The Big Gun (Dusty Fog's Civil War Book 3) (22 page)

‘
Why
shouldn’t you?’ Eric demanded, eyeing his cousin with
suspicion.

‘
Well,
I was fixing on going down to Salty Annie’s—’ Titus
answered.

‘
Shucks, that’s no fitten place for a Gawd-fearing, upright
young feller like you,’ Eric interrupted. ‘Stay put. Like you said,
that boat’s meant for two fellers to row it.’

While Staunce took a seat in
the stern, Eric shoved the boat back into deeper water. Boarding
it, the young Negro took one of the oars. Reluctantly, Titus helped
his cousin to row in the direction of the island. Even in the
darkness, Staunce could tell that the lanky man was very nervous.
Probably, the captain mused, that was because he lacked
Eric
’s
courage and was frightened of the consequences if he should be
caught by the soldiers who occupied Cable Grange.

Guided by Eric, the boat swung across the
lake and towards the rear of island. Although the main section of
the landing beach was illuminated by a pair of cressets, they were
in need of replenishment and threw out little light. Once clear of
them, the rest of the shore lay in satisfactory darkness.

Peering between the two
Negroes, Staunce sought for any suggestion that they might have
been seen. He failed to detect anything to alarm him. If there had
been guards assigned to keep watch on the beach, they were not
carrying out their duties in an efficient manner. However, Harry
had stated that strict attendance to military duties was not a
conspicuous virtue among Lyle
’s soldiers.

Certainly nobody challenged, or gave other
indications of being aware of the boat as it ran silently through
the gloom and grounded its bows a short distance from the bank.
Climbing out, the men made their way cautiously and watchfully
ashore.

‘
This
way!’ Titus hissed and his voice was throbbing with strain as he
darted nervous glances around him. ‘Mama Lukie said for me to fetch
you-all to the workshop.’

Without bothering to answer,
for it was neither the time nor the place for conversation, Staunce
and Eric followed the lanky man towards the big building. Leading
the way to a side door near a lean-to which housed the
Cables
’
carriage and other vehicles, Titus let them precede him through it.
The interior of the workshop was sparsely lit by a couple of
hanging lamps and it appeared to be deserted.

Concluding that Mama Lukie had
not yet arrived, Staunce gave his attention to the second of Eli
Cable
’s
machines. Few details of its appearance could be seen, for it was
encased in a box-like iron structure which hid the engine and
control platform. The metal sides were pierced with rifle-slits and
the Williams Rapid Fire cannons were positioned to fire
respectively to the front and the rear. Although the door in the
side was open, none of the lamps’ light reached beyond it and
Staunce could not make out anything of the interior. For all that,
he assumed the machine was practically ready to be put into
operation.

‘
Where’s Mama Lukie?’ Eric demanded, turning to his cousin
when they were about half way to the machine.

‘
She’ll be along,’ Titus answered, but his eyes were darting
from point to point as if he was expecting somebody to already be
present.

‘
I
don’t like this, Captain St—’ Eric began, returning his gaze to the
Englishman.

At that moment, footsteps
sounded from the doorway by which the men had entered. They were
heavy, hurrying, masculine feet and threw an ominous note into the
proceedings. Especially when taken in conjunction with the two
figures who jumped from the machine
’s doorway.

They were dressed in the
uniforms of the United States
’ Artillery!

First out, going to the left,
was a big, burly, black bearded sergeant with a heavy
saber in his right
fist. Next, moving to the right, came an equally large enlisted man
who carried a Spencer rifle and turned its barrel in Staunce’s
direction.

‘
I
got them here for
you, Sergeant Block!’ Titus announced, scuttling forward
hurriedly.

‘
You
bastard!’ Eric shouted and sprang after his cousin.

Bringing up his left hand,
Block
—who
had been promoted to replace the previous sergeant after he had
been killed in a quarrel over a card game—thrust Titus to the
right. Then he went into a pretty fair lunge with the saber. Unable
to halt, Eric advanced to meet the out-driving point. It pierced
his left breast and continued to burst out at the rear. Killed
instantly, Eric hung on the blade until Block wrenched it out and
allowed him to fall.

Although Titus had been thrust
to safety, he came between Staunce and the enlisted
man
’s rifle.
Trying to make the most of the chance presented to him, the
Englishman flashed his right hand towards the flap of his holster.
Just an instant too late, he remembered having heard footsteps
coming from behind him. While he had become aware that there was
probably another enemy to his rear, the realization, or
recollection, had not come quite soon enough.

Having hidden in the lean-to
until the men had entered, Private Grilpan was on hand and close
enough to prevent the Englishman from drawing a weapon. Darting
forward, the soldier swung the butt of his Spencer against the back
of Staunce
’s
head.

For a moment, bright lights
seemed to burst inside Staunce
’s skull. Then everything went black for
him.

‘
Oh my
Lord!’ Titus croaked, staring horrified at the twitching, gory body
of his cousin. ‘You killed him!’

‘
So
what?’ Block countered calmly.

‘
Lordy, lord!’ Titus moaned. ‘I’ve got to get away from
here. Mama Lukie—’

‘
Shut
up, you stupid black bastard!’ Block snarled. ‘Go make sure none of
the blacks’ve heard anything, Dasour. Make sure that bastard’s not
faking, Gril. I said shut up!’ The last words were directed at the
whining, clearly terrified Negro. ‘We’ll not let anything happen to
you.’

‘
You-all can’t stop what she’ll do to me!’ Titus moaned. No
longer did he pretend to have no belief in the powers of the
conjure woman. Instead, he was filled with superstitious dread. So
much so that he could barely stand, or take his eyes from Eric’s
corpse. ‘She’ll put a hex on me and I’ll—’

‘
He’s
alive, Blocky,’ Grilpan announced, having knelt by Staunce and
conducted a perfunctory examination. Unbuckling the officer’s waist
belt, he dragged it and its weapons free. ‘That’s how Lyle said for
us to get him.’

