October 15, 1811
When Zeb awoke the next morning at the McAllister house, he dressed quickly, walked barefoot across the wood plank floor through the house to the back door, sat on the porch steps, and put on his boots.
He lifted his head and sniffed. Something was cooking in the kitchen. He went out to the privy and then washed his hands and face at the pump.
In the kitchen he found Dr. McAllister and Sarah.
“Well, Zeb, you’re up early.” The doctor sniffed the aroma of Sarah’s cooking. “I’m hungry, Sarah,” he said. “Hungry for the first time in a long time.”
Tears welled up in Sarah’s eyes. “Why don’t you two go into the dining room and I’ll serve you some eggs and grits, biscuits, and maybe a little white gravy,” she said.
They had just finished breakfast when Sarah came in again. “Doctor,” she whispered, “there are two soldiers in the backyard. They want to talk with Miz Hannah.”
Dr. McAllister frowned, throwing his napkin on the table and pushing back his chair. “I can’t imagine who that could be. What could they want at this hour? Who could know that Hannah is home?”
Zeb got up, too. “I think I may know who it is,” he said.
An army officer and a sergeant were in the backyard, dressed in the uniforms of the Mounted Light Dragoons. They had dismounted and were leading their horses.
When Hannah’s father opened the door and stepped out onto the back porch, the officer came to attention. He saluted and then said, “Dr. McAllister?”
“I am Dr. McAllister. Who are you, and what do you want with Hannah?”
“Please excuse the early hour,” the captain said. “We have a lot to do today.”
At that moment, Hannah burst out of the house. She had obviously dressed in a hurry, as she was wearing the same clothes she had worn the day before. “Captain Morrison!” she cried. “How did you find us?”
“Hello, Hannah. You weren’t hard to find. There is only one Dr. McAllister in Washington. I came to thank you for telling us what the outlaws were planning when you left them—”
“Did you get to Franklin in time to stop them?”
“Yes, we did. They would have robbed the army payroll, but we were able to escort the men with the money to Fort Dearborn without incident. The Mason gang must have heard us on the trail, because they never showed up.”
Hannah shivered. “I wonder what happened to them.”
Captain Morrison flicked his hand as if brushing away a fly. “It doesn’t matter. They probably just fled into the woods….”
Hannah shook her head. “They said that after that big robbery they were gonna come down here to Natchez to live.”
“Don’t worry,” the captain said. “We’ll keep an eye out for them. I came here today to tell you and your family how much we appreciated your help.”
He turned to Zeb. “Did you find your grandfather?”
“Yes sir, I did … but we’d like to keep that quiet. There are some dangerous men after him.”
“I understand. But I have some news for both of you. I’d like to see him right away.”
Hannah and Zeb mounted horses and led the way to the Culpepper farm. It was still very early in the morning, and the group found Mr. Culpepper and Katie eating breakfast.
“Captain Morrison and his sergeant have something urgent to discuss with Grampa,” Zeb said. “I’ll go up and get him.”
“I’ll go talk with them for a moment,” Mr. Culpepper said.
When Zeb got up to the room, his grampa was sitting on the edge of the bed. “Captain Morrison wants to see you, Grampa,” Zeb said. “Says he has some important news for you. They just came down from Franklin, so maybe it has something to do with Mama or the farm.”
Captain Morrison was sitting on the porch with Mr. Culpepper. “I don’t see any problem,” Mr. Culpepper was saying. “If you can’t use Fort Dearborn for your staging area, why not let them come here? I have forty acres lying fallow just beyond that fence. See that little hill in the back? On the other side of that is a wide creek with good, clear water, just the place to set up camp for you and your men and for those who want to go north with you.”
“Thank you. That will be very helpful,” the captain said. “My patrol will set up camp here a week before we leave. The civilians who will be going with us must camp here also, and they must be ready to leave with no more than a day’s notice.”
When Captain Morrison saw Zeb’s grampa, he got up and saluted him. “Good morning, Mr. Ryan.”
The old man shook his hand. “Good morning, Captain. I understand you have an urgent message for me.”
“Yes, sir. I do. Please, let’s sit down.”
When they were seated, the captain continued. “Zeb had told us about Tate McPhee, so when we were in Franklin, we stopped by the sheriff’s office. The sheriff had already tried to arrest McPhee, but when he got to the farm, McPhee and his men were gone. Your grandnephew Josh and his brothers were there, but they couldn’t stop McPhee.”
Captain Morrison told of how McPhee had taken all the horses, brood stock, everything, and killed the cow.
Zeb groaned. We are left with almost nothing.
“And Alice, Zeb’s mama?” Cracker Ryan asked.
“She’s all right and back on the farm. Josh is there workin’ with her.”
Zeb sighed with relief. “What happened to McPhee and his men?” he asked. “Are they headed this way?”
“No. They headed west, toward Memphis, selling the horses as they traveled. Unfortunately, they crossed the Mississippi and are now in the town of New Madrid. The county sheriff has no jurisdiction in that territory.”
“Think they’ll stay there?” Zeb’s grampa asked.
The captain nodded. “I think so. The sheriff suspects they will use that base to start piracy on the river.”
“Why New Madrid?”
“It’s become a haven for outlaws. They’ll be safe until the army decides to send a force over there.”
The captain continued. “Mr. Ryan, I was just telling Mr. Culpepper that I shall be leading a patrol north in the next couple of months. I have been directed by the army to escort any civilians who wish to travel with us. We’ll be leaving sometime in early December. You are welcome to go with us.”
Zeb’s grampa sat back and smiled. “That would solve our problem of gettin’ back. We have four settled draft horses to take north. I wasn’t sure how I’d do it.”
“It would probably be impossible without an escort. The outlaws are becoming increasingly dangerous. Some of the gangs are even large enough to challenge groups of well-armed men traveling on the Nashville Road.”
The old man nodded. “Your patrol will make all the difference.”
“I will place information about the escort in the Weekly Chronicle. It comes out day after tomorrow, so we may get some response in the next few days.”
Mr. Culpepper and Zeb’s grampa stood up as Captain Morrison got to his feet.
Captain Morrison touched his helmet with his right hand. “I will send you a written agreement. I hope you won’t mind that while we are using the pasture as a staging area it will be army property. That is done to help protect your property and the people who will be going with us.”
“Just as long as you make it clear that it’s only temporary. I plan to put those forty acres back into hay come spring.” Captain Morrison mounted his horse. “We should be gone,” he said, “by mid-December. Thank you once again for your cooperation.”
He touched the rim of his helmet and then he and the sergeant cantered down the long Culpepper driveway to the highway, heading for Fort Dearborn.