On to Richmond (22 page)

             
The pompous look disappeared from Mullins’ face.  “I came here to watch the battle.  I am a banker in Washington.  My horse and buggy ran off. ”   The pomposity returned.  “I happen to be a very important man!”

             
“Good!” Robert said with a grin.  “That means I will be escorting a very important prisoner back to the South.”

             
“Surely you don’t mean to take me as a prisoner!”  Mullins gasped.  “What threat am I to you?  I am not a soldier.  I am a citizen of the United States.”

             
“Then you should have had enough sense to stay off a battlefield,” Robert retorted.  “Add him to the rest of the prisoners,” he said shortly before turning to ride away. 

             
It was after dark when Robert arrived back at Manassas Junction with his men and the twenty prisoners they had rounded up.    All of them were caked with dust and were so thirsty their tongues were swollen.  Many of his men rode horses they had picked up on the way.  His prisoners stumbled in exhaustion. 

             
He had done the best he could - allowing them to stop at mud puddles and fill canteens with water to pass among themselves.  It wasn’t much, but at least it was humane.  He had never been in charge of prisoners before. 

             
The appearance of Confederate campfires, casting yellow light across the field cheered him somewhat.  Surely there would be food.  They had bypassed a mountain of food on the road as they had rounded up their prisoners, but none of it had been eaten.  There had been strict orders not to touch any of it in case it had been deliberately poisoned before the army had fled. 

             
Robert was dismounting when Edward Mullins moved over to him.  “See here.  This really is ridiculous.  I demand that you take me to your commander at once.  You simply cannot hold a citizen as a prisoner-of -war.” 

             
Robert had lost all patience.  He glared at the indignant man in front of him and snapped, “You people thought you could finish us off in one battle.  You were wrong.  We have won.  You happened to be on the wrong side, and now you are our prisoner.”  He paused and then smiled briefly.  “Enjoy your stay in Virginia, Mr. Mullins.”  Touching his hand to his head, he moved away. 

             
All he wanted was a good meal and a night’s sleep. 

             
Sleep eluded him as he gazed up at the sky.  A sudden thunderstorm had washed the caked dirt off his body and had driven the foggy smoke into the ground.  A hot meal had restored some of his strength.   But nothing had removed the stench and horror from his soul.  He had never stared death in the face the way he had today.  He had seen his father die, but he had not seen the bloated condition of a blackening body before.  He had never climbed over abandoned bodies and carcasses of horses.  He had never listened to the screams of wounded and dying men. 

             
“Carrie...” he whispered into the dark night. 

             
Even the image of her lovely face did nothing to release the agony of his heart.   Yes, they had won - but at what cost?  And what cost remained to be paid? 

             
It was going to be a long war.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

             
Opal moved her feet in time to the music pouring from Eddie’s fiddle.  She’d been at her cousin’s house for only a few weeks, but already she felt like one of the family.  A wide smile lighted her face as little Sadie, her beautiful eyes snapping with delight, played a little ditty with her spoons.  
Spoonin’
had always been one of her favorite things.  She leaned back in her chair as Susie’s clear soprano burst forth into song. 
 

             
Swing low, sweet chariot

             
Coming for to carry me home

             
Swing low

             
Sweet chariot

             
Coming for to carry me home.

             
I looked over Jordan

             
And what did I see

             
Coming for to carry me home

             
A band of angels coming after me

             
Coming for to carry me home.

             
Tears sprang into Opal’s eyes as Susie’s voice transported her back to the small clearing in the quarters.  Barely a night had gone by that voices had not been raised in song that would float over the tree tops and give them all hope that someday things would be different.  Opal could hear it - Moses deep bass reaching for the stars, Old Sarah’s sweet voice instilling hope where there was none... 

             
She missed them.  Oh, how she missed them!  She was happy where she was, but never a day went by that she didn’t think of her friends on Cromwell Plantation and wonder how they were doing.  

             
“Funny ain’t it?  How white folks ain’t got no idea what we’re really saying?”

             
Opal brushed away the sparkle of tears and turned to smile at Fanny.  “Good thing!” she said fervently.  “They talk about how good it is we darkies have our little songs to keep us happy.  What they don’t know can’t hurt them,” she added with a quiet laugh. 

             
Once again Opal’s thoughts translated her back to the quarters.  The very song Susie was singing now had become a mainstay of the quarters the summer before - especially after Miles, Sadie, Jasmine and the rest had escaped.  Humming along with Susie, she interpreted as she sang. 

             
Swing low, sweet chariot

             
The Underground Railroad’s wagon that had taken her friends to freedom had indeed been a
sweet chariot.
 

