Always Forward

by Ginny Dye

  “We got to take back control of the South!” The man who had been identified as Chad yelled back as he lifted his burning pine stick higher into the air.

  “You move that stick even one inch closer to this school, Chad, and I will shoot your arm off,” Alvin promised in a cold voice. He was evidently the self-appointed leader. “Now look, we don’t want to have to shoot any of you, but don’t think we won’t. I may only have one arm left, but it’s my shooting arm. It works just fine.”

  “You’re destroying the South for your children!” Chad hollered. “The only way to make things right again is to run all them niggers out.”

  “And where do you think they’re going?” Alvin asked calmly, as he kept careful aim on the gang facing them. “Even if they wanted to leave, which they don’t, they ain’t got nowhere to go. Nope. We all gots to live here together now.”

  Granger raised his hand in an attempt to regain control. “You’re only making it harder on yourself, Alvin. You shouldn’t let your kids come to school here.” His voice was low and menacing.

  “That so?” Alvin asked.

  Moses was impressed with Alvin’s self-control, but he could also hear the fury lacing each word. It wouldn’t take much to push the man over the edge. Moses knew the feeling of fear and anger that fine-tuned every nerve in your body until you thought you would explode.

  Alvin wasn’t done talking. “I don’t see any of the fancy plantation owners around here setting up schools for my children,” he said bluntly. “Y’all don’t care nothing about my kids. Mrs. Samuels has them all reading,” he boasted.

  “That Mrs. Samuels is going to get what’s coming to her,” Granger growled. “That giant nigger man of hers won’t be able to protect her.”

  Jeb’s hand appearing on Moses’ arm was the only thing that kept him from launching forward into the clearing.

  “Be smart,” Jeb whispered. “They probably suspect we’re out here. They’re trying to make us show ourselves.”

  Moses shook his head to clear the burning in his eyes. He knew Jeb was right. He had to be smart. No one would hurt Rose as long as he had anything to do about it. Right now, she and the children were safe in the house, with the tunnel available if it was needed. He took several deep breaths to steady himself so that his shooting would be on target if the need arose.

  “Your children don’t need schooling, Alvin,” Granger replied in a cold, taunting voice. “Y’all aren’t anything but white trash. It’s what you have always been, and what you always will be.”

  Moses’ fury was replaced by renewed admiration for the parents guarding the school. He saw every man there tense with fresh anger, but no one shifted their position. The whole school was encircled, making it impossible for any of the vigilantes to sneak up without being seen.

  “I don’t reckon I care what you rich boys think,” Alvin said dispassionately. “You may think you’re better than us, but I happen to know you ain’t got any more than I do. You lost it all during that war you were so all-fired determined we would fight for you. You think my kids aren’t good enough for schooling, but you didn’t have no trouble letting me and my friends fight your war for you.”

  “If you men had won the war, we wouldn’t be having the problems we’re having right now, would we, Alvin?” Moses could hear the smirk in Granger’s voice when he replied, even though his face was hidden.

  Moses could sense the fury pouring off of Alvin like steam rising from a kettle.

  “I think that stupid white man went further than he should have,” Jeb muttered.

  Before Moses could reply, he saw Alvin raise his pistol higher and fire.

  Granger squealed like a stuck pig as he ducked down into his saddle. “You fool! Do you think you can get away with trying to shoot me?”

  Moses grinned as the entire group of vigilantes started to raise their rifles, but paused when the parents raised their rifles in immediate response. They looked treacherous in their concealing garb, but they were really nothing but cowards.

  “If I had been trying to shoot you, you would be dead,” Alvin said in an icy voice. “I’m real close to losing my patience. That was a warning shot. The next one I fire will be the real thing, and all the men around me will follow suit. You might get a couple of us,” he said casually, “but I can guarantee all of you will be dead. It’s up to you whether you want to take the chance.”

  Alvin, clearly done with the game he was being forced to play, took a steady step forward. “I’m going to give you about ten seconds to get out of here. And don’t bother to come back. If even one thing happens to my kid’s school I’m going to know who to come after. You might burn our school down, but I don’t figure you’ll want your fancy homes burned down,” he said harshly.

  Granger flinched. “We’re leaving,” he muttered, “but you’re going to be real sorry for this, Alvin. And not just because of what we’re going to do. A new order is being established in the South. Pretty soon, it’s not going to be safe to be black, and it’s surely not going to be safe to be a white man who protects the niggers. You might stop us, but you sure can’t stop the entire Ku Klux Klan.”

  Moses saw Alvin tighten again, but this time he knew the reaction was fear, not anger.

  Alvin still stood his ground. “That might be, but I stopped you,” he taunted.

  “You just think you did!” The yell came from a man on horseback who was almost hidden in the shadows. He waved his hand toward the woods. “I figure them niggers from Cromwell Plantation are hiding there in the woods right now, letting you do their work for them. They’re going to be sorry when they get back to their precious plantation!”

  ********

  Robert strained his ears to hear through the dense forest separating the plantation from the school, but he could hear nothing. He supposed he should be glad because the sound of gunfire would have filtered through, but every part of him was still tense.

