CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The Closed Carriage
October 26, 1811
Zeb said good-bye to Mr. Yadkin, then went back to where Maggie was tethered and rode the little horse back along Levee Street. When he reached Silver Street, Lonnie Champ was waiting for him. “I don’t think the sergeant’ll bother ya any more today,” he said. “But you better keep an eye out for ‘im whenever ya come down here.”
Zeb slipped off Maggie and offered his hand. “I want to thank you, Mr. Champ, for your help today.”
“Zeb, I meant it when I called you my partner. Yer the only one knows I’ve got two broken ribs, and you ain’t told nobody. But it won’t be long ‘fore someone’ll find out, and then I’ll need a partner for sure. I could teach you how to fìght—”
“Wouldn’t it be best for you to get away from here, until your ribs heal?”
“Where would I go? I ain’t got much money. Those men what left me for dead, that mornin’ ya found me? They took all I had from bettin’ on my fights. Once these ribs heal, I’ll head back north on the Nashville Road and pick up another flat-boat. But right now, I jes gotta lie low.”
“Mr. Champ … Lonnie,” Zeb said. “I’ve got an idea. I’ll be back in a few days and we can talk about it. You still in that tavern of Dancey Moore’s?”
“Yeah. He lets me stay fer free, if I kin keep the peace…. Ain’t said nothin’ ‘bout kickin’ me out since I stuck up fer you, neither. Usually jes me lookin’ at them what’s causin’ trouble in Moore’s tavern is enough, but if somebody decides to find out if I kin fight, I’m done fer.”
“Leave your things with Mr. Yadkin. If what I’m thinkin’ about works out, we’ll want to leave here without anybody payin’ much attention.”
Zeb mounted the little horse again and rode up Silver Street toward Foley’s in Natchez. As he rounded the corner near Foley’s, he was surprised not to see Hannah waiting impatiently for him. But he knew he was a lot later than he had said he would be. He slipped off Maggie and tethered her to the rail. She must still be inside, he thought. It is getting a bit chilly out here.
He went in and looked around the store. She was nowhere in sight. He looked outside and suddenly realized Hannah’s horse was no longer tethered to the rail.
Zeb approached Mr. Foley. “Have you seen a girl in here … dressed like a boy, short hair—”
“You asking about Hannah McAllister? She was here for a long time.” He pointed to a chair. “Sat over there, waiting for somebody, looking over that book with the fashions and patterns. She had a notebook with her and was writing in it the last time I saw her.”
“Where’d she go?”
“A carriageload of women came in, and I lost sight of her. When I looked up again, she was gone.”
Zeb ran outside and looked up and down the street. He ran over to the next block and then circled the block around Foley’s. Then he came back into the general store and sat down where Hannah had been sitting. He looked at the fashion book she had left on the floor. A piece of paper was sticking out. He pulled it out of the book. “Zeb” was written in large letters on it. He turned it over.
Something has come up. I am all right. I just need to follow someone. I’ll be back as soon as I can.
Hannah
Zeb jumped up and ran to the door, looking up and down the street. Still nothing. All he could do was wait.
He was leafing through the book when she came cantering up to Foley’s. He ran outside and was about to shout at her, but she quickly shook her head. It reminded him of how they learned to communicate with no words at all on their trip down the Natchez Road. Neither said anything until Zeb was mounted and they were moving up the street toward home. “I know I must’ve worried you,” Hannah said in a shaky voice, “but I just had to follow them.”
“Follow who? Are you all right?”
“I think I might’ve seen some of the Mason gang—the outlaws I was with.”
“Here in Natchez?”
“A fancy closed carriage, black with a family crest on the doors, pulled up in front of Foley’s. Five women got out. They were wearing beautiful clothes. The driver of the carriage looked so much like Noah, the head of the Mason gang, that I went over to the window to get a better look. He was all dressed up, but he looked like Noah and he was yelling at those horses like him, too.”
“What did you do?”
“I didn’t want to get too close, in case they might recognize me. There was one who looked a little like Trudy, but she walked right by and didn’t even notice me.”
“Maybe you were mistaken.”
“Maybe I was. They only had three women with babies and Elizabeth when I was with them. Now there are four women and one that looks like Elizabeth. If it is the outlaws, they must’ve kidnapped somebody else on the way back. Anyway, when they left, I followed ‘em. They drove down a little side street off of Jefferson. I caught up with ’em in time to see the carriage turn into the circular drive of a huge white house.”
“A house like that’d cost a fortune and so would a good closed carriage.”
“Yeah, but the Mason gang had plenty of money.”
“From robbin’ Kaintucks?”
“No. From merchants, who had horses and sometimes thousands of dollars in gold coins with ‘em. The gang knew that lots of merchants don’t trust the banks.”
“How’d the outlaws manage to carry that much money?”
“They always buried most of it. Lots of nights I’d hear ’em talk about digging it up and living like rich planters.”
Hannah sighed. “I can’t be sure it was them,” she said. “Let’s not tell my mama about it. It’d worry her a lot.”
