Around the River's Bend

by Aaron McCarver

  “Bad news,” he said. His eyes were troubled, and he shook his head. “There’s been a raid on a family named Johnson. You don’t know them, but they live about twelve miles from here.”

  “Indians?” Sabrina asked fearfully.

  “Yes.”

  “Was it bad, Josh?” Sion asked.

  “Very bad! The whole family butchered. The man and the woman and four children all dead and scalped and the cabin burned. I came to get you, Sion. A militia’s being formed, and you ought to go along with the rest of us.”

  “Is that all right, miss?” Sion asked quickly.

  “Of course, if it’s what the men are doing.”

  “Will it be all right, Josh, to leave Miss Fairfax alone here?”

  He turned to Sabrina and said, “I think you’d be all right here, but I’d feel better if you’d go stay with my mom and sister until we got back. Dad will be going, but you three women will be all right there. It was a small party, and they were headed north. They won’t come this way. I wish they would,” he said grimly. “They’d be easier to catch up with.”

  “I’ll get my horse and gun.”

  “Bring some extra powder and balls if you’ve got them,” Josh said.

  ****

  Sabrina had attended the funeral of the family killed in the raid. They had been buried on their own place, and the six graves there made a distinct impression on Sabrina. She had stood beside the grave as Rev. Paul Anderson had read from the Scriptures, and the thinness of the line between life and death in this country had become clear to Sabrina. It was the custom in the country to wait until the graves were filled in, and she had stood there along with the others until they heard the dirt strike the caskets. It made a terrible sound to her, and she had had bad dreams about it.

  After the funeral she had been more silent than usual, and Sion, who had come back from the fruitless chase after the raiders, had noticed it. He had said nothing for a few days until finally one evening as they were eating supper together, she pushed her plate back and said, “I’ll never get used to this country, Sion.”

  Sion hesitated, not knowing exactly how to answer that. “You’re bothered about the Indians, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. It could just as easily have been us, Sion.”

  “I know, but it’s no different than in England. Every time you went for a carriage, you could have had an accident or the plague could have come. Death is always part of life. It will never change, miss.”

  “Doesn’t it bother you, Sion?”

  “Why, I don’t think it does.”

  “I don’t see how you can put it away from you like that.”

  “Well, I didn’t always. When I was a younger man working in the mines, it was all I could do sometimes to make myself go down in the cage. You can’t imagine how bad it is when the cage just falls away into utter darkness. You feel like it will never stop. I never ceased to be afraid of it. And then when you get out of the cage, it’s just as bad. At any moment the roof could fall in. It did more than once when I was working. It killed my father, and I knew it could kill me, too.”

  Sabrina listened as he described the terrible life that coal miners led. It was all foreign to her, for she had led a sheltered life. Since coming to America her world had been shaken, and she felt vulnerable. When he finished speaking, a silence fell between the two, and he said finally, “I hate to see you troubled.”

  “I get discouraged. And that poor family! They had their lives before them, Sion. Those two girls could have married and had their own families. And the boys, they could have found wives. And the couple, their parents, will never see their grandchildren grow up about them. They got up in the morning, and I doubt if they thought about dying. They went about their work, they laughed, they cried, they had arguments, they lived, and that night they were all dead. It all seems so—so useless!”

  “God knows all about that family. I think they’re with Him right now. They were a fine Christian family, I understand.”

  This was cold enough comfort to Sabrina. She knew there was something lacking in her life, but she didn’t know what it was, nor could she express her emptiness to Sion. She envied his calmness and his certainty, and she knew that his beliefs were sincere—that he was not afraid of life nor of death. Finally she shook her head. “I’ll never get used to this country, and I’ll never get used to death. I’m afraid of it.”

  Sion clamped his lips together in thought, then said gently, “God loves us. When bad things happen, He knows about that.”

  “I don’t see how that family being butchered by Indians could please God!” she said sharply. “Don’t talk about it any more!”

