The Pilgrim Song (12 page)

Reluctantly Hannah rose, and Jenny followed her. “Good night,” they said in unison.

Kat rose and said, “There are no bears around or anything like that, are there?”

“Nope. Plumb civilized around here.”

Suddenly the girl threw her arms around Clint and hugged him. “Good night, Clint.”

Clint Longstreet was touched by Kat’s affection for him. He could not remember the last time he’d received so much attention from a child, which he considered Kat to be. He hugged her tightly, then said, “All right, you sleep tight, punkin.”

Kat accompanied the two women to the tent, where they all stepped inside. But Kat suddenly stopped. “What about a bathroom?”

Hannah smiled. She was unaccustomed to having to think of such things. Bathing and sanitary facilities had always been something she had taken for granted, but now, however, she knew it would be different. “Just step outside and find a bush to hide behind, Kat.”

Kat gave her a startled look, then grinned. “All right.”

As soon as Kat left, Hannah glanced at Jenny. “It’s a little different from the life we’ve known, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. I’ll never get used to it!”

“Oh yes, you will. It’ll be fine.” She began to arrange the
blankets on her cot, then sat down and put on another pair of socks. When Kat came back, Hannah got up and saw to it that the girl was under her blanket, then said, “Well, excuse me.”

When she stepped outside in the darkness and moved around toward the back of the tent, she saw Clint still sitting in front of the fire. He was staring into it motionless, and once again a warm rush of gratitude came to her.
We all depend on him. What would we do if he got sick? We’d be helpless.
She took one more look at him, then turned into the darkness.

****

Breakfast the next morning was a strain for all of them. Apparently only Kat had slept soundly. The faces of the others were drawn and pale as they emerged from their sleeping places in the scant light of dawn. Clint had awaked before anyone else to build up the fire and start breakfast. Now he said, “Come and get it. We’ve got a lot of miles to cover today.”

As soon as they had finished their bacon, eggs, and coffee, Clint helped the men break down the tent and pack it. The women washed the dishes and repacked them, and soon they all piled into the truck. “I’m already getting sick of this blasted truck!” Joshua complained as he crawled into the back. Hannah wanted to chide Josh about his drinking but knew it would be useless.

They passed through Washington, D.C., in the morning, and Kat wanted to go see the Capitol building, but Hannah shook her head. “We don’t have time. We’ve got to get home.”

Clint looked at her and smiled slightly.
Well,
he thought,
she’s talking about their new place as home, and I reckon that’s good.

They traveled all day, stopping several times to stretch their legs while Clint added water to the radiator. The Studebaker had a slow leak in the cooling system, and Clint had brought along a five-gallon jug to keep it filled. He also checked the oil
and tinkered with the engine constantly. He knew the engine was their salvation. If it stopped running, they would be in poor shape indeed.

When they made camp that night in central Virginia, Hannah was pleased to discover that she could manage the cooking, such as it was. Jenny took no interest in the chore, but Kat had her nose in everything. As soon as the meal was finished, everyone except Hannah and Clint made for their beds.

Hannah and Clint cleaned up, then sat down on blankets as close to the fire as they could get. “We can make it all right, Hannah,” Clint said. Hannah was weary, but for a time the warmth and cheer of the fire encouraged her. She asked Clint many questions about his early life, and he answered sparingly.

From time to time, Hannah would pick up a stick and poke at the logs and watch the golden sparks fly upward. “Look at that, Clint. It looks like the sparks are mingling with the stars up there.”

“Mighty pretty. I’ve always liked to be out sitting in front of a fire in the woods.”

“Did you hunt a lot when you were a boy?”

“All the time. For us, it was like going to the store. People with money would go buy their meat at the grocer. We had to bring ours down. I must have killed a hundred deer, and no telling how many quail.”

“What do you think you’ll do with yourself—I mean, for the rest of your life?”

Clint laughed. “Guess I’m not making plans that far ahead.”

Hannah was fascinated by Clint Longstreet, for she’d never known anyone like him. “I can’t imagine where I’m going.”

