by Ginny Dye
Robert nodded. “What’s wrong, Bobby?”
Bobby sighed and motioned down to the bottom of the wagon where a blanket was covering his legs. “I suppose Joe and I have the same problem,” he replied, pulling back the blanket. “By the time you got there with the supplies, Mrs. Borden, it was too late for me.”
Carrie couldn’t stop the gasp that sprang from her lips when she saw the bright red infection swarming with maggots. Bobby had lost both of his feet during that brutal winter.
“I know it looks real bad, Mrs. Borden. I thought about just letting the infection kill me, but then I heard someone saying you were back on the plantation. Lots of the fellows have talked about how you took care of them, so I decided to see if you could help me. I got a wife and two little boys that need me. The other two just came along for the ride.” His voice faded away as fatigue and pain made him tighten his lips. He sagged against the side of the wagon.
Carrie nodded, trying to think clearly. “I’ll do everything I can, Bobby,” she said. She knew Bobby and Joe didn’t have long if she wasn’t able to bring their infections under control. She discarded her brief thought that she could get them to Richmond. They would never survive the trip.
Annie appeared at her side. “What you need done, Carrie?”
Bobby’s eyes cleared slightly as a sneer formed on his lips. “Your niggers call you by your first name, Mrs. Borden?”
Carrie stiffened as she held his gaze. “My friends call me Carrie. There are no niggers on Cromwell Plantation, Mr. Haystack. If you believe you can treat my friends with respect, I will do everything I can to help you. If you think that will not be possible, I’ll let you go now.”
Bobby stared at her and then lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Borden.”
Carrie took a deep breath, wondering if she was making a grave mistake to let these men on the plantation. She met Robert’s eyes across the wagon and saw his slight nod. He believed she should help them, so she would do all she could.
“Driver, please take the wagon over to the barn.” She turned to Robert. “You and Clint take the men upstairs to the room. Be sure to open all the windows. We had it cleaned out last week so it should be suitable. I’ll send Annie over with blankets. They’ll have to lie on the floor for now, but I’ll have some of the men make some beds this afternoon.” She gazed down at the men. “They won’t be anything fancy, but they will get you up off the floor.”
All three of the men nodded.
“We’re grateful for anything,” Joe said weakly.
Carrie smiled. “I know you are,” she said gently. The only way to fight the prejudice pulsing through these men was to show them another way of living. No one changed the way they saw things until they had the opportunity to see them differently. It had been that way for her — now she was going to give these veterans a chance to see how the South could be if they changed their beliefs.
She watched as the wagon pulled over to the barn, and then she nodded at Amber who was standing over to the side with her medical bag. “Please come help me, Amber.”
Amber ran to her side. “We going out into the woods, Carrie?” Her eyes were bright with intensity.
Carrie smiled. “No, not unless we have to. We’re going down into the basement.”
“What’s down there?”
“Bottles of herbs and concoctions I made years ago,” Carrie said, grateful beyond measure that some of it was still there. She turned to Annie. “Please go into the garden and pull several large onions. I’ll need them sliced up.”
“To pull the infection out,” Annie said, her wise eyes shining.
Carrie paused. “How do you know that?”
“My mama taught me the magic just like Old Sarah taught you,” Annie replied. “I don’t know it as good as you, but I know a bunch.”
Carrie nodded. “Can you help me and Amber up in the barn room?”
“You just tells me what to do, Miss Carrie. I’ll do it.”
******
Clint ran up to Carrie as she was emerging from the house, her bag full of herbs from the basement. “Me and Robert got the men up into the room,” he said, his breath catching. “I don’t think they was too happy to be carried upstairs by a black person, but they didn’t make a fuss.”
“They’d better not have,” Carrie said crisply. Her voice softened. “Thank you for helping, Clint.”
“Is there anythin’ else I can do? Robert sent me over to find out.”
“Yes. Please ride out into the fields and ask Moses to have two of the men make three simple beds. We need to keep those men off the floor. Then I’d like you to go to the cabins and ask Janie to come back. I could use her help.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Clint responded. “I’ll get them back here as fast as I can,” he said, excitement shining in his eyes.
“And have fun doing it,” Carrie said in an amused voice.
Clint ducked his head but not fast enough to hide his smile. “I reckon that’s true,” he answered, and then turned and ran.
Carrie chuckled and turned when Annie called her name. “Are the onions ready, Annie?”
“They sho ‘nuff be. I done mashed them up into a paste, and I got some rags and warm water ready to take out.”
Carrie breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. I’m also going to need some long strips of sheeting to secure the poultices to their limbs. We don’t have long to get their fever down,” she said grimly.
“They don’t look good, sho ‘nuff,” Annie muttered. She turned when Amber ran out onto the porch. “Go back into the kitchen and get them onions and water, Amber.”
Rose walked out on the porch with a huge platter. “I have it all, Annie. It’s too heavy for Amber to carry.” She smiled down at the little girl. “Let’s do it together.”
“Yessum, Miss Rose,” Amber replied. She reached for the other side of the platter and grinned up at Rose. “I done finished reading that new book you gave me last night.”
