by Rita Hestand
"Yes, I'm afraid it is dangerous. We'll have to be discreet when we go out. Make it look quite natural. And if caught we'll tell them we are feeding a deer we saw in the woods. But we mustn't tell the rebel troops about him. You're right, it is very dangerous, but we can't leave him here to die either, that wouldn't be very Christian of us, would it?"
"Your right, they might hurt him more than he already is." Essie agreed.
"Help me pull him over there."
Together they managed to half drag and pull him to the old burned out shed and they laid him inside on an old cot in the back of the shed. It stunk like burnt wood, and it wasn't as clean as she'd hoped. "This will have to do. We'll sneak him food as often as we can, until he's well."
"Alright, I'm with you."
"He needs those wounds tended to, looks like they took the flesh right off of him."
"I'm glad you are with me," Essie cried.
Jennifer smiled. "We can't tell the other girls either. Someone would be bound to say something."
"Yeah, I think you are right about that too. We just don't know who we could trust to keep him a secret." Essie nodded.
The shed was a burnout hull of a place, but the man could rest up and maybe get well enough to be on his way. At least Jennifer hoped he could. The bed was dirty and probably had bugs, but it was the best they could do for him.
Once they had done all they could for the man, they left and returned to the clothesline.
"Are you ladies alright?" Hans asked seeing them come back from the trees.
"Yes, we're fine, why?"
"Looks like you wandered off a bit."
"It's a beautiful day, we went walking that's all. Thought we saw a deer around that tree line, so we hoped to see him closer."
"Best get inside now," Hans instructed.
"Yeah, thanks." Jennifer nodded as he opened the door as they carried their baskets back inside.
Quirt was on a scouting mission and wouldn't be back for a few days, so Jennifer and Essie managed to save some food from their plates every day to feed the man in the shed. They learned different ways to hide it and sneak it to him. Jennifer doctored his wounds as best she could with the moisture from an aloe plant. Essie found it exciting, but Jennifer was too aware of the dangers to enjoy it.
The black man had come to and told them he had escaped a mean rancher who beat his slaves regular. The man had been working on the ranch for five years and could no longer tolerate the inhumane treatment and ran away.
"What's his name?" Jennifer asked him.
"Ed Turner, owns a ranch about a hundred miles south of here." The black man said.
"And your name?"
"Miles is what they call me, because I can walk miles before getting tired." He almost laughed.
"I'm Jennifer and this is Essie."
"Pleased to meet you. But ladies I don't want to get you two in trouble. I thank you for what you done, but I gots to be getting along now." He explained.
"But you can't yet. You see, this fort is run by Confederates. They see you and they'll arrest you." Jennifer told him.
Miles bowed his head, "Then I gots to figure me a way out of here."
"Don't go yet. Once a month we take a wagon into town for supplies. Maybe we could sneak you out in it."
"Ladies, I appreciate what you are doin', but I don't want to get you in trouble." He told them.
"Let's think on a plan then…." Jennifer suggested.
He nodded slowly. "I don't know why you two are doin' this, but I thank you for it, and for the food."
"Don't thank us too soon, you aren't out of here yet."
"Why would two ladies want to help me, a black man?"
"I'm from New York, and she's from Maryland. We don't believe in slavery."
"You're from the north?" He looked surprised.
"Yes, it's a long story, but we are."
"Do you know where you want to go?" Essie asked him.
"Not really, just out of here, is all." He smiled.
"We'll do all we can to help you," Jennifer assured him and they left.
About three days later, they were taking some food to Miles when Hans stumbled upon them. Jennifer shot Essie a quick glance, then smiled at Hans. He glanced at the food, then them. "Ladies, what are you doing out here, with that food?"
"Oh," Jennifer grabbed her chest, stalling her answer until she could find one. "You scared us silly, Hans."
He frowned, "Well, I'm sorry for that. But what are you ladies doing out here?"