  “Something is coming,” Mark said quietly.

  Robert nodded. “I’m afraid you’re right, but there is nothing we can do until something actually happens.”

  “That was what I most hated about battle. There were too many long nights when all you could do was wait for the next day, wondering if you would live through it.”

  Robert remained silent, although he agreed. Taking action was always preferable to waiting, but there was no action to take right now. All he could do was peer into the darkness and speculate about what might be waiting out there. He cast a look at the house, glad all the women and children were safe inside, close to the tunnel that would take them to the river if the need arose. As he had many times, he gave silent thanks to the Cromwell ancestor who had built it.

  “I would feel a lot better if Moses and his men returned,” Mark said.

  “You and me both,” Miles agreed. “I done me a little shooting, but I ain’t sure how much I will help you two.”

  “I’ve been practicing,” Clint said grimly.

  “So have I,” Gabe added. “The stories coming down from around Tennessee should make any black man keep his gun oiled up and ready.”

  Robert nodded, trying not to think about the danger Matthew had warned him waited for white men who were deemed to be disloyal to the Southern cause. His friend’s letter that had arrived earlier that day had been fairly blunt about the agenda of the Ku Klux Klan and other vigilante groups. For a moment, he almost wished the country was back at war. At least he had known what enemy he was fighting. He glanced toward the barn, wishing they had turned all the horses out. If there were attempts to burn the plantation, he didn’t want any of the animals to be trapped.

  “We need to let the horses out,” he announced.

  Clint sprang forward to join him when he headed toward the barn, but they had not gone more than a dozen feet before a band of men burst forth from the woods.

  As the men on horseback raced toward the house, Robert saw them expertly light the fire sticks they had tied to their saddles. The long pin
e sticks, wrapped in kerosene-soaked cloth, caught quickly, turning into flaming torches that split the night with their brightness. “Get them!” he yelled, pulling his rifle up to his shoulder and taking aim.

  When he heard the men yell in surprise, he understood they thought everyone from the plantation had raced to the schoolhouse to thwart the attack there. Robert felt a surge of triumph when he realized they had the element of surprise. The vigilantes would have no idea what kind of force they were facing. “Fire, men! Fire!” He would make them believe they faced a much stronger force than was actually there. Right now the odds were fifteen to five, but the dark shrouded the truth. If they attacked quickly, they might drive the vigilantes off before any harm could be done.

  Mark gave a yell of triumph as one of his shots propelled a man forward in his saddle. The fire stick tumbled to the ground, illuminating the man’s surprised face as he pulled his horse to a stop and gasped for breath. The jolt had made his face covering slip down.

  Robert felt sick when he realized it was a man who had come by the plantation two weeks earlier under the guise of examining his new crop of foals. Had he merely been planning this attack? His fury surged even higher as he took aim and shot again, yelling loudly to create chaos that would make their numbers seem higher. “I got another one,” he hollered. It wasn’t true, but he knew his yells would add to the confusion. It was a tactic the Rebel soldiers had used successfully through a war fought against superior numbers. He knew he was fighting fellow Rebels, but the tactic would still be effective.

  He spotted Gabe and Clint hastily reloading their guns as they prepared to renew the attack. He grabbed another pistol and continued to fire. Mark was doing the same thing, but Miles seemed to be struggling with a jammed rifle.

  Robert saw the band of men veer away from the house. He was surprised, until he heard the sound of gunshots coming from inside. Flashes of muzzle fire appeared in three different windows. He managed a grin of relief when he realized Rose, Susan and Polly were not going down without a fight. He was sure they had put Annie and the children into the tunnel when the men had attacked, and then returned to join the battle.

  Encouraged, he raced toward the house, shooting as he ran. It almost didn’t matter if they hit anyone right now. The show of force would most likely scare the vigilantes away. Men who attacked in the night with covered faces were nothing more than cowardly bullies. A strong show of force would send them running.

  “Robert!”

  Robert ground to a stop, trying to figure out where Mark’s voice was coming from. When he swiveled his head, he realized five of the men had broken off from the group attacking the house and were now headed directly toward the barn with their fire sticks raised high. “No!” he hollered, turning to race back toward the barn. The women would keep the group away from the house. Now, he had to save the horses.

  Chaos reigned around him as gunfire filled the air, a terrifying glow rising from the burning sticks as the men bore down on the barn. Robert fired and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Clint and Gabe raise their rifles to their shoulders, take careful aim, and fire. Two of the men lurched forward in their saddles, dropping their fire sticks, but the other three were not to be deterred. It was obvious they were determined to inflict destruction, even if it wasn’t all they had hoped to do that night.

  Robert ran even harder, determined to reach the barn before the men did. Even if they set fire to it, he was going to find a way to release all the horses. He would have to trust Mark and the rest to provide cover for him. The yearlings were in the pasture, whinnying their terror, and the mares and foals were safe in the back pasture, but there were horses still in the barn. Granite. Eclipse. Chelsea. All My Heart. Pegasus. He couldn’t let anything happen to them. He felt like his heart would explode from his chest, but he refused to slow down.

