“Oh Great. I’ve never ridden a horse before,” Geoff replied.
“Never?” David asked incredulously.
“Nope, never,” he replied, flatly.
“No problem. I’ll hold his reins and tow you in. Later, I’ll teach you to ride. For now, just look confident. We really need to make a great first impression,” David said.
As the riders trotted in, the two held themselves at attention. The lead rider was an older man, with thin red hair and a scruffy red beard. On his collar, three stars shined brightly in the mid-day sun.
Hauling back on his reins, he came to a quick stop and leaped from his horse. Instantly, he hurried toward David.
“You must be Gen. Warner. I am so very glad to meet your acquaintance. I’m General Bill Sherman,” he said, extending his hand.
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you Sir. I’ve heard so much about you,” David returned.
He smiled broadly and received the general’s hand. Both men shook vigorously in excitement.
“I can’t believe you’re still alive. The corporal here says you were captured at Chattanooga and held prisoner?”
“Yes Sir,” David responded, respectfully. “We escaped, only to be forced to fight for the south. At the first chance, we escaped again.”
“Amazing. Simply amazing,” Gen. Sherman replied. Turning to Geoff, he said, “And who might this be?”
“Sir, this is Geoffrey Robbins. Before the war, he assisted me in many surgeries. I was educating him in medicine when I volunteered for duty. After I left, he volunteered too. Unfortunately, he was captured. But, as luck would have it, we met up again in the POW camp.”
“An amazing story,” Gen Sherman commented. Turning to Geoff, he said, “Please to meet your acquaintance Lad.”
He extended his hand and Geoff proudly shook it.
“Well, shall we head back to camp? I’m sure you two are dying to get out of those miserable rebel duds. Probably starving too, I’m guessing,” he said, graciously.
“Yes Sir, Gen. Sherman. I’m just hoping the good Lord will forgive me for wearing such sinful clothes,” Geoff responded.
David shot Geoff a slight smile, then held his lip.
Gen. Sherman leaned in toward David and said in a low secretive voice, “I like this young man already.” Looking back to Geoff, he replied, “Don’t worry Lad. We’ll get the Reverend to bless your soul straight away.”
With an agreeable nod to his staff, they all mounted their horses and trotted off across the open field.
-----*-----*-----*-----
Side by side, the two generals rode in front with the lower ranked officers bringing up the rear. Directly behind David, Geoff’s horse followed, led by rope attached to David’s saddle horn. While Geoff adjusted himself periodically on the unfamiliar horse, David and Gen. Sherman carried on in casual conversation.
“I must say David, your disappearance back in November was quite the enigma. Great speculation has been surrounding it. No one had any idea of where you went. One minute you were speaking to General Grant, the next you were gone without a word… and for a general, I can assure you, that was highly unusual. Generals don’t just disappear into thin air.”
David continued to listen as Gen. Sherman spoke.
“No Sir. Your disappearance has not gone unnoticed. After we triumphed over the Rebs at Chattanooga, Ulysses scoured the battlefield for your body… to no avail of course. When we approached the Confederacy about your disappearance, the sons-a-bitches merely mocked us and said, ‘What’d y’all do? Lose another one of y’alls generals again?’” Gen. Sherman said, in sarcastic southern drawl.
“I’m betting Gen. Grant didn’t appreciate that comment, huh?” David asked, chuckling to himself.
“No Sir. He did NOT!” Gen. Sherman spat angrily. “He assumed, correctly of course, that they did indeed capture you but weren’t letting on about it for reasons we haven’t been able to ascertain. For the past five months, Ulysses has been employing spies to infiltrate their ranks, hoping someone would finally reveal your whereabouts, but sadly, no one uttered even a peep about your location. It truly was strange.”
He turned to David, looked back at his officers, then back to David once more. In a secretive voice, he continued, “There’s even a crazy rumor circulating that you did indeed, vanish into thin air.”
David pretended to be surprised and said, “Vanished into thin air? That’s a good one. What’d you mean by ‘vanished’?”
Gen. Sherman looked around once more and replied, “Well Sir, I’ll tell you. A couple of their privates were on picket when they said they captured you. As their story goes, they claim that you broke free, ran and they shot you. They further went on to say that before you even hit the ground, your body just vanished right before their eyes.”
David burst out in a laugh, feigned to cover the truth in his eyes and expression. Gen. Sherman joined in momentarily, then stopped.
“Yup, we all thought it was ridiculous too,” he said assuredly. He rolled his eyes and continued, “Idiots, they must think we’re dumber than a headless chicken.”
“Obviously a cover to hide the truth of my capture,” David replied.
“Obviously,” Gen. Sherman concurred. “We all knew they had you, but we just couldn’t figure out what they hoped to gain by keeping it a secret. If anything, they should have advertised your capture. It’d be good for their morale.”
