Timecachers (17 page)

“You’re so funny you must be from the Clown clan,” he smirked.

Tom, who had more agricultural knowledge than the others, asked Benjamin about the operation of the farm, and the sort of crops and livestock they raised. Benjamin explained that they were very proud to have one of the most successful farms in the valley, and while it was not the largest, they had been doing quite well for the last several years. He told them that in addition to growing peaches and cotton, their main crops, they also grew corn, beans, and a variety of other vegetables for their own table. He also had a small patch of fine Georgia tobacco, as nearly every farm did. They raised a few horses, and had a small flock of sheep, a few hogs, and a couple of dairy cows.

Tom remarked that it must be a lot of hard work for their small family. He asked if the black lady and man they had seen along the way were hired hands.

“We are fortunate enough to own Isaac and Silvey, our two slaves,” Benjamin answered.

“Slaves?” Tom exclaimed. There was a look of shock on all four of the team’s faces.

“Yes,” answered Benjamin. “I see you are surprised that we have done so well to be able to afford such a luxury. But as you say, this farm would require much more labor than we ourselves could provide. Harvesting the cotton is an especially heavy workload. In the past, we have borrowed additional slaves from neighboring farms at harvest time, but the owners of many of the larger, more affluent farms have been leaving to move west. Joe Vann, who had one of the largest farms in the area, abandoned his plantation and moved to the western territory several years ago. A few others who could afford it followed, but most of the ‘regular’ folks are still here.”

John Carter licked a dribble of grease from his fingers. “If the Georgians have their way none of us will be here for this year’s harvest.”

Benjamin grunted. “After all our people have done to take on the white ways and become a thriving community, I don’t see how they will be allowed to make us leave.”

“You know the greed that comes from the gold. They have already made laws to forbid any Cherokee from digging for gold on his own land, and have conducted a land lottery giving others title to all of our land. The fields you are planting now may be harvested by a white family after you have been driven away.”

“What would you have me do, John Carter?” Benjamin said testily. “Squat on my heels until they come? Or pack up and go to Indian Territory and beg a settlement from the Ridge group?”

“I do understand the predicament, Benjamin Rogers, but it may be prudent for you to spend part of your time gathering the possessions you would take with you if you are forced to go.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know a lot about farms,” said Alice, “especially a nineteenth century one, but this place and your family seem to be pretty typical of what I would imagine one to be like. No different than any farm family of this period, and probably very similar to my own ancestors. If the land has been yours for generations, what right does anyone have to make you leave it?”

“The claimed right,” John Carter answered, “is that they are white and we are Cherokee.”

Chapter fourteen

W
hen the meal was over the three women, Catherine, her daughter Sally, and the slave Silvey began to clean up the kitchen and table. They made no comment, but the three women flashed an expectant glance at Alice. It wasn’t that she minded lending a hand with chores; it was more that she had not even begun to accept the reality of time travel, let alone considered what was going to be expected of her in this century. She jumped up and began helping with the cleanup, following directions from Sally, who was delighted to have someone to be in charge of. Sal, clearly amused by Alice’s role of domestic woman, winked at her, elevated his nose and said, “Woman, you may clear my place now.”

Alice walked over to Sal, leaned over to pick up the few bowls and plates in front of him, and whispered something inaudible in his ear. Sal turned bright red and made no further comments.

“Gentlemen,” said Benjamin, “if you would care to join me on the front porch, we can talk a bit and let the women get on with their chores.”

“A fine idea,” agreed John.

The room filled with the sound of chair legs scraping against the floor as they exited the kitchen and headed to the front porch. The house faced east, so the porch was already shaded from the afternoon sun, with enough chairs and rockers for everyone to get comfortable after the big meal. John and Benjamin extracted smoking pipes, and noticing Tom’s briarwood Benjamin offered him a bowl full of his homegrown tobacco. As they were lighting up, Silvey arrived with a tray of hot, steaming coffee for the five men. The coffee was very strong and full of grounds, but hot and good.

They sat quietly enjoying the coffee and tobacco, with full stomachs and a warm Georgia breeze adding to the euphoria, when Benjamin finally broke the silence. “You are planning to continue to New Echota today?” he asked John Carter.

John nodded. “I am. My horse has recovered enough to ride, but I will continue to walk since the others have no horses.”

“I wonder then,” Benjamin said, glancing at Adam, “if our guests would consider staying on here at my farm for a few days. You will be hard pressed to reach New Echota by this evening if you are walking. I could bring them with me in my wagon when I come to town for supplies and for our meeting. They are welcome to stay, and I can always use some extra hands here at planting time.”

“I don’t have a problem staying here for a day or so,” Adam replied.

“Hey, me neither,” said Sal, “I’ve had about all the walking I need for one day anyhow.”

“Hold on just a minute,” said Tom. After the meal his disposition had been mellowed by the coffee, tobacco, and a full stomach. Now it took on a concerned intensity. “I’m happy to stay and help, especially after the fine meal we just received, but what about our situation? Remember, I still find it incredible that everyone we met here today believes we are in 1838. I admit that something inconceivable has happened to us. I don’t know what exactly. Even if I agree to accept time-travel, shouldn’t we be working on finding our way home?”

“Yes, we should,” Adam replied. He didn’t want Tom becoming aggravated again. He decided to appeal to Tom’s practical side. “What environment would you find more appropriate to working on a solution? As I see it, we have three choices. We can go with John to an unknown town, take off by ourselves into the woods, or stay here at this quiet and friendly farm, where we can calmly assess our situation. I think staying here is our best choice. Do you disagree?”

