by S A Ison
Ellen was the first up to the house, Mary could not keep her in the cabin any longer. A primal scream rented the morning air, spurring Jane to quicken her pace. When she walked into the study, she saw Ellen prostrate on the floor. Her eyes going to Charlie, hope dying in her liquid brown eyes. A wavering denial was pulled from her throat, she sat down hard in a nearby chair. She asked where her sons were and Charlie could not bring himself to tell her. Theo cleared his throat and told her that the Thomas wasn’t presentable and that they thought it best he was laid to rest quickly. She was told that Willy was safe, but had gone into hiding. Jane didn’t ask again, she didn’t want to know, the look on her husband’s and Carl’s were enough to still her tongue.
Mary, Ida and Ginny took the women to their cabins. Sue was sent to make a sedative to give the women, she had also heard the news and was red eyed when she arrived. She held her mother and rocked her, both weeping. Their sobbing could be heard across the yard. The men remained in the study to plan the reckoning that was rightly theirs. Theo sent Drake out of the room, he told him to watch over the roads. Drake nodded and headed out; his father’s colt tucked into his belt. The light was beginning to fill the morning sky.
Theo suggested they first get the Grover boy, Jimmy, and the sheriff’s son-in-law, Red Porter, then Johnny Rutledge. They would take the men to an abandon mine, six miles from the farm. Theo and Samuel used to play there as boys. They would torture the names from them and go after the rest. They would kill them all. What they had done was evil and evil men should be wiped from the face of the earth.
“We’ll need to do this quickly and secretly. We don’t want word to spread about the missing three.” Theo said, looking around the room at the men. Henry and Victor set out to find the Grover boy, Ben and Theo went after Johnny and Charlie and Carl went after Red. They road out from the farm with as much speed and stealth as they could manage. Each of the men were fast asleep in their beds, they had stayed out all night and it was Sunday so they didn’t have to rise early.
Victor stood watch while Henry crept through Jimmy’s window; the young man lived in a small cabin on his father’s property. It was known that he brought women to his bed and so he lived there, so his mother wouldn’t find out. Henry pulled the young man up waking him, but struck him with a deadly blow and knocked the man unconscious before he could utter a sound. He and Victor were off the farm before anyone was the wiser. Providence was with them, there was a heavy fog that covered their activity. The air was heavy with vapor, droplets covered Henry’s bald pate.
Ben and Theo went to the Rutledge place but could not find Johnny without raising a ruckus. The men crept around the place and looked in windows, but Johnny was nowhere to be seen. Frustrated, Theo and Ben left the farm empty handed. Heading to the abandoned mine to meet the others. Carl and Charlie had better luck, they rode out to Porter’s house and found the Johnny and Red out in the barn, passed out drunk. Their horses still saddled, nibbling on hay. Blood covered their clothes, the blood of their children. It was all they could do not to kill them right there and then. Taking a spade, Carl bashed them both drunks on their heads, neither regaining consciousness, never knowing what hit them.
Loading both men onto their horses, Carl and Charlie quietly led them out of the barn. They went through the woods, staying off the road for fear someone would see them. The sun was climbing higher in the sky and the fog had evaporated before they reached the mine. Going through a grove of saplings, they came to the mouth of the abandon mine. Everyone was there, their horses tethered to a clump of bushes.
Henry helped pull down the limp form off the horse and dragged the unconscious man into the cave. Charlie helped Carl pulled down the other man and both dragged him in as well. Theo handed a bucket of water to Victor and Victor threw it on all three men, reviving them. Confused at first, the men shook their heads to clear them. Jimmy was the first to grasp the situation, he had known who the two men were and he recognized their fathers. Fear skittered through him as he looked from man to man.
“You know it’s against the law for a nigger to touch a white man. You’re in big trouble boy.” Jimmy said with false bravado. Henry merely smiled down at the fool, he brought an iron from behind his back. He walked over to a low fire that Theo had built and placed the iron into it. All three men watched fixated on the fire and the iron poker. The captive men then looked around the group of men that surrounded them. Theo nodded to Ben and Carl, who began to cut the clothes away from the young men.
