The Creole did not even bother to point his pistol at them. The boy, who knew how cruel his former master was, drew closer to Harker; seeking protection. Chappe said, ‘Yes, I thought it worth waiting here. I’d an idea I’d catch more than one bird that way.’
Had it been only his own life at stake, Harker might have hesitated a little before taking the action he did. But he was only too well-aware that if this devil remained alive and free, then this helpless boy would once again become, leastways according to the law, his ‘property’. It was not to be borne. There was little point in parlaying and having made his decision, Jed Harker saw no cause for further delay. He sprang forward and then swept the knife he was gripping in a wide arc; slashing through Claude Chappe’s throat with no more difficulty than if he had been cutting wheat with a sickle. Then he dropped the knife and shot out his hand to grab the pistol and pluck it from the dying man’s unresisting fingers. As Chappe fell to his hands and knees, gurgling and spraying blood from the severed artery in his neck, Harker remarked in a helpful tone of voice, ‘Talking’s one thing. Fighting’s something else again. Doesn’t do to mix ‘em up.’
Pompey stood transfixed. For all that he had conceived a great liking and admiration for Harker, the swiftness and savagery of the attack had taken him aback and he started in horror at the scene. Chappe did not even have the strength now to remain on his hands and knees and had collapsed, face down, in a heap.
Picking up the boy’s pocket-knife, Harker closed the blade back into the handle and handed it to Pompey, saying, ‘That’s an ugly thing to see, but it’d be a sight uglier, were you to be at that man’s mercy again.’ This was undeniably true and so the boy dropped the knife back in his pocket and set off up the hill with Harker. Once they were over the crest and heading down the other side, it seemed safe to speak in low tones and Pompey told him what had chanced since he was captured.
It appeared that the boy had followed Harker on his abortive hunting expedition, trailing behind him at a fair distance. The chance of watching his hero in action with a firearm had lured him on in this way. So it was that he had seen Chappe take Harker prisoner and when the two men had disappeared from sight over the hill, Pompey had crept up and spied out the camp; seeing where his friend had been fixed to the cannon. Harker was overcome with genuine amazement and gratitude. He said, ‘You took the hell of a risk, son. You might o’ be seen and dragged back into captivity yourself.’
‘You risk your life for me. I didn’t do no more than you done for me.’
Although not given to emotion, Jed Harker felt a lump in his throat on hearing this. It was uncommon enough for anybody, let alone a child, to speak so to him. He swallowed hastily and said in a gruff tone, ‘Well, it won’t be forgot. You’re a damned good comrade, Pompey and that’s the least I can say. You saved my life, for that man would have killed me, had I been left there helpless. Where are the rest of the folks now?’
Apparently, the wagon was waiting about a mile away. Although he didn’t say so outright, it was Harker’s impression that Abigail Tyler had been all for riding on to Kansas and leaving him to his fate. This did not really surprise him; she had made it clear that she was not overly keen on him. However, both Jemima and her son had remained firm that under no circumstances would they agree to such a course of action. Since Abigail could not really abandon the family in the middle of the territories, she had been obliged to wait until nightfall, when Pompey had set off to see what he could do about freeing Harker.
Because it was so dark, it was impossible to see the expressions on the faces of Abigail Tyler and Jemima when Jed Harker and Pompey fetched up, back at the wagon. Jemima murmured piously, ‘Thank the Lord.’ It was she who came up with a way of freeing Harker from the encumbrance of the iron ring which was still attached to his wrist. She expressed the view that sometimes such locks as those on the shackle around his wrist might be caused to spring open by merely the application of a sharp blow from a piece of metal. So it proved.
For her part, Abigail contented herself with saying ungraciously, ‘Well now you’re back, I guess we can make a start. Though Lord knows I’ve no appetite for travelling in the dark. From what young Pompey tells me though, there’s a heap o’ southerners near at hand, with artillery and I don’t know what-all else.’
‘That’s about the strength of it,’ admitted Harker, ‘And I think that your plan of moving a bit by night is a sound one. I surely hope we don’t bust an axle doing it though.’
