CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

“Thank you for talking to us, Aunt Martha,” said Luc. “We’re just trying to get a better read on what happened to Archie. Especially what happened between him and your guests.”

“Chester and Douglas Higgenbotham. Odious men,” she said with a look of disgust. “Chewing tobacco at my table, coming into the house with dirty boots on. I nearly shot them for that.”

Luc and Jean laughed, shaking their head at their wonderful ancestor.

“I think they were looking for trouble the moment they set foot on the property,” said Martha. “They kept commenting about how it must be lonely for a woman to take care of so much land alone. Asked me how much help I had. They even wanted to know if Franklin was allowed to have a gun. Of course, law said he couldn’t, but on my property, he could do whatever the hell he damn well pleased.”

“Aunt Martha, back to the men,” smirked Jean.

“I’m gettin’ there. They’d been here two days when Captain Walker showed up. You could see them stiffen at the sight of him. Course, he’s a big man. Looked good in his uniform. Those two were a little soft around the middle, and I’m going to bet didn’t serve with honor. They immediately took a dislike to him.”

“What about the third man?” asked Luc.

“He was a salesman,” said Franklin. “He was tryin’ to sell Miss Martha carpets. Hell, the woman had a hundred carpets in that house. Didn’t need another. But he was determined, and the storm made him sit tight. I don’t think it was him. Searched his bags myself and didn’t find anything suspicious.” The others raised their brows at him.

“Don’t look at him that way,” said Martha. “He was protecting me. Besides, Mr. Boxe wasn’t but five feet tall. Poor man needed a lift to get on a horse. He wouldn’t have been able to drown Archie.”

“What did the Higgenbothams say?”

“Well, they said everything disparaging they could about the Union and the North beating the South. Lord, I’ve never seen a man hold his tongue so well as he did,” said Martha. “At one point, Franklin slammed his fist on the table and told them both to shut their mouths, or he’d make sure they left via the bayou.”

“That was foolish, Franklin. They could have killed you,” said Jean.

“They were all mouth. I had a few of the other boys standing in the doorways, watching and waiting. They knew they were outnumbered. But when they started asking Archie his business, that’s when things started to change. They didn’t like the idea of him meetin’ with other soldiers up in Vicksburg.”

“How long did the storm last?” asked Luc.

“Five days. Five nasty days. We had everyone available makin’ sandbags and prayin’ that the crops wouldn’t be ruined. No one worked harder than Archie,” said Franklin. “Fine boy. Fine, fine boy.”

“Where were the Higgenbothams from?” asked Jean.

“Said they were from New Orleans, but I didn’t believe ‘em,” said Martha. “They didn’t have the look or the sound. I think they were from somewhere in Georgia or Alabama. They slipped up one night and told Boxe they were part of Cobb’s Legion. Everybody knows that was in Georgia.”

“Why would they lie about where they were from?” asked Jean. “It wouldn’t have mattered. Confederate soldiers were everywhere.”

“My opinion,” said Franklin, “they were deserters. War was over, and no one gave a damn, but a deserter still left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. They were cowards.”

“Was Archie carrying anything of value other than the plans for reformation?” asked Luc.

“The plans were public knowledge,” said Martha. “We openly discussed it at dinner almost every night. I think he was hoping to make those two idiots understand what he was trying to do. He had one small bag with a change of clothing. That was it. When he left here, Franklin packed him up with some food and a letter of introduction from me, just in case.”

“Where was he found?” asked Jean.

“Down near the sharecropper shacks. It’d been more than a week since he’d left here. Could have been killed anywhere along the river, and his body floated back down, or he could have been killed at the shacks. Just don’t know. I know Martha was some kind of upset. We had no way of knowing what to do with him, so we buried him here.”

“I think we need to try and find out about the brothers,” said Luc. “Code? Is there anything in the computers about them.”

“Well, score one for Martha. They were in the Cobb’s Legion in Georgia. And, they were deserters wanted by the Confederacy.”

“Why? If the war was over, why?” asked Jean.

“Because they stole the equivalent of a million dollars in gold from the Confederate Army.”

“What the fuck?” muttered Jean.

“The gold was being transported south in hopes of it arriving in time to help Sherman. It didn’t. In fact, it never arrived. Later, someone identified Chester as the man who’d robbed the wagon. The brothers disappeared, and they were labeled as deserters.”

“What about the gold?” asked Luc.

“It was never found, but the brothers were captured and hanged in Texas in 1871. They refused to say anything about the gold.”

“I remember it all,” said Archie, standing beside the men. Charity was behind him, listening intently.

“What do you remember, Archie?” asked Jean.

“I left here that morning, sad to leave Martha and Franklin. Chester and Douglas had left the day before, so I was happy about that. I didn’t care for them and worried they would try something with them. I was nearly to Baton Rouge when they were upon me.

“Chester shot me in the back, but it didn’t kill me. He wasn’t a very good shot, that’s for sure. I tried to outrun them, but being injured, I was struggling. Then, they did the most cowardly thing a man can do in wartime. They shot my horse.”

“I’m sorry,” whispered Charity. Archie turned, giving her a small smile and a nod.

“I was on the ground, unable to reach my rifle when they approached. We were very close to the river, so I suppose they thought that would be the easiest way to dispose of me.”

“Why didn’t they just shoot you again?” asked Jean.

“Men. There were men coming downriver on a small boat. We were hidden behind the reeds, but they would have heard a shot. It’s all so clear now. How is it all so clear?”

“We’re not sure,” said Luc. “Sometimes, it just takes one thing to wipe away the cobwebs.”

“They dragged me toward the river and held me down. That’s all I remember. The next thing I saw was all of you.”

“I’m so sorry, Archie,” said Jean. “Now we know. You might move on; you might not. But you have a home here with us if you like.”

“I’m not sure I have a choice in the matter, sir,” he grinned. “I feel as though my feet are firmly planted here, and I don’t know why.”

“I don’t know either, but I’m glad you’re here, Archie.”