With their hands and feet tied tight, they could do little but struggle against their bonds. Their bodies were covered in sweat, the stench of fear was cloying in the old mine. The young men yelling for Theo to release them.
“My father-in-law will see all you bastards hung. Specially you niggers.” He spat. Their shouts, threats and pleading fell on deaf ears.
Henry walked up to Jimmy holding the glowing iron, the smell of hot metal palatable. Theo asked in a deadly voice, “Who helped you kill those young men? Who were the other five? Answer or my friend here will apply that hot iron to your manhood.”
Shock registered on all three men, they stared at Jimmy, waiting to see what he would do. Before anyone knew what happened, Henry stepped forward and applied the sizzling poker to Jimmy’s unprotected penis. His high-pitched scream echoed off the mine’s walls, causing dust to filter down. Red Porter vomited all over his chest, and started to sob. It was several minutes before Jimmy stopped screaming. Tears flowed from his red eyes, mixed with snot on his face. He too had vomited, screaming again, when the acid from his vomit hit his blistered penis.
Henry took a step to Red, who screamed and tried to scuttle back, away from the glowing poker. Theo asked him once more and was gratified when a list of names tumbled out of Red, he was hysterical and babbled. Johnny was openly crying, his whole body vibrated, he had pissed himself and sat in a puddle of mud. Johnny gave them the locations of each man, though he was hard to understand, his voice shook so badly. Theo pulled his colt and handed it to Carl. Carl aimed the gun at Jimmy’s head and pulled the trigger. The report was deafening. Red screamed as Jimmy fell over onto him, blood spurting onto his lap from the gapping hole in Jimmy’s head. Carl handed the gun to Charlie.
Charlie aimed the gun at Johnny’s groin and pulled the trigger. Johnny screamed and doubled over, writhing in pain, his legs kicking wildly. Then Charlie shot him again, between the eyes. The screaming stopped abruptly. The mine rang with the echo of the shots. It seemed to bounce around the walls.
Theo took the gun and looked at Red, “Your friends are waiting in hell for you, and we will send the rest shortly.” So saying, he shot Red between the eyes, the man falling back into the dirt. The men hauled and dragged the bodies deep into the shaft, then dropped them down an open hole. Victor took their gear and saddles from the horses and tossed them into the hole after them. Victor would lead those horses away and set them loose, then he would return to the mine to wait.
Henry, Ben and the other men mounted up to track down the other five. Theo wanted them all dead before sundown. He wanted to go with them, but one armed would be more hindrance than help. The men told him not to worry, they would be careful and bring the five back as quickly as they could. Theo and Victor would wait for their return.
The task of hunting down the five men was more difficult than they had hoped. Will and Ned Sathe were found right away, both working out in the field. Henry and Ben waited in the tall grass as they watched the men work. There were a few field hands in the field, though it was Sunday, they were made to work. Near evening, they broke for dinner, the field hands heading back to their cabins. Will and Ned hung behind in the field, their laughter floating over the grass, carried by the wind. Henry heard them mention last night’s work and looked over at Ben. He had heard them as well. They crept stealthily through the tall grass; Henry carried the iron in hand. Ben carried a thick piece of maple. When they reached the brothers, they charged, swinging their makeshift clu
bs.
Both men dropped like stones, teeth flying from their mouths. Henry dragged both men easily as Ben ran ahead to get the horses. They loaded them up and rode away from the farmstead. Next, they headed to Timothy Braker’s home; it was up the road a quarter of a mile. The day was waning and they had to hurry.
Henry and Ben stood behind the barn, looking into the yard. All was quiet, then Timothy came out of the house, walking toward the outhouse. He was looking down as he walked, trying to undo the buttons on his breeches. When he looked up, he was caught square on the jaw by Ben’s lumber. He never saw it coming and fell to the ground. He was hoisted onto a spare horse and quietly led away.
