The Sharecropper Prodigy (8 page)

             
Ben tied his unconscious papa to a tree with a piece of rope he carried with him at all times. He made sure it was tight enough that it would be impossible for him to free himself. He had looked at Rachel and assessed the situation. Ben was strong for his size, but he didn’t weigh much more than she did. If he tried to carry her, he would have to stop too many times to rest. He decided the best thing to do was run to the house and hitch the mule to the wagon. That was the reason he’d tied Rube to the tree, far away from where Rachel was lying.

*****

              Ben had run the old mule a lot faster that he and the old rickety wagon were accustomed to traveling. He knew Rachel probably didn’t need the bumpy ride, but he also knew she needed medical attention as soon as possible. Ben pulled the wagon right up to the front door, although many people had been severely admonished for driving on George Winston’s immaculate lawn. He ran to the door and didn’t bother knocking, instead running in and yelling for Rachel’s father as loud as he could. After the third time, Mr. Winston came running down the stairs, buttoning his shirt. He saw Ben and knew that something terrible must have happened for him to come bursting into his house this way.

             
“What’s the matter Ben? Is there trouble out at your place?” Mr. Winston asked, his eyes wide with surprise.

             
“It’s Miss Rachel, sir. She’s been hurt bad. We have to get her to a doctor quick.”

             
“Where is she now?” Winston asked.

             
“In the back of our wagon, sir. I drove her over here as fast as I could get our old mule to run. She may need a hospital instead of a doctor. I don’t know exactly how bad she’s hurt.”

             
Winston had already started running to the door. He hurried out to the wagon and saw his beautiful daughter laying on the loose cotton that still remained in the back. He saw she was naked from the waist down and that her blouse was torn and her breasts exposed. When he saw the swollen face and the blood on her thighs, he immediately began sobbing. He could tell what had happened to her and his feelings kept going from getting her help as fast as he could, to rage for whoever had done this to her.

             
“Get my car and bring it around here quick, Ben. The keys are in it. Nobody but he and Rachel had ever been allowed to drive his car. It was his pride and joy, but right now it meant nothing to him as he kept looking at his daughter and sobbing.

             
Ben fired up the engine and pulled the car right up to the back of the wagon. He and Winston gingerly lifted Rachel’s battered and limp body out of the wagon and laid her down in the back seat of the car. Then Winston yelled for Ben to get in. The car took off like it had been shot out of a cannon, Winston slinging rocks all over his manicured lawn as soon as the car hit the gravel driveway.

             
When they had gotten on the main road to Collinwood, Winston finally asked Ben what had happened. Ben hesitated for a moment before he spoke.

             
“It was Rube, sir. He’s the one who did it.”

             
“Your papa? What did he do?” as if that question needed to be asked.

             
“I’ll never call him my papa again as long as I live,” Ben said through clenched teeth. “He raped her, Mr. Winston. He raped her and he beat her.”

             
“Where is he now?” Winston asked.

             
“I got him tied to a tree near the old tenet house that burned a few years back. If I hadn’t gotten there when I did…..” Ben paused for a minute, looking back at Rachel, making sure she was still holding on. “I heard what I thought was a scream down in the woods. I grabbed a hoe handle and ran down there, thinking Rube might be after Nellie. I knew he’d been drinkin’ a lot. I followed the trail through the woods where he’d dragged her and finally found them. He was sitting on top of her with a knife in his hand. I believe he was going to kill her and throw her down in the old well, to try to cover up what he’d done to her. I cracked him over the head a few times with the hoe handle, then tied him up good. Then I went and got the mule and wagon.”

             
“Well, you saved her life, son. Or at least if she pulls through you did. I want you to know how much I appreciate it. But when I get my hands on that worthless daddy of yours, I will probably kill him.”

             
“You’ll have to get to him before I do,” Ben said

*****

              When Doctor Killian got Rachel properly sedated, he saw that most of her injuries were superficial, other than the tearing of her vaginal area from the violent rape. She had some loose teeth where Rube had smashed her in the mouth, and a minor concussion. The cuts and bruises would take some time to heal. What he was most concerned with was her mental state. She was definitely in shock, and judging from her demeanor, he had no answer for how long it would take her recover from the toll the savage attack had taken on her psychologically. Doctor Killian said it would take a lot of time and patience, and especially love.

             
“She’s not gonna be the same girl for quite a while,” he told George. “She’s gonna need lots of rest, and there are probably times when she will want to be left alone. The best thing to do in those circumstances is to honor her wishes. She’s lucky young Ben got there when he did, or it would have been much worse. He would probably have killed her.”

             
The doctor looked at Ben, wondering what
his
mental state must be right now. His own father had just raped and brutally beaten the young lady who was better to him than anyone else on earth. Doc Killian knew about how Rachel had always cared for Ben and spent her own money to buy him books. She had confided in the doctor and questioned him on how a young negro boy, who had everything working against him, could retain knowledge so effortlessly and had such a burning desire to learn.

             
“When can I take her home? George asked.