“It is puzzling,” David responded.
“So, where were they hiding you?” Gen. Sherman asked directly.
“Andersonville,” David replied in ominous tone.
“Hmm, Andersonville. We’ve been hearing reports about the conditions there. Any truth to them?”
“They’re all true. The conditions are deplorable. When I next see Gen. Grant, I’ll be petitioning him to demand for improved conditions. I’m sure he won’t take this lightly.”
“Sons-a-bitches,” Gen. Sherman roared. “We warned them of this… poor treatment, that is. They assured us that any rumor of poor treatment was false. You just can’t trust the South,” he replied in anger.
As they trotted up to Gen. Sherman’s main tent, he said, “You’ll have to tell me the sordid details of your escape over dinner.” He turned to one of his lieutenants, and shouted a command. “Lieutenant, see to it that these two men are refitted in proper attire and fed. I expect to see Gen. Warner’s tent assembled in short order. You can locate it just off to the right, near mine,” nodding to David in approval.
Turning to Cpl. Hawkin, he said, “Corporal, ride on over to Sgt. Woods and tell him to send a telegraph to Gen. Grant ASAP. Tell ‘im that we found our missing general…”
-----*-----*-----*-----
Two days later…
“Man, what a gyp. You get this huge friggin’ tent and I get some crummy moldy sheet to sleep under,” Geoff said, standing inside David’s tent, looking around.
“Sorry Geoff. If they’d allow me, I’d share it with you. Unfortunately, fraternizing with enlisted men is strictly forbidden.”
“Well that just sucks. Talk about discrimination,” he shot back in insulted tone.
“Well, at least we’re being fed well. It’s not like eating at a fancy restaurant but it is way better than McDonalds, wouldn’t you say?” David asked.
“I happen to love McDonalds, so no, it’s not better than that,” he defended. “But, I will say, it’s the best food we’ve had since being here and there’s a lot of it. I’m actually full.”
“How do you like the new uniform?”
“It smells, it’s itchy and it’s awfully blue,” Geoff complained.
“Aside from those hardships, what do you think?”
“It’s ok, I guess,” he replied, then added, “Yours looks amazing, though… with all those cool buttons and stars and stuff. How do I get one of those?”
“Become a doctor, lead a bunch a guys in battle and know the right people,” David said cryptically.
; “Oh yeah, your buddy there, Jebediah Morgan,” Geoff said, with mild indignance.
“Geoff, believe it or not, he’s the only reason I’m living right now. You read the story in the hospital waiting room. If it weren’t for his determination to save me, I would’ve died from that gunshot wound Gen. Sherman was talking about. Once I passed through the time portal, there was someone waiting for me on the other side ready to treat me.”
“I know the story. You don’t have to remind me… it was Phineas Morgan, his great great grandson.”
“So what’s with the ‘tude?” David asked, frustration showing in his voice.
“I don’t know. I guess I’m a little jealous,” Geoff admitted.
David stared at him and smiled.
“Wow Geoff, that’s really a mature thing to say for a guy your age. It takes a lot of courage to admit something like that about yourself. I’m really proud of you,” he responded. His face turned confused and he continued, “But what do you have to be jealous about in the first place?”
“I don’t know,” he said matter-of-factly, now fidgeting in his stance.
“Geoff, talk to me. We’re in this together. I’m your friend. If something’s bothering you, maybe I can help,” David said sincerely.
He thought for a moment, then answered, “I guess I see you here getting all the attention, being all important and stuff, and with friends… and me with nobody. It kind of makes me feel left out, I guess.”
David walked to his side and put his hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry you feel that way. You do have somebody. You have me. I’m your friend. It’s just you and me trying to get through this together. No one else matters. Just keep that in mind,” he said, sympathetically.
Geoff smiled in thanks, then said in sarcastic tone, “Dude, that was so gay. Good thing we’re not back home, ‘cuz you could get pounded for saying something like that.”
David burst out in a laugh. He pushed Geoff’s shoulder, knocking him backward.
“Dude, I’m comfortable with my gayness,” he said in joking tone.
Geoff laughed and said, “So, any idea where we go from here?”
“No idea whatsoever,” he shot back instantly. “I’m assuming I’ll be assigned to some medical unit somewhere. I’ll request that you be assigned with me… pretty sure no one will argue about that.”
“Cool, no more battles to the death. Killing people was starting to get a little old, if you know what I mean,” he responded, only half joking.
“I do know what you mean, but don’t think for one second we’re out of harm’s way. Even when you’re performing surgery in the field, there’s always the concern that your unit will be overrun and you’ll be either captured or killed,” David said.
“I don’t think…”
“Sir, Gen. Sherman’s requesting your presence in his tent,” Sgt. Salters said, cutting Geoff off in mid-sentence as he entered the tent.