They rode on in silence for a while. Zeb told her about the press gang and Lonnie Champ saving his life again.
After a few moments Zeb said, “I’m gonna ask your parents if Lonnie can stay at your house. That bedroom I’m in has two beds. Maybe he can share it with me. He has a couple of broken ribs and will be in real serious trouble if anyone ever finds out.”
“Maybe my father can take a look at those ribs, tell him what to do.”
They rode quietly for a while. About halfway to Washington, Zeb spoke.
“Hannah, why are your friends in your class actin’ so strange? Are you and Katie leavin’ them out?”
Hannah looked surprised. “No. Mama thinks it’s just my Choctaw boys’ clothes, but I can’t tell her the truth. When I invited ’em to come over to the house, one of them said that her mama doesn’t want her to visit back and forth like we used to do.” Hannah looked up at Zeb, her eyes moist. “I think it’s ‘cause of what happened to me and ‘cause of the color of my skin.”
“Oh, Hannah!” Zeb cried out. “People who talk like that are stupid! Do you know what Grampa says when someone talks like that? ‘If you’ve got three horses just alike, except that one is white, one is black, and one is bay, which one is the best?’ The other man will always say, ‘The color of the horse don’t make no difference.’ ‘Exactly,’ my grampa says.”
They rode the rest of the way home in silence. Zeb had to keep reminding himself to look like a tired man on a sad little cob. Dancey Moore and his horse wranglers would still be looking for a tall, shaggy-haired boy on a big, proud horse.
About a week later, Mr. Culpepper and Katie were seated at the breakfast table when Zeb walked in. Mr. Culpepper looked up. “Mornin’, Zeb. What are your plans for today?”
Zeb sat down at the table. Everything smelled like home. “May I borrow Maggie again?” he asked. “I’d like to ride her and lead Kapucha into Natchez. I hafta pick up the tent, the new clothes I had made, and some supplies for the trip.”
Mr. Culpepper poured some coffee in his cup. “Why don’t you take the wagon?” he said. “You can manage two horses, can’t you?”
“Oh, yes, sir. The wagon would be fine. I’ll use our new draft horses. It’ll give me a chance to get to know them.”
Katie interrupted. “If Zeb is going into Natchez today with the wagon, may I go with him? The shoemaker should have my boots ready by now.”
“That’s fine with me if it’s all right with you, Zeb.”
“No problem at all,” Zeb said. “Hannah and Mrs. McAllister are plannin’ to ride in with me. I’m sure they’ll find the wagon more comfortable.”
“Hannah’s going in again?” Katie asked.
“Her mama wants the two of them to pick out all the fabric for her dresses so the seamstress can get started.”
Zeb hitched up two of his grampa’s new draft horses to the big wagon. Mr. Culpepper helped him put some heavy planks across to serve as seats.
Zeb and Katie climbed up on the front bench and drove to the McAllister house. When he stopped for Hannah and her mother, Katie moved back to sit with Hannah. Zeb told them proudly that since the McAllisters had agreed to let Lonnie Champ, his partner, stay at their house, he might be picking up Lonnie today. He hadn’t told anyone but Hannah and his grandfather about the press gang. He planned to talk with Captain Morrison whenever he reappeared at the Culpepper farm.
Zeb busied himself with the pleasure of getting to know the beautiful big draft horses. Behind him, he could hear the murmur of voices and the occasional laughter.
“Can you imagine me in dresses, Katie?” Hannah asked. “Dresses down to my ankles, ankle shoes with bows, straw hats: one for weekdays and one for Sunday.” She mimicked Miss Phillipa’s voice. “‘The Sunday hat will have a ribbon around the crown which will fall gracefully down your back.’” The two girls collapsed with laughter.
He smiled. How wonderful it is, he thought, that Hannah is able to laugh. It’s almost as if she’s forgotten the Mason gang and what they did to her….
He left the three of them at Foley’s. “I’ll see you right here in about two hours!” he shouted over his shoulder as he drove the team away.
When he got to the sail maker’s shop, Mr. Yadkin had the tent ready, coated with beeswax and turpentine. It was now the color of butternuts. He and Mr. Yadkin unfolded and set it up outside, each one holding a tent pole. The strong odor of turpentine burned his eyes and his nose. “How do you stand it?” Zeb croaked.
“You get used to it. That stink’ll be gone in a couple of months, maybe sooner, if you leave it out day and night, rain or shine.”
Zeb looked at the tent and smiled. It was just what he wanted. He paid Mr. Yadkin the balance of the bill and loaded the tent, folded once again, up into the back of the wagon. He turned to shake Mr. Yadkin’s hand.
“Just a minute, Zeb,” the sail maker said. “Lonnie Champ tells me that you may have something for him.”
“I do. I need to find a way to contact him. Dr. McAllister has agreed to let Mr. Champ stay at the McAllister place for now. Then he can go back up the trail with us to wherever he came from.”
Mr. Yadkin smiled. “You really have become his partner, haven’t you? He doesn’t want you to go near the tavern. Dancey Moore has his men out looking for you.”
