Words Heard in Silence (57 page)

Jack was full of energy. All day he had watched the other horses race, while Charlie held him back. From Jack’s point of view, this was unfair. Now he had a chance to show off, to prove he was the dominant stallion in this herd. Charlie had his hands full as the horses lined up for the start. The flag dropped and Jack was off before Charlie had a chance to do more than settle in the saddle.

Jack took the lead immediately, trying to shake off Charlie’s attempts to hold him back and conserve some energy for the sprint at the end. As far as Jack was concerned, Charlie could tell him where to go, but they were going there at Jack’s pace, not Charlie’s.

The pace the horses set was brutal. Charlie constantly tried to check Jack’s speed, but the big black just took the bit between his teeth and charged on. Jack sailed through the first series of jumps, and leapt into the water, throwing a huge spray of icy foam behind him as he plunged ahead. The horse had been watching; he knew that the blind drop had a long, down-sloping flat after it. He sailed long over the drop then gathered himself for the combination jump. Jump, stride, stride, jump, stride, stride, jump. Then Jack was off to the final straight with only two jumps to go. Charlie let himself look back for a moment.

Right off Jack’s left flank, the young Lieutenant, Major Swallow’s cousin from Company D, was hanging on for dear life. His mount was heavily lathered; the boy was sheet white and his jaw was locked, but they kept the pace. The two horses, one coal black, the other a light chestnut almost a hand shorter than Jack fairly flew over the ground, brushing through the last two jumps as though they had wings. The rest of the field was almost ten furlongs behind, but it did not matter. This was an issue of honor, of excellence, of rising to the challenge.

Jack refused to let the smaller horse take the lead. The big black reached deep into himself and found the energy for a final sprint. The chestnut still kept pace, and they crossed the finish line with Jack in the lead by less than a length. As the Lieutenant came across the line, and tracked into the cool down zone, the boys of Company D literally mobbed their young officer. They raised him to their shoulders and bore him off to preside at the dinner of roast venison that went to the winner of the officers’ race. Tarent personally took charge of the light boned chestnut, checking to make sure that the dead out run had not blown the beast.

Charlie wiped the sweat from his forehead then rubbed Jack’s nose. "Good boy. You just had to have your head, old fellow." McFarlane took the reins from Charlie as Sheridan, Rebecca and a host of others swept up to the winner’s circle. McCauley was noticeably absent, no doubt handling the myriad of details Sheridan had dumped on his lap as a result of the morning meeting.

"Well done, Redmond," the General grinned at his commander. "Now, we shall see if you can resolve some of the other problems we face as well as you ran this race."

Charlie looked at Rebecca with a rueful smile and shrugged. His General had called.

T
he light of day had long since waned as the four men sat amid piles of papers, rolled maps, assorted tax ledgers, and empty coffee mugs. Charlie was still dressed in his britches and field tunic, smelling of a strange combination of horse sweat, cigars, and the smudge from the fireplace that was not drawing as well as it should. When the wind blew from the southwest, the chimney always backed up. It was but a small burden to an experienced field officer, and having an office with a fireplace was a luxury.

"So, Charlie. If you get the seed you asked for, do you think you can at least give these folks the basics to get started on the road back?"

"Yes, sir, I do. Most of my men have been very willing to help these people rebuild."

Polk added, "To be honest, sir, I think they are glad to be doing something other than fighting or sitting around waiting. For many of them, it feels a little like being at home to be mending fences, winter-plowing fields, and repairing roofs."

"Well, that is good. But I am still worried about the more vehement elements of this little society."

"That continues to be a problem. But one at a time, we are bringing them over."

"Well, if you can bring Mrs. Williams over, it may constitute a miracle." McCauley had listened politely to Mrs. Williams during the luncheon earlier that day. She had managed to offend every union officer present.

Charlie snorted. He stood and stretched. "A brandy, General?"

"Yes, thank you."

Charlie looked inquiringly at the other two men then poured brandies for each of them. A silence hung in the room, as they had one more issue to deal with and none of the men wanted to broach the subject. Montgomery.

Finally, Sheridan addressed the problem, starting with the summary dismissal of Davison and his small group of cronies.

"You know, Redmond, I have confirmed your dishonorable discharge of Davison and the others. But I still worry about them. They are just the kind of men to stay in the area and prey on the locals. Keep a sharp eye out." Sheridan considered his brandy for a moment, then added, "And if they do cause trouble, turn them over to the civilian authorities, you hear me?"

"Yes, sir. However, sir, I believe I am part of the civilian authority here right now, as the regional representative of the U.S. Government."

"Yes, but get Frazier and the others involved. I am afraid if they do create trouble, it will be serious trouble. I would rather see the locals handle any capital crime."

Sheridan finished his brandy and held his glass out for another tot. "As for Montgomery, I am afraid there is no option but to hold a court martial. Since you two, Swallow, Mrs. Gaines, and several of your men are all witnesses, I will not have any of you sit the panel. Merritt and Colonel James will serve with me, and you, McCauley, will serve as the defense advocate. Howard will serve as prosecuting officer. If Montgomery is well enough, we will hold it immediately after Christmas." Sheridan finished off the second brandy in one swallow. He hated having any of his men come to trial, especially an officer and on such vicious charges. "Now, with that settled, gentlemen, shall we clean up and join the ladies for dinner?"

J
ocko had thoughtfully hauled a bath up to Rebecca’s small sitting room so Charlie could bathe without having to share the bathing room with Sheridan and his staff and thus maintain his masculine image.

As Charlie sat in the small tin tub before the fire, Rebecca pulled her sleeves up and captured the washrag. She began scrubbing his back thoroughly. "I swear, Charlie, I have no idea how you do it. You wear a singlet, a shirt, a vest, stock, and a coat and still you get mud all down your back."

"Jack was very affectionate when I visited him in the stable. He drooled on me and I assume, shared some of his chewed up hay. It itched all through this afternoon’s meeting with Sheridan and McCauley. It was all I could do to stay in the room and not rub up against the door jamb."

Rebecca laughed, the image of Charlie trying to discretely scratch his own back against the fireplace or the door jamb like a big bear, while looking cool and collected in front of his commanding officer, was too funny.

"So, dear, you disappeared after the races. Did you and the General have another epic session?"

"We did. Much of our discussion was centered on what to do about Montgomery. I am afraid Sheridan will want you to testify. He intends to hold a court martial just after Christmas, before he returns to his own headquarters. Do you think Montgomery is fit enough for that?"

Charlie could not see the look on Rebecca’s face. The idea of testifying at any time was distasteful; the thought of repeating what Montgomery had said in front of a room full of Union Army officers was downright revolting. However, for Charlie’s sake, she would. "Montgomery is fit, and, of course, I will testify. I suppose it is necessary."

Charlie turned to look at Rebecca. The look on her face told the story. "Dear, I will talk to him again. Perhaps we can get by without you."

"Thank you, dear, but if it is necessary, I will do it."

Charlie rose from the bath. The sight of her beautiful body, gleaming wet, shining in the firelight was enough to distract Rebecca from her brooding concern over Montgomery. Charlie looked at Rebecca as she dried off, recognizing the lustful looks she was being graced with. "That, dear, will have to wait until later. The General and his staff will be expecting us to join them for dinner."

"Oh, la. You think just because you are beautiful when you are naked, I cannot resist the impulse to touch you. Just you wait, Charlie Redmond. I have as much willpower as the next."

Charlie dried off and went into the bedroom to retrieve her clothes. "Well, dear, you have more will power than I do, for I swear, I cannot resist you when you are naked."

The two of them proceeded to dress quietly. Finally, just as they were about to go downstairs, Charlie thought to ask again. "So do you think that Montgomery is ready for the trial?"

Rebecca looked thoughtful. "Well, he is regaining his strength and can be up and about somewhat. But I have no idea if his mind has the strength to understand what is really happening. Elizabeth will have to be consulted."

"I know she will, and I dread it. We could be in a situation where she saved his life just to have him hanged. I know her. She will not be happy."

D
ay two of the gymkhana was far more military than the previous events. Racing and horsemanship had been the focus of the first day; today weapons skills were the theme. At this point in the competition, the men of Company D were tied with Company A for leadership. A young man from Company A was leading in the personal points with the soldier, Raiford, from Company D who had run neck and neck with Duncan in second place.

The competition opened earlier than on the previous day, as there were more and more varied events scheduled. Charlie led the senior officers in a demonstration of precision formation riding as the opening ceremony. The sight of those beautiful horses, moving in step, wheeling and turning, weaving back and forth, all under rigorous control by officers who barely moved as they conveyed their commands to the mounts under them, was stirring. The only sound was the crisp tattoo of the horses’ hooves on the hard ground as they moved silently through their routine.

As a finale, the officers formed their mounts into a single, perfect line facing the audience. As one, the horses bowed to the audience, while their riders doffed their plumed hats. The silence continued for a long breath, then the audience broke into sustained applause. These officers may have been the enemy, but the people of Culpeper were horse lovers, first and foremost. The demonstration was an awesome presentation of equestrian skill at its best.

There were three types of contest scheduled for the day. In one area, men on foot demonstrated their marksmanship with both carbine and pistol. In another, they demonstrated their skill with sword and saber. But the most exciting contests of the gymkhana were mounted events.

The men competed in pairs, with one competitor eliminated at each pass. The first competition was one that demonstrated the rider’s skills in lance work. Rings were laid on the ground at intervals; each horseman had to collect as many rings as possible on the tip of their lance while preventing his opponent from collecting any.

Typically, this competition resulted in a number of bumps and bruises, and the occasional unseating, but no serious injuries. There were a number of competitors, with the less experienced troopers going first. Wielding eight foot long bamboo lances with blunted tips, the early competitors provided some excitement and some amusement as several of the younger men managed to unseat themselves by overextending out of the saddle. As the competitive field narrowed to the more experienced men, the demonstration of equestrian skill and dexterity drew loud rounds of applause. At the end, somewhat battered and bruised, a grizzled career trooper from Company B stood grinning as General Sheridan himself awarded him the first prize, a small keg of good brandy.

Swordplay was the next of the equestrian events. In this competition, the pairs of men again used their weapons to retrieve items from the ground. However, they were required to cross sabers at least once with each pass. Even though the competitors used blunted sabers and were usually careful to use only the flat of the blade, there were a few cuts and scratches that kept Samuelson busy through the late morning and early afternoon. Unexpectedly, the young man from Company D excelled in this arena, as he had in the hand-to-hand saber contest earlier in the morning.

The last mounted events were demonstrations of marksmanship with first carbines and then pistols. Three targets were mounted at varying distances from the course. Each rider had to complete the course in a specified period of time and to shoot at the targets as they rode by. Points were awarded for both the speed at which the course was ridden and the accuracy of the shots. Here Duncan, the winner of the lance competition and Raiford from Company D were all serious competitors. After three passes, the men were tied. Sheridan and Charlie looked at one another and decided to reward all three, giving each of them both the prize and the points for first place. Jamison scrambled in his stores to find two extra hams for them.

The final competition was the sharp shooters’ demonstration. Here, a number of the troopers from Bucks County, men who had grown up hunting for their primary meat supply, excelled. Duncan led the Ohio boys. Of the Pennsylvanians, Raiford, the young man from Company D was far and away the leader.

As the marksmanship competition ended, Hoffstader, Polk and McCauley all huddled over the scoring table. The winning company was clear. Company D had placed in every single event. They would be the vanguard company for the coming campaign, under Charlie’s personal command. The position of flag bearer was more problematic. There were three men who had demonstrated consistent personal excellence; their scores were very close. The career trooper from Company B, Raiford from Company D and Duncan from Company H, were all in the running.