The Big Gun (Dusty Fog's Civil War Book 3) (21 page)

‘
We’ll
talk about it later,’ Gable promised and returned his attention to
the two captains. ‘Mama Lukie, Oscar and all our other people are
on the island. They’re only Negroes—’

‘
They’re folks, same as everybody else,’ Dusty interrupted.
‘And I know how you feel about them. So you’ve got my word that we
won’t open fire unless they’re going to be safe.’

‘
I’ll
go with Dusty on that, sir,’ Staunce declared. ‘You’ve my word on
it too.’

‘
In
that case, gentlemen,’ Gable said. ‘I’ll help you take the big gun
to Nimrod Lake.’

‘
We’d
like to get moving as soon as those Yankees are out of sight, sir,’
Dusty suggested. ‘If that’s all right with you?’

‘
That’s easy enough arranged,’ Cable replied. ‘We’re ready
to roll. You certainly frightened them.’

‘
I
aimed to,’ Dusty admitted. ‘The next thing is to make them think
we’ve blown up the big gun and everything else. Then they’ll be
more willing to figure we’re trailing them along.’

‘
I see
you’ve an extra ammunition chest on the caisson, Mr. Cable,’
Staunce put in.

‘
Yes,’
agreed the engineer. ‘We started out with two caissons, but one
broke a wheel and we left it behind. We’d emptied the other two
chests bombarding Arkadelphia.’

‘
Are
you figuring on using the big gun’s powder charges, Doug,’ Dusty
asked.

‘
Not
if I can avoid it,’ the Englishman replied. ‘And I think I can
avoid it. The containers are full of hydrogen. It explodes in a
very satisfactory way.’

How satisfactorily was proven when Staunce
blew up the two wagons which had serviced the balloon.

On hearing the massive
explosions, although unable to see what had happened, the Yankee
prisoners assumed that the big gun and its accessories had been
destroyed. They also
believed, helped by Sergeant Weather’s hints, that
Company C and the battery were following at a distance and looking
for an excuse to massacre them. So they were willing to go along
with Weather’s suggestion that they spend the night in an area of
woodland. Once there, he warned that he would find himself in
serious trouble for circumventing the plans of the evil ‘Captain
Yancy’s’—he refused to use Dusty’s real name in connection with the
bloodthirsty tyrant the young officer had pretended to be. So he
and his men intended to desert.

Left to themselves, the Yankees
had remained hidden in the woodland for three days. Finally hunger
drove them out and they realized that they had been tricked. Long
before they could reach the nearest Union troops, there was no way
to know in which direction the big gun had been taken. On hearing
the
prisoners’ story, the officer in command assumed that it
was already across the Ouachita River and made no attempt to verify
his theory.

‘
Cousin Titus!’
Eric called, riding from among the
bushes and on to the Perryville trail. ‘I’m right pleasured to have
come across you-all.’

Bringing his mule to a halt,
the tall, lean, sharp-featured Negro stared from Eric to where
Captain Douglas Staunce followed him out of the bushes. The
Englishman was still armed with his Light Cavalry
saber and Colt
revolver, but in every other respect he looked exactly like a
captain in the United States’ Army. The top of his kepi—which had
been brought along as easier than a Burnside hat to carry in
concealment—sported the crossed sabers insignia of the Cavalry. The
shoulder bars of his short blue ‘uniform jacket’ showed the two
pairs of gold bars of a captain.

‘
Why
howdy, Cousin Eric,’ Titus finally replied, but his attention was
mainly directed at Staunce and his sly face showed puzzlement.
‘That Yankee major’s done been madder’n a cat dropped on a hot
stove ever since you-all run off. Where’ve you been at?’

‘
With
Miss Harry, looking for Massa Cable,’ Eric answered, seeing no
point in lying about the reason for his departure. ‘We’ve been
going from one Yankee camp to another, until we got to some real
high up ’n’ important officers. They said for me to fetch this gent
back with me.’