Mr. Yadkin called over one of the street boys and gave him a message for Lonnie Champ. The boy returned in minutes with Champ by his side, and the sail maker gave the boy a coin.
“It’d be best if you left for Natchez as soon as possible, Zeb,” Yadkin said. “And I’ve got one last thing for you.” He went back into the shop and reappeared with a small shovel. “This is a Spanish army shovel. I’ve had it a long time, but I doubt I’ll ever use it. I want you to have it for your trip north. You’ll need it to make a trench around your new tent.”
“Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it.”
Lonnie Champ climbed up in the wagon and sat with Zeb on the driver’s bench. Zeb told him all about the arrangements he had made with Dr. McAllister. He turned the team onto the street and clucked them into a slow trot back up Silver Street.
Zeb loved the feeling of controlling so much power. These animals are so strong. Just a gentle movement of the reins and they do whatever I want.
Lonnie Champ grinned at him. “You really enjoy drivin’ this team, dontcha?”
Zeb just grinned in reply.
A beautiful closed carriage passed Zeb and Lonnie going the opposite direction, and Zeb noted that each of the doors had glass windows. The carriage wood was dark with a light-colored inlay on the door, like a family crest.
Lonnie Champ dipped his head as if there were royalty inside the carriage. “Dancey Moore says that they’s only two fine carriages in Natchez, and that’s one of ‘em. They was left here by the Spanish, and everybody wants one of ‘em.”
The white man driving the carriage snaked a long whip out and the pair of horses picked up their gait. They were big horses, more suitable for pulling heavy loads or a plow, in Zeb’s opinion.
Zeb frowned, thinking. But in a moment he and Lonnie were at Foley’s, and Zeb pulled the horses up in front. He smiled down at Mrs. McAllister and the girls. “This is my partner, Lonnie Champ. He’s the one who saved me from the sergeant. He’s the person I’ve been tellin’ you about.”
No one responded. Katie Culpepper climbed up into the wagon without saying a word to Zeb. Hannah’s mother was next, her mouth set in a grim, straight line.
Hannah climbed up last. She watched the fancy carriage as it rounded the corner at the far end of the street, and when she turned back to look up at Zeb, her face was pale.
As Zeb drove, he could hear no more than a low, angry murmur from the passengers behind him. It was nothing like the laughter and high spirits on the way into town. What’s the matter? he wondered. Are they mad I picked up Lonnie? He must feel like he’s not wanted.
Finally, Hannah’s mother raised her voice. “Hannah, I insist you tell me what happened. Why are you so frightened?”
Zeb halted the horses and looked over his shoulder. Hannah sat with her head down, her hands wrapped tightly around her knees. “I can’t talk about it,” she whispered.
Her mother took her by the shoulders. “Hannah,” she said angrily. “Something has frightened you. You must tell me what happened in there.”
“It was Elizabeth!” Hannah blurted out. “That woman with all the fancy clothes, with the closed carriage and the driver! That was Elizabeth, one of the women in the Mason gang.” She sobbed.
Hannah’s mother shook her head. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Hannah said, wiping her hand across her eyes. “When you were talking to Mr. Foley, I wandered over to the other side of the store….”
She ran her fingers through her hair. “She was over there. When I realized who she was, I turned to run. She grabbed my arm and yanked me close to her.”
“She said … she said if I ever told anybody who she was, the gang would find me and skin me alive!”
Hannah looked up at her mother. “Mama,” she said, “she can find us. She said there aren’t likely to be many McAllisters in Washington.”
“I can’t believe those outlaws are here in Natchez, threatening you!” Hannah’s mother turned to Zeb. “Turn around! Turn around now! We’ve got to go see the constable. Hurry!”
“Oh, Mama! Please don’t do anything! If the constable starts looking for ‘em, they’ll know I told, and they’ll surely come and find me. That man driving the carriage was Noah, the head of the gang. Elizabeth is mean, but the men are much worse.”
Hannah’s mother pulled her close. “Oh, Hannah. I had hoped that was all behind you, that you would be able to forget….”
Hannah shook her head. “I’ll never forget.”
Lonnie Champ slid closer to Zeb and said in a low voice, “You keep your eyes on the road in front of us. I’ll watch the back.” He climbed from the driver’s bench and sat next to Katie.
“Mama, I’m so afraid!” Hannah cried, and her mother hugged her tighter. “Why did they hafta come here?”
“I wonder where she got that carriage and those fine clothes,” Katie said.
“They had a lot of money stored all along the trail.”
Mrs. McAllister pulled Hannah against her and rocked her. “And now they’re in Natchez with all that money,” she said. “And they’ve got to find a way to keep you quiet.”
Lonnie leaned forward. “If I kin help in any way, ma’am….”
“You can,” she said. “Now that you’ll be staying with us, you’ll be able to give Hannah a little more protection. Zeb can’t be with her all the time.”
“I’ll look out fer her, Mrs. McAllister. You kin count on it.”