  ****

  Drake Hammond had arrived early in the afternoon to take Sabrina to town, and she had been glad to see him. Hammond was the one man she had found in her new world who brought back a trace of what she had known in England. He was always well dressed, his father was wealthy, and one day Hammond would inherit all of the property. He lived in a fine house—one of the few, Sabrina understood, that was in the least like the fine home she had grown up in. Hannah had been there for a party and had told Sabrina about the carpets on the floor, the paintings on the wall, and the fine furniture.

  Drake obviously liked Sabrina, and as the two made their way toward town, he teased her about her suitors. “Well, how many men seeking your fair hand came by this week, Sabrina?”

  “Don’t even talk about it, Drake!”

  “I thought you’d be pleased. Most women would.”

  “Most of them are just looking for someone to keep their house and raise their children. Almost all of them are widowers.”

  “Robert Southland isn’t. He told me he had come by to court you, and you just about ran him off with a shotgun.”

  “Why, I did no such thing! I just—” Sabrina saw that Drake was laughing at her and found herself joining in. “I suppose I was a little harsh. He’s a nice enough man, but I’m sick of suitors.”

  “That’s the way it is out here,” Drake said, echoing the words Sabrina had heard before. “Women are scarce.”

  The two pulled into town as he uttered these words, and as Drake parked the buggy, he turned to her and said, “Well, I suppose it’s time for me to join the ranks. What about me, Sabrina? You think I’d make a proper husband?”

  Sabrina studied Drake for a moment. She could not tell if he was serious or not. “You’d make a terrible husband.”

  Hammond was surprised. “Well, that’s speaking right out. How did you arrive at that evaluation of my quality?”

  “Gossip. They say you’re a gambler, a womanizer, and as unsteady as the wind.”

  “So are half the men in the world. What would you want—a dull person who never tasted life?”

  Sabrina could not answer. She was drawn to Drake Hammond. He was entertaining, and she knew he had ambitions. It would be simple enough for her to marry him, to go live in his fine home and think that she would never have to make grits or scrub dishes again. Still, she was troubled by the rumors she had heard of his gambling. She had had enough of this with her father. Now she put him off by saying, “You don’t want a wife. You’re having too much fun as a bachelor.”

  Drake jumped out, and when he came around and helped her down, he said, “I’ve had my good times, but sooner or later that has to come to an end and a man has to marry.”

  Sabrina laughed. “You make it sound like a jail sentence. Don’t trouble me with your foolishness, Drake.”

  Drake was holding her hand, and now he turned her around, and for a moment he was serious. “I’m not sure it’s all foolishness, Sabrina. You’re a lovely woman, and you’d make any man a fine wife.”

  The two were silent for a moment as Sabrina studied him. Her life seemed to lie before her, and all she could think of was living in a rude log cabin and how little she liked it. Still, the wreckage of her father’s gambling had scarred her heart and her emotions, and she knew it wouldn’t be wise to marry a gam
bler.

  Shaking the unpleasant thoughts away, she determined to enjoy the evening. She smiled and said, “Let’s go see the show.”

  The entertainment was a drama troupe consisting of three men and two women. They had set up a theatre of sorts in the one available empty building, a half-finished structure destined to be a general store. A stage of rough lumber had been thrown up, but there was no curtain. The seats consisted of narrow ten-inch boards with no backs. The admission was a dollar, but since there was no other entertainment available, the building was packed.

  Sabrina was vastly amused at the troupe. They put on scenes from Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and other plays, all thrown together and mixed up like stew! During one scene Sabrina commented to Drake, “Juliet was about fourteen in Shakespeare’s play. That actress playing her role must be at least forty!”

  But despite the crude attempts of the actors and actresses, Sabrina enjoyed the evening. As they left the makeshift theatre, she thought of the ornate dramas she’d attended in London—and was surprised to discover that she’d enjoyed this drama more than any she could remember!

