On to Richmond (54 page)

             
The middle-aged man regarding him answered with amusement.  “You ain’t got nothing to worry about, Lieutenant. Them Yankees ain’t coming out to look for no trouble tonight.  And my boys are keeping a sharp eye on them.”

             
“I have my orders,” Robert said firmly.

             
The captain shrugged.  “Suit yourself, Lieutenant.  We can all watch nothing happen together.”  He paused.  “Or you can let your men get some sleep.  Looks to me like they need it.”

             
Robert knew he was right.  Hobbs had tried to pick fifty healthy men, but that was simply asking too much of a unit decimated with sickness.  Suddenly he relaxed.  “Let me know if you have need of our services,” he said firmly.  Then he turned and waved his men back.

             
Robert searched until he found an area he was convinced would be safe.  An open field, it commanded an advance on either end.  They would have time to take action if the enemy tried to surprise them during the night.  After telling his men to get some sleep, he wrapped up in his blanket and lay down on the cold ground.  He looked up into the sky for a few moments.  It was cloudy, but not nearly as cold as it had been.  Within minutes he had fallen into an exhausted slumber.

             
“Great Jehosophat!”

             
A loud startled voice snapped Robert from his sleep.  Just as quickly, he was aware of an oppressive heat.  He threw off his blanket with which he had completely covered his head during the night and was amazed to see snow flying in every direction. 

             
“Look at that, Lieutenant!”

             
Robert gazed in the direction Hobbs was waving his arm and began to chuckle.  The scene stretched out before him was a weird one.  The field, blanketed under five inches of snow, looked to be the home of great fallen logs.  As he watched, one by one the “logs” came to life and sent snow flying in every direction. 

             
“First good night’s sleep I’ve had since we started this crazy march!” one voice called.  “I was warm as a pup all night long!”

             
Choruses of assent rose around him.  Robert smiled, realizing now why farmers in the mountains and in the North prayed for a deep layer of snow to protect their wheat from intense cold.  He jumped up, gave orders to the men to prepare breakfast, and then rode up to check with the cavalry unit. 

             
“Still as a church mouse around here,” the captain reported.  “You can tell Jackson these boys ain’t gonna cause no one any trouble.”

             
Suddenly a horse galloped up and skidded to a halt where they were standing.  “What is it, Smith?” the captain asked sharply.

             
“Reinforcements, sir.  There are a large number of reinforcements marching into Hancock.  I don’t reckon they intend to give it up.”

             
Robert listened carefully as the young scout revealed all the information he had and then turned to race back in the direction he had come from. “I will take this information back to General Jackson,” he snapped crisply.

             
Later that afternoon General Jackson withdrew his troops and once more continued on his way to Romney.  He had abandoned his idea of crossing the Potomac and raiding north.   His efforts in taking Bath had not been in vain, however.  He had accomplished his primary objective.   Earlier that morning, he had sent a command of men to destroy the Big Cacapon Bridge over the Potomac River.  They had driven off its defenders and decimated it with their artillery.  Then they had proceeded to rip down the telegraph lines as far as they could go. 

Carrie stopped her work long enough to straighten her shoulders and stretch in an effort to bring relief to her aching muscles.  Not even she knew why she was working so hard at the task she had set for herself.   She stepped back from the table she had erected in the basement of the house and reviewed her work.  Bottle after bottle lined the table in front of her as well as the shelves surrounding her.  Their carefully prepared labels proclaimed their contents. 

             
Yarrow, mistletoe, onion, mint, poppy, broom, thistle, dandelion...

             
Carrie gave a sigh of contentment as she looked at how the supply had grown.  There were still bags of herbs and plants to take care of, but she was making progress.  The idea had come to her late one night when she was pouring over the medical books Aunt Abby had sent her.  The long winter nights had given her an abundance of time to study them.  The more she learned, the hungrier she became to know more. 

             
One particular night as she pored through the volume about medicine and its uses, she had a sudden vision of the crowd of Union gunboats choking the Virginia shoreline.  The citizens of Richmond were already feeling the results of the blockade.  What would happen if medicines started to run short when the need was greatest?  That vision had started her on her current mission.  She was sure she would be laughed at if the medical community was ever to see her growing store of herbs, but she didn’t care.  Even if she only had opportunity to use it for her people here on the plantation, it would be well worth her efforts. 

             
Suddenly the door above her cracked open, and Sam called down to her.  “You plannin’ on eatin’ sometime today, Miss Carrie?”

             
“Is it late, Sam?” she called back.

             
Sam chuckled before he answered.  “It be almost four o’clock, Carrie girl.”