‘
Nobody’s heard nothing, Blocky,’ Dasour called from the
door.

‘
There, you ignorant black bastard!’ the sergeant raged at
the quivering Negro. ‘Nobody heard him yell out. So how’ll she know
what’s happened. She reckons this—’ He kicked the corpse
contemptuously and started to wipe the blood from his saber on
Eric’s clothing— ‘son-of-a-bitch is with the Cable gal.’

‘
She—she’ll know!’ Titus insisted.

‘
Listen!’ Block snarled, raising the saber so that its point
touched the black throat of the cringing man. ‘I’ll tell you what
we’ll do. We’ll fasten some weights to his legs. Then Dasour’ll
help you tote him to a boat. You can row him into the lake and drop
him over. That way she’ll never find out what happened.’

‘
I—I—!’
Titus
began.

‘
Go
and fetch the old whore down to see what we’ve done to her son,’
Block growled over his shoulder.

‘
N—no!’ Titus almost screamed, eyes rolling and face wet
with perspiration. ‘I’ll do like you say.’

‘
I
figured you would,’ Block sneered. ‘Lend him a hand, Dasour. Come
on, Gril, we’ll haul this bastard up to the house.’

‘
What
do you reckon Lyle’ll do with him, Blocky?’ Grilpan inquired as
they grasped Staunce by the arms and started to drag him from the
workshop.

‘
I
dunno,’ the sergeant admitted. ‘But I’m willing to bet on one
thing. No matter who he is, nor what he’s doing here, he won’t
leave alive.’

‘
You
reckon Lyle’ll chance killing him?’ Grilpan asked.

‘
I
reckon he might at
that,’ Block confirmed. ‘He’s got him some mighty big ambitions and
he’s not about to let anybody spoil them.’

‘
Us
knowing so much of what’s been going on,’ Grilpan said
thoughtfully. ‘We ought to be able to do pretty well for ourselves
after the War.’

‘
I
wouldn’t count on it,’ Block warned. ‘If he offers us anything,
we’ll take it. But he’s one bastard I wouldn’t want to try to
blackmail.’

Being aware of the kind of man the sergeant
was, Grilpan felt impressed and revised his views on the hoped-for
life of wealthy ease that he had hoped could be obtained from
Lyle.

~*~

Although Titus was shivering,
fear lent him the strength to help carry out
Block
’s
orders. His hope that Dasour would
not accompany him came about and he wasted
no time in rowing his burden away from the island. Once he had
reached an area of deep water, he mustered his courage and started
to raise the body. Muttering prayers that were incongruous when
taken with the evil work he was doing, he tipped his cousin over
the side. Watching Eric’s body sink, Titus reached for the oars
with trembling hands. He had no intention of returning to the
island. Instead, he decided that he would make for the shore close
to where he had picked up his victims, leave the boat and head
north on foot. Almost as soon as he had stepped ashore, he found
himself confronted by the lean figure of a soldier.

‘
Howdy,’ greeted Kiowa Cotton and slipped his bowie knife
from its sheath. ‘I reckon you and me’d best have us a lil
talk.’

Although
Captain Douglas St. John Staunce had
recovered from the blow on the head while being transported to the
main house, he had managed to prevent his captors from realizing
that he was conscious. At first, the motion of being half dragged
and half carried had hidden his involuntary reactions to
recovering. Then he had had sufficient presence of mind to
understand that resistance would avail him nothing. He was unarmed
and in no physical shape to try to fight off two heavier men. So,
instead of struggling futilely, he continued to dangle limply in
their hands and allowed his strength to ebb back slowly.

On reaching the
mansion
’s
front door, Block kicked at it until Oscar came and admitted them.
Shoving by the butler, the sergeant and Grilpan hauled their burden
across the hall and into the dining room. Still maintaining his
pose of being unconscious, Staunce peered about him through slitted
eyes. Coming to their feet at the big table, Major Lyle and Monica
Cable—who was dressed elegantly and displayed no alarm at the
intrusion—gazed at the newcomers.

‘
We
got him, major,’ Block announced unnecessarily. ‘Grilpan had to
club him down, but he’s still alive.’

‘
Put
him on a chair and
search him,’ Lyle ordered. ‘Was he alone?’

‘
Nobody’s with him,’ Block answered evasively.

Realizing the futility of
opposition at that moment, Staunce allowed the enlisted men to
carry out their superior
’s wishes. Once his fake identification documents
had been removed, he began to groan his way convincingly towards
‘consciousness’.

Lyle studied the documents,
then flung them onto the table. Filling a glass with water, he
strolled forward and flung its contents into the
Englishman
’s
face. Staunce reacted naturally, for his eyes had been closed and
he was not expecting to be doused. Jerking and almost falling off
the chair, he shook his head, opened his eyes and glared
around.

‘
What—Where—How—?’ Staunce gasped, using the Teutonic accent
but slurring the words as if he had just recovered. ‘What’s the
meaning of this? Why was I attacked?’

‘
Why
were you sneaking about the island?’ Lyle countered and indicated
the documents on the table. ‘If you’re Captain
Rudolph
Schmidt—’

‘
I’m
not. My name is
Ludwig
Schmidt,’ Staunce corrected, knowing that the major was
trying to trap him.

‘
If
you
are
Captain
Ludwig
Schmidt, of the Adjutant General’s Department, you could
have come across the bridge openly and with full military
honors.’

‘
Not
if what Miss Cable told us—’

‘
The
little bitch did go to Culver’s headquarters, Kade!’ Monica
yelped.