Carl and Charlie found the Johnson homestead. Harry and Marlow were sitting on the porch drinking and watching the children play in the yard. It was midafternoon, and it looked as though they had finished their mid day meal. Carl thought bitterly of his child, who would never eat again and he was tempted to tear the men apart right then and there. Sensing his thoughts, Charlie laid his hand on Carl’s forearm, shaking his head, no. They waited there for several hours, watching. Harry got up and headed for the barn, Marlow called out to him and got up to follow. Carl and Charlie went to the barn, slipping inside. Carl took his spade and knocked Marlow on the back of the head. The noise jolted Harry around in time to see Charlie coming at him with a hoe.
Swinging it with all his might, Charlie nearly bashed in Harry’s skull. Slinging both men up on their shoulders, they left the barn as quietly as they had come. Going to the woods, where their horses were tethered, they loaded their bounty and headed to the mine. It was late afternoon, closing in on early evening when everyone met up. All five men were bound and lay like ragdolls on the rocky ground. Will and Ned had regained consciousness and were trying to talk their way out of their situation when Carl and Charlie rode up. Timothy was still out cold and Harry and Marlow were coming to. Henry pulled both men roughly off the horses and dragged them into the mine.
Theo asked Carl and Charlie if they wanted to torture the men before they shot them. Both men declined, sick of death, wanting only to get it over with. Theo handed the revolver to Carl and Carl quickly dispatched two of the men, Will and Ned. Charlie took the colt and killed Harry and Marlow. Theo took the gun and aimed it at Timothy, without a word, he shot the young man between the eyes. All the bodies were taken and dropped into the bottomless hole of the mine shaft. Henry and Victor began to clean the area and when everyone had left, they covered their tracks as they led their horses away, leaving no evidence that they had ever been there. The fire had burned out long ago and was covered with dirt and debris. The water bucket was taken by Carl along with the extra rope. Not many knew about the abandoned mine, but just incase, they wanted the place clean.
It was evening by the time the men returned home, they were weary and heart sore. Carl and Charlie went to their homes, to console their wives. Ben headed home, he needed his Ginny and he needed a drink of her peach whisky. Henry and Theo went up to the main house, both men grimy from the long day in the mine and in the grass. Mary met them in the foyer, concern written all over her face, her hand went to Victor, looking him over. Theo sent Lil Theo to fetch Drake home, telling the teen to be careful as he went. Going to the study, they sat waiting for Drake to return, Ida fretting for her husband’s safe arrival. It had been a long day. Everyone was physically and emotionally exhausted. They sat numbly, staring into space, while they waited for Drake to return home.
It was almost an hour before Drake walked into the house, Lil Theo at his heels. Drake was pale but hardy. He came around the desk and hugged his father, he had been worried sick. Joshua had walked in and noted the tense air within the study. He turned to leave but Theo stopped him. It was time to see what this young man was made of. He told Joshua to close the door and to take a seat. Ida held onto Drake, her hands caressing his hair nervously. Her mother had told her nothing, only that Drake had been sent to the fork in the road, to wait until his father sent for him. Mary stood behind Henry, her hands on his shoulders, absently rubbing the hard knots in his broad shoulders.
Lil Theo stood by his mother, his hand on her arm, he knew something terrible had happened, but didn’t know exactly what. Lil Theo now towered over his mother and was eye to eye with his father. Only Mary called him Lil Theo, everyone else called him Theo. He was no longer little and still had growing to do. He waited as the others did, saying nothing. Rachel was upstairs with Mary Beth, who had left her mother to sleep; Theo didn’t want either of the young women to overhear their conversation. The news was grim and it would be too much for them to bear. It was more than any of them could stomach, but they had to.
Theo looked at each person that sat in the room, his weary eyes stopping on each face. He finally spoke, his voice thin with stress. He told his family and Joshua what had transpired the previous night. Mary sucked in her breath, and Henry’s hand covered her slender hand reassuringly. Joshua was stunned at the absolute brutality that had been done to the young men. Drake was livid and Ida had to hold him back, he wanted to leave the room. Theo held up his hand, telling his son to hold on, that he wasn’t finished with the story. He told everyone who had killed Teddy and Thomas and they were stunned to know their neighbor had been involved. He then proceeded to tell them what they had done to rectify the uncalled-for brutality.