"We've been feeding a deer." Jennifer told him. "We told you we thought we saw one, and we did."
He stared at the small clearing in the woods and saw blood on the ground. "Beans and cornbread?" He made a comical face.
"Well, we didn’t really know what kind of food they ate, but he was so sweet and let us walk right up to him."
"Where is this deer?"
"Well, he comes up to the tree line every evening, so we leave him food." Jennifer explained. "He only let us near once, he seems to want to keep his distance."
"Beans and cornbread? For a deer?" He sounded incredulous.
"It's all we have…." Jennifer shrugged.
His expression was one of disbelief, but he finally sighed loudly and nodded, "Alright ladies, but let's get you back to the fort. You shouldn't be out in the woods…Was the deer injured."
"I don't know, why?"
"Because there is blood back there."
"Well, to be honest he didn’t let us get that near."
"Yeah," he stared at her, "I expect not."
They nodded and walked back to the fort with him.
Jennifer knew he didn't believe them, but what could she do?
Chapter Thirteen
When Quirt returned to the fort, he went immediately to headquarters to make his report. The Captain was smoking a cigarette and reading the paper from Waco.
"I managed to convince them to a truce." Quirt finally interrupted him.
"Good, that will make things easier. Did you have any problems?"
"No sir, I think they are ready to try peace, they've been having enough trouble with the Comanches."
"Yes, I've heard they've been raiding in the Apache territory."
"Yes sir. I did promise them some blankets for the winter and some food, though."
"Naturally, they would want something… Thank you scout, that's all for now, then."
Quirt shot him an impudent glance and stalked out of the office.
Hans waited until Quirt was through giving the Captain his Indian report to approach him. If Quirt depended on anyone it was Hans. Ever since he saved Hans from an Indian arrow, Hans felt duty bound to let Quirt in on whatever might be going on. Although he didn't want to tell on the girls, he thought this might be important.
"I think we have a bit of a situation," Hans began as Quirt walked out of headquarters. It was a beautiful day and the birds were singing in the trees, the sun was so bright, Quirt had to pull his hat down over his eyes a bit as he stood there talking to Hans. "Mind you, I'm not sure what's going on myself, but I figured you could look into it."
Quirt's gaze shifted from the beautiful scenery to Hans serious face, he'd been gone nearly a week, talking with the Apache leaders and trying to make a peaceful agreement with them. The talks had been fruitful, it had gone well and there was hope for peace, but it was too early to tell, especially with a Captain that seemed totally uninterested in what he'd accomplished. Quirt was tired and needed some rest. He blinked hard as if to clear his head of the past few days. All he wanted right now was to sleep a couple of days. But he knew that was impossible.
The Confederates didn't appreciate the fact that Quirt didn't join the Confederacy. The Captain had made him a scout, but it hadn't been officially enlistment, and the trust between them was somewhat lacking even though his men had vouched for his loyalty. They were leary of him to some extent.
"Want to tell me about it?" Quirt offered as they headed for the ba
rracks. He needed something to keep his mind off his anger.
"I still look up to you as my commanding officer. Yes, I want to tell you about it. I think two of our women have been up to something, and I'm not sure what, but I thought maybe you'd know how to handle it better than I."
"Oh, which ladies?"
"Miss Jennifer and Miss Essie."
Quirt stopped walking and glanced at him with surprise. "Really, go on… "
Hans related the story of the deer to him and Quirt smiled, "That's pretty amusing."
"Beans and cornbread though?" Hans twisted his head in a frown. "I didn't want to call them liars, but I figured maybe you'd know better how to handle it."
"I'm sure they have probably never fed a deer before Hans." Quirt defended them.
"I suppose that's probably true. Anyway, I thought you should know." Hans told him. "If the Confederates catch them out there, they might not find it amusing."
"You're right. Thanks for telling me. I appreciate it, and they probably wouldn't. I guess we'll have to keep an eye on them in case some other animal decides he'd rather have the meal…" Quirt chuckled.
