Jordan's War - 1861 (11 page)

Chapter 12

Jordan was quickly
losing ground as he sprinted through the lush fern growth of the forest floor
like a deer in flight, while trying to avoid the protruding rocks and twisting
an ankle. He could hear the thundering hooves of Luke Vander’s horse crashing
through the woods behind him, snapping weeds and small trees in its path.
Jordan was too terrified to turn around to see just how close he was. He could
hear the animal snort and groan with each jab of Luke’s heels into its belly.

Jordan ducked
under a brush thicket and made his way through the branches to the other side.
Thorns tore at his clothes and scratched his face. He raced out into the
sunlight, but the ground had ended. He was airborne and tumbled down a dirt
bank into the mud. The fall knocked the wind out of him as he landed on his
face and stomach. He was dazed for a moment, but then staggered to his feet and
lunged behind a large rock sitting at the edge of the creek bed.

Jordan held his
breath and listened as the horse clopped along the bank above him.

“I know you’re
down there,” Luke hissed. “Not only are you a coward, but you’re stupid too.”

Jordan crouched as
close as he could to the base of the damp, mossy rock. He could feel beetles
and other critters crawling up his arm, but was too afraid to move.

“I’ll get you out
of there,” Luke said. “Just like flushing a bear out of a tree.”

Jordan heard Luke
cock his revolver. A shot rang out over the tranquil forest and dirt flew into
the air right next to Jordan, as the bullet hit the ground, sending pieces of
it into his eyes.

He knew Luke would
have to reload. Should he run off and risk getting chased again or stay put? He
listened but didn’t hear anything else. He peered around the side of the rock,
right into the eyes of the devil and his beastly steed.

“I knew you’d come
out,” Luke said and pointed his revolver right at Jordan. Jordan ducked back
behind the rock, gasping for air. Another gunshot ricocheted off the boulder,
splintering the massive granite.

Jordan heard
splashing and turned to see if someone was coming to help him. Otter and Rusty
dashed up the creek bed.

“Well, if I can’t
get a shot at you, then I’ll have to shoot your mangy dog,” Luke hissed. Jordan
heard another shot and closed his eyes. He heard the splash and a dog yelp. He
couldn’t tell if it was Otter or Rusty. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

“Private Vander!”
a voice called out. “What are you shooting at?”

“Just a diseased
coon,” Luke said. “They usually don’t come out in the daytime, but I saw one
strolling along just now. That’s how you tell it’s diseased.”

“You will not
waste precious bullets on some rabid animal,” the voice said. “Get over here.”

“I’ll be seeing
you, little yellow Sinclair,” Luke in a low, mocking voice.

Jordan didn’t
move. Otter sat down beside him and licked his face. Rusty sat on the other
side of him, patting him with his tail and drooling on his trousers. He patted
Otter on the head. Thank God they’re not hurt.

“We ought to go
this way,” Jordan heard Luke say. “A few miles down this path is the prettiest
willow you’d ever want to see.”

Jordan peered
around the rock and saw two other soldiers. One of them was Sergeant Hummel.

“What?” Sergeant
Hummel.

“A willow,” Luke
said. “You want to come and see?”

“You want us to go
look at some tree?” the other soldier said. “Vander, have you lost your damn
mind?”

“I didn’t say
nothing about no tree,” Luke said.

The voices trailed
off until Jordan could no longer hear them. He rested his head on the cool
surface of the rock and let his heart slow down. He listened but he didn’t hear
anything else. The birds started chirping again.

“There he is!”
Eamon said. “Pa I found him!”

Jordan stood up as
Eamon slid down the bank.

“What happened?”
Eamon asked.

“Luke!” Jordan
sniveled. “He was shooting at me.”

Pa and Jake came
splashing up the side of the creek.

“You all right?”
Pa asked.

“I think so,”
Jordan said and then fell back down, as his weak legs failed to hold him.

“He said Luke was
shooting at him,” Eamon said.

“Pa, Luke was
talking about Willow,” Jordan gasped but didn’t get another word out, as they
all turned to the crashing coming from the bank above.