‘
Who’d
he be?’ Titus wanted to know.

‘
Name’s Captain Schmidt,’ Eric supplied, following the line
which had been suggested to him by the Englishman. ‘He’s wanting to
find out just what’s happening on the island.’

‘
I’d’ve thought you-all, or Miss Harry could’ve telled him
that,’ Titus commented, still studying Staunce rather than his
cousin.

‘
I
have to see for myself,’ the Englishman barked, adopting the harsh,
Teutonic accent which he had used when helping to trick the Union
agent, Meats. ‘These men might not be what they’ve told you they
are.’

‘
You-all reckons’s how they might be peckerwoods, mister?’
Titus asked.

‘
They
just may be,’ Staunce lied, deciding that such a response would
help bring the desired result. ‘I’ve been sent with Eric to find
out the truth.’

‘
Which
means we can’t go across the bridge, like we was regular
calling-folks,’ Eric went on. ‘So we’d admire to get some help,
cousin.’

‘
Such
as?’ Titus inquired, sounding wary and a little worried.

‘
Can
you fetch us a boat down to the river’s mouth after dark, so’s we
can sneak in the back ways?’

‘
Well,
I dunno about that—’

‘
I
don’t reckon Mama Lukie’d be any too pleasured happen she heard you
wouldn’t help us, cousin,’ Eric remarked and watched the flicker of
anxiety and alarm which passed over the other’s face. ‘Especially
as doing it wouldn’t be hard, nor dangerous, and’d help Massa
Cable.’

‘
How
d’you mean?’ Titus countered, scratching his head dubiously. ‘’Bout
it not being hard or dangerous, I mean.’

‘
Them
Yankees, or whatever they be, ain’t stopped you fellers going out
on the lake cat fishing, have they?’

‘
Well,
no. I can’t say’s they has.’

‘
Then,
happen you gets asked, you’re going cat fishing,’ Eric
explained.

‘
I
reckon I could do
that,’ Titus conceded. ‘Tell you what. I’ll bring a boat down to
them willows near the river’s mouth just after sundown.’

‘
That’ll be real fine, Cousin Titus,’ Eric enthused,
although he felt just a trifle surprised that his kinsman had
agreed so easily, even allowing for the power of Mama Lukie’s name.
‘We’ll be waiting for you.’

After the lanky Negro had set
the mule into motion and was riding away, Staunce and Eric returned
to the concealment of the bushes. Although Titus had not known,
another pair of eyes had been studying him. Watching from a
position which had allowed him to keep the trail under observation,
although hidden from all but the most careful scrutiny, Kiowa
Cotton stood by his big horse. The sergeant had reverted to wearing
his Confederate States
’ uniform and had decided that it would be
advisable to remain undetected while Staunce and Eric went out to
interview the latter’s cousin.

‘
We’ve
got a boat to take us out to the island after dark,’ Staunce
announced. ‘I’ll go with Eric, but you’d better stay in the
background, sergeant. Then, if anything goes wrong, you can let
Captain Fog know about it.’

‘
Yo!’
Kiowa answered, knowing that the Englishman was suggesting a
sensible precaution. Then he looked at the Negro. ‘You reckon that
jasper can be trusted, Eric?’

‘
I
reckon he can,’ Eric replied, after a moment’s thought. ‘Cousin
Titus don’t look much and I wouldn’t throw dice with him, less’n
I’d searched him all over afore we started, but this here’s
different. He ain’t going to go crossing Mama Lukie on anything
this important. No darkie ever wants to get a conjure woman like
her riled at him.’

‘
That’s for sure,’ Kiowa admitted and concluded that their
mission was going much better than he had hoped.

The journey from the valley in
which they had captured the big gun had been uneventful; except
that Sergeant Weather
’s detail had successfully slipped away from the
prisoners and Wilbur Sprigg had caught up with news of Red Blaze’s
exploits. The latter had only been a partial relief for Dusty Fog.
He had found out that his cousin had not fallen into the Yankees’
hands, but wondered how Red’s flight in the balloon had
ended.

