Chapter Forty-three

The raiders’ own horses come stampeding toward them, driven by riders who bear down on the dinner party from all directions. Ebenezer leads one group, stripped to the waist and bearing the scars of his burns like medals. Next to him rides Spartacus; next to Spartacus, Carrie; behind Carrie, Sam and Peet. Coming toward the tables, closing the trap, Ni leads Jordan and Marcellus, Andrew and Charles, little Cush with the fierce eyes, Bilander, who can split a rail with a single blow, Caesar whose master once whipped him half to death, Abel who was sold away from his mother at the age of five.

The men come yelling the battle cries that John Brown and his sons taught them, come yelling the war cries of Africa, come screaming Bible verses or singing hymns or cursing, or just yelling, giving voice to their wives and children and friends and ancestors who have been enslaved for over two hundred years.

As they charge out of the willows that border the river, gallop out of the fields, and ride up the main road driving the stampeding horses before them, Miss Emily leaps to her feet.

“Soldiers!” she shrieks. And then she turns to Mr. Thompson and says in a voice full of amazement. “Why, they’re black!” Paralyzed by the impossibility of this, the men stare at the approaching riders. One of Clark’s Raiders starts to draw his gun, then hesitates.

“What the hell are you waiting for!” Clark yells. “Shoot the bastards, damn it, and turn those horses around!”

Shocked into action, the men draw their pistols and kick over the tables to form a barricade, forgetting that the tables are merely planks set on sawhorses. The barricades dissolve into a heap of lumber, broken china, shattered crystal, and soiled linen. As the stampeding horses plunge into the wreckage, Miss Emily turns in circles screaming for help. Around her, men are being knocked down and trampled. Some of the raiders try to hold their ground. Others break and run, only to find themselves ridden down and taken prisoner.

Clark takes refuge behind the hanging tree as the panicked horses thunder by. Drawing his pistol, he shoots at the nearest soldier and scores a hit. As the man falls to the ground, Clark runs out and tries to grab the reins of his horse, but they slip through his fingers.

Dan has made it to the stable and mounted Jed’s brown mare. Now he comes bursting out the door, heading straight for Clark as if he’s going to trample him.

“Coward!” Clark screams. “Deserter!” Lifting his pistol, he aims it at Dan and shoots. In the instant between the moment the gun fires and the moment Dan falls, Clark recognizes him. Seizing the reins, he steps over Dan’s body and starts to swing himself into the saddle. Then he realizes he has forgotten something.

“Teddy,” he commands, “come here!” But the boy isn’t where he left him. He’s over on the far side of the yard, running toward the river like a spooked rabbit.