             
“Four o’clock!” Carrie gasped.  No wonder she was beginning to feel faint.  She had been down here since ten o’clock that morning.  She brushed her hands off on her dress, reached forward to cork the last bottle, and then quickly climbed the stairs.  “I’m starving!” she announced when she reached the top.

             
Sam chuckled again and then pulled out the plate he held behind his back.

             
Carrie smiled when she saw the steaming bowl of soup surrounded by thick slices of fresh bread and butter.  “You’re an angel!” she exclaimed as her stomach chimed its agreement.   She took the plate, walked past the dining room straight into the parlor, and sank down into the chair closest to the fire. A sharp cold wind blew outside, making the heat from the fire even more welcome.  Branches smacked against the windows of the house, which reminded Carrie she needed to have some of the men cut them back for her. 

             
“You need anything else?” Sam asked from the doorway.

             
Carrie shook her head as she dipped her spoon into the aromatic brew.  “This is wonderful.  Thank you.”  She sighed as the first spoonful of soup warmed her all the way down to her stomach.  Quickly she ate the rest.  When she finally put her spoon aside, she could feel strength returning to her body. 

             
A wide smile spread across his face, Sam suddenly reappeared at the door to the parlor. 

             
“Yes, Sam?” Carrie asked, returning his smile.  “What is it?”

             
Sam walked forward, holding something in his hand.  “We just had company,” he announced quietly, his eyes sparkling joyfully.

             
Carrie frowned.  “I didn’t hear anything.  Is there something I need to take care of?”  Then she paused.  “What in the world is someone doing out on a day like this?  It’s almost dark.”

             
“They didn’t come to the front door,” Sam announced, still wearing his smile.  “Done come to the back door.”

             
Carrie, confused, sat back in her chair.  “Will you please tell me what you are talking about?  Who just came, and why were they at the back door?”  Suddenly her eyes opened wide.  She could think of only one reason someone would be out on a night like this and appear only at the back door.   Someone connected with the Underground Railroad had made a delivery.  “Sam…?”

             
Sam nodded and held out the envelope to her.  Then he held up another one, already opened.  “I got me a letter, too,” he said proudly.  Only then did his eyes mist over.  “I’ll leave you to read your letter.”

             
Carrie, her heart pounding and her hands trembling, quickly opened the envelope and pulled the thin letter out.

             
Dearest Carrie,

             
              I am limited in what I write in case this letter falls into the wrong hands but I wanted you to know we have safely reached our planned destination.  Our hostess sends her deepest, heartfelt love to you.  Our journey took us longer than expected but we reached our destination at the end of October.  We are both doing well.  Our hostess is taking good care of us and opportunities are opening up. 

             
Our hearts are with you and we think of you often.  We miss you greatly and long for the day we can all be reunited.   Thank you for making all this possible.   We will never be able to fully express our gratitude.  Please take good care of yourself.

             
                                                                      Love,

             
                                                                      R & M

             
Tears filled Carrie’s eyes as quiet sobs shook her body.  Rose and Moses had made it!  They were safe in Pennsylvania with Aunt Abby.   Relief flooded her body as visions of their struggling through months of winter cold vanished from her mind.  It had taken the Underground Railroad over two months to deliver the letter, but there was no telling what route it had been forced to take.

             
Quiet contentment filled Carrie as she stared into the flames of the fire.   Rose and Moses were safe.  They had accomplished the first step toward fulfilling their dreams.  Unbidden, her thoughts turned to Robert.  But it wasn’t the longing for him that shook her to the core.  It was the sudden intense feeling he was in danger.  Gasping, she gripped the letter tighter and stared out the window, shaken with the knowledge something horrible was happening to Robert.

             
She slipped to her knees and buried her head in her hands.  Quietly, she began to pray.

Robert had never been
so miserable in his life as he was now.  After the successful moves to cut the North’s communication lines, General Jackson had ordered the troops to move on to Romney.  They had marched headlong into the worst weather they had encountered to this point.  The temperature plunged dramatically while snow and sleet pelted them and coated their bodies.  Underneath their feet, the sleet transformed itself into a solid sheet of ice. 

             
The first steep incline had forced them off the roads and into the ditches and open fields.  It was the only way they could make any progress. 

             
“Look at that, Lieutenant,” Hobbs yelled, pointing back toward the road as Robert’s troops scrambled to gain footing on the steep hill. 

             
Robert glance back.  “Good Lord,” he muttered.  “They’ll never make it.”  He stopped and watched as the first of the supply wagons reached the hill.  The smoothly shod horses were doing their best to haul the wagons, but the slippery road was too much for them.  Robert groaned as he watched their struggle - one slipped, fell, and fought frantically to regain his footing as the other horses slid around him.  The shouts of men filled the air as they encouraged the horses and tried to force them to move forward.