“You did what?” Rose asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Amber grinned. “I meant to say that I finished reading the new book you gave me last night.”
“Much better,” Rose said fondly. She looked at Carrie. “Go on. We’ll be right there.”
Carrie turned, lifted her skirts, and strode rapidly across the yard to the barn. Memories swept through her when she climbed the stairs. She avoided the room over the barn as much as she could. Even though she was happy that Miles, the slave who took care of her father’s horses, had escaped to freedom, the memories still hurt. He had taught her how to ride…how to care for the horses…how to learn to love them as much as he did. The memories swirled around her like the dust motes dancing in the air when she pushed open the room to the door. She shoved them out of her mind and prepared to help men who thought Miles should still be a slave.
“We made them as comfortable as we could,” Robert said, staring down at the men with pity in his eyes.
“Thank you,” Carrie replied. “I sent Clint to go get two men from the fields so they could make beds.”
“What’s first?” Robert asked.
Carrie smiled, grateful for the help. They didn’t have much time. Rose and Amber appeared in the doorway with the platter.
“Annie will be right here with the cloth strips,” Rose said.
Carrie nodded. “We have to treat their infections first,” she said crisply. “Annie has already made the poultice for us. Both Joe and Bobby are going to need a fresh poultice every hour to draw out the infection.”
Amber sniffed the large bowl. “This ain’t nothing but onions, Carrie!”
“That’s right,” Carrie agreed. “Onions are wonderful for pulling out infections. There are medicines that will do the same thing, but I’ve never seen a medicine that works better than an onion right out of the garden.” She worked as she talked, dipping the rags in warm water and gently bathing Bobby’s stumps.
She gazed at Bobby with compassion. “Cleaning it is going to be painf
ul, but the poultice will soon provide some relief.”
Bobby gritted his teeth and stared at her, his eyes glazing over with pain. “I can take it,” he gasped.
Carrie was appalled by the condition of his amputations. This man should be in a hospital somewhere receiving treatment. Anger flared in her as she thought of the tens of thousands of men suffering all over the South. She knew President Lincoln had passed an act shortly before his death that would care for the Union soldiers and provide benefits, but there was no such treatment being offered to the Confederate soldiers. They were caught in a no-man’s-land as the country struggled to recover from the war. She gritted her teeth as she wondered how many would die before a solution was found.
She breathed a sigh of relief when Bobby passed out from the pain. She would give him a drink mixed with valerian root to help with the pain when he came to, but unconsciousness was the best thing for him right now.
Carrie glanced over and saw that Joe had passed out from the pain as well. Abner had merely closed his eyes to block out the brutal reality. She had learned during the long months with Robert how to tell when someone was either unconscious or simply choosing to disengage. She saw Robert watching Abner with deep sympathy. She knew her husband was the best person to help the struggling soldier once they got his fever down.
When Annie walked into the room, Carrie pointed to the buckets of cold water Robert had brought up. “We have to get Abner’s fever down.”
Annie nodded, her eyes serious and focused. “Yes, ma’am, Miss Carrie. I done brought enough wraps for everything, but you gonna have to buy some new sheets the next time you’re in town,” she said ruefully.
Carrie smiled. “I’m used to replacing sheets used for treating patients.” She watched for a moment as Annie pulled back Abner’s clothing and began to bathe his face, arms, and legs with the water. Satisfied the boy was in good hands, she turned her attention back to Bobby. She carefully applied the onion poultice to both his inflamed stumps and then carefully wrapped them with the strips of cloth.
She beckoned to Rose. “Please come work on bringing his fever down. I’ll put the poultice on Joe’s leg.”
Rose stood to follow her bidding, her eyes sad as she stared at the men.
Carrie understood, but now was not the time to think about the stupidity of the war that had done this to them. She had to put all her energy into saving them. She heard sounds on the stairs and smiled with relief when Janie appeared. She saw her take in the situation with a glance.
“What do you need me to do?” Janie asked.
“Help Rose with Bobby,” she said. “We’ll change their poultices in an hour.”
Janie nodded calmly. “It’s a good thing you planted a lot of onions this year.”
Carrie chuckled. The situation these men were in was horrible, but it was wonderful to work with Janie again doing what they loved best. Silence fell on the room as everyone worked, wrapping and unwrapping the rags almost as fast as they put them on. Robert kept them supplied with buckets of water. Clint joined in the effort as soon as he returned with the assurance that the beds were being made and would be delivered shortly.
The battle to bring down their fevers went on for several hours. Abner was the first to respond. “He’s sleeping now,” Annie said. “This poor boy done been to hell and back, ain’t he?”
“That’s the truth,” Robert muttered.
Joe was next to respond to the cold rags. He didn’t regain consciousness, but as the fever broke, the deep lines on his face relaxed and his breathing became more regular.
Carrie was overjoyed when she heard the rumble of thunder in the distance. “There is a storm coming,” she exclaimed gratefully. “It will break this terrible heat and help them sleep better tonight.” Her hands continued to move methodically as she fought to bring Bobby’s temperature down.
Janie replaced Amber, pushing the exhausted little girl aside gently. “You’ve been wonderful, honey, but I’ll take over now.”