             
“I’d like to have the ambulance take her to the hospital in Gadsden and have some x-rays done just to make sure she don’t have any broken bones or internal bleeding. I’m pretty sure she has neither one, but we need to be sure. They may want to keep her a day or so. That will be up to them. I had my nurse call and they are sending an ambulance now. They should be here almost any time.” The doctor paused for a moment. “George, she’s gonna need somebody with her almost all the time around the clock for a few days. I know you’re a busy man, so you might want to get one of the ladies from the church, or else hire somebody to help you.” He lit a cigarette and continued, “I know you want to punish the man who did this to her. But you need to concentrate on bein’ there for her right now. Let the sheriff handle that. My nurse has already called him and told him what happened. He’s on his way now to the place Ben said he had him restrained.”

*****

              Ben rode with George Winston to the Holy Name of Jesus hospital, about twenty miles away in Gadsden. Not a word was spoken between them for the first few miles. Ben was looking out the window, watching the trees and power poles go by. He turned to George, “Mr. Winston. I would sure appreciate it if you would let me be the one to stay with Miss Rachel. She’s been better to me than anybody on God’s earth, and I want to watch after her.”

             
“Son, you saved her life. That’s payment enough. A woman is probably what she needs to…….”

             
“I promise, sir, there ain’t no lady in the world, black or white, that will take better care of her than me. As for payment, I could never live long enough to pay her back for all she’s done for me.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

             
Rube Evans wrists had deep, bloody gashes where he’d struggled trying to free himself from the bondage his son had put him in. He had almost been like one of those animals caught in a steel trap that chews its own leg off. The back of his overalls were worn almost completely through from pushing himself up and down against the rough bark of the red oak tree. By the time the sheriff found him, he was worn completely out and his mouth felt as dry as a box of powder.  Sheriff Tucker and one of his deputies held their pistols on Rube as another deputy cut the blood soaked rope from his wrists.

             
“Now, Rube. Don’t you try to give us no trouble,” the sheriff said. “If you do, we’ll shoot you ‘fore you have time to blink. You understand me?”

             
Rube didn’t speak. He just nodded his head. A head that was pounding from two hard blows from a thick hoe handle made of seasoned hickory. Rube’s daughter, Nellie, was standing a few feet behind the sheriff. She had come with them to show them where the old shack had once stood. Nellie had ambivalent emotions about the sight of the man before her. On one hand, she was glad he was going someplace where he’d never be able to bother her again. But at the same time, he
was
her papa, and her mama’s husband. As a father, about the only thing he had contributed was the seed that created her and her brothers. He had provided a meager living for them, although she and her brothers did most of the work. As a husband, he’d given his wife seven children that she loved, but that almost killed her. Nellie didn’t know if there had ever been any love between Rube and Evergreen or not. Maybe at the very beginning. That was what she was going to believe, anyway.

             
Nellie didn’t know what would become of her, her brothers, and her mama, but she couldn’t imagine things being any worse than they already were. In fact, she didn’t see how they could help but be
better
off. She watched in silence as the deputies led him away in chains. She felt like she should be showing some emotion, but feared that if she allowed herself to, it would manifest itself as joy, and not sorrow. She turned and walked back toward home. There were chores to do and babies to take care of.

*****

              Rube was locked away in the county jail. The jail was empty except for one old hobo that had been caught stealing some sardines and crackers from the A&P. The sheriff knew the man was hungry and had locked him up mainly to see that he got a good meal before sending him on his way. The sheriff told Rube he would go before the judge on Monday morning and that he would call Doctor Killian to have a look at his wrists. Rube remained silent and just sat down on the little cot, staring down at the floor at his old worn out boots.

             
The sheriff closed the door that separated the jail cells from his office and nodded to his deputies, motioning for them to walk over to his desk.

             
“Boys, there’s gonna be trouble once the word gits out about what happened. ‘Specially when they find out it was Rachel Winston that Rube raped. Them Klan boys ain’t gonna want to wait for no trial. We can’t leave old Pete here by hisself at night ‘til this thang is over with.” Pete Hawkins was the nighttime jailer and usually the only one around after ten P.M.

             
“Well, there ain’t but six of us deputies that’s full time, Oscar,” Harold Cox said. “We got three part time volunteers but there usually always workin’. If them boys bring a big mob, what would we do?”

             
“Maybe I can talk some sense into ‘em,” the sheriff answered. “If not we will have to git some help from the police and maybe see if we can git some deputies from Cherokee county to help us, or recruit some more volunteers.”

             
“Yeah, but who in the hell is gonna volunteer knowin’ there might be a mob of Klansmen fixin’ to come hang a nigger and ain’t about to let nobody stop ‘em? And it ain’t gonna be just local Klan, either. Word will git out quick on something this big. There ain’t nothing like this ever happened around here. There’ll be Klan comin’ from everywhere once the word spreads. And it’ll spread like wildfire, Oscar. You know that as well as I do.”

             
The sheriff sat down in his chair and sipped his coffee. He knew Harold was exactly right. Somehow he was going to have to think of something real fast. Another one of the deputies snapped his fingers, indicating he had a bright idea.

             
“Why don’t we just move him to another jail? Maybe take him to the city jail in Gadsden or even Birmingham? The deputy suggested.