“No, sir.”
“How about Alabama?”
“Nope, never in Alabama.”
“Mississippi, then. I guess I seen you down in Mississippi. I spent some time down there breakin’ some horses for a fella.”
“Nope, never was in Mississippi,” Wash said.
“Well, I’ve seen you somewhere.”
“I think maybe you have, but it’ll have to come to you ’cause I can’t say right now.”
“Why can’t you say?”
“You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”
“I probably wouldn’t. All you body servants are notorious liars,” Reb said half angrily.
They had gone on two more raids. Wash had been left behind, of course, with the cooks and the supply wagons. Reb survived both actions and found himself strangely glad to see the quiet face of the black boy when he got back.
“I thought you might have left while I was gone,” he said after the second raid.
“No—waiting for you. You figured out where you seen me yet?”
Reb stared at him. “No, I haven’t. I guess I was wrong.”
“No, you weren’t wrong,” Wash said quietly. “It’ll come to you.”
For days this went on. Reb slept poorly. Dreams came to him—strange dreams about things that he knew could not possibly have happened. He did not share them with anyone, but one day Wash, who was making biscuits, said, “Have you been dreaming about me, Mr. Bob Lee Jackson?”
“How’d you know that?” The sentence was out before Reb could catch it. He stared at the boy with astonishment. “How did you know I dreamed about you?”
“There’s lots of things in this world that we can’t understand,” Wash said. “Ain’t that so?”
“Why, I reckon it is. So what about it?”
“I mean, look up at those stars. Look at ’em. There’s millions of ’em, and they’re always in the same place. What holds them there? Why don’t they all fall down? And you know those ducks that came over. How do they know to leave and go south? How do they know to do that?”
“I don’t know. They just know, I reckon.”
“You know that’s not so. Something made ’em that way. This whole world is working, and nobody understands it. But we know that there’s something behind it—somebody made it. A lot of this world is mighty strange. And those dreams of yours—you don’t understand them, do you?”
“No, I don’t!” Reb said angrily. “And why would I dream about you? I dreamed once I was all dressed up in a tin suit. I had some kind of a long spear, and you was ridin’ a horse behind me. Crazy dream.”
Wash went ahead to tell other experiences the two had had in Camelot.
Reb stared at him, his mouth open.
“You don’t know how I know about that dream?”
“No, I don’t. Are you a witch of some kind?”
“No, I’m not no witch, no sorcerer, and no magician either. But you see, Reb, those dreams that you keep having—they weren’t dreams. They were real.”
Reb laughed, at first. “You’re as nutty as a pecan orchard!” he said and stalked away.
But time after time Reb would come back and say, “Tell me some more about my dreams.” And as Wash told him experiences from life in Nuworld, Reb would grow almost fearful. “There’s something wrong with all this,” he muttered. “Something real bad about it. I don’t know what it is.”
One day General Stuart appeared at his tent and said, “We’re going into action. Get every man mounted.”
Reb said, “I’m glad to get away from you, Wash. You’re just driving me crazy. I still think you’re some kind of a spook or something.”
Wash stood looking after him. “That is one stubborn fellow,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll ever get him to go back to Nuworld. He always loved the South, especially the Confederate Army, even though he never saw it. I guess he’s getting his dream, and he ain’t going to leave it.”
All day he listened to the cannons and the gunfire. The battle was not more than a mile away, and for a long time it seemed unsettled as to who would win.
Finally General Stuart led his men back. Wash saw Lieutenant Smith, but he could not find Reb. Going to the lieutenant, he said, “Lieutenant Smith, where’s Bob Lee Jackson?”
“I’m afraid he got hit. It was bad, Wash. I’m sorry, but he didn’t make it.”
Wash stared at him and then shook his head. “He made it. I’m going after him.” He saddled Reb’s spare horse and left the camp, despite Lieutenant Smith’s calling, “Come back! Some of those Yankees are still out there.”
