to hitch up a wagon and drive a team.”

  Zeke studied the man-child thoughtfully. “I think in a few years he might just do that, but right now, I think he’d be a lot happier if you would stay in school and help the rest of us until you get a little older and a little stronger. You might think of it as bein’ an apprentice, like I was.”

  “Yeah, but what about our house? Are we gonna get to keep it? Or will you have to burn it like they did Ma’s bed?” He snuffed his nose and wiped his tears on his sleeve.

  “Th
at’s a good question, and one I can’t answer.” Zeke offered the boy a hand up.

  Quiet had settled over the inn as everyone withdrew into their own private thoughts. The question still hovered about as to who would be the next to take ill. Seth and Luke Hodges pulled up to the hitching post and talked to Martha through the door. Seth wanted to find out how things were going and to let her know that he and Luke would be leaving for Madison the next morning. Besides looking for job opportunities on the river for Luke, he found he would also need to find a new driver to replace Maynard, though he didn’t mention this before the group. He was more than a little surprised when the Maynard boy stepped into the doorway to ask if he could take over his pa’s job so they could keep their house.

  Seth studied the young man, who had his square jaw set in determination. “Well, Todd, that is your name, isn’t it?” The boy nodded and folded his arms across his chest while he waited for an answer. “How old are you, Todd?” he inquired.

  “Ma said I’d be thirteen my next birthday,” he assured Seth.

  “The trouble is that if you were to work for me, you’d have to be on the road for days, maybe weeks, just like your pa was. Who’d look after your brother and sisters while you were away?” Seth pointed out, and then he noticed his son-in-law coming up behind the boy. “As I recall, Zeke was about the same age as you are now when he became an apprentice blacksmith. Maybe we could think about something like you bein’ an apprentice like he was. You could live here with John and Cindy and work in the stable when you’re not in school. As for hanging onto your pa’s house, we’ll work something out.” He smiled at the boy.

  Todd listened carefully but wasn’t sure if he was going to be happy with this new idea. He knew in his heart that he wasn’t quite ready to fill his pa’s shoes, at least not yet. He looked at Mattie and his younger brother, sitting on Mrs. Hamburg’s lap, then at Abigail, sitting between the Turners. “I guess you’re right, sir,” he said solemnly and walked back into the dining room.

  In the far corner of the dining room, Jessie and Minnie sat reviewing the events of the past two days. “What causes the fever?” Jessie was asking herself as much as Minnie. She then told her old neighbor the story about her grandmother.

  “I saw it happen years ago. An old medicine man said something about bad water, too, especially when it’s too close to the animals,” Minnie said thoughtfully. “That’s why I’ve been boiling all the water we’ve been using. Do you think the well out front is bad? Is it too close to the stable?” she wondered aloud.

  “What’s that white powder you put in the berries?” Jessie asked. Minnie withdrew a pouch from her basket and opened it for Jessie.

  “I bought this from a peddler who said it was good for making bread and also good for sick stomachs. He called it bicarbonate of soda. I figured if it was good for sick stomachs, it couldn’t hurt the cramping that people get from the fever.”

  Jessie looked at the funny powder and touched her finger to her tongue to taste it. “Something that tastes that bad must do some good,” she grimaced.

  “How long do you think we’ll have to wait before its safe for everyone to go back home?” Minnie asked.

  Jessie studied the faces in the room for signs of any new symptoms. “You know, Minnie, we’ve been here for over fifteen years, and this is the first time we have ever had to deal with sickness this bad,” she reflected. “We should know something in a day or so.”

  She didn’t say anything to Minnie, but she noticed that Minnie’s son John was looking kind of pale, but so were Jed and Mr. Turner. She hoped she was wrong. Daylight was quickly fading, and the Hamburgs and Turners gathered up their sleeping charges, said their good-byes and headed toward their own homes. Zeke and Lucy likewise withdrew to the comforts of their home across the road.

  Seth and Luke had brought blankets from the store to help bed everyone on the floor of the inn. “This reminds me of the old days,” noted Jed as he recalled their early days and their pine bough pallets in the lean-to huts during their first winter on the frontier. Moments later, John clutched his stomach and rushed out the back door to the outhouse. Jed was not far behind. Minnie heard them both and immediately rose and began mixing them each a glass of her soda water. As she started back to bed, her attention was drawn first to Jessie, who was shivering with a chill, and then to Martha, whose fever was just beginning to rage. She fixed them each a dose of the soda water before trying to get back to sleep. Near daylight, Agnes Turner was awakened by her husband as he returned to the bed. It had been his fourth trip, and he wasn’t sure if he had the strength to make a return trip. She rose and woke Abigail and led her to the Hamburgs’ house to see if she could stay with them and her brother.