It turned out that Harker was the only one who had any hot food since earlier that day, when they had eaten at Abbot’s place. The baby was alright, he was still not weaned, but the two women and the boy had only shared the one loaf of bread since then. There was little to be done about it, for he couldn’t hunt at night. Nor, he supposed, would it be wise to do so even when the sun had risen the next day. In the state of heightened tension which evidently obtained throughout that part of the Indian Nations, any sound of shooting stood a good chance of attracting unwelcome attention.
They steered a course north, by the fitful glimpses of the moon which were seen from time to time when the clouds parted. After a couple of hours, Harker said, I reckon we might be best advised to stop now and make a right early start in the morning, no later than sun-up. It was a hungry and fearful little group who settled down to snatch what sleep they were able; given the unpromising circumstances.
The next day, Harker was awake before dawn. The sky was a clear, dark blue; which gave him reason to hope that it was going to be a fine, sunny day; ideally suited for travelling. He roused the others briskly, eager to be off at once. If the two oxen could only be persuaded to bestir themselves, he didn’t despair of the possibility that they might cross into Kansas that very night.
It was miserable beginning to the journey; not having any food at all with which to break their fast. Still, there was nothing to be done about it. They would have to hope that something turned up later; although who or what might provide them with sustenance in the middle of the territories was more than Jed Harker was prepared to adventure a guess on. As it was, their bellies were hungry now and so they might as well be hungry while travelling as being hungry there and just sitting and bemoaning their ill fortune.
‘Pompey, you and me can walk, while the ladies ride in the wagon,’ said Harker, ‘Times such as this, we have to look to the weakest of the party and aid them how we are able.’ Hungry and tired as he was, the boy glowed with happiness at Harker’s words, for it was obvious that he was being treated as a man; one who had to make sacrifices so that the women of the party could be looked after.
They were on the move before the sun rose and it was not a pleasant or enjoyable journey for anybody. There was plenty of water, but nothing else; not so much as a morsel of food. Harker had gone on short commons often enough in his life that the prospect did not worry him unduly now. He kept an anxious eye on Pompey, who strode along manfully at his side, but the boy looked as though he too were going to be fit for a march on an empty stomach. When a sudden improvement in their prospects came, it was out of the blue and wholly without warning.
Being slightly elevated on the seat of the wagon gave Abigail Tyler a better view of the land ahead than Harker. He, in any case, was trudging along just then without really paying any heed to the horizon. He was engaged in a conversation with young Pompey, the aim of which was to take the boy’s mind off his hunger. The first that Harker knew was that Abigail said sharply, ‘There’s some wagon or cart ahead.’ The same thought struck them all; suppose this was more soldiers from the south?
Harker said, ‘Well we’re off the road, so happen this is another soul who don’t want to get caught up with any trouble. Rein in, Miss Tyler.’ He went over to the back of the wagon and took out the carbine, checking that it was loaded. Then he said, ‘You two women best get down and shelter behind the wagon, least ‘til we see what’s what. Pompey, can you use a pistol?’
‘Sho’ can!’
‘Then take this, which was your boss’s and we’ll see what chances. Don’t fire a shot though, unless I start, is that plain?’ He handed the boy Chappe’s gun.
Pompey nodded, overjoyed to be standing next to his hero, with a gun in his hand and being treated like a grown-up person.
It was a horse and cart coming along the valley floor towards them and when it was a mile or so away, Harker laughed and said, ‘Well these’ll give us no trouble. They’re missioners, by the look of them.’ As the cart drew a little closer, the others could see that he was right and that two men, both clad soberly in clerical black, were sitting at the front of the cart. They continued towards Harker and his group, taking a quarter-hour or so to reach them. As they came nearer, it could be seen that both men in the cart were priests. They reined in their horse when they were twenty yards or so off from the people whose wagon was right across their path. One of the men called out cheerfully, a broad smile on his face, ‘What’s to do? Is it an ambush?’
