Soul Catcher (29 page)

^{He helped her to stand. "Let's go."}

^{* * *}

^{A
fter getting out of the river, he met up with the others. They searched unsuccessfully for Little Strofe's mule for a while, but they had to put some distance between themselves and Brown's party, so they decided finally to put Henry behind Little Strofe on the pack mule, while the girl rode behind Cain. They headed south for some time before crossing a stream and then riding northwest to throw off their pursuers. They kept to the back roads and little-traveled cart paths, avoiding any sort of contact with their fellow man. When they'd see a rider or a wagon coming the other way, they'd slip off the path and into the woods until the other had passed by. Just before}

^{nightfall, they pitched camp in a gulley deep in the woods so their fire wouldn't be seen. Cain had finally had a chance to change his clothes, but the damp and cold had sunk into his bones, and he was chilled now. The good feeling he'd had just the day before had vanished completely, and he felt old and raggedy, his leg throbbing like a toothache. Even the laudanum didn't help.}

^{Cain met with Strofe to broach the subject of having someone stand guard through the night--in case Brown found their trail. He suggested two-hour shifts, with Cain volunteering to take the first.}

^{Later, Little Strofe came over and handed him a plate of biscuits and salt pork and beans, and a cup of steaming coffee.}

^{"Thank you, Mr. Strofe."}

^{"How's the arm?"}

^{He'd almost forgotten about the wound. He touched his arm. It was sore, but it didn't hurt as much as the rest of him. "All right, I reckon."}

^{"This is hers," Little Strofe said, setting down another plate beside him. "She wouldn't take it from me. Figured you might have b-better luck."}

^{"I doubt it," Cain said.}

^{"She don't eat she'll g-get sick."}

^{"I can't make her eat. In fact, it seems like no one can make her do a goddamn thing she doesn't have a mind to."}

^{"Told you she was headstrong," Little Strofe replied. "Mr. Eberly'll be right cross anything was to happen to her."}

^{"Then that'll be just too damn bad, won't it?" Cain snapped at him. "He should have thought of that before she ran off."}

^{Though he knew he wouldn't get a penny if he didn't bring her back in one piece and would more than likely lose his horse and get thrown in debtor's prison to boot, he was getting sick and tired of hearing about what Eberly would or wouldn't approve of. If he'd wanted her back so badly, why didn't he go after her himself?
To hell with him,
Cain thought. Here he'd been shot at and knifed and almost drowned, not to mention threatened by Preacher. He had a good mind to up and quit, to send a telegraph to Eberly saying, You want her back, old man, then go and get her yourself. I'm done.}

^{But when he'd had a chance to simmer down and reflect on things, of course, he had a change of heart. After all, they'd already done the hard part, and if things went smoothly they'd be back in Richmond in less than a fortnight. He thought of the five hundred dollars, and that went a good ways to improving his mood.}

^{After he'd eaten his own supper, he picked up the other plate and hobbled over to where the girl sat chained to the tree, with Henry a few feet away. She sat with a blanket wrapped around her, except for her shoulders, which were bare. The night was chilly and he could see her lips trembling.}

^{"Are you cold?" he asked.}

^{She didn't respond.}

^{"I have your supper here."}

^{"I ain't hungry."}

^{"You got to eat sooner or later."}

^{"I don't
have
to do nothing," she hissed.}

^{"She don't want it, massa," said Henry, "I'll take it."}

^{"You fixing to starve yourself?" he asked her.}

^{"You let me worry about that."}

^{Cain squatted down so he was at eye level with her.}

^{"Now here's the problem. I'm responsible for getting you back safe and sound. I don't do that, I don't get paid."}

^{"So you saving my neck today was only on account I'm worth something to you. That what you're saying?"}

^{"Pretty much. But whatever my reasons, you still need to eat."}

^{"Name me one good reason why."}

^{"You want to live, don't you?"}

^{She let out a thin, sarcastic laugh.}

^{"That's a good one, a white man telling a slave what she got to live for!"}

^{"You gone eat that or not, Rosetta?" Henry interrupted again.}

^{"Shut up, Henry," she said to him.}

^{"Mr. Cain bein' nice to you. Why you gots to be so low-down mean all the time?"}

^{"I'm warning you. Stay out of this." Then to Cain she said, "You know what I got to live for? Going back to my cage."}

^{"Didn't sound like a cage to me. From what I heard, this Eberly treated you well."}

^{"Huh!" she snorted. "You don't know nothin' 'bout him."}

^{He put the plate of food next to her and stood. He told himself to drop it. That it wasn't his business. He'd tried at least. Whatever Eberly's reasons for wanting her back, whatever her reasons for running--they weren't his concern. Still, he had to admit to a certain curiosity about this woman. He'd never seen her like before, certainly not in a slave.}

