LAND OF STARS: The Texas Wyllie Brothers (Wilderness Dawning Series Book 2) Read online

  “Are ye daft? Ye risk losing your entire store if ye don’t start packin’,” Bobby Stewart said. “At least pack up your most expensive items and food. We all depend on ye for essentials like flour and salt.”

  “We’ll all pitch in and help you load your wagon if you decide to leave, Mr. Mabbitt,” Adam volunteered. Although only sixteen, Adam already possessed the strength and stature of a more mature man despite the fact that he spent most of his spare time reading Baldy’s medical books.

  “I’d be grateful,” Mabbitt said, his lips tightening with a grim smile at Adam.

  Understandably, the group of men still appeared bewildered. They were all sitting on the jagged edge of uncertainty. Even Samuel could not make up his mind and he was normally a swift decision maker. It didn’t help that Louisa was staunchly opposed to leaving.

  “What about you, Dr. Grant? What do you think?” a farmer asked.

  Baldy stepped forward. “My advice is to prepare now so that if you do have to leave, you’re ready. I’m going to pack up my clinic and apothecary now. Melly is already packing up all our clothing, cooking utensils, and her precious books. I suggest you all do the same. Better to be prepared and not need to go than to need to leave in a hurry and have to leave your valuables behind.”

  “That sounds like good advice,” Mabbitt said. “I’m going to go get started on loading up my freight wagon now.”

  “I’ll be along shortly to help you,” Adam told the shopkeeper and then turned to Baldy. “That is if you can spare me.”

  “Of course,” Baldy told Adam. “He needs you more than I do right now. And we may all need the food and supplies you can load for him.”

  “I can help Mr. Mabbitt too and anyone else who needs help,” Steve said. “Unless you need me, Father.”

  It didn’t surprise Samuel that Adam and Steve would volunteer to help the others. It was in the nature of the two to take care of those in need.

  “Samuel can help me pack up our weapons and essentials,” Father said. “Go on and help Mr. Mabbitt and check to see if Widow Jones needs any help. But both of you get back before dark. We’ll decide then what we’re going to do.”

  “I’ll send them both home well before dark,” Mabbitt said. “And Widow Jones can come with me on my wagon.”

  “You’re a good man,” Baldy told Mabbitt.

  Ian Watson, dressed like the coxcomb he was, rode a leggy thoroughbred and moved his mount closer to Samuel. The man who was about Samuel’s age owned a fifteen-hundred-acre plantation, most of which were in cultivation. The plantation had an overseer’s house, slave cabins, a frame gin house with gin and mill attached, and a new cotton press. More than seventy slaves worked the plantation. Watson was often called the Prince of Pecan Point because of his lavish entertaining at the plantation.

  And Samuel despised him.

  “You are all panicking,” Watson said in his condescending tone. “I urge you to remain calm. There’s no way that river is going to get up this high.”

  “And there’s no way you can possibly know that,” Samuel said.

  “I know far more than you think,” Watson retorted.

  Samuel was in no mood to put up with Watson’s blustering. The hostility between the two of them had to be obvious to everyone. Even Caddo picked up on the tension. The dog growled deep in his chest.

  “I know that you have the lives of at least seventy souls at stake,” Samuel said. “Do you have the right to gamble with their lives?”

  “I’m not even sure slaves have souls, but in any case, yes I have the right. According to the Slavery Code, I can do whatever I want with them. I can award them as prizes and even wager them in gambling. And I’m gambling that that river doesn’t rise much more than it already has.”

  What a rotten, brutish, dunderhead, Samuel thought. Watson’s slaves lived in small shacks with dirt floors and little or no furniture. Their homes could be washed away in an instant if floodwaters came inland.

  Baldy cleared his throat and raised his preacher voice. “Watson, I suggest you refresh your memory of Genesis. ‘And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.’ That verse refers to all people, not just those of your ilk.”

