In His Eyes(94)

A loud pop cracked in the air and Ella jumped, startling Lee. He began to cry, and the man behind her cursed. He slipped one arm around her waist and dug his heels into the horse. The animal dropped its rear and lurched forward.

Ella screamed.

The man leaned forward in the saddle, pushing her up against the pommel and forcing her to try to lift Lee to keep him from being squished. The soldier ignored her cries, driving the animal forward at a rapidly increasing pace. The thundering sound behind her alerted Ella that the other soldiers kept up.

The horse galloped into the settlement. Larson pulled on the reins and brought the animal to a shuddering stop in the middle of the street between the two rows of neat cabins.

Ella’s chest heaved, and she twisted around in the saddle. She lifted her arm and swatted at the man, attempting to slap him but not being able to get the proper angle to do so.

Larson grabbed her wrist and growled. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

“Do you know—”

Shouts came from the house to her left, and he swung out of the saddle. His feet barely hit the ground before he started running toward the house. Ella bounced Lee to settle him and gathered the horse’s reins, hoping that the animal wouldn’t spook. She didn’t think she could dismount by herself.

There was another pop of gunfire and Ella strangled a scream. The door to the house flew open and a man stumbled outside clutching his chest.

Behind her, someone shrieked. Ella twisted and saw Sibby’s eyes grow wide. She watched as her mouth opened and agony poured out.

“Nat!” Sibby screamed. “No!” She threw her leg over the horse and dropped to the ground, hitting hard on her back because her bound hands could not stop her fall. She rolled to her side as the soldiers shouted and jumped from their horses.

Blood seeped through Nat’s fingers and spread across his shirt, turning the white to a hideous shade of crimson. The air stilled as the blood pulsed in Ella’s ears, and then chaos erupted around her. Men yelled and Sibby screamed as she tried to reach Nat.

“Get them back!” Larson bellowed, waving his hands.

Ella pulled on the reins. She couldn’t stay here and risk Lee. Clutching her child tightly against her, Ella kicked the horse’s sides. He tossed his head and snorted, then danced to the side.

“Come on, you daft creature!” Ella screeched.

She slapped the reins down hard on the animal’s neck and it pinned its ears to its head.

Then it lurched and Ella had to hold tight to the reins as it bolted down the road and into the field beyond, leaving men hollering behind her.

For all of her effort, however, Ella made it only a few hundred feet before a soldier galloped to her and expertly snatched the reins from her hand, bringing the heaving horse to a halt and nearly unseating her.

Breathing hard, Ella stared at the soldier, a young man who seemed to be several years younger than she. He frowned at her, and Ella batted her eyes.

“Oh, thank goodness. This dreadful creature is going to be the death of me!”

“But….” The man clamped his jaw and turned the animal back to the settlement.

Ella held her chin high as he paraded her back between the cottages, then thankfully helped her to the ground. Sibby had made it to the porch where she leaned over Nat. He wasn’t moving.

Larson snatched her arm. “What do you think you were doing?”

She glared at him. “Protecting my son.”

He snarled, but before he could berate her, a soldier jogged up. “We have them, sir. Captured eight men and a handful of women and children. Found three wagons loaded up, too.”

Larson turned back to Ella, narrowing his eyes. “Do you know anything about this?”

She flung her hand at their surroundings. “You can obviously see that I do not.” She glanced back at Sibby, who sobbed over Nat’s body. “Please, tell me what is happening.”

“It has come to our attention,” Larson said, “that there is a group of smugglers in Memphis that both trade and steal supplies and bring them back south.”

Ella put her hands on her hips. “Smugglers in Memphis? What has that got to do with us?”

“It would seem these people use Negros to steal and deliver their supplies. We assume because they can move around with all of the coloreds heading north without notice.”

Ella blinked at him.

“These men have been smuggling items south, where they are selling foodstuffs, livestock, and medicines they stole from the hospitals in Memphis.”

Ella placed her fingers over her mouth. The wagons. The supplies Sibby always seemed to have….

He narrowed his eyes. “Is there something you wish to tell me, Mrs. Remington?”

Ella turned her gaze on Sibby as they pulled her away from Nat. Sibby looked up and her gaze locked with Ella’s.

Then her eyes filled with fear.





Ella shifted her weight against the hard stone wall and tried not to move Lee too much. Her back ached, and her arm grew heavy from hours of holding the baby up. The small room smelled damp and something like ash, and Ella shivered against the cold.

Sibby groaned on the other side of the cell. “You needs to go home.”

“I can’t, and you know it,” she bit back, no longer concerned with making her tone more civil. The woman could use a bit of grace, especially since she had lost someone dear to her today, but Ella just couldn’t seem to muster the strength to offer it.