^{"When did he sell your child?"}

^{"What difference it make to you?"}

^{"I'm just asking."}

^{For the first time she glanced up at him. In the light from the fire her eyes blazed with a silent rage, like those of a bear cornered by a pack of dogs.}

^{"He sold him downriver when he was just a baby. I ain't seen him since."}

^{"How long ago was that?"}

^{"I reckon I was about fourteen then. Israel, he'd be eight come November."}

^{Twenty-two,
thought Cain. She looked older than that, especially her eyes. She had knowing, lived-in-the-world eyes.}

^{They were both silent for a moment.}

^{It slipped out before he knew it: "I'm sorry," he said. He'd never said such a thing before to a slave he was returning.}

^{"Huh," she snorted.}

^{He was going to say something else but decided he'd already said too much. Instead, he stood and started to walk away.}

^{"You got young'uns, Cain?"}

^{He was surprised to hear her refer to him that way. Runaways, if they called him anything at all, called him massa or Mr. Cain. He hesitated, then said, "I never had any children." He added with a smile, "'Least none I knew of."}

^{"Then you don't know what it's like to lose 'em."}

^{"I suppose you're right. I'll just leave the food right here," he said. "In case you change your mind."}

^{He went over and sat down with his back against a pine tree.
Hell with her,
he thought. When she got good and hungry, she'd eat. Later, he watched her lean forward onto her knees, fold her hands as best she could with the shackles on, and pray. It appeared that she was adjusting to the notion of her return.}

^{In the morning he saw that the plate he'd left for her was empty, licked clean.
So,
he thought.}

^{Chapter 10.}

^{F
or the next couple of days they saw no sign of Brown's party.}

^{They kept to the back roads, traveling slowly and in a westerly direction, and avoiding the heavily trafficked Boston-New York turnpike. Some of the roads were hardly more than cow paths that meandered through fields and woods. They ran into hedgerows and laurel thickets so dense they had to stop and retrace their steps; they got entangled and cut themselves on brambles and briars. And everywhere they confronted the ubiquitous New England stone wall, which seemed to Cain, at least, like a labyrinth designed by these blasted Yankees to trap them and prevent them from ever returning home. One time they were crossing a swamp, and Little Strofe had gotten sunk up to the stirrups in muck. The others had to throw him ropes and pull him out. By the third day, Preacher was starting to grumble about their lack of progress. "Hell, we'll never get home at this rate." He was for abandoning this course and heading directly south, returning to Richmond by the shortest route, even if it meant going through New York City. Cain, though, worried that Brown's party might come upon them if they returned to the main road. There they'd be outnumbered and outgunned, and would stand little chance in a direct fight. He thought they should continue proceeding west and cross the Hudson well north of the city, perhaps head out as far as Harrisburg before turning south into Virginia. Anyone following them wouldn't suspect that.}

^{"They ain't coming after us, I tell you," Preacher said as they stopped at a crossroads. One sign pointed south toward New Haven, another north to Hartford. Preacher wanted them to turn south. "We done put the fear a God in them Yank sons-a-bitches."}

^{"I wouldn't be so sure," Cain said, picking a sharp-edged beggar's- button that had gotten tangled in his pant leg.}

^{"They ain't gonna risk their hides again for this pair," he said, indicating the two runaways with a dismissive flick of his derby- capped head.}

^{"You don't know these Yankees like I do," Cain advised. "That Brown is a fanatic."}

^{"I know he ain't got much stomach for a fight," Preacher said with a laugh. "You see the way them boys cut and run when the lead was a-flyin'?"}

^{"I wouldn't be so sure," Cain said. "Besides, we're more likely to run into abolitionists if we take the turnpike."}

^{"Dang, I ain't never seen such a old lady as you, Cain. Frettin' over ever' little thing."}

^{"Looks like we could save us two days' travel if we head south," Strofe piped up as he looked over his maps. "Follow the coast. Take the ferry across Staten Island to Bayonne."}

^{"New York has its vigilance committee, too," Cain cautioned.}

^{"I'm just lookin' to get us home sooner."}

^{"Maybe you ought to listen to Mr. Cain," Little Strofe said.}

^{"And whyn't you keep your snout out of it, brother? You don't know what the hell you're jabbering about."}

^{"But he does."}

^{"You do what you want," Cain warned Strofe. "You run into trouble, you can tell Eberly it was your idea. I'm taking the girl and sticking to the back roads."}

^{With that, Strofe backed off on the notion, and they continued on as they had.}