  Watson shook his head and regarded Baldy haughtily. “Even the great philosopher Aristotle believed that slaves are slaves because their souls aren’t complete. He said they lack certain qualities, such as the ability to think properly, and so they need masters to tell them what to do. In fact, Aristotle thought that slaves were merely living tools rather like domesticated animals, fit only for physical labor.”

  “Indeed,” said Mathew Harden. “It is right for the betters to rule over the inferior.”

  “Clearly slavery is an issue causing moral confusion for both of you gentleman,” Baldy said with his hands on his hips.

  “Now is not the time to debate slavery,” his father said. “As we stand here deliberating, that river is rising. Get on with you! Make up your own minds.” Clearly, his father’s scant patience had worn thin.

  “Are we going to die?” the little boy asked Samuel’s father.

  His father stepped closer to the boy and put a hand on the child’s small knee. “I’m sure your father will do the right thing and take you to safety.” Then he glanced upwards to the child’s father. “See that you do.”

  “Yes, Sir,” Jonathan Anderson said with a good deal of respect. “We’ll leave within the hour.”

  The nearly two-week trip would be dangerous for a man traveling with just a child. “You’re welcome to travel with us tomorrow if we decide to go,” Samuel offered.

  “Thank you kindly, Samuel, but I’ll be leaving right away. I’m not going to Nacogdoches. I have relatives between here and there. The Andersons. It’s the cabin on the right side of the road about fifteen miles from here.”

  “I believe both Dr. Grant and me have given you our opinions on this situation,” his father told the rest of the men. “If you’ll excuse me, I have preparations to make for our possible departure.” With that, Father turned on his heel and went back inside his fortress-like cabin.

  The rest of the men all turned their mounts around to head back to the settlement. All but Watson.

  “Don’t worry about my slaves, Samuel,” Watson said. “I know exactly how to take care of them.”

  “Like a calf-stealing coyote,” Samuel grumbled as Watson rode off toward his plantation, needlessly whipping his stallion with a quirt for greater speed.

  “I detest the way Watson treats his horses,” Steve said. “He’d get much more out of that horse with a light rein.”

  “And his slaves,” Samuel said.

  Watson’s overseer kept a cruel rein on the plantation’s slaves and Watson did whatever he wanted with them. Marriages between slaves were not considered legally binding. Therefore, he often split up families through a sale. And since slave women were considered chattel, a white man who raped one of them was guilty only of trespass on the master’s property, an offense always ignored.

  During the unmarried man’s lavish parties, Watson even invited men to enjoy themselves with his younger female slaves. When Samuel attended his first party at the plantation, the night had been filled with music, an abundance of gin, and shimmering lights. To Samuel’s disgust, Watson had a dozen young women brought in, some so young their figures were still undeveloped. After Watson picked a girl out for himself, he told his male guests to take their whiskey, cigars, and a girl of their choice for a little private fun. Afterward, Watson, an expert gambler, would fleece them of their money playing cards.

  “Don’t do this,” he’d told Watson when one of the young women whimpered. “It’s uncouth and immoral.”

  “It’s perfectly proper,” Watson had replied. “I own them. Help yourselves, Gentlemen.”

  Samuel and a few others had left immediately and avoided any further dealings with the man or his overseer. It was the last time
he’d attended a party at the plantation. But the faces of those frightened young women and their shrieks of fear and shame as they were led away stayed with him still. He shook away the memory and focused on the matter at hand.

  Steve and Adam left to saddle their horses and then ride into the settlement to help Mabbitt.

  Taking Caddo with him so the dog wouldn’t trail after Adam, Samuel followed his father and Dr. Grant inside.

  “If Watson didn’t wear a hat, his horns would show,” Samuel swore as he tossed another log into the hearth fire to ward off the continual dampness.

  “I feel sorry for his slaves,” Father said.

  “We all do,” Baldy said. “I doubt any of them know how to swim. If it floods…” He just shook his bald head.

  Caddo stood by the door and began howling miserably.

  Was the dog just missing Adam?

  “Have you convinced Louisa that we should make preparations to leave?” his father asked Samuel.