  Drake jumped out of the buggy and jogged around to the other side. Sabrina took his hand, and he led her to the door. “I haven’t been up this late in a long time.” She turned to face him and smiled up at him. “It was a lovely evening. I had such a good time, Drake.”

  ———

  Drake Hammond was amazed, indeed, at the good time he had enjoyed. He was a man who liked to be pleased and knew how to please women. He had found most of the young women of marriageable age in the settlement—and there were few enough of them—were simple women knowing only the life they had been born into. They were good workers and knew how to keep a house, but this woman was different.

  Drake suddenly realized there was something in Sabrina Fairfax that he desired in a woman, something that had been missing. He had traveled more than most men, spending considerable time in New York and Boston, but he had not realized how limited the women were until this evening with Sabrina.

  ———

  Sabrina was watching Drake and was about to say good-night when suddenly he moved forward. She knew he was going to kiss her and could have moved away, but she did not. Perhaps it was curiosity, or perhaps there was a little of the temptress in her, but now as he lowered his head, she took his kiss. Her arms went around his neck, and she held him tightly, surprising even herself. She liked Drake Hammond, and there was a loneliness, a vacuum, in her life that grieved her. Now he held her tightly and she returned his kiss fully and without reservation.

  Then suddenly, as if coming to her senses, she turned her head aside and whispered, “Good night, Drake. Thank you for taking me.”

  Inside the cabin Sabrina undressed quickly and got into bed. She did not sleep, for the day had excited her. She could not shake the memory of Drake Hammond’s kiss and wondered if what she felt was the beginnings of love or just her loneliness. She lay there for a long time, the moonlight streaming in through the single window. She thought about all the men who had come calling with their proposals of marriage and tried to imagine life with each of them. She saved Drake for last and allowed herself to relive their good-night kiss one more time. . . .

  Chapter Seventeen

  Housewarming

  The Spencers had told Sabrina that a housewarming always followed a cabin raising, but the people were so busy hunting and farming during the summer months that they waited until September to have it. The Spencers arrived soon after Sabrina had finished her breakfast, loaded down with food, and soon the fire was roaring in the fireplace, and the cooking had begun.

  By midmorning the yard was full, as was the cabin. Most of the visitors had brought gifts, all useful things that a newcomer could use. One family brought a powder horn for carrying gunpowder, she learned, scraped thin and polished, another a leather-shot pouch, another a tinderbox. Soon Sabrina sat in a pile that included a spider, trenchers, gourd vessels, and a host of other items. She was shocked when tears came to her eyes, and she whispered to Hannah, “I didn’t know people could be so kind! How can I ever repay them?”

  “You can give at the next housewarming,” Hannah answered with a smile. “We have good people here.”

  The day ended with a dance that went on long into the night. Sabrina danced until she could hardly stand! Finally when all the visitors had left, she turned to Sion and exclaimed, “I’m so tired! I don’t think I could dance one more dance.”

  “It’s kind, they are,” Sion smiled. “They work hard and they play hard. Best get your rest. You need it!”

  Sabrina slept late the day after the housewarming. She had heard Sion stirring earlier, but he had told her the night before that he was going over to help a family that was raising a cabin. She hated those days she spent alone but knew that such cooperation among neighbors was necessary. The endless list of daily chores had finally become routine to her, but now she decided she deserved a day off. She set out to spend the day reading a book instead of working. She cooked and ate breakfast, then went outside and sat down in the shade of a tree. She had brought this book all the way from England, the only one she had not read at least half a dozen times. It was a novel by Henry Fielding, Tom Jones.

  She read until noon, then rose, stretched, and went inside. For a time she thought on the book, but often her mind strayed to Drake Hammond. Since he had taken her to town he had been by twice, and each time there had been something in his eyes as well as something in his manner that alerted her. He had said nothing more about marriage, but he was so serious lately, as if he were preoccupied with his thoughts. As she fixed a quick lunch for herself, she thought suddenly, He’s going to ask me to marry him. The thought startled her, and as she sat down to eat the lunch she had prepared, she wondered, What will I tell him?