“Be right there,” David nodded.
The sergeant stared at Geoff for a moment, then left.
“What’s his problem?” he blurted, mildly irritated.
“I think he could be jealous. He’s probably thinking to himself, ‘Hey, what’s this private doing holding conference with a general.’ I’m sure he feels a little threatened.”
Geoff turned toward the tent’s opening and said, “That’s right Sgt. Turd. I have friends in high places. Don’t mess with me.”
He turned back to David’s disapproving stare.
“You’re not going to let him mess with me, right?” Geoff asked, his tone turning timid.
David stared blankly, then replied, “Sure… just don’t piss me off.”
Geoff stiffened as he stared nervously at David, waiting on his expression to change. David held his expression momentarily, then grinned. Geoff relaxed his posture and smiled back in relief.
-----*-----*-----*-----
David placed his hat on his head and stepped outside his tent. Standing just outside the entrance, Sgt. Salters waited.
“I thought you left?” David asked, surprised.
“No Sir. I was instructed to wait.”
“Instructed? Sounds important,” David responded, now growing suspicious.
“It is,” the sergeant said, bluntly.
As the two began to walk, David asked, “Do you know what this is all about?”
“Yes Sir,” he responded, simply.
“Well… what is it?” David asked, now growing exasperated.
“I’m not at liberty to say Sir. I’ve been instructed.”
“Ah yes, that word again… instructed. So can you tell me if I’m in trouble?” David persisted.
“I can’t Sir. I’ve been instructed to say nothing.”
“I’ll tell you what: walk faster than me if you think it’s bad… slow if it’s good,” David joked.
Sgt. Salters maintained his pace next to David.
“You’re not going to make this easy, are you?” David said, nervously.
Several yards away, at the front of Gen. Sherman’s tent, two soldiers stood at attention, standing guard over all those who approached. David eyed them with suspicion.
“Crap, what’s with the guards,” he said aloud.
“I’m not at libert….”
“… at liberty to say. Yeah, I heard you the first time,” David said, cutting off the sergeant’s response, and finishing it for him in frustration.
As he neared the two soldiers, one turned his head and shouted into the tent.
“He’s here, Sir.”
Instantly, David stiffened. His mind raced with anxiety as he tried to understand the source of his troubles. A moment later, Gen. Sherman stepped outside the entrance to his tent. His face looked stern, his posture cold and rigid.
Stopping in front of him, David said, “Sir, is there something wrong?”
“Follow me inside,” Gen. Sherman replied bluntly.
“Yes Sir,” David responded simply.
As he stepped forward, the two guards moved behind him. David looked nervously over his shoulder as he was now being ushered into the tent.
Gen. Sherman stopped short and stared at David.
“I believe you two know each other,” the general said in a dramatic tone.
He stood aside, extended his hand and motioned David to pass him.
David took another step and stopped. His heart began to beat wildly.
“My God Lad, it really IS you!” shouted a voice from the rear of the tent.
“DOC! Oh my God, Doc, what are you doing here?” David responded, in shock and surprise.
Instantly, the two hurried toward each other. As Jebediah Morgan extended his hand, David brushed it aside and hugged him. In the quiet of the tent, two men remembered the last moment they embraced, shortly before David left for the future just five months before.
“You’ve lost some weight,” David teased.
“And you’re looking well yourself,” Doc responded, barely able to speak.
“When I rode away, I thought for sure I’d never see you again,” David replied, tears welling in his eyes.
“I thought the same Lad. I’ve been distraught ever since.”
As the two pulled away, smiles beamed from the other officers around the room.
David turned to Gen. Sherman and asked, “How… how did you know? Where did… Who told…” With his mind spinning, David could barely finish a thought.
“I thought you’d be pleased,” Gen. Sherman responded with a great smile that spread across his face. “As soon as you arrived, I sent off a telegraph to Ulysses informing him that you’ve been found. After several exchanges, he insisted we send for Doc Morgan… he knew you two were close. As luck would have it, this ole coot was just a stone’s throw away. I know that Gen. Grant wanted to be here too, but regrettably, he’s engaged in affairs elsewhere with Gen. Lee.”
Looking over to Gen. Sherman, Doc Morgan said, “Old coot? We’re near the same age, and the la
st time we tangled, I believe I emerged victorious.”
“That was near twenty years ago in our Indian fighting days. Since then you’ve gained weight, and I’ve gained intelligence. I suspect it might be an even match now,” Gen. Sherman joked.
Doc leaned toward David. Pretending to whisper, he said aloud, “See how Bill employs skillful double talk to diffuse the argument? He took all the momentum out of that exchange. How can we continue with the humorous banter after that?”
Prisoner in Time (Time travel) Page 31