  “No. She’s convinced the Red won’t rise beyond the levee.”

  “She may be right,” his father said. “But I would suggest you start packing up anyway.”

  “I intend to. Right away.” Samuel said and turned toward Baldy. “What does Melly think?”

  “She’s already packing,” Baldy said. “I’ll go get to work on the apothecary.”

  Each of them set about making preparations to leave.

  When Samuel hauled his large trunk and a barrel from the storage room into the main room of his house, Louisa frowned.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, waddling over to him with her hand to her back. “We’re not leaving, are we?”

  “We will make that decision later. Right now, we’re going to get ready in case we have to. All the men from the settlement agree that it is wise to pack in case we have to leave in a hurry.”

  “All the men agree?” Louisa’s tone left no question that his choice of words could have been better.

  “There weren’t any women there,” he said, unhappy that he sounded so defensive. He was the last person to underestimate the wisdom or strength of women, especially his wife.

  “Samuel, I’ll concede that it may be a good idea to get prepared, but I’m just not up to packing up our home right now.”

  “Are you feeling poorly? Should I go get Baldy?”

  “No, no,” she said and peeked out the window at the rain. “I just need to rest. With all the lightning and thunder, I didn’t sleep well.”

  “Are you having any pains?” His heart suddenly decided to gallop in his chest.

  “Just a little backache is all.”

  “Go lie down or read for a while. I’ll take care of getting us ready to leave.”

  Louisa smiled at him and he took her hand and kissed it.

  “I love you, Samuel.”

  “And I love you and whoever you are inside there,” he said gently patting her tummy.

  Louisa chuckled. “I apologize for being so stubborn about the river, but right now all that I’m capable of worrying about is this babe. I…” her voice broke with emotion. “I want so much to deliver him or her safely and to be a good mother. I can’t think about anything else! Especially leaving the only place I’ve ever felt completely safe.”

  He understood. This was her first real home. And she desperately desired to safely deliver this babe here in their home.

  “Our babe is the only thing I care about right now,” Louisa said. “I couldn’t bear to miscarry again.”

  “I understand,” he said, clutching her shoulders and gazing down at her. “You worry about the babe. I’ll worry about the river.” In truth, he was worried about both.

  She swallowed and blinked away the tears that sparkled in her blue eyes. “Except food. I can think about food. I just ate and I’m hungry again!”

  “Go rest and I’ll go get something for you to eat from Melly’s kitchen.” Melly did most of the cooking for all of them. Especially lately since Louisa’s feet were swollen and she couldn’t stand for any length of time.

  Louisa nodded and turned toward their bedroom, both hands pressed to the small of her back.

  Chapter 5

  Mid-afternoon Monday,

  Red River still rising

  When Samuel got back from seeing Melly, he placed the plate of butter and honey-coated biscuits on their pine table. He poked his head into the bedroom. Louisa was fast asleep and he decided not to wake her. Baldy had just told him that a backache was not unusual at all and that he shouldn’t worry overmuch about it because it was usually nothing more than a nuisance.

  Baldy’s advice was to start packing. So he did, resisting the urge to go check the river again, although he did glance out the window several times. Each time, the clouds in the rain shadowed sky grew darker and moved closer.

  While Louisa slept, he quietly retrieved all the clothing from the wardrobe in their bedroom. With worry now clawing at his heart, he tucked the last of their clothing into the wooden trunk with a black canvas overlay designed to keep the contents dry. Then he gathered up all the changing cloths, baby clothes lovingly stitched together, and tiny blankets and placed them on top.

  “Are you done?” his father asked as he stepped through the front door.

  “Just finished.”

  “I need your help loading my trunk onto the wagon. We can carry yours to the shed and then load mine. We’ll leave it parked inside the shed, but we can go ahead and load it now.”

  “I also have that barrel. And it’s heavy. And later, Louisa will have a bag or two I’m sure. But she’s sleeping now.”

