The Color of Your Skin Ain’t the Color of Your Heart (23 page)

“Why would he have done that, Mrs. Clairborne?”

“I don’t know. He seemed to be afraid of something.”

“And you say that was … five years ago?”

“At least, Mr. Sneed … perhaps six by now.”

“I see. And do you, ah … do you still have this gold?”

“All except what I took to—that is … except for what my daughter took to Mr. Taylor a week ago. I did not feel it was my right to use it, you see. It does belong to my brother after all. But times became difficult, with my fa—that is, after my husband left for the war. And now with all our slaves gone and only the few hired darkies we’ve been able to afford to keep on. He has had to go north to find work, you see, to help with our expenses.”

“Ah … I see.”

“I keep things going as best I can, with what he is able to send me. But it has been very difficult. Surely this does not look like a wealthy place to you, does it, Mr. Sneed?”

“Uh, no … yes, I see what you mean.”

“That is why finally I had no choice,” Katie continued, and I could hardly keep myself from laughing to hear how different she sounded, “but to take some of the larger stones in to see what Mr. Taylor could sell them for.”

“Unfortunately, Mrs. Clairborne,” now said Mr. Sneed, “that gold may not have been your brother’s at all.”

“I thought you said that—uh … my daughter said that it was from a robbery from only a year ago.”

“Yes, well … we are, as I say, looking into the matter. May I see the rest of the gold?”

“Yes, I have it right here.”

Katie rose, walked across the room, and picked up the bag where we had put it on the sideboard. As she did, she glanced into the kitchen and caught my eye where I was hiding. I nodded and gave her a wink to tell her she was doing great. But her eyes were big!

Stay calm, Katie!
I thought.
Don’t let him see you looking
like that!

She took the bag back and handed it to Mr. Sneed.

He opened it and looked inside. He seemed surprised.

“This is all there is!” he said in disappointment. “This is hardly more than a couple hundred dollars.”

“Except for what I took … except for what we took to the bank.”

“I see. Hmm … well, I am sorry, Mrs. Clairborne,” he went on, and I could tell from his voice that he was annoyed, “but I am going to have to appropriate this. If it is found that there is no connection between your brother’s gold and the robbery, it will be returned to you. You’re
sure
this is all of it? It was my understanding there was ten times this amount.”

“Yes, sir … just one small bag,” said Katie. “Perhaps he did not give it all to me.”

“Hmm … as I understand also,” he said, “Ward Daniels has a brother?”

“Yes, that would be my … uh, my brother Templeton.”

“Right. Is it possible he has the rest of the gold?”

I heard Katie attempt a laugh.

“I seriously doubt it, Mr. Sneed. Whenever Templeton comes around here, he is asking
me
for money. If he ever had any gold, I imagine he gambled it away years ago.”

“Do you know his whereabouts?”

“No, sir. I haven’t seen him … uh, for some time.”

“I see. All right, then. I had best be going.”

He rose and walked to the door. Katie got up and followed him outside.

“Good day, Mrs. Clairborne,” he said.

“Good day, uh … Mr. Sneed,” replied Katie.

She stood on the porch until he was gone, then came back inside and collapsed into a chair.

I ran in from the kitchen.

“You were some pumpkins, Katie!” I laughed. “You almost had me starting to believe you were your mother too!”

Emma came bounding down the stairs a minute later full of questions, and I ran out to the blacksmith’s shop to tell Aleta she could stop.

K
ATIE
AND
M
R.
T
AYLOR

32

T
HAT AFTERNOON
K
ATIE TOOK A LONG NAP
. T
HE
interview with Sneed, after all that had happened the day before and the long ride to Oakwood and back, had exhausted her. After her nap we had another talk about what to do.

We still didn’t know if Sneed was who he said he was. But we knew one thing—those men who had been here twice were after Katie’s gold! Neither of us were too confident that they’d give up, even after what Katie had told them. The men who were involved with Sneed sounded mean, like they were the kind of men who would kill to get what they wanted. And gold could make people kill too. It got inside them and filled them with greed and hate and envy. “‘Assayer,”’ she read me out of the Webster’s from the

That night Katie looked up the word
assayer
in the dictionary. bookshelf, “‘one who examines metals to find their quantity, purity, and value.”’

“Maybe he is from the government after all,” I said. “But that still doesn’t explain what he was doing with those other men and why they’re looking for both your uncles.”

She put the dictionary away and we sat thinking.

“I still don’t understand,” said Katie. “If that man works for the government, why is he taking my mama’s and uncle’s gold? I thought working for the government meant you were honest.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I sure never knew anyone from the government in my life.”

“He just
took
that gold, just like he took the piece Mr. Taylor gave him,” Katie continued, more riled up than I had ever seen her about just about anything. “I don’t know what to call it but stealing.”

“Maybe just because he works for the government doesn’t necessarily mean he can be trusted,” I said.

“I don’t know,” said Katie, “but I was stupid to take the gold to the bank. Now it’s gone.”

“I don’t know what else you could have done,” I said. “You had to pay off your mama’s loan.”

“But it didn’t pay it off,” said Katie. “Mr. Taylor’s still got it … if he didn’t give it to Mr. Sneed. Just what kind of a name is that, anyway? I don’t like it. And I don’t like him! In fact,” Katie added, getting that determined expression, “I’m going to go get it back.”