When Hans walked off, Quirt mulled the information around in his head. Something was definitely up, and he'd have to investigate it. He went inside, wishing he could have a bath and go to sleep, but knowing that wouldn't happen, he changed clothes and mulled over what Hans had told him. He didn't believe it either. He'd certainly have to be careful how he investigated this. If Jennifer and Essie were doing something the soldiers wouldn't like, he should know about it before they did.
When the girls snuck out after supper with a lantern, he followed quietly behind. Being a scout, he knew how to walk softly. He hated spying on them, but innocent things could get out of hand right now, and he figured it was better to know what they were up to than to find out later when they got in trouble.
When their trail led to an old shed, he realized Hans was right. They were up to something. He approached the shed cautiously, listening for voices as they went inside. The smell of burnt out wood assailed him. Then he heard voices.
"We brought you some food. How are you feeling?" He heard Jennifer say.
"Better, thank you ma'am." Someone answered, it was a man's voice, and that alerted Quirt to be very careful of his moves. He leaned closer, so he could hear everything.
"Did anyone come up here?" Jennifer asked the man.
"No ma'am, no one."
"Good. They haven't found us out yet."
"You ladies are risking a lot for me. May I ask why?"
"You're a human being, isn't that enough."
"I don't know many that would." The man said.
"Sorry we can't sneak more food to you." Essie said.
"It's plenty, I'm getting my strength back now." He told them. "I should be on my way before someone does find out I'm here though. I have no intention of getting the two of you in trouble. You've been more than kind."
Then Quirt opened the door.
The door swung open, making a squeaking sound.
The girls and Miles all gasped and turned to look at him. Jennifer had pulled the gun in her pocket out and raised it toward Quirt.
"Hello," Quirt said with a slight smile, "I don't think you'll need the gun right now."
Jennifer lowered the gun.
Then he glanced at the man, a black man. He stared at the man for a long moment. He sized him up quickly, and just by his expression of sudden defeat, he knew the man was or had been a slave. "Now what are you ladies up to?"
Jennifer came forward, seeing the questions on Quirt's face she clutched her hands together and kneaded them.
"Please, we found this man unconscious in the trees, and we brought him here to recover… He was hurt and passed out from his wounds."
"Wounds?"
"Yes, he'd been beaten."
"How do you know that?" Quirt asked.
Jennifer folded her lips together and went to turn Miles around, so Quirt could see the slashed shirt and the scars from the whip. "See for yourself. From this… "
Quirt saw the whip marks on his back and stared for a moment. He had some deep whip marks, that had torn the flesh and would leave scars no doubt. "I see… and you took care of him, hiding him, and feeding him?"
"Yes sir, we did" she answered, trying to appear courageous. When Quirt didn't say anything, Jennifer stumbled on her words. "I-I guess we are in a world of trouble?"
"You would be," Quirt stated, then stared into Jennifer's face, "If anyone else had caught you."
"What else could we do, let him die?" Jennifer cried.
Essie stood motionless, afraid to say a word. Miles watched, as though he knew he'd gotten these women in trouble. He bowed his head. "Don't blame them, they are innocent in this."
Jennifer and Essie stood in front of Miles.
"I know that." Quirt stared at Jennifer.
"It's alright, you ladies tried to help me… but I reckon I'll take what's comin' to me now." Miles said lowly. He looked at Quirt, "I'll turn myself in, I reckon."
"No, I think we can come up with something better than that." Quirt offered.
Relief assailed Jennifer and she sighed aloud.
Quirt stared at the man, although he was moving around the shed now, there was a decided slump to his shoulders and inability to meet his glance told him that he still felt a slave. Quirt hated seeing anyone like that, and he understood the women wanting to help him. Hell, he admired them for it. But what they were doing was very dangerous with a troop of Confederates at the fort. If they got wind of it, the man would be hung immediately and no telling what they might do to the them, especially if they found out that Jennifer and Essie both were from the north.
