Chapter 7

We wuz all right worried 'bout Isaac. He had started coughin' up blood before we even got him home from the rescue, an' it seemed ta git worse every day. What really tore us up wuz that there wuz not a damned thin' that we could do ta help him. He wuz already drinkin' more laudanum than wuz really good fer him because of the pain in his knee, besides, we didn't think that more laudanum would help his cough.

Each day, that damned cough seemed ta git worse, an' he wuz havin' real problems gettin' enough air by the end of the week. We didn't have no doctor fer miles around, an' none of us wuz real anxious ta have the doctor bleed Isaac. We wuz against bleedin' because he wuz already spittin' up blood every time he coughed.

By the third week, Isaac wuz takin' so much laudanum that I had ta make a trip inta town ta git more. I wuz sure that he wuz gettin' addicted ta the opium in the laudanum, but what else could we do? One night soon after, Ethel woke us up with a piercin' scream. The whole family rushed inta the bedroom an' found her collapsed in her bed.

Isaac wasn't breathin', an' he held an empty laudanum bottle in his hand. There wuz no question 'bout him bein' dead. He had killed himself by drinkin' nearly a whole bottle of laudanum. I wuz damned shore that he knew exactly what he wuz doin'. Several times in the past week, Isaac had said that he knew that he would never be able ta git around like he should, an' he didn't want ta be a burden on anybody. Oh, well, I just hoped that I would have the courage ta do the same thin' ifen the situation ever came up fer me.

Of course, the rest of the night wuz shot fer sleepin'. Sarah an' Holley tried ta comfort Ethel, while the rest of the women, includin' the girls busied themselves with fixin' us some food an' generally "straightenin' up" the house. We didn't have nobody what would be callin' by, soz that wasn't the problem. They just needed somethin' ta do.

The next day, the women bathed an' dressed Isaac in his best clothes while Danny an' I dug a grave. There wuz a big old hickory tree near the house, an' we dug the grave next ta it. We didn't have any way ta make a coffin, soz the women wrapped Isaac's body in a sheet fer a shroud, an' we lowered him in the grave in that. We all said a few words, an' I led a prayer before we covered him with dirt an' a pile of rocks ta keep the varmints away.

Ethel mourned fer 'bout a week, then she kinda pulled herself together with the help of the rest of our family. I said it that way, because we had adopted her an' her kids inta our big family, an' she an' the kids seem ta feel better that way. Not much changed, except that Ethel moved inta my bed with my other wives. Man, those women kept me busy with five wives, now.

The summer moved along, an' everythin' went pretty well. Danny an' I finished the barn, with the help of the women. Ethel had her baby, a boy what she named Isaac. It wuz a good thin' that the barn wuz finished, because we wuz goin' ta need the space in the house before long. Elizabeth an' Wildflower wuz both knocked up, though they wasn't due at the same time. Hell, the way them women wuz gettin' knocked up, you'd think that they wuz tryin' ta double the population of Alabama all by themselves.

We were enjoyin' just livin' when I got a surprise summons ta the tavern in town. The message from the tavern keeper wuz kind of an acknowledgment that I wuz a force in our little community. I didn't have nothin' else ta do, soz I agreed ta meet him. Danny wanted ta go with me, an' I saw no reason why he shouldn't, soz we left early one mornin' dressed pretty much a we would on a huntin' expedition. The weather had started ta cool off a bit, so we wore our leather armor jerkins, more fer warmth than anythin' else. As usual, we also had two of the dogs along with us, fer no good reason, we just did.

We were 'bout half way ta town when it happened. The dogs got real excited just as six men came boilin' out of the brush brandishin' big knives an' swords. Danny wuz a little bit quicker ta react than me, so he wuz the one ta shout fer the dogs ta attack. Well, they did. I don't think that them bandits figured on meetin' them dogs, but it wuz the last mistake they made.

Danny an' I had our muskets loaded an' charged, so all we had ta do wuz cock an' fire. That took care of two of the bandits, an' the dogs had taken care of two. Only two bandits were left, now, an' they didn't know quite what ta do. They stood back ta back with their sabers raised in hopes of defendin' themselves against the dogs, not that they really had much chance. I yelled at the dogs ta hold off on any more attacks because I wanted ta talk ta the bandits if possible.

Danny an' I reloaded while the dogs kept a close eye on the remainin' live bandits. "Don't kill us, Mister. Please?" begged one of them.

I said, "I may not kill you ifen you tell me what's goin' on. I know this can't be just a happenstance. There ain't enough traffic on this road ta make it worthwhile fer y'all just ta wait fer a likely victim ta come along. I know y'all wuz layin' fer me, so tell me what it wuz all 'bout."

"I don't know why, Mister, but we wuz hired ta beat you up, but not ta kill you."

"Who wuz it who hired y'all?"

"It wuz the owner of the tavern. At least, that's who he said he wuz. He said you owed him money, but had refused ta pay up, so he wanted ta teach you a lesson."

I asked what the man had looked like, an' the description wuz nothin' like what my old friend wuz like. What the shit wuz goin' on? I ordered the two men ta strip off all of their clothes, includin' their boots, an' ta start runnin'. Ifen I could still see them after 10 minutes, I would sic the dogs on them. They didn't give me no argument, but did what I said. Runnin' naked through that brush fer 10 minutes wuz gonna tear hell out of their skin, particularly their feet, soz I figured that wuz enough punishment.

Danny an' I sorted through the stuff left behind, includin' that on the dead men. We came up lucky. Not only did we find the $12 that had been paid fer the ambush, we found boots in good condition that would fit Danny an' me. We took the weapons an' other stuff an' headed home. I wanted ta make shore the women were OK before I did anythin' else.

Back home, everythin' wuz fine, but we talked 'bout the strange occurrence. I wanted ta talk ta Josh, the tavern keeper, ta find out what if anythin' he knew 'bout this. I figured ta go inta town tomorrow ta talk ta Josh, because this needed straightenin' out.

Danny wuz right steady in a fight, so I wanted ta leave him home ta manage the dogs in case of trouble. Sarah could be depended on ta handle the overall defense of our home, but Danny wuz a real whiz with the dogs. I figured that I could git ta town safely enough by myself ifen I took four dogs fer guards. A couple of more litters had been born an' trained over the summer, soz there wuz plenty of dogs ta safeguard the farm. Especially when you figured in the shootin' accuracy of the women an' Danny. They wuz more worried 'bout me goin' alone than I wuz 'bout them, but I pointed out how much faster I could travel by myself. Well, that wuz the convincer, I guess. Anyway, I left right after an early breakfast the next mornin'.

I got inta town before mid mornin', since I had trotted all of the way. That wuz a right smart of exercise fer me, but not too bad. I looked up Josh an' told him what had happened with the ambush yesterday. One of the first thin's we did wuz ta come up with a code word fer him ta use in any message ta me or me ta him so that we would know the message wuz fer real.