“But you just gave it to him,” I said. “That was our plan.”

“Not from Mr. Sneed,” she said, “from the bank. If Mr. Taylor won’t put that gold on the loan, then there’s no reason he should keep it. So I’m going to go get it back!”

And she meant it too, because the next morning she and I were off in the buggy to town again, and she was still acting mighty determined. We were doing so much traveling around lately that Aleta and Emma hardly thought anything about us leaving them alone now. But with all the goingson and so many strange men around, we asked Jeremiah to come out again and be there when we were gone.

We got to town and went straight to the bank. Katie marched in without even waiting for me. I followed behind her a little timidly. Any other time I’d have waited outside, but I didn’t want to miss this! And I was her cousin now too. Maybe I had the right to go with her.

She went straight to Mr. Taylor’s desk. He looked up without expression. “I’ve come about the gold,” said Katie.

“You know about the problem with it, then, I take it?” he said.

“Mr. Sneed came to see my mother two days ago,” said Katie. “He told her he had to take the gold because it was stolen.”

“Precisely,” said Mr. Taylor, “which means that the gold you gave me could not be applied to your mother’s loan.”

“My mother doesn’t believe what Mr. Sneed said about the gold being stolen,” said Katie. “He said it was from something that happened a year ago, but she has had it for five or six years.”

“Be that as it may,” said Mr. Taylor, “I’m afraid there is nothing I can do about it, Miss Clairborne. He is an attorney and the appointed governmental agent.”

“He took all the rest of the gold too that we were going to use for expenses.”

“I am sorry,” said the banker. “That is unfortunate. But my hands are tied. As long as Mr. Sneed does not release the funds to the bank, I cannot apply it to your mother’s loan.”

“But what if he is just …
stealing
our gold?”

“That could hardly be. I told you, he has been appointed by the government.”

“Well, I don’t believe what he said,” insisted Katie. “Did you give him all the gold I brought in?” she asked.

“Of course not, only the one piece.”

“Where is the rest?”

“Still in the bank safe.”

“Then I want it back,” said Katie.

“Until I find out whether or not it was stolen, Miss Clairborne, I have a duty to—” “It’s not stolen,” interrupted Katie, as close to getting angry as I’d seen her in a long while. “Mr. Sneed is not telling the truth. So if you won’t take the gold for my mama’s loan, then I want it back!”

By now her voice was getting loud and the bank manager was a little unnerved. Heads were turning and people were starting to stare.

“
Now,
Mr. Taylor,” said Katie. “I want it back today. The bank has no right to keep it.”

“Calm down, Miss Clairborne,” he said in a soft voice, nervously adjusting his tie. “All right, if that is the way you want it, whether it is stolen is no concern of mine—” “It’s
not
stolen, I tell you.”

“Fine, fine … please just keep your voice down,” said Mr. Taylor, now speaking in just above a whisper. “You can have the gold back and work out the legalities with the sheriff in Oakwood or Mr. Sneed or anyone else for all I care. But your mother’s loan remains due in less than three weeks.”

He rose from his desk, walked across the floor, trying to smile at a few people who were still staring from the brief commotion Katie’s raised voice had caused, and disappeared behind the counter. Katie and I stood there in silence. The other people in the bank gradually returned to their business. However Katie might have tried to keep news about the gold quiet before, people had heard about it now!

Mr. Taylor returned a few minutes later.

“Here you are, Miss Clairborne,” he said coldly. “But as I said, this changes nothing.”

“That may be, but at least I have my uncle’s gold back.”

“Perhaps, but if the loan is not paid, I will have no choice but to begin foreclosure proceedings.”

Katie turned to go.

“I understand from Mr. Sneed,” said the banker’s voice behind her, “that your father is working in the North.”

“Yes … yes, that’s right,” said Katie.

“No one around here saw a thing of him when he returned from the war. When did he go up north?”

“A while ago,” said Katie. “He had to find work. Good day, Mr. Taylor.”

H
ENRY'S
E
ARS
P
ERK
U
P

33

J
EREMIAH AND HENRY WERE ALMOST LIKE OUR
eyes and ears in town.

It’s a funny thing about some white folks—not like Katie or Mr. Daniels and people like that, but white folks that can’t see people of different color skin for who they really are. They figure if people talk and act different, that’s the same as being stupid.

But like Henry said, it’s who we are on the inside that matters, what kind of person we are, which direction we’re moving, which direction we’re growing, what we’re making of ourselves, and whether we’re letting God make us into the sons and daughters He wants us to be.

What I’m getting at is that people tend to look past folks like Henry and even Jeremiah because they’re quieter and of a different color and maybe can’t talk like they’re educated, which neither of them were. And it makes them blind to how smart and shrewd and clever Henry really was.

So Henry managed to see and hear all kinds of things that people never suspected because they ignored him, or, if they saw him, they thought no more of his overhearing them than they would if a dog was standing next to them. So Henry followed people without them even knowing it, and walked into stores and always kept his eyes and ears open, and folks never knew how he was looking out for us and protecting us and how much news he brought us about the town and what folks were saying.

One time he even told us something that Mrs. Hammond had said about us, which made us both laugh and get angry at the same time, and she’d never suspected he was even around.