Late one afternoon the three friends were cutting lumber into boards to build Jacob’s church. The sun burned bright but the wind carried with it the cold taste of winter. Suddenly a lone rider appeared in the north. They all grew troubled and put down their axes. Two Rivers picked up his shotgun and Cassius grabbed his rifle. Each checked the condition of their weapons and pulled their hammers back into firing position. Jacob stared at the figure moving across the endless prairie. Two Rivers stepped up to Jacob’s right and Cassius to his left. Each was ready to guard their friend with their lives. Two Rivers gave voice to their unease.
“That would be a scout for Jones’ war party. We should shoot first and ask questions later.”Jacob scratched his head, still transfixed by the lone rider coming in across the plains. “If that is so then why is he coming in from the north rather than from the south?”
“They have circled around and doubled back,” Two Rivers replied. “They are trying to confuse us. We have to take him out, now.”Jacob shook his head, not quite convinced. “We can’t just shoot him down in cold blood. Then we would not be any better than that damn Jones. Even if that is another one of his dogs, he has made no threat to us. Maybe he just wants to talk. Hold your fire, I’m going to go see what he wants.”
Now it was Two Rivers turn to shake his head as his young friend walked up52 to the stranger. Cassius traced the curve of his rifles trigger with his right index finger as he squinted towards the lone rider. He wanted to make sure he could quickly raise the weapon, take aim, and take him out should this unknown man present a threat. Jacob squinted as well. There was something familiar about this rider. Once Jacob came close enough to make out his facial features he cried out with joy and went running towards him. It was Peter!
Grinning from ear to ear, Peter jumped off his horse and ran to embrace his oldest and dearest friend. Then the two men smiled and clapped one another on the back as they beheld on another for the first time in months. Jacob shook his head in disbelief, laughed, and made a declaration of his joy. “You came!”
Peter laughed and responded. “Well I couldn’t let my best friend have the adventure of a lifetime without me! Out west, living off the land, this is very exciting! And boy do I have a story to tell you. Things are moving very quickly back home Jacob.”
Jacob shook his head again, still not quite believing what his eyes were telling him. “There will be time enough for stories later. Come, let us eat.”Peter recovered his horse and followed his friend over towards the cabin. Jacob introduced his oldest friend to his two newest ones. As the sun set across the horizon they built a fire, cooked their dