Glory over Everything: Beyond The Kitchen House(91)

“All right. Then I’ll settle on Pan.”

“Nope. Not for sale.”

“And what if I were to tell you that he was stolen from me?”

If I expected a surprised reaction, it was not forthcoming. He remained as composed as ever. “And you have papers on him?” he asked.

“He was free! He didn’t have papers.”

“So you say.” He smirked.

“Look,” I said, anger seeping in, “if you don’t sell him now, I will return with papers that say he is free, and then you’ll get nothing for him. Why not just sell him to me, and that will put an end to all of this!”

“Why you wantin’ him so bad? Seems you got some other kind of interest in him. You get yourself with a nigra? He your boy?” I glared at him, and when his blue eyes glinted with pleasure, I realized I had lost. Nothing material would substitute for the deep satisfaction that his power provided him. Threats were all I had left.

“Unless you sell him now, I make a promise that I shall keep. Stealing Negro children from Philadelphia is illegal, and if you do not hand him over to me now, I will prosecute you. I will not stop until I see you—”

“I’ve heard enough! The boy is already sold.”

I took a step back to stare at him. “So he is no longer here?”

“Trader’s comin’ by to pick him up.”

“You’ve actually sold him?” I asked, moving closer again.

“That’s right,” he said. “Once he’s gone, I’ll forget I ever saw him. Funny thing is, everybody on this place is gonna forget about him, too. You come back here with those papers, nobody’s gonna know who you’re talking about.”

An armed overseer, fingering his gun, watched from a nearby position. Thomas scanned the fields. Finally, he looked back at me. “I take it, then, that you don’t have no interest in any of the others?”

“You know who I want!”

“Something tells me you didn’t come here just for that boy. What I’d like to know is what you’re doing here, anyway? When you started askin’ for Sukey, now, that got my attention. Why her?” He peered out from under the brim of his hat. “Something’s just not sittin’ right. I’ve got to tell you, soon as you came over here looking for that boy, I’ve been wonderin’ if you’re actually from Philadelphia. I got a man in town lookin’ into you right now. From the start, somethin’ about you don’t feel right to me.” Casually, he placed his hand on top of the gun slung from his waist. “Now, Mr. Philadelphia, you got time to get your horse, and you got time to get up on him. Then I’ll give you enough time to ride out. But I’m warning you right now, don’t come back!”

I had no weapon, and even if I had, I was outnumbered. My chest pounded with impotent rage as I walked down the brick path that led me out of the garden and past the hospital. Was Pan still there, or had they already taken him?

I spurred my horse for home and pounded into Mr. Spencer’s yard, where he and Sam were standing outside the barn. Fury had me lose good sense. “Thomas already sold the boy!” I shouted. “And he told me to get off the property!”

The two stared up at me.

“The boy was mine!” I continued to shout. “Months ago he was stolen from me! He was free, but he was under my care.”

Mr. Spencer looked grim. “I was beginning to wonder about your interest in the boy,” he said, then turned to Sam. “Hitch up the farm wagon. We’ve got to get over there.” He hurried toward the house and waved me with him. “Help me get the wagon fitted out so we can fetch Addy.”

I didn’t understand his need to remove his daughter. Surely Thomas would not harm the girl. “He was upset, but he won’t involve Addy,” I said as we pulled pallets, pillows, and blankets from the house and heaped them into the wagon to create a soft nest in which to cradle the patient.

“I’ve seen Thomas when he’s riled. He takes it out on others, and I don’t want her on the place if that starts to happen.”

When we finished, Mr. Spencer climbed up on the wagon alongside Sam. “Do you want me to come?” I offered, but Mr. Spencer gave me a grim look.

“You stay here, and when I get back, we’ll talk this through. Right now I’ve got to get over there.”

Sam slapped the reins and set the two horses off at a trot. Before they were out of sight, I went into the house to begin packing. With Thomas’s men asking questions about me in town, I had to leave as soon as possible. With a sick heart, I realized that I would have to leave Pan behind.





CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN


1830


James


ADDY WAVED TO us with her good arm as the wagon rolled up to where Patricia, Clora, and I waited on the front steps. Sam pulled the team to a stop, and Mr. Spencer leaped down with more agility than I had seen previously. As he made his way back for Addy, the pounding of hooves and then a stream of dust alerted us to two approaching riders. One of the horses, a dark brown gelding, galloped forward and was brought to an abrupt halt in front of the wagon. From atop the horse, Bill Thomas glared down at Mr. Spencer. “I’m missing the boy!” he shouted. “They’re tellin’ me he’s gone!”