  Over the next hour, they loaded the wagon with everything of value that couldn’t be easily replaced. He left behind heavy iron skillets and several other items that made the barrel too heavy. They could all use what Melly would bring.

  “We can’t weigh the wagon down with anything we don’t truly need,” Stephen said. “It will be hard enough going as it is.”

  Samuel exhaled and reluctantly put down Louisa’s rocker that he’d been about to carry out. “Agreed. We have the funds to buy new household goods if needed.”

  “Go ahead and load that rocker. She may need that for the babe,” Father said. “But we’ll leave most of your other furniture and mine.”

  By the time they got everything loaded, Steve and Adam arrived back home and marched over to Samuel’s home. Both appeared drenched and cold. The rain had started up again about mid-afternoon.

  “Father, Thomas said to tell you they are all set to go. They’ll join us as soon as you give the word,” Steve said.

  “Did you get Mr. Mabbitt all loaded?” Samuel asked.

  “As much as would fit into his one freight wagon,” Adam said. “Wisely, he took all his food provisions from the store.”

  “He’s worried about losing his store,” Steve said.

  “He should be,” Adam said. “The Red’s even higher now.”

  Steve nodded. “Nearly to the top.”

  “I talked him into letting me take all the medical supplies he could spare,” Adam said. “Steve paid for them.”

  “Good thinking. You and Baldy will likely need them,” Father said. “Get some hot coffee and warm up. Samuel and I are going to check the river.”

  “I’ll make fresh coffee,” Louisa said, emerging from their bedroom and glancing around. “I see you have already packed and loaded the trunk and barrel.” She didn’t sound happy. Her tousled hair hung in tangles and marks from the sheet creased her beautiful face, but at least she appeared rested.

  “And your rocker is on the wagon,” Samuel told her as he pulled a chair over to her.

  “Did you pack the coffee pot and coffee?” she asked.

  “I did,” Samuel admitted. “I wasn’t thinking. I should have left it out for now.”

  “Melly probably still has her pot going. We’ll get coffee there,” Steve said. “And see if they need help.”

  As soon as the two left, the beat of the rain intensified.
<
br />   Awkwardly, Louisa sat down on the chair. “What now?”

  “Louisa, if the river gets any higher, you’ll need to leave as soon as possible,” his father told her. “Abigail must too. You both have to think about the life your carrying.”

  Louisa heaved a heavy sigh. “You’re right, Father Wyllie. But I truly don’t want to leave our home. And I dread the thought of a wagon ride right now, especially in the rain.”

  “Father, I’ll meet you in the horse shed in fifteen minutes,” Samuel said. “We’ll go take one more look before making a final decision.”

  His father nodded and left at once.

  “Louisa, you may have to leave before I do. With the others. After Father and I check the river, if it looks worse, I’ll need to find Hollis and the other hands and give them instructions on what to do with our herd.”

  “Samuel, I don’t want to leave without you.”

  “I promise you I won’t be far behind. No more than an hour or two. I’ll catch up to you and I won’t leave your side until the babe is born.”

  “Promise?”

  “I swear.” He drew her up into his arms and kissed her to seal his vow. He put all the assurance and love he felt into the kiss and then trailed tender kisses down her neck and onto her shoulder.

  She moaned softly under his caresses. “And I swear I love you.”

  Samuel and his father saddled Samson and George. Father loved George as much as a man could love an animal. Samuel loved him too. George’s sire, also named George, had died saving the life of Samuel’s uncle.

  Stroking George’s forehead his father said, “Every time I ride this fine fellow, I am reminded how miraculous it is that a horse so powerful, so huge, and so intelligent should allow a mere man to ride on his back.”

  “We are blessed with fine horse stock,” Samuel agreed.

  They quickly trotted the horses down to the river bank. Samuel’s heart sank at the sight of the murky reddish-brown water lapping against the top few feet of the riverbank. The river really roared now, like the beast that it was. The sound rose above the steady beat of the rain and the thud of falling earth as chunks of riverbank gave way to the swift current.