“No, when you put it like that, I suppose it makes sense,” Tom admitted. “I hadn’t looked at it from that perspective. Staying here does have some advantages.”

Adam was glad the composure had returned to Tom’s voice. “Yep, there are definitely advantages,” he said, patting his belly. “And there are probably less distractions here than in town.” Tom and Sal nodded their agreement.

“Of course we need to get Alice’s opinion before we decide,” Adam added for John and Benjamin’s benefit. “We include Alice in all decision making. A lot of progress has been made on women’s rights since the 1800’s.”

“That doesn’t sound like progress for the women,” said John. “Now they just tell us what they want and we do it,” he said to everyone’s laughter.

“Yeah, we can get Alice’s input as soon as she’s done with her ‘women’s work,” said Sal.

“What was that, hon?” said Alice coming through the door behind him.

“Oh, uh, nothing. I mean, we really need your expert input on a decision, as a woman that is. Because we value you as an equal, you know,” he said to the snickers of the other men.

“Uh-huh,” she said, lancing Sal with all the fierceness her eyes could project. “Well, I heard the question,” she said, “and staying here sounds fine to me. Of course it will be less distracting here. And who knows? After a good night’s sleep we might find out this was all just a dream.”

“If that is your decision, then,” said John, “I will be getting on my way immediately. If I might suggest something, though, while you are considering your plans?”

“Of course, John,” said Adam. “What’s your suggestion?”

“You should consider the possibility that you have been brought here for a purpose. I know that many whites consider our traditional ways full of superstition, but even the Christian religions teach that most things happen for a reason. You may want to focus your considerations on what those reasons might be. If you can determine that, your path may become much clearer, perhaps guiding you back to your home.”

“What possible reason would there be for us to be here?” asked Tom.

“I cannot begin to guess the ways of the power that brought you here,” John replied. “But consider; you have come from a future time and have knowledge of what awaits us in the coming weeks; or at least one version of the things that will occur. It is possible that you were sent to provide guidance to us in this time of crisis. It may also be possible that you are to be shown something about your own past. Perhaps both are possible. One clue is the device you carry which brought you here.”

“What do you mean? “What do you know about this device?” Adam asked, holding up the LANav.

“I know nothing of it, Adam, except that on it is written ‘TSO LANav’.”

“Yes, the company that makes it is TSO, Inc. and they call the device a LANav.”

“In Cherokee,
tso-la-nv
is a phonetic pronunciation for a word meaning ‘window’. Perhaps it provides a window we can see through from our respective sides, giving us a glimpse into the future or past that would normally be blocked by the wall of time. The way dreams can sometimes do. If that is the case, it will be up to you to determine how to use the vision that the device is providing.”

Chapter fifteen

T
he four team members and Benjamin’s family, including the two dogs, came to the barn to see John off. Benjamin gave John’s horse an expert check-up and declared him sound. Everyone said their goodbyes to John with a handshake, and hugs from Catherine and Sally. John calculated that on horseback he would easily reach town before sundown, so he could track down the council and deliver his news as soon as he arrived. Benjamin wished him luck with that chore. He repeated his promise to meet him in New Echota, and to bring the team along. “I will try not to work them too hard with farm chores in the meantime.”

Once John was on his way, Benjamin said he and Billy would head to the field where Isaac was working to let him get some supper. He told the visitors to feel free to explore the farm, and he would meet them back at the barn in two hours. He and Billy needed to care for the horses before dark, and they would explain the work that they needed help with tomorrow.

Benjamin and Billy headed off to the fields, while Catherine and Sally returned to the farmhouse, telling the visitors that they would see to their accommodations, giving the four a chance to talk over the events of the day in private.

“I wish I had something enlightening to say.” Adam began. “Unfortunately our situation is outrageously bizarre. I’m just as baffled as you guys. Telling you that we need to make the best of the situation seems lame, but I think that’s about all we can do for now. I take full responsibility, and I’m really sorry that I got you all into this mess, but I had no idea…”

“Of course not,” said Alice, “how could you?” The others nodded their agreement.

“I understand how you’re feeling, Adam,” said Tom. “I did not intend to imply that you were responsible for this situation. Perhaps for now making the best of it is about all we can do. I remain skeptical, but with all the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, I’d be a fool not to at least entertain the hypothesis that we are in a different time period. The only other reasonable explanations I have come up with so far are that I am dreaming or this is some sort of mass hypnosis, and both are very unlikely. As you suggested, if I accept that we have time-traveled, I can make a more serious effort to use logic rather than emotions to make decisions. From a purely intellectual standpoint, while I would have liked to have known in advance what I was getting into, as I’m sure you all would, I can’t help but experience the excitement of discovery, a new adventure, and exploration of a breakthrough in science.”

“That’s fine for you, Mr. Spock,” said Sal. “Hey, I don’t hold you responsible either, Adam, but unless we can find our way home, a fat lot of good any new scientific breakthrough is going to be. Being the first person to walk on Mars would be awesome, as long as you can get back to tell someone about it!”

“Yes, for once I agree with Sal,” said Alice. “I think our first priority should be finding a way to get home. Visiting another time is cool, and I realize you had no way to foresee this happening, Adam, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life here.”

“I don’t disagree that that should be our top priority,” said Tom. “All I’m saying is that since we are here, we should at least make the most of the opportunity we’ve been given. It seems to me that the only possibility of return is with the LANav. If it brought us here for a reason, let’s find out what it is, complete the task, and hope it leads us back home. I may have to accept that we have time-traveled, but I’m not going to accept that we are here permanently.”

“So what then, dude? Do we just follow the bouncing beacons and hope it takes us home? Is that our big plan?” asked Sal.