             
Coming for to carry me home

             
Where but up north could slaves find the freedom that would give them a true home?

             
Swing low

             
If the sweet chariot swung low, it would come close to where a slave was waiting. 

             
Sweet chariot

             
Coming for to carry me home.

             
I looked over Jordan

             
The Jordan could mean many things, but it always stood for the border between the North and the South.

             
And what did I see

             
Coming for to carry me home

             
A band of angels coming after me

             
What better description of an angel than the conductors of the Underground Railroad who led slaves to freedom? 

             
Coming for to carry me home.

             
Susie’s captivating voice fell away to a whisper as her eyes closed in longing. 

             
Opal knew what she was thinking.  The two had become close friends since the day she had first walked in the house.  Just then Susie opened her eyes, stared at Opal, and closed one in a long slow wink. 

             
Opal nodded quickly and then rose from her chair. 

             
“Be careful,” Fannie warned.  Her warm eyes were concerned but also full of an unspoken confidence.

             
Opal drew daily strength and courage from Fannie’s confidence in her.  As Susie broke out into song once again, and Eddie resumed his loud playing, Opal slipped through the sagging back door and down the rickety steps.  She shuddered slightly as she glanced westward and saw the sun dip below the horizon.  She had wanted to leave earlier, but the plans had called for her to be on the outskirts of town at precisely seven o’clock.  If she had gotten there early, her loitering would have attracted unwelcome attention.  But now she must move quickly.  She knew the driver would wait no more than five minutes before moving on.   Everything depended upon her being on time. 

             
“How do, Opal?” 

             
Opal nodded pleasantly to the thin black man lounging on the stairs of his back porch.  “Hello, Abram.  Beautiful afternoon isn’t it?” she asked pleasantly, trying not to show any nervousness in her voice.  Nodding her head, she continued to walk. 
Not too fast,
she warned herself silently. 
And not too slow.
..   She must look as if she were simply out to do an errand.  Shifting her basket on her arm, she balanced it carefully with her other hand.  The cargo she carried was precious. 

             
Opal’s mind raced as she moved down the dusty road.  The cries of children, the barking of dogs, and the crowing of roosters surrounded her unheeded.   The last few weeks had flown by.  Her job at the state armory was boring and mundane, but at least it wasn’t the back-breaking labor of working in the fields.   It was hard work, and she reached the end of each twelve-hour day exhausted, but she had never experienced a thrill quite like the one when she was handed her first week’s pay.  She had merely stared at it in joy and had then hurried home.  Half of it she had given to Fannie and Eddie for her keep.  The other half she had carefully stashed under her mattress. 

             
Today, Sunday, was her only day off.   She had joined the family for church that morning and then laughed and talked her way through the sumptuous lunch that followed.  When Eddie had broken out his fiddle, she had moved to her favorite chair to relax and think.  And to get ready...

             
This was the second time she had been asked to meet the driver on the edge of town.  The first time she’d had no idea what was so important about the basket of eggs and vegetables she had been asked to deliver.  There had been no talk at all.  She had stepped down from the sidewalk just as he had arrived, silently handed him the basket she carried, and taken the one full of tomatoes he had offered in return.  He had simply nodded solemnly and driven on.  The whole escapade had taken less than ten seconds.  Then Opal had retraced her footsteps.  Eddie and Fannie had welcomed her back as a hero, but she was totally clueless as to what she had done. 

             
Until this morning. 

             
Susie’s eyes had been shining when she had returned from her job the evening before.  She hadn’t said anything - just had that shining look. 

             
Opal had stood it for as long as she could.  When the two were walking home together from church, she finally could stand it no longer.  “Why are you looking so happy, girl?  You look like you just got the biggest piece of the pie.”

             
Susie grinned widely, then looked at her closely, and grew somber.  After a moment of gazing at her, she nodded her head slowly.  “You need to know, Opal.  Daddy said it would be better if you didn’t ‘cause it might scare you and make you act nervous, but Mamma and I think you ought to know.” 

             
Opal just looked at her and waited.  She had been hoping that someday they would take her into their confidence.  She was happy to do what they asked without knowing more than that she was helping the cause, but she knew she had proven herself if they were going to tell her more. 

             
Susie dropped her voice to a whisper.  “The lady I work for.  Mrs. Hamilton.  She ain’t what she seems.”  She paused and then continued.  “She been living here in Richmond all her life, but she be for the Union.  And she hates slavery.  She wants to see all the slaves go free.  She’s what they call an abolitionist.”