"Where are you from?" Quirt asked.
"A ranch about a hundred miles south of here." He answered.
"What are you doing so far west?" Quirt asked.
"Well sir, my mama was sold way back to a plantation owner, in Georgia, I escaped sometime later, been running ever since. I met my wife here in Texas, she worked for a farmer's family, they treated her real decent. I gave myself up to them, thinking I'd get fair treatment there. And I did, for a while. Until the farmer died, and the wife sold off her property. Me and my wife had to move on, well, we were caught heading for California by this rancher. Seein' as how we had been slaves, he decided he'd use us too. He took my wife to do the cookin' and cleanin' and me to work the ranch chores. A big rancher like him, needed some slave labor on his ranch, blacksmithing and tending the horses. My wife, she helped the missus. But when the master died his son took over and he was a spoiled man, he was mean and hated us black people. He took to my wife though and knew I couldn't stand it. He'd laugh every time he took her, like I was such a fool to let it happen. When I tried to fight him, he'd whip me bad. But my wife was going crazy, she couldn't handle it, neither could I. I thought she'd try to kill herself. But she didn't have to wait that long."
"What happened to her?"
"Had enough whippings to last a lifetime." He answered. "But that's not why I left. I was going to leave so he wouldn't hurt her anymore." He hung his head in shame. "Almost every night he took her. Finally, one day, I couldn't take it any longer. I killed him because the last time he took her, she died. I lost it. I saw her die in my own arms, calling my name, I strangled him with my bare hands. I went insane I guess, but his folks will be after me for it. I couldn't stand it, I couldn't not do something, I loved her so much. It nearly killed me to see her dead. I just went crazy that night. I held her in my arms as she died. She didn’t do something he wanted her to do, so he killed her. But it was a slow death. After she died, some of the other men told me they'd see to her burying. And that I should leave before they killed me too."
"Do you know if they are after you now?"
"I saw a paper on a tree after a couple of days, it was me. So, I know they are after me."
Quirt nodded, he leaned against the door now, as though thinking on what to do or s
ay to them.
"We need to get him out of here." Quirt informed them.
"But how?" Essie finally found her voice.
"I'll have to think on it a while. The Indians might help him. But I'll have to ask first."
"Who?" Jennifer looked hopeful. "What Indians?"
"The Apaches. But first I'll need to speak to them before we move him. If they won't help, we can take him out in the country during a supply run and he can make it the best he can. Otherwise he'll eventually be caught around here and hung. And ladies, I do not know how the Confederate officer would deal with you if they catch you, so we must be very careful, understand? You two are from the north, the Confederates find that out, and they might put you in prison."
"We understand." Jennifer nodded.
"And you?" Quirt asked Miles.
"That'd be fine with me, either way. At least it's a chance."
"You really think the Indians would help him?" Essie cried.
"It's possible." He glanced at all of them. Then stared at Jennifer, "How long has this been going on?"
"Nearly a week." Jennifer admitted, hanging her head.
He nodded. Then suddenly his glance met hers and he smiled, "Beans and cornbread, for a deer?"
She broke out in a smile, "It was the only thing I could come up with that quickly."
His glance held hers for a moment. "Well, then stick to your story and continue as you were, until I can find out if we can move him to the Indian encampment."
"You mean it?" Essie gasped.
"I don't believe in slavery either, Miss Essie." But his eyes held Jennifer in regard. "I'm going to tell Hans, he suspected something was up. He'll help us. If anything happens and you can't get a hold of me, talk to Hans."
Jennifer smiled shyly, as though to herself.
When he returned to the fort, he pulled Hans aside and told him what was going on. Hans chuckled. "I knew there had to be more to that story. So, what are we going to do with him?"
"I'm going to speak with the Indians, they might be able to help us out on this one. Many blacks have been welcomed into their camps." Quirt said, and he nodded with a smile to Hans.
"It's very dangerous, don't you think?" Hans asked.