Mary was stunned at their dangerous plan and she looked down at her gentle husband. She looked at his hands, they had helped kill eight men. Dark Henry had killed for her years ago, she knew that it could have been her children instead of the other young men who were mutilated. It was merely fate that deemed it so. She looked at Theo, he seemed to have aged, his face wrinkled and pale. It was almost the same as when he had come back from war. He had that same empty look.
Theo went on to say that they may be visited by Sheriff Paterson, Red’s father-in-law. Should that happen, everyone had to act as if they were ignorant of any mischief. He looked pointedly at Joshua, who returned his stare unwavering.
“You know the full story young man, and you now have the power to destroy this family. What say you?” Theo asked softly.
Without hesitation, Joshua said, “Sir, had I but known what had transpired, I would have gladly gone with you. Though I don’t know if I would have been much help. I have never held a gun, but I would have helped in any way that I could.”
Theo nodded; glad he wasn’t wrong about the young man. “You can help by telling anyone who should ask, that everyone spent a pleasant Sunday at home, with all the families here on the farm. Lil Theo, head out and spread the word about the alibi, just in case any of the eight men mentioned the two men they murdered, to anyone else.”
THIRTEEN
Over the course of the following weeks, there was a big to do over the eight missing men. No one had seen or heard from them since the Sunday they went missing. Sheriff Paterson had stopped by the farm a little over a week after the disappearances. From his general questions, it was plain that he had no clue as to what the eight men had done that fateful Saturday night. Theo told him they had heard of the disappearances through word of mouth and hadn’t heard what had happened. Frustrated, the sheriff had left the Anderson farm, no wiser than when he had arrived.
Still, no one left the farm for sometime after that. The patrols had stepped up and there were reports of an increase in Klan activity. The hooded men had started calling themselves the Ku Klux Klan, or KKK. They were feared, because they came in the dead of night many times, pulling people from their homes and beating them, sometimes killing them.
Theo traveled to Savannah, to purchase rifles for each of his families and ammunition as well. He didn’t want to ever see what he had with Teddy and Thomas. Willy had stayed in hiding for over a month, fearful someone would find him and finish the job the other men had started. People in the district lived on edge.
By late October, things had died down, though the mystery was never solved. Sheriff Paterson made the rounds to the loca
l farms, sometimes Byron Grover would accompany him, looking for his son. When Christmas came, the visits were less frequent. Their plans had worked, thanks to their quick actions that fateful day, they had taken the bastards unaware and had killed them, as they’d deserved.
The families took time to celebrate the birth of Victor and Mary Beth’s new son, Henry Alexander Anderson on September 9th, 1880. He was a healthy, beautiful child and a joy to his grandparents. Mary held the baby constantly, loving the sweet smell of him. Alex was passed from her to Ellen, who said the boy looked just like Thomas had, when he was a baby.
Ida was also pregnant, her large belly the constant attention of Drake’s hands. She would swat her husband, telling him to behave and he would devil her until she gave in laughing. She was due in February and was growing weary of the bulky body. Mary was tickled proud that her family was growing and thriving. The Anderson farm had started years ago as a slavery milieu and had come full circle as a sanctuary for their descendants.
That Christmas, they had much to be thankful for, and celebrated Victor’s and Mary Beth’s first wedding anniversary. The laughter was punctuated with Alex’s squeals. Theo joined in with the festivities, holding Alex securely in his arm, the baby gnawing on his tiny fist, his large button eyes watching the activity in the house.
New Year’s brought sadness, Tall Tom passed away, his bent curled body finally pain free. The arthritis had bent and twisted his body painfully, Sue had tried to help him with her medicines, but he had been in constant pain. Tom’s wife, Netta, went to live with her daughter, who had moved to Richmond. It was a tearful farewell for all.