“Who’s down
there?” he heard a voice call.

“Uncle Tate?”
Eamon called. “It’s us.”

“What’s all that
shooting about?” he asked.

“Luke tried to
shoot Jordan,” Eamon said.

“What!” Tate said.
“Oh, now I don’t believe that.”

“It’s true, Uncle
Tate,” Jordan cried and found his strength to stand up. “He chased me on his
horse and then he tried to shoot me.”

Tate slid down the
bank towards Pa, Eamon, and Finnian. Henry followed behind him. Rusty ran over
to greet him. Tate shooed him away.

“Well, you don’t
look hurt,” Tate growled.

“Something’s got
to be done about this,” Pa said. “They ain’t got no right running around the
mountain shooting at innocent folks.”

“I can’t condone
it either,” Tate said. “But it was only a matter of time before something like
this happened.”

“What’s that
supposed to mean?” Eamon asked.

“I mean all of
you,” Tate said. His eyes narrowed. “You should be off fighting with all them
other boys.”

“Isaac left last
week,” Jordan interrupted.

“You,” Tate said
and pointed his finger at Pa. “You take your wool all the way north, knowing
damn good and well, it would end up in the mills up there. Everyone knows what
you did and folks ain’t liking it.”

“It was the smart
thing to do,” Pa said as he met Tate’s stare. “You’ll realize it soon enough. I
don’t care if folks like it or not.”

“What I realize is
that you’re taking sides against the Confederacy. You’re against everyone
around you and a man’s freedom.”

Henry stood behind
his pa.

“Maybe. A man has
a right to decide those things for himself now don’t he?” Pa said, and grinned
as if to taunt his brother.

“Not now,” Tate
scoffed. “There’s a war going on. Mark my word, Finnian, this is only the
beginning. Come on Henry, let’s go.”

“I guess this means
you ain’t coming over for supper tonight?” Finnian asked.

“You’re damn
right,” Tate said. “When this is over, you’ll be lucky to still own your place.
No one’s going to take kindly to having you as their neighbor. They’ll probably
string you up and burn your place to the ground.”

Tate turned his
back and he and Henry climbed back up the riverbank and disappeared into the
pine trees.

Pa was silent for
a moment. Neither Jordan nor Eamon said a word, as to not interrupt his
thoughts.

“Well, he is a
stubborn old fool,” Pa said. “Always was the first one to jump in head first
into the shallow end of the creek. Let’s go home boys.”

“He called you a
fester on the Confederacy,” Jordan said.

“He did, did he?”

“That’s what Henry
said.”

“We’ll see who the
fester is when this is all over,” Pa laughed.

Jordan brushed the
clumps of mud off his shirt and knees and followed Pa back up the bank to the
path home.

Jordan walked back
to the house alone while Pa, Eamon and Jake stopped at the barn to do the
feeding.

“Jordan you’d
better change,” Willow said as she swept the porch. “Reverend Summey and
Emanuel are coming to dinner.”

“What for?” Jordan
asked and looked down at the brown mass of dirt and leaves embedded in his
shirt. He could feel the mud clinging to his hair and it felt like he had some
lodged in his ear.

“To pray for Jim,”
she said and sauntered off in her Sunday best, twirling the broom.

“It ain’t Sunday,”
he called after her, but she ignored him.

Willow had fancied
the Reverend’s son, Emanuel, for months now. What she saw in that gangly boy,
Jordan would never know and Ma said one good puff of wind would blow him away.

He and Eamon would
laugh as Willow sat all doe-eyed while Emanuel read from one of his books. She
always called him by his full name, Emanuel, not Manny like everyone else did,
and she always used that helpless girl voice when she talked to him. Willow was
a lot of things, but helpless wasn’t one of them.

He walked up the
steps and into the house. Jim was asleep on the davenport and Grandma motioned
for him to be quiet.

“Is that where
he’s going to sleep?” Willie asked. Heck, they were barely allowed to sit on
the first store bought piece of furniture in the house. The long, fabric
covered seat could sit three people and Ma kept a careful eye than none of
those three people where her boys.

“Your ma’s in the
kitchen,” she whispered and went on with her knitting.

“What happened to
you?” Ma asked when she saw Jordan’s shirt. “Oh Jordan! You’re a mess. Go clean
up. Didn’t anyone tell you Reverend Summey was coming for dinner?”

“Willow just did,”
Jordan answered. “Aren’t you going to ask me what happened?”

“Later
sweetheart,” she said and poured some clean water into the wash basin. “Now
wash up and change your clothes.”

Jordan splashed
water in his face and hair. The water turned brown as it dripped back into the
basin. He stuck his finger in his ear and dug out a large dirt clod, and
started to walk off.

“Dump that water
out for me,” Ma said.

Jordan turned
around, grabbed the basin, and headed to the back door to dump it out. Selie
was sitting on the bottom step, wearing a fresh dress and petting the mama cat.
Her hair was neatly braided with dark blue ribbons on each end. Jordan wanted
to pretend like he didn’t see her and pour the water on her, but now was not a
good time.

“Willow’s
boyfriend’s coming to supper,” Selie said and smiled.

“Good for Willow,”
Jordan said in a snide tone, poured the water beside the house, and walked back
inside. He heard Grandma and Pa in the front room talking in a low voice.

“Can I go change
now?” he asked.

“Please do,” Ma
said. “And put something nice on.”

“Oh criminy,”
Jordan said and stomped off. Ma caught him by the sleeve.

“You will be on
your best behavior or you’ll get a whipping,” Ma warned. “Do you hear me?”

“Yes ma’am,”
Jordan said and stormed off to change.

He could hear
Grandma and Pa whispering and he knew it was about the Reverend’s visit. He
couldn’t help but chuckle. Perhaps Ma should be threatening Grandma with the
whipping.

Reverend Summey
called Grandma a witch once and not behind her back like everyone else did. He
called her down right there in church, a few years back. He called Grandma’s
claims that she saw into the “Book of Life” blasphemous and if she didn’t
recant, she’d go to hell. Well, she didn’t recant and that was the last time
she ever set foot into Reverend Summey’s church.

He used to have a
sermon every now and again about the potions and spells of the local mountain
witch and preached that anyone who sought out her powers was a sinner in the
worst way. Afterwards, Grandma’s business would be slow for a month or so, but
then her same customers came calling once again.

Wonder how he’s
going to feel about his precious Manny having a witch for a
grand-mother-in-law? Jordan chuckled.

Jordan changed his
clothes and looked for his Sunday best and found them laid out on his bed.
Willow must have put them there. He swore under his breath as put them on and
would have preferred going off somewhere with Grandma, instead of listening to
a sermon of hellfire and brimstone he knew would be the topic at supper.

“I see you’re all
dressed,” Gunner said. He was dressed up in Jake’s second pair of Sunday
clothes. He looked stiff and uncomfortable.

“You too,” Jordan
said.

“Do you think the
Reverend’s prayers will help Pa get better?” Gunner asked.

“I don’t know,”
Jordan said and saw the sadness in Gunner’s eyes. “But it can’t hurt.”

“Abigail says it
won’t do no good,” Gunner said. “I heard her and Finnian whispering.”

“No, you heard
them arguing,” Jordan corrected. “There ain’t no love lost between Reverend
Summey and Grandma.”

“Why?”

“They both think
they have the inside path to God,” Jordan said.

“Who’s right?”

“Won’t know until
we get to Heaven,” Jordan said.

“I can wait,”
Gunner said.

“Me too,” Jordan
said.

Delicious smells
of fried chicken and potatoes drifted through the air and Jordan’s stomach
growled.

“Guess we’d better
go help Bess,” Gunner said.

They walked back
into the front room just as Grandma stormed out the front door.

Chapter 13

A cloud of dust on
the dirt path announced the arrival of Reverend Elijah Summey and his family.
Jordan felt ridiculous as he stood on the front porch waiting for them to reach
the house, like of those animal exhibits he saw in Fairmont. Only Grandma,
Willow, and Jim were absent.

Grandma had long
since retreated to her medicinal stores in the shed over the cellar and her
chair looked odd without her knobby walking stick resting against the arm. Jim
was too weak and feverish to move and Willow waited inside the house to make
her grand entrance to her beloved Emanuel.

Jordan first
spotted the silly round derby hat that the Reverend always wore. He’d seen
plenty of men in the city wearing them, but it looked odd perched on top of a
country preacher’s head.

He was only a
Reverend on Sunday or whenever anyone needed a prayer and any other time he was
a dirt farmer, just like everyone else who lived on the mountain.

His wife, Lula was
also good at putting on airs and was as uppity as they come. She wore only
store bought dresses and made sure none of the prints matched the fabric on the
feed sacks. Too many women used the empty sacks to make dresses, including
Jordan’s ma.

Emanuel was a tall
lanky lad, about the same age as Eamon. It seemed as though Willow had swooned
over him as long as Jordan could remember. All the girls did, except for Becca,
Eamon’s girl. He always had a book handy and had developed quite a memory for
poetry. Willow seemed to melt every time he’d recite some flowery verse. He was
their only child and both Lula and Elijah doted on the boy.

“I’m glad you
could make it,” Pa greeted as the carriage came to a halt. He walked down the
steps and held out his hand for Lula.

“Why thank you
Finnian,” Lula said as she stepped down and turned her hips just right so her
dress would swirl ever so slightly around her hips.

“Can’t deny a sick
man of prayer,” Elijah said. “Manny, unhitch the horses and turn them out.”

“I’ll help!”
Willow hollered from just inside the doorway and almost ran poor Gunner over in
her haste to get down the steps. So much for the grand entrance. Ma gave her a
disapproving look, but Willow either didn’t see her or didn’t care.

“Lula, your dress
is just lovely,” Ma exclaimed.

“This old thing,”
Lula said. “I’ve had it for ages.”

“Do come in and
sit down,” Ma said. “Jim’s laid out on the davenport, but we’ve put out plenty
of extra chairs.”

“How’s he doing
now, the poor thing,” Lula said as she walked up the steps. “I’ve heard about
those mines. Elijah had a cousin who worked in one near Charleston. It killed
him too. Jim’s been so blessed that his health hasn’t faded before now.”

“My ma, Abigail,
has been working on him,” Ma said.

“Well, I’m sure
prayer will work wonders nonetheless,” Lula said. “My, is this little Selie?”

Selie smiled at
the attention and swished her homemade dress around just like Lula did when she
stepped out of the carriage.

“Yes ma’am,” Selie
said.

“My, have you
grown,” Lula said. “Bess, she is just lovely.”

“Come on in,” Ma
said and made Jordan hold the door for all of them.

Pa, Elijah, and
Eamon were leaning against the fence watching Manny and Willow unhitch the
horses. Jake had slipped away the moment they pulled up and was probably off
carving something.

Gunner looked like
someone had hit him in the stomach.

“It’s alright,”
Jordan whispered. “She don’t mean nothing by it. She’s just trying to be nice,
that’s all.” He patted Gunner on the back.

“Ain’t you going
inside?” Gunner asked.

“No,” Jordan
answered. “That’s where the women go. Us men stay out here.”

“And do what?”

“I don’t know.
Let’s go find Jake.”

Jordan ran off
behind the house and Gunner followed him. They found Jake over by the tool shed
and sure enough, he was armed with his knife and another small piece of wood.

“Look at the
soldier Gunner whittled,” Jake said and held up a nicely carved statue of a
man.

“That’s nice,”
Jordan said. “Where’d you learn to do that?”

“I don’t know.”

“We’re going to
make a whole army, ain’t we Gunner?”

Gunner nodded.

“Can I help?”
Jordan asked.

“You can’t whittle
anything,” Jake whined.

“Can too.”

“How about if he
makes the guns,” Gunner suggested. “Those can’t be too hard.”

“Oh, alright,”
Jake said. “But you have to get your own knife.”

“I got one right
here,” Jordan said and dug deep into his pocket.

The boys got busy.
Jordan went to get some more wood from the woodpile over by the shed, while
Gunner picked up a block and started cutting.

“Boys!” Ma
hollered. “Come on and wash up for supper!”

“Dang it,” Jake
said and folded his blade back into the case.

“I’m starving,”
Jordan said as he joined Gunner and Jake on the way back to the house.

“Do you think he’s
prayed for Pa yet?” Gunner asked.

“Ain’t you ever
been to a praying?” Jordan asked.

“No.”

“Everyone has to
be there and sometimes Reverend Summey gets really loud,” Jordan explained.

“Yeah, like the
time Uncle Tate got all yellow with the fever,” Jake said.

“What happened?”
Gunner asked.

“It went on
forever,” Jake said. “All this yelling, hollering, and praying. It scared me.”

“Did it make him
better?” Gunner asked.

“Reverend Summey
said it did,” Jake said. “But Grandma swears she cured him.”

Jordan waited for
his turn at the wash basin. The table was full of fried chicken, mashed
potatoes, green beans with fatback, and biscuits with butter, and there was an
apple cobbler warming by the fireplace. It smelled wonderful.

Jordan sat down
and started to fill his plate. Ma grabbed his hat off his head and cleared her
throat. Jordan put down the serving spoon and sat there with his hands in his
lap, waiting for everyone to be seated.

Pa and Elijah
helped Jim into his seat and then sat down. This was the signal for everyone to
bow their heads. Jordan peeked through a slit in his eyes and saw Willow and
Manny smiling at each other. He hoped Ma saw her. She’d certainly get a good
talking to for fooling around during grace and acting like some floozy.

Jim looked a frail
as a newborn lamb and Jordan thought he’d topple over before Elijah was done
with his longwinded prayer. At last he was finished blessing the food and they
all dug in.

Elijah relaxed on
the porch in the evening breeze, smoking his pipe and rocking Grandma’s chair.
Pa helped Jim into one of the chairs. He insisted on being outside with the men
and ignored Grandma’s warnings about the damp evening air. Pa put a chaw of
tobacco in his jaw and sat down on the steps. He handed the block to Eamon who
was leaning on the rail behind him, who in turn handed it to Jim. Jim’s hands
shook so badly that Eamon had to break off a piece for him.

Jordan chose to
stay behind with the men instead of running off with Jake and Gunner. He sat in
the corner and tried to remain unnoticed, just in case they started talking
about things he shouldn’t be hearing.

“Sure is pretty
out here Finnian,” Elijah said. “I always said you had the best land on the
mountain.”

“Yours ain’t so
bad, Elijah,” Finnian said. “I got a lot of stumps. You ain’t got no stumps.”

“Ah, the old horse
made quick work of them,” Elijah said. “Strong as an ox, she is.”

“I’ve seen her,”
Finnian said. “She is a thing of beauty.”

“Tate was over to
see me the other day,” Elijah said. “Asking for a prayer for his boys. How long
they been gone?”

“Nealy left a
while back,” Finnian said. “I just heard about Isaac today.”

“Today,” Elijah
said. “When was the last time you talked to Tate?”

“Me and the two
oldest boys been traveling,” Finnian explained. “Just got back this morning.”

“Yes, I’ve heard
all about your traitorous journey north,” Elijah laughed. “Folks are mighty
upset about it too. Ain’t much goes on around here without me knowing about it.
That Nealy sure has himself in a bind.”

“I’d say,” Finnian
laughed. “The girl came by here a few weeks ago asking for Abigail.”

“I wouldn’t put it
past her,” Elijah said. “Those who are sinful are bound to seek out the devil sooner
or later.”

“You’re sitting in
her chair,” Finnian said.

“Ah, but even
Lucifer’s chair knows a righteous bottom, eh,” Elijah said. “You know she’s not
around anymore.”

“Sure she is,”
Finnian said. “She just doesn’t want to be around you, that’s all.”

“I meant Sissy
Mae.”

“Oh,” Finnian
said. His face turned an unnatural shade of red. “Well, Vance was by here
looking for her.”

“He ain’t found
her. Her mother’s all worried.”

“She’ll be
alright,” Finnian said. “Those Wheelers are pretty sharp folks.”

“How old is Eamon,
now?” Elijah asked.

“Sixteen,” Eamon
answered.

“Same age as my
Manny. I suppose you’ll be running off to join your cousins soon?”

“I suppose,” Eamon
said.

“Manny’s been
working with Doc McCord down Hillsboro way,” Elijah said. “He’s wanting to be a
doctor. Figured he could get some practice with the wounded fellas.”

“Practice?”
Finnian asked.

Practice?
Somehow that didn’t sound right, but Jordan kept quiet.

“Yes. Doc’s too
old to travel much and Manny will soon be old enough to enlist,” Elijah said.
“I pray he won’t have to shoot anyone.”

“Hopefully, this
whole mess will be over before he has to go,” Finnian said.

“Amen brother
Sinclair,” Elijah said and rested his head on the back of the chair.

The crickets
announced the end to another pristine spring day, and one by one the stars
appeared in the fading blue sky. A peaceful silence surrounded them,
interrupted only by Jim’s occasional grunting as he cleared his throat.

“Finnian,” Elijah
began. “I don’t like telling folks how they should act,but I got to tell you,
folks are a little upset around here.”

“What about?”

“You traveling up
north, Eamon not going off with the other boys . . . that sort of nonsense,”
Elijah said.

Jordan hunkered
down in the corner. If they were going to run him off, now would be the time.

“Manny’s still
here,” Finnian said. “Folks mad about that too?”

“No, heavens no,”
Elijah said. “They understand us not sending our
only
son to fight. I’m
a man of God.”

“Are you saying it’s
fine for Eamon to go off and get killed just because I have Jordan and Jake?”

“Now Finnian, I
ain’t saying that at all,” Elijah said. “Folks just wondering where your
loyalties are, that’s all. You knew where that wool would go before you even
took it, didn’t you? You don’t think our boys need a good wool coat?”

“I figured as
much,” Finnian said. “But I did what was best for my family.”

“I understand why
you went,” Elijah said. “You wanted the gold. You’re a smart man Finnian. I
only wished I’d known what you were up to. I’d sent mine with you, in secret of
course.”

“Glad you
understand,” Finnian said.

“Folks aren’t
always as understanding as I am. You know this.”

“Lord, don’t I
know it,” Finnian said. “That Luke Vander was down at the creek taking target
practice at young Jordan today.”

“I see his aim
hasn’t gotten any better,” Elijah smiled and winked at Jordan. “If this mess
don’t end soon, it’s going to get worse for you. It’s going to get worse for
all of us.”

“Ain’t nothing we
can’t handle,” Finnian said.

“Jim Sinclair,”
Elijah said and stood up. “I believe it time for the Lord to heal you. Praise
Jesus!” He threw his arms up in the air.

Pa helped Jim to
his feet and Jordan thought he saw a look of dread in Jim’s blue eyes.

The men walked
inside where the women, Jake and Gunner were already kneeling in a circle
around the davenport. Jordan knelt down beside Gunner and took his hand. Jim
sat on the edge of his makeshift bed and bowed his head.

“Lord,” Elijah
began. “We humbly stand in your presence this night to ask you for healing of
this man, Jim Sinclair. IN THE NAME OF JESUS, cast out the demons that curse
this poor man’s body and make him pure once again.”

That was the last
word Jordan understood for the entire vigil. He’d heard this before at church
meetings. Folks so full of the Holy Spirit they seemed to talk a different
language. He heard Jake snicker and open one eye to see what was going on.

Ma was weaving
back and forth as if she too, were possessed by some higher being. Manny was
supposed to be holding Willow’s hand but his arm was around her waist. Lula too
began rambling foreign words. Jordan felt Gunner squeeze his hand.

“It’ll be
alright,” Jordan whispered out one side of his mouth.

Jim laid out on
the davenport, sweat poured from every pore in his body and his limbs trembled
with an intensity which seemed to emulate the octaves of Elijah’s voice.

The air inside the
house was electrified with exultation and euphoric fervor that made the hair on
the back of Jordan’s neck stand on edge. It was as if he was truly in the presence
of God.