“I can still do it,” Amber said stubbornly, her lips trembling with fatigue.
“I know you can,” Robert said as he scooped her up in his arms, “but you’ve done all you’re going to do for one night. I can’t let my assistant collapse on me. The horses need you too, you know.”
Amber giggled and reached up to pat Robert’s face. “I knows what you’re doing, Robert, but I don’t reckon I got enough in me to stop you.” She laid her head against Robert’s chest and was asleep before he even walked out of the room.
Carrie gazed after them, love flooding through her for both of them, and then turned back to Bobby. She knew by the look on Janie’s face that both of them were aware Bobby might not make it. The infection spreading from his amputation stumps had had time to spread through his entire body.
The storm blew through, bringing with it violent thunder and lightning. Carrie barely registered the fury exploding over their heads, but she was totally aware when the hot, sultry air changed to a refreshing breeze that cooled the room.
Her concern deepened when Bobby’s fever refused to abate. His breathing became labored and his chest strained for air. His legs began to twitch from spasms as the infection spread further. She and Janie wrapped and unwrapped the bandages as fast as they could, but they knew they were losing the battle.
“Come on,” Carrie whispered. “Come on…”
She knew the minute they had lost the fight. Bobby’s stiffened body relaxed and his legs stopped moving. He released his final breath and his face went lax, the lines of pain disappearing into the relief of death.
“He’s gone,” Janie said softly.
Carrie settled back in her chair and stared at his now peaceful face. “Yes.”
Robert walked into the room with another bucket of cold water. He stopped when he saw the look on Carrie’s face. “He’s dead?”
“Yes.” Carrie took a deep breath. “It’s for the best,” she said slowly. “The infection had destroyed too much of him. Even if we could have saved him, he probably would never have spent a day out of bed.” She shook her head but didn’t say anything else, not wanting to infect the other men in the room with her thoughts.
She gathered up her supplies and motioned for Janie and Robert to join her as she left the room. “Abner and Joe will sleep tonight. I’ll come back up and check on them later.”
******
Rose and Moses were waiting on the porch when they all trudged wearily up the steps.
“You lost one,” Rose said softly.
Carrie nodded heavily. “Bobby. The infection had taken too much of him.”
“Joe and Abner?”
“Their fevers are down and they are resting,” Carrie said. She collapsed into the chair Moses pulled out for her, watching wearily as Janie and Robert followed suit. “They both will have a long recovery, but I believe they’ll make it if they want to.”
Silence fell on the porch, but Carrie’s anger continued to grow. “It’s such a waste!” she finally burst out. “Such a complete waste!” She stood and strode to the edge of the porch, listening as droplets of moisture fell from the trees that had been doused in the storm. “Do you hear that?” she demanded.
“Hear what?” Janie asked, confusion evident in her voice.
“Silence. Peace.” She turned back to all of them. “We’re living in a fantasy world out here. I’m living in a fantasy world,” she cried angrily. “There are tens of thousands of men just like Bobby in this country. Who is going to help them? The government may want to, but there are too many that are going to fall through the cracks. There are men sent home from the war who are sitting in their homes waiting to die because they can’t get help. It’s not right.”
“So what are you going to do?” Robert asked quietly.
“What can I do?” Carrie asked, desperation filling her voice. “There are so many!”
“You reach the ones you can,” Rose said firmly. “You bloom where you’re planted.”
Carri
e whirled around and stared at her while her mind raced. She struggled to catch her breath. All the while, she stared into Rose’s eyes, finding the strength she couldn’t find in herself. Finally she settled back down in her rocking chair and managed a small chuckle. “I believe I said those exact same words to you not too long ago.”
“I believe you did,” Rose agreed calmly. “It’s much easier to say them than it is to live them, but the words are completely true.”
“But how?” Carrie murmured, staring toward the lantern light flickering in the room over the barn. The small space had worked in an emergency, but it surely wasn’t a solution.
“I’m glad you asked.” Moses’s deep voice broke the night.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Carrie turned to stare at Moses.
“I talked to the men tonight after they got done in the fields. They were heading over to work on the schoolhouse. Your father sent another load of lumber. We weren’t sure what to do with it, but now we have a plan,” Moses explained.
Carrie gazed at him, not at all sure what this had to do with her.
Moses smiled. “As soon as the men are done with the schoolhouse in a few days, they are going to add on another large room. It won’t be great as a hospital because there are times of the day it will be pretty loud,” he admitted, “but I reckon it will make a good medical clinic.”
Carrie gasped. “A medical clinic?” Her eyes grew wide. “Attached to the school house?”
Moses nodded. “It will be on the main road, so it will keep people off the plantation. It will be easy for them to find, and they won’t have to go into Richmond to get help.”
“A medical clinic…” Carrie repeated, the beginnings of a smile on her lips. She turned to Rose.
Rose nodded firmly. “Bloom where you’re planted,” she repeated. “There are so many people you can help. Yes, it will be open to the veterans, but you can help anyone who needs it.”
“I’m not a doctor,” Carrie protested. “Why would they come to me?”