“I don’t even try to imagine,” Clint said. He turned and put his glance on her, his eyes narrowing. She had wrapped a heavy scarf around her neck over her wool cloak, and her eyes looked enormous in the night. He had always thought she had beautiful eyes, large and expressive, and now he saw
that she looked lonely—and probably had felt lonely for a long time. “Sometimes,” he said, “life just drifts on for years, and nothing unusual seems to happen, and then something comes along that changes you—changes everything. That’s kind of a frightening thing,” he added thoughtfully. “That’s what has happened to you and your family. But you’re taking it very well, Hannah.”

Hannah was pleased with his compliment. She drew her cloak closer about her and held her hands out to the fire, conscious of the uncertainties of their life. It touched her nerves, and she felt the cold brush of doubt. “I get afraid, sometimes, of what’s going to happen.”

“I suppose everybody does, but we’ll make it.”

“Clint, you really think we will?”

“Sure we will. I don’t know why people are always talking about how hard things are now. It’s always been hard. Life’s no more dangerous now than it was a hundred years ago. Back then a man might have died from fighting Indians. Now he can get hit by a truck. We’re all going to die somehow.”

As he said this, he reflected on his own life. Mostly he remembered small things—the brief flash of a woman’s shining eyes and the time he had drawn down on a magnificent ten-point buck and had refused to shoot because the animal was so beautiful. His life was a series of unrelated pictures that faded out behind him, and now he was headed forward but did not know his destination. He knew there was a melody in the world, for he had heard it, and he knew there was meaning for people, for he had seen that too. But for him the future was a lamp glow of hope far away that flickered dangerously low at times.

Reaching into his pocket, Clint pulled out a harmonica. Placing it to his lips, he began to play a tune. Hannah listened, then when he stopped, she asked, “What song was that?”

“Just an old one I learned a long time ago.”

“Do you know the words?”

Clint put down the harmonica and sang:

“It’s a sad song, I guess, but I’ve always liked it,” Clint said. “Somehow I’ve always felt like a pilgrim in this old world. Never stopping long at any one place.”

Hannah dropped her head and murmured, “I’m a pilgrim too, Clint. My whole family, we’ve all got no place now.”

Clint nodded thoughtfully. “I guess all of us are pilgrims in one way or another. Better get to bed. Another long day tomorrow.” He watched as she rose and said good-night. When she was gone, he poured another cup of black coffee and sat there holding it, wondering what the end of all this would be.

****

They traveled through Virginia all day, and Clint finally pulled off the road just before they crossed the border into North Carolina. “We’ll cook up something good tonight, Hannah,” he said as he opened the door and climbed out.

Hannah smiled back at him, then she and Jenny got out, followed by Lewis and Joshua. They were all stretching and shaking their legs. Lewis looked around the pasture and asked, “Where are we?”

“Almost to North Carolina, Mr. Winslow. If we can get across North Carolina tomorrow, then we’ll be in northwest Georgia the next day—assuming the truck holds up,” Clint said. “Do you think you two could set up the tent by yourselves?”

“Do you think we’re helpless?” Joshua snapped. His face was flushed, and Clint wondered how much liquor he had left. Even during Prohibition Josh apparently had no difficulty finding alcohol, but with the family’s wealth gone, sooner or later the whiskey that Josh had brought would run out. He did not answer Josh but pulled the ax out of the truck and went to chop firewood. He found a dead tree and soon had chopped enough of the limbs off to make fires for supper and breakfast. Grabbing a load under his arms, he started back.

As he approached the truck he grew wary, for a man was facing Lewis and Josh, his voice loud and strident.

“I want you off of my land, you hear me?”

Lewis tried to speak peaceably. “I’m sorry, sir. We didn’t know it was private property.”

“Who’d you think it belonged to? Can’t you see them fences?” The big farmer’s face was florid, and underneath his bulging worn overcoat he looked enormous. As Clint approached the man turned quickly and shouted, “You’re another one of ’em! Get off this here property!” A string of profanity followed to emphasize his point.

Josh stepped forward and growled, “We’ll leave, but you watch your filthy mouth.”