  When he was less than one hundred feet from the barn, he saw something that almost made his knees buckle. Amber, sleepily rubbing her eyes, appeared at the door of the barn. Robert faltered, his brain racing. How had the little girl gotten away from the house? He answered his own question as quickly as it had come to his mind. He was quite sure she had entered the house with everyone else, and then found a way to sneak out under cover of darkness, determined to be with her beloved filly if there was going to be danger. He could imagine the panic in the house when they realized she was missing, but it couldn’t compare to the panic he was feeling right that moment.

  “Amber!” Robert pushed his legs even harder. “Get back in the barn!”

  Amber, terrified by the chaos swirling around her, seemed paralyzed. She stared at him uncertainly and then turned to look at the men racing toward the barn on horseback. Her eyes filled with terror that tore at Robert’s heart.

  “I got me an open shot at the nigger girl!”

  Robert heard the yell just as he reached the barn. He flung himself forward, grabbing Amber in his arms, and threw her to the ground, landing on her heavily.

  He barely even felt the shot that pierced his back.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Carrie leaned forward eagerly when the train neared the Richmond Broad Street station. She had loved every minute of her time in Philadelphia, especially the time with her father and Abby, but her mind was already back on the plantation. She had missed Robert greatly and could hardly wait to hear how excited Mark and Susan were about the yearlings they were there to pick up. If she had harbored any doubts about her decision to remain on the plantation, they were put to rest by her elation to be home. She had picked up valuable information from Janie and the other students, which would help her tremendously with a few of her patients. She held herself back from bouncing on the upholstered leather seat in anticipation, but she made no attempt to hide the grin on her face as she leaned forward to admire the hills of the city as they came into view.

  “It doesn’t seem possible that we’ve been gone over a week,” Abby said.

  “It’s the longest I’ve been away from the factory,” Thomas responded.

  “Only the one here in Richmond,” Carrie observed, forcing her thoughts back to the train. “I do believe you and Abby own that factory we just left.”

  “That’s true,” Thomas conceded. “I suppose I’m realizing this is the longest time I’ve been out of Richmond since the war began. I know I was in Danville for a while, but somehow that doesn’t count.”

  Carrie sobered at that thought. Her father had always loved to travel whenever he had the chance. He and her mother had taken many trips north when she was growing up, but then the secession fever had started, and her father had become afraid to leave the plantation because of what might happen with the slaves. The war had followed quickly. Her father had fled to Danville when Richmond fell with the rest of the Confederate government, but she knew every minute had been spent wondering if he would be arrested for war crimes. For the first time, she had a deeper understanding of how the years that had so transformed her, had also changed her father.

  “Was it hard to leave Philadelphia?” Abby asked.

  Carrie considered the question. She knew Abby had been wanting to ask it ever since the train had pulled out of the Pennsylvania station. Finally, she shook her head. “Oh, there is certainly still a part of me that wishes I could do everything all at one time, but the idea of being home with Robert and enjoying the plantation while we wait for our child to appear in the next few months makes the allure of Philadelphia completely disappear.”

  “I’m glad to hear it,” Abby murmured.

  “The foals that were born this spring are truly special,” Carrie continued. “I can’t really ride much anymore until the baby is born, but I can certainly help with the foals’ early training. Amber has agreed to let me help her,” she added wryly.

  “That little girl is amazing,” Thomas said. “She treats every one of those foals like they are her own.”

  “As far as she is concerned, they are,” Carrie confirmed. “She loves them all, but more impor
tantly, she wants Robert to have the very best horse operation in the world. The two of them are so close it constantly amazes me. I can hardly wait to see my husband with children of his own. Amber has completely taught him how to be a father,” she added with a grin. She looked up and caught an odd expression on her father’s face. “What is it?”

  Thomas looked at her fondly. “I’m just glad to know you feel this way. I supported your decision to stay on the plantation, but I’ve been concerned you would regret not continuing your education. One thing after another has kept you from achieving your dream of being a doctor. Staying here in Virginia and becoming a mother only delays it more.”

  “Yes,” Carrie agreed calmly. “I had some times down by the river when I was struggling with that reality, but I wouldn’t have missed this time for anything. It’s not only that I’m about to become a mother, it’s more about the time I’ve had to spend with my husband. We’ve really had so little time together. The war…Robert’s trip to Europe…and then his long illness.” She paused for a moment. “I finally feel married,” she admitted. “In so many ways, I didn’t know what that meant. I certainly loved my husband, but I didn’t really know what it meant to be married.” She smiled brilliantly. “I do now.”

  “From the look on your face, you highly recommend it,” Abby replied.

  “Oh, yes, I highly recommend it.” Carrie agreed. She looked out the window as the screech of wheels against the metal tracks said they had arrived in Richmond. “If I thought it wouldn’t be too much of a strain, I would leave for the plantation today.”

  “You’ll survive until tomorrow,” Thomas said hastily.

  Carrie laughed. “Don’t worry, Father. I’ve grown up enough not to be totally foolish. My baby and I will wait until tomorrow, and then let Spencer take us home.”