  *****

  Hogarth was lost in the past and not really conscious of his present. Dave loved old houses, and he had developed a strong feeling for Hogarth. He enjoyed his work, and it showed in the way he almost crooned to the house as he mixed the mortar and troweled it into place. “Who’s he talkin’ to?” George asked Charlie. Charlie watched the stone mason working carefully and methodically as he reset the steel window into the mortar around its casement.

  “I think he’s singin’,” Charlie said as he watched the older man work. He had wondered about the man ever since the day Hogarth shook one of his stones loose. “Do you think the house can hear him?”

  George slipped his lunch box into the back of his truck and buckled on his tool belt. He looked at his younger brother, unsure if he was serious or not. Without a word, he stepped back onto the ladder and began to climb.

  Hogarth loved the hymns that Dave was crooning, and they took him back to the past, if only briefly; they reminded him of the all-day meetings that were often held at the Hogarths’ homestead.

  Chapter 13

  Young Jessie rose with the first light of day and within minutes was fully dressed and putting breakfast together. As soon as she fed Moses and her pa she was going to Jed and Sarah’s to do the same for her brother’s family. For this reason, she took a few shortcuts that she might not normally consider. Instead of biscuits she pulled a loaf of her mother’s bread from the pie safe and cut away several slices. By the time she had the meal on the table, her pa had completed his early morning chores and had summoned Moses to eat with them.

  Nervously, Moses hobbled to the house using the crutch that Caleb had made for him. He still wasn’t used to eating in the house with white folks. Indeed, he had been more than a little surprised that Caleb had knocked on his door and announced breakfast in such an offhanded manner. Upon reaching the backdoor, Moses knocked timidly, and young Jessie immediately invited him in.

  “There’s a place set for you and pa. He’s out in the barn and will be back in a minute. I have to go over to Jed’s house and help with the kids,” she said busily and added as she went out the door, “We don’t have any coffee, but the chicory’s on the hearth. Just help yourself.” Again, Moses shook his head in disbelief as he carefully picked up a tin cup and started toward the hearth where the chicory was brewing.

  “Mornin’, George; I mean, Moses,” Caleb greeted as he walked in the door. “I see Mitten’s left you on your own. You have a seat, and I’ll fill your cup.”

  “Mr. Caleb, I gotta tell you. I ain’t used to eatin’ with white folks. It makes me kinda nervous,” he confided to Caleb.

  Caleb studied the heavy dark figure, still dressed in his old blue shirt. .He couldn’t help but smile. “Every time I see you wearin’ that old shirt, I can’t help but think about my youngest boy. The first winter we settled here, he started a trap line, and by spring he’d acquired quite a bundle of furs. When he sold them, one of the first things he bought was a bundle of fabric for his ma. She made that shirt out of it,” said Caleb thoughtfully.

  Moses listened to Caleb’s story and noted the tone of pride in his voice. “Thank ye, Caleb. I feel honored
just to be wearin’ it.”

  Caleb handed him the platter with the ham and eggs, and then passed the gravy. Moses smiled, and both men settled down to serious eating.

  “I’m glad you seem to be gettin’ around a lot better than that first day you were here,” Caleb observed. “You were sayin’ something about workin’ for your keep?”

  “That’s right, Mr. Caleb. I was a good field hand on a plantation. I’m still a good worker; at least that’s what the massa used to say,” Moses spoke seriously. “I don’t mind workin’ to pay my keep, but I don’t want to be nobody’s slave anymore.”

  “I guess that’s the part that worries me. I don’t want you to think you’re a slave, but I don’t have money to pay you like a hired man,” Caleb spoke thoughtfully and took a deep breath. “Then I got to thinkin’. When I was buildin’ this house, there was a young man named Jacob who built the round room. I didn’t have money to pay him either. So I paid him with an acre of land. That’s where the grocery store sits. Anyway, I was thinkin’ if you could help me get my crops in and help me with the harvest, I’d give you a piece of land you could call your own. We could even help you build your own cabin on it.”

  Moses was overwhelmed by such an offer. Was it possible that he could really own a piece of land? “Massa Caleb, I ’preciate the idee. But why would you want to do somethin’ like that fer me?” he scratched his head and picked up the hot cup of liquid.

  “Well, Moses, out here, we all help each other out when there’s a need. I need help, and you need help. I don’t mind tradin’ work for help. Besides, you’re a friend of Miss Hodges. I think she’d like to keep you here,” Caleb offered.

  “I ain’t sure my stayin’ around here too long is a good idee. I knowed they locked up them slave hunters, but what’s to stop ’em from comin’ back here or sendin’ someone else to finish the job?” Moses thought aloud. “I still wanna follow that star that I been hearin’ about. Martha’s man said he’d help me get to where I need to go. Meanwhile, I don’t mind helpin’ you folks out. So why don’t we hold off on makin’ promises till Massa Hodges finds out what I needs to know? I’ll just work for room and board, as the white folks say.”