  She was pondering her answer and finding none when suddenly the door opened, and Sabrina’s blood froze as two Indians burst into the room. They were both wearing white men’s clothes, but their hair was braided, and there was a bold look in their eyes.

  “What do you want?” she said. “Get out!”

  One of the Indians laughed and said, “Want whiskey.”

  “There’s no whiskey here,” Sabrina said. “Now get out!” She had seen Indians before in the village and more than once at the Spencer house, but these two were different. There was a boldness in their manner, and fear clutched at her. She thought for a moment of the gun that was over the fireplace but knew it was not loaded, and even if it were, she could not possibly get to it. Both Indians moved forward, and one of them suddenly reached down and grabbed the food that was on her plate and began eating it. The other man, who was short and muscular, stood watching her, his eyes glittering.

  The Indian who had eaten her food began wandering around. He pulled the can holding sugar off the shelf fastened to the wall, opened it, and began eating it with his fingers. The sugar covered his mouth, giving him a more sinister appearance.

  When the shorter of the two came forward, Hannah backed away, and he laughed at the fear in her eyes. She backed up until she touched the wall and cried out, “Stay away from me!” She could smell the rank odor of his body, and he reached for her, but then suddenly whirled at the sound of a voice speaking his own language in the doorway. She glanced quickly at the door, and relief washed through her when she saw Fox standing there with a musket in his hands. He spoke shortly and curtly, and one of the Indians reached for the knife in his belt. Fox raised his rifle, and his voice was cold as he spoke again in the Indian language.

  For one moment it seemed to Sabrina that the two would ignore the rifle, but then Fox pulled the hammer back and leveled it at the short, squatty Indian. He spoke one word, and Sabrina could see his finger tighten on the trigger.

  The muscular Indian grunted, cast a glance of hatred at Fox, and then moved quickly out the door. His companion followed him. Fox moved to watch as they left, and Sabrina stepped to the door. She saw the two look b
ack, and one of them called something in a taunting voice.

  Fox did not answer, but when the two disappeared into the woods, he turned and said, “Probably a good thing I stopped by.”

  “Fox, I was frightened to death.”

  “I don’t think they would have harmed you. Is Sion at the cabin raising?”

  “Yes, he left early this morning.”

  “I’m going there myself. Are you all right, Miss Fairfax?”

  “I don’t know. I was so frightened,” she repeated.

  “Might be a good idea for you to keep a loaded gun around when Sion isn’t here. I’ll warn him that he needs to. Those two aren’t vicious. Just pesky.”

  “Are they Cherokee?”

  “Yes.” Fox’s voice was short. “They’re no good—a disgrace to their people.”

  “Would you mind if I accompanied you to the cabin raising? I’d rather not be by myself right now.”

  “That’s a good idea. Come along.”

  Sabrina quickly got her bonnet and put on a light coat. She pulled the door shut and said, “There’s no way to lock this door.”

  Fox laughed. “People don’t believe in locks around here. There was a man named Porter who lived here a while back. He put a lock on his door, and all the neighbors didn’t like him. Said he didn’t trust them.”

  Sabrina forced herself to smile, but she was still troubled. She mounted her horse, and Fox rode beside her. He tried to take her mind off of the scene by talking about the pleasant weather. Finally he said, “Sion’s done a good job making this land into a farm. He’s learned a lot in a short while. I think his crops are as good as anybody’s.”

  “He’s a wonderful farmer. He has a green thumb, and I’ve got a brown one.”

  Fox continued to speak about the progress that had been made on Sabrina’s land. He asked, “Is there any word about the title to your land, Miss Fairfax?”

  “You can call me Sabrina, and I’ll call you Fox.”

  “That sounds good.”