All of them were taken off guard by what happened next. The farmer swung, moving swiftly for such a large man. His blow caught Josh in the chest with a crushing force, driving him backward. Jenny cried out, and Lewis stared at the man with incredulity. It had happened so fast he could not think of what to say.

Josh struggled to his feet and tried to throw himself forward, but Jenny and Hannah hung on to him, crying, “Please, Joshua, don’t make any trouble.”

Clint dropped the firewood. “Everybody get in the truck.”

He moved to stand between the big man and the others. His voice was quiet as he said, “Sorry, we didn’t intend any harm.”

The big man was tense, as if ready to spring into action again. “If you want some of what I gave him, you can have it.”

Clint shook his head. “We’ll be moving along as quick as we can.” He glanced over his shoulder and saw that they were all getting in the truck. He turned to the farmer and said, “Thanks for the hospitality.”

Turning, he got into the truck and pulled away. Jenny stared at him for a moment, then said, “I thought you were going to fight him.”

“It’s his land.”

Jenny found Clint’s behavior difficult to understand. “But you fought Earl.”

“This is different. This is his land, not ours. He’s a pretty rough customer, but the land is his.”

Something about the way he pronounced the words struck Hannah. “The land. That means a lot to you, doesn’t it?”

“I guess so.” Clint was not overly disturbed, for he had met with rough situations before. He kept his eyes open for another place to stop, and ten minutes later he said, “We can camp down right over there. No houses anywhere close, and we’ll be off the road.”

They made camp quickly, and Clint was wary enough to keep watch. No one came to disturb them, and after supper, they all sat around the fire under blankets enjoying the warmth. It wasn’t as chilly as it had been the first two nights on the road, and they were all grateful.

“How much farther is it?” Josh asked during a lull in the conversation.

“Not too far. Like I said, we should be able to cross most of North Carolina tomorrow, and then we’ll get to Summerdale the day after that.”

Josh was sullen and said no more. He finally got up and headed toward the truck. As soon as he was gone, Hannah said quietly, “It bothered him getting cursed by that farmer. He’s not used to taking abuse like that.”

“Well, Josh will have to eat his peck of dirt just like the rest of us.”

“What does that mean?” Jenny asked.

“It means all of us are going to have trouble. You’re having yours right now, Jenny, and it won’t be the last.”

“I don’t see how it could get any worse,” Jenny said bitterly. The trip had exhausted her, and now she sat hugging her knees to her chest and shaking her head. “We don’t know where we’re going or what we’ll do.”

“Yes we do,” Kat said. She was sitting beside Jenny and reached over and punched her playfully. “We’re going to our farm, that’s what, and I’m going to have my own horse someday, aren’t I, Clint?”

“I hope so, punkin.” He smiled at the girl and winked at her. “You’re going to be a farmer. You’ll have to learn a whole new way of life.”

“I don’t care. I’m glad we’re going.”

Hannah was weary to the bone, but she found Kat’s attitude encouraging. “I wish we were all as tough as Kat,” she said.

“You will be, Hannah,” Clint encouraged. “You will be.”

****

The next day they passed through the most beautiful country any of them had ever seen. The mountains were softly rounded, and there was a strange beauty about the land.

Finally they arrived at Waynesville, North Carolina, and found a place to set up camp for the night.

“These aren’t very high, are they, Clint?” Hannah said as they walked down the road. After sitting in the crowded truck all day it felt good to stretch the legs.

“They’re not like the Rockies.”

“You’ve been there?”

“Oh sure. Went through Jackrabbit Pass, but I didn’t like the Rockies. They’re like the bones of the earth sticking up bare. Not like these hills. These are friendly. I think it’ll be
like this around Summerdale. Beautiful country.” He glanced at her and said, “You’re pretty tired, Hannah.”

“I’m soft and spoiled.”

Clint shook his head. “You’re doing fine.”

The two of them were usually the last ones to bed. Kat stayed up as long as she could keep her eyes open, but she had stumbled off, and now the two of them were alone.

Hannah, always a light sleeper, dreaded going to bed and said so. Clint said, “You’re not afraid, are you?”