Jed Harker walked over to the men, the holding the musket casually under his arm, but ready to raise it and fire, should these newcomers prove to be travelling under a false flag. He had heard of men dressing as missionaries or priests to deceive the unwary, who were then robbed or even murdered. These two had honest, open faces, but there was no percentage in taking any chances. He said, ‘We’re heading into Kansas. You might want to know that there’s an army camp ahead.’
‘Federal or southrons?’
‘’Southerners. They’re up to some game or other in blocking the border north of here.’
While they were speaking, Harker could not help but notice that the cart which the priests were driving looked to be loaded with provisions. There were round loaves of flat-bread, wheels of cheese and haunches of meat. He said, ‘You men opening a store or something?’
One of the priests laughed and said, ‘It’s been a bare winter. Some of our parishioners are nigh to starving. We’re taking stuff to a village near here.’
Although it went very much against the grain for Jed Harker to ask a favour of any man, he had to think not only of himself, but the women and children. He said, ‘I sure hate to ask, but there’s two hungry women and a boy back by the wagon. They’ve not ate for a while and at this rate, they’ll be going hungry ‘til we reach the border. I don’t suppose you could spare just a little for them?’
‘Black family, hey?’ said one of the men, ‘You working for the underground railroad?’
‘Not exactly,’ replied Harker ruefully, ‘It’s by way of being a long story.’
‘Well, you and us are in the same game,’ said the other priest, ‘We can surely provide you with enough to reach Kansas. Call your friends over and they can take enough for a day or two.’
It was exceedingly pleasant to encounter folks that wished to aid, rather than hinder him and although he didn’t in general like taking help from strangers, Jed Harker had a warm feeling from the transaction. After the men had given them enough bread and cheese, along with a hunk of salted meat, to satisfy them for the next few days, Harker said, ‘I can’t thank you fellows enough. I owe you.’
One of the priests laughed at that, saying, ‘You don’t owe us a thing. We’re all labouring in the Lord’s vineyard, doing his work.’ They parted amiably.
While and Harker and the others made a late breakfast, they were all ravenously hungry, he outlined what had been said and remarked to Abigail Tyler, ‘That’s the first time I been accused of doing the Lord’s work! That’s a rare novelty.’
To Harker’s immense surprise, Jemima spoke and said, ‘You doin’ the Lord’s work, alright. Don’ it say in scripture about folk entertainin’ angels unawares? I reckon that you’re a one of ‘em.’
This was so unexpected, the woman not having spoken more than a couple of words at a time before this, that for a moment Harker was at a loss to know how to respond. At length, he said, ‘Well ma’am, it’s right kind of your to give me such a character, but I reckon I never yet been mistook for an angel!’
Pompey said in a low voice, ‘My ma’s right. You been sent from on high to guard us.’
This was frankly embarrassing and Harker changed the subject, saying briskly, ‘Well, if you’ve all ate your fill, I think as we should get moving. The more distance between us and that camp o’ soldiers, the better I’ll like it.’
The day progressed somewhat more cheerfully, now that they all had full bellies. Harker took a turn at driving the oxen; whipping them mercilessly to try and speed up the pace a little. At the back of his mind he was uneasily aware that he had committed murder not twelve hours since and if any of Claude Chappe’s friends were very fond of him, they might be inclined to avenge his death. It was a little after noon that another group of travellers appeared ahead of them. By this time, Jed Harker had figured that moving quickly was more important than travelling in secret. He had accordingly begun steering a little to the west, so that they were now leaving the hills and moving back towards the track that led towards Kansas. The track was just a little ahead of them to their left and in the distance they could see what looked like a line of wagons or carts heading in their way. Harker felt uneasy. He halted the wagon and said, ‘Well, it’s too late to scuttle back into those hills to hide. We’ll just have to hope that these are friends.
There were a half dozen wagons and as they came closer, the dark blue of army uniforms could be made out. This looked promising and unless he was very much mistaken, Harker thought that these men meant no harm to either him or those for whom he was caring. He urged the oxen on until they joined the track. Then he waited for the troops to reach them.