While travelling northwards,
the party had avoided being seen by, or meeting with, Union
soldiers. There had been a few difficulties, most concerned with
negotiating uneven terrain, but nothing had occurred to delay them
unduly. The main body was now within one day
’s travel, at the best
speed
possible for Pulling Sue and its burden, from Nimrod Lake.
Wishing to make contact with the Negroes on the island and, if
possible, arrange for them to leave before the big gun was brought
on to the scene, it had been decided to send a small detail
ahead.

The spin of a coin had decided
that Staunce should come, accompanied by Kiowa and Eric. After some
discussion, it had been decided that the sergeant should remain
clad in Confederate
gray. However, Staunce had elected to dress as a member of
the Union Army. He had in his possession identity documents to
‘prove’ he was Captain Schmidt, attached to the Adjutant General’s
Department,
^xix
which might come in useful in the
event of a meeting with Yankee soldiers. Nor would his British-made
saber be out of place, for many Federal officers owned such
weapons.

On reaching the Fourche la Fave
River, in the late afternoon, Staunce and his men had intended to
try to find a boat as a means of reaching the island. Before they
could do so, the chance meeting with Eric
’s cousin appeared to have solved
that problem for them.

Keeping in concealment amongst
the bushes the three men made their way to the point where the
river flowed out of the lake. Still remaining in hiding, they
examined the island. Using his field glasses, Staunce watched Titus
crossing the bridge. At that distance, the captain could tell only
a little of what was happening and saw nothing to alarm or make him
suspicious. The lanky Negro was stopped by and talked with the
Union sentries, but they displayed no signs that he was mentioning
the meeting with his cousin. Passing on, Titus went beyond the
Englishman
’s
range of vision.

Despite keeping a constant
watch until the sun had sunk below the western horizon, Staunce and
his companions could see nothing to make them think their presence
in the area was known. As the bats started to glide through the
air, hunting food above the calm waters of the lake, lights began
to glow on the island. Cressets were lit, illuminating the bridge
and other points, while the windows of the main
house and Negroes’ dwellings
showed that lamps were burning within.

About an hour of darkness dragged slowly by,
with the three men watching the island and the waters of the lake
for any indication that Titus was keeping his promise.

‘
It
looks like he thought better of it,’ Staunce commented.

‘
If he
did, Mama Lukie’ll make him wish he’d never been born,’ Eric
replied. ‘She’s never liked him, ’cause he wants to be butler
instead of Paw.’

‘
Could
be we’re doing him an unjust,’ Kiowa put in, staring across the
water. ‘There’s a boat coming.’

‘
We’d
better keep hidden, just in case he’s bringing friends,’ Staunce
suggested, accepting the warning, for he had had numerous examples
of the sergeant’s exceptionally keen sight and hearing. ‘I hope you
don’t mind us mistrusting your cousin, Eric?’

‘
Can’t
say’s I do,’ Eric answered. ‘Fact being, no matter how he says he
don’t, I know he’s scared of Mama Lukie, or I wouldn’t trust him
either.’

A few seconds later, first Eric
then Staunce could make out the shape of a large boat moving slowly
in their direction. For all their doubts, they soon saw that there
was only one man in it. Kiowa faded silently into the darkness
before Titus, grunting and gasping with his exertions, brought the
bows of
the
boat into the shallows.

‘
I’m
sorry I wasn’t here sooner,’ the lanky man said, when his cousin
and the Englishman walked forward. ‘Only this here boat’s made for
two fellers to row and I’m alone.’

‘
It’ll
be easier going back,’ Staunce promised and stepped aboard. ‘Eric
will be helping you to row.’

‘
You
mean I’ve got to go back with you?’ Titus yelped, sounding alarmed
at the prospect.