Wash was not an expert rider, but the horse was not a spirited one. He guided him as best he could, and soon he began to see the dead lying beside the road. Some were in blue uniforms and some in gray. “He can’t be dead,” he muttered. “He’s got to be alive.”
Wash got off and checked a body from time to time. Most of them were dead; a few were wounded and struggling to retain life. He saw no signs of Union troops. And then, as he was scurrying around, he heard a voice saying, “Wash . . .”
“Reb!” Wash ran to him.
Reb was lying on his back, struggling to sit up. His right shoulder was bloody and his right side as well.
“Take it easy, Reb,” Wash whispered.
“I guess I’m done for,” Reb gasped.
“No, you ain’t done for. Let me get that horse. We’re going to get you to the doctor.”
Wash struggled and finally got Reb into the saddle. It was all he could do, for Reb could help very little. “Just hang on, Reb, while I get on behind you. Then I’ll hold you on.”
They got back to camp with Wash holding the bloody boy in front of him. He slipped off the horse, and troopers came to take Reb’s limp body.
“Surgery is right over here. Doctors will get him the best help there is.”
General Stuart came. He looked down on the wounded body and shook his head. “Poor boy! Poor boy!”
Reb regained consciousness, then slipped away, many times. For a time he never knew whether he was awake or asleep. He did know that he kept having dreams about dinosaurs, about living under the sea, about men that flew, strange wild dreams, and always, in every dream, the small black boy called Wash was by his side.
Finally, he did awake and saw Wash’s face. He licked his lips, and Wash immediately brought water.
“Here now,” he said, “hold your head up and sip some of this—not too much now. You can have all you want, but not all at once.”
“Where am I?” Reb whispered. His shoulder and side hurt, but he did not allow it to show on his face. “You brought me back?”
“Yes, I did. You’re going to be all right, Reb.”
Reb reached out, as if he could not believe what he saw, and touched the black face above him. “Wash—”
“Yeah, Reb?”
“You was telling me the truth, wasn’t you? About all them things I dream about?”
“Sure was, and I’m going to tell you some more, as you get better.”
That was the beginning. It took several days, and Reb listened for long periods without saying a word. It was more than he could understand, but finally the day came when he believed.
“That was real about Camelot. I always wanted to go back there. I remember that now.”
“You’re going back some day, Reb. It’s what you wanted to do more than anything. You were a knight, and there was a lady there that was mighty fond of you.”
“I remember,” Reb whispered. He looked at the wounded soldiers around him and said, “This isn’t real, is it?”
“No, it’s just a dream, Reb. Are you ready to go back?”
“I reckon I am. Just tell me how. We better get home, Wash.”
13
Another Kind of Cowboy
Reb heard voices, and his eyelids fluttered. Reluctantly, he opened them.
Sarah and Josh stood looking down at him.
“He did it!” Josh exclaimed. “I don’t
know how, but he got Reb to come back. I bet that wasn’t easy.”
“Shoot,” Reb muttered, “pretty hard to leave bein’ a cavalryman with Jeb Stuart and come back to this mess.” He swung his feet over the side of the cot and jerked the headset from his temples. Then he reached down and pulled Wash to his feet. Affectionately he said, “Nobody but you could’ve got me to come back, Wash.”
Wash pulled off his own headset and grinned, his white teeth shining against his dark skin. “You just had to come back, Reb. We couldn’t get along without you and that fancy ropin’ and horse ridin’ you do.”
Sarah threw her arms around Reb and hugged him tightly. “I know it’s hard to come back,” she whispered. “It’s been hard for all of us—but we had to do it.”
Reb grinned and gave her a squeeze. “When I get a pretty little filly like you to give me a hug, I guess I’d come all the way back from Arkansas for that.”
Josh slapped Reb on the back, hard. “You son of a gun! I want to hear all about where you were, but not now. What we’ve got to do right now is get the others back.”
Wash took a few steps down the aisle between the cots. “That’s Jake and Dave and Abbey here. You want me to go after one of them, Josh?”
“No, I guess—”
“Well, this is a pretty sight, I must say.”
The trio whirled around, and Reb took in a sharp breath.
“Oliver!” Josh gasped. He took a step forward, but Oliver held a strange-looking weapon in his hand—not a gun but a can of some sort. When Josh ignored it, Oliver squirted a vapor that struck the boy right in the face.
Gasping and clawing at his throat, Josh went to his knees, trying desperately to catch his breath.
“Josh!” Sarah screamed and leaped to his side. She held onto him. “What have you done to him, you monster?” she cried, staring at Oliver.
“Nothing permanent. He’ll be all right. I have orders from my superior to see that all of you are kept alive for the time being—if possible.”
Wash’s face grew grim. “And I can guess who your superior is. I’d say it’s the Dark Lord himself.”
“You’re a bright boy, Wash.” Oliver smiled, but his eyes glittered coldly. “If it weren’t for you, this would have gone all right.” He held up the can and said, “I ought to give you a double dose. Don’t move, or I will.”
“What are you up to, Oliver?” Reb demanded. He was ready to throw himself headlong at the man and bring him down. He was big enough and strong enough to do this, but now the can was aimed straight at his face, and he had seen how potent its contents were. “Who are you, anyhow?”
“My real name is Onan.”
Josh managed to get a deep breath, although his face was still flushed and he was trembling. “I think I see now. You came out of your hole and got the real Oliver, didn’t you?”
“You’re a bright boy too, Josh. All of you Sleepers are pretty clever.” Onan-Oliver grinned and waved the can slightly toward a cot to his right. “That’s Oliver over there. He’s having a nice little dream himself. All the others that I was sent to put out of the way, I’ve got them all now. And I’ll soon have you back into your dreams again. Don’t move,” he warned. “A double dose of this stuff is lethal. I’ll try to keep you alive, but it’s up to you. Now, all of you lie down on the floor, hands behind your back.” Reaching behind him, he pulled forth some fine wire.
When they hesitated, he aimed the can at Sarah’s face. “The little lady goes first. She’ll be asleep having pleasant dreams soon, or she’ll be dead if you don’t do as I say. Lie down quick!”
“Lie down, everybody,” Josh demanded. “He’ll do it.”
“Now you’re being smart. You first, Joshua.”
Josh lay on the floor and put his hands behind him. Keeping his eye on the others, Oliver leaned over and took a turn around Josh’s wrist. He was smiling cheerfully and saying, “After all, dreams aren’t so bad, are they? Why, I remember—”
Josh flipped over and desperately lashed out with his foot.
“Ow!”
His heel caught Oliver in the forehead and knocked him over backward. He dropped the can.
In an instant Oliver was scrambling to his feet.
“Get him!” Wash yelled. “I got the can.”
Reb lunged for Oliver, but he tripped over Josh, who was still on the floor.
Oliver whirled and dashed madly out of the room.
“He’ll alert the guards,” Reb said. “I’ll get him.”
“No,” Josh said, “I’ll get him.” He shook off the loose wire and leaped to his feet. “You go get Dave, Reb. You’ve got to bring him back, no matter what you have to do. Sarah, you go get Jake.” He was running for the door now and yelled back, “Quick! After Wash and I get Oliver pinned down, we’ll go for Abbey, and that’ll be all of us.”
The sleeping Jake lay on his cot. Sarah quickly moved next to him and attached the extra headset. “Let’s do it, Reb,” she said, her face touched with strain. “Dave’s pretty strong-willed, but you can bring him back.”
“Sure, I’ll lasso him if I have to,” Reb said quickly. He went to Dave’s side, put the headset on, and without a moment’s hesitation flicked the switch.
The stadium of the Dallas Cowboys was packed. Every available seat was filled, and every spectator was standing up and screaming. Their voices seemed to shake the earth, and they stomped their feet so that the stadium itself trembled as if an earthquake had hit it.
Quarterback Dave Cooper trotted to the huddle. He paused just for a moment and looked up at the stands, a flaming mass of color. His silver helmet caught the sun and he grinned at his teammates. “Well, time for one more play. What’ll it be?”
The running back who had broken every record for the Cowboys, said, “Give me the ball, Dave. I can do it.”
“You’ve done it before, Emmitt,” Dave said. He considered Smith, but saw that the back’s face was tense and that he was limping. “You’ve carried us all day, and we still got thirty yards to go and have only a few seconds left.”
“I can do it, though.”
Dave slapped him on the back. “You always think you can do it—and generally you can.”
“Let’s use the old Hail Mary pass.” The fleet split end punched Dave in the side. “Just drop that little bomb right in my hands. I’ll catch it and run over anybody that gets in my way.”
One by one the Cowboys begged for a chance.
The Super Bowl had been a hard-fought contest. Back and forth the teams had struggled. Now it was the last quarter, and the Cowboys had time for only one more play. A field goal was possible, but they were six points behind.
Dave was weary. He had been sacked four times that afternoon, and now he looked over and saw the monstrous linemen waiting for another chance at him. “They’re going to be mean this time,” he muttered.
“What’ll it be, Dave?” Emmitt asked, still hopeful for a chance.
“The one thing they won’t be looking for,” Dave Cooper said suddenly.
“What’s that?” the right guard asked.
“A quarterback sneak.”
“A quarterback sneak?” A groan went up, and the left guard said, “Why, you might make five yards, but as soon as you get away from the line, every one of those secondary backs will be right on you, Dave.”
“Then you’ll have to get out and run some interference. Come on, let’s do it.”
The Cowboys broke the huddle and went back to the lineup. Dave stepped up behind the center, wiped his hands on the towel, and stared calmly over at the linebacker, a giant of a man, strong enough to lift a pickup truck. “I’m gonna get you this time, Cooper!” he said through broken teeth. “I’m gonna break you in two!”
“Help yourself, Bob,” Dave said cheerfully. He began to call out the signals. The stands had grown strangely quiet. Suddenly the ball slapped into Dave’s hands, and the center fired off and knocked two men out of the way, making just enough room for Dave to put his he
ad down and plunge through the line.
Actually it was rather easy because, as he had said, they were not looking for a quarterback sneak. He angled over toward the right corner, but he saw that two of the secondary men were already converging on him and a linebacker was coming to cut him off.
The stands went wild.
Dave sprinted ahead. Then he was glad to see Emmitt Smith coming out of nowhere to pass him and pull out in front. “I’ll get one of ’em, Dave,” he yelled. Immediately he smashed into the safety, siding him down.
Almost at the same time the left linebacker caught a piece of Dave with his hand. He grasped Dave’s jersey, and Dave twisted so that it tore away.
I’m loose! he thought. Only one man between me and winning the Super Bowl. But that one man was the best safety in either league. He was fast, strong, and smart.
As Dave approached at full speed, his mind worked like a computer. He’s expecting me to duck left, therefore, I’ll duck right. No, that’s what he’ll think I’m thinking. So I’ll duck left anyway. No!
He had no time left to think for the two were only a few feet apart. The cornerback was waiting for Dave to make his move either right or left, and he was much faster than Dave Cooper, which they both knew.
Suddenly Dave did something that few players had ever done. Instead of trying to dodge, he lowered his head and ran straight into the cornerback. There was a whoosh as his shoulders struck the man in his stomach. He felt hands grab at him, and frantically he tore loose. Then, suddenly, he was over the goal line, and pandemonium broke out.
There was time only for the extra point. When it went sailing over the bars, Dave felt himself lifted high in the air. He was carried off the field through what seemed to be insane fans. As he jogged up and down on the shoulders of his teammates, he thought, Nothing could be better than what I’ve got right now.
It took considerable time for the Cowboys to make their way off the field. Then there was the celebration in the locker room. And after that there was to be a celebration at the fanciest ballroom in Dallas. Dave refused a ride, saying, “Nope, I’m gonna drive that new Ferrari of mine. I haven’t had a chance to do it much lately.”
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