There were five wagons and it turned out that they were part of a Commissary Department detail; carrying food and other supplies to the forces which had already entered the Indian Nations and were now operating in the south of the territory. One was a chuck-wagon and the others contained provisions. So, at any rate, the lead driver told him when the carts drew level with Harker’s own wagon. There were only ten men in the whole outfit; five to drive and a man riding shotgun on each. It struck Harker that this was a terrible arrangement and that these men would be vulnerable to any attack. The men driving were not even real soldiers, being no more than cooks, who were seldom expected to do anything warlike. Even the ‘guards’ were young men; so young that they did not even appear to be shaving yet. Whoever had organised this expedition must have been relying upon an awful lot of good fortune, if he thought that these carts had a better than fifty-fifty chance of getting to their destination unmolested. A minute later and it was tolerable plain to Harker that the odds were even worse than that, for a group of grey-clad riders appeared on the crest of one of the hills that he and his friends had lately left. This did not bode well.
The man he was chatting to did not look to Harker as though he fully grasped the significance of the riders up on the ridge above them. Harker said, ‘You boys might want to prepare for some lively action. Those fellows are the ones you’re supposed to be putting a halt to.’ He scanned the hills again, hoping that the southerners wouldn’t have hauled their field-guns up there and be using them to cover the road north. There was no sign of such a move, although more riders looked to be joining the group which he had first noticed. Those were the men in whose camp he had briefly been detained, if he was any judge of it. He wondered vaguely if they had been pursuing him, because of the death of the little Frenchman. But there, they most likely had bigger fish than him to fry. They had probably been ordered to choke off supplies passing south along this track. He turned to Abigail Tyler, who was seated at his side and said, ‘We best break out those guns o’ your’n again, Miss Tyler. I’d be mighty surprised if those boys aren’t about to ride down on us.’
The men on the other wagons were taking notice now and cocking their pieces, in case there was going to be shooting. As for Harker, he reached back into the wagon and took out one of Abigail’s weapons. The soldier to whom he had been speaking said, ‘Jesus Christ, what’s that you got there?’
Harker didn’t bother to answer, but took out the other gun and said to Abigail Turner, ‘You were all-fired keen on what you was pleased to call ‘a field test’ not so long since. You’d best get ready for another.’
‘I can’t fire this,’ she exclaimed, aghast, ‘Not after what I saw before!’
Harker stared hard at her and said, ‘You’re fixin’ for to see the United States army having these things. You’re afraid to use it yourself?’
Reluctantly, she took it from his hands and the two of them climbed down from the buckboard and took up positions behind the wagon. Harker said to Jemima and Pompey, ‘You two had best get behind the carts here, in case there’s lead flying about. You’ll be safer there.
Pompey was disposed to argue the point, feeling shamed to be sent off with his mother and baby brother. He said, ‘I can help. I can fire this here pistol.’
‘Pistols is alright for close quarter work son, but next to useless at the range we’re going to be engaging at. I’d feel easier in my mind knowing that you’re guarding your ma and keeping her safe.’
Something about Harker’s tone of voice told the boy that this was one of those times for taking orders and doing as he was bid. He said, ‘Come on ma, I’ll protect you.’ The family went round to the back of the wagons, leaving Harker free to concentrate on the peril which faced them.
Reluctant as he was to take command, Harker feared that if nobody was decisive, then the encounter with the southern riders was apt to be a shambles. Since he had a stake in the affair, he supposed that it fell to him to arrange matters. He said to the young soldiers and men who had been driving the carts, ‘You’d best all get behind your wagons and prepare to drive off those men, should they take it into their heads to ride down on us.’ The men seemed relieved to find that there was somebody who would give orders. As they followed his advice and began moving to cover, Harker said sharply, ‘And listen to what I tell you. Me and this lady are going to be staying here, just a little in front of some of you. Mind what you’re about, if it comes to shooting. I’ve no mind to be caught between two enemies. Mind you don’t hit us.’
No sooner were these words out of Jed Harker’s mouth, than the men up on the ridge began moving down towards them. By Harker’s estimate, there were some forty riders. He guessed that most were regular army who had thrown in their lot with the south. Well, this was where the knife met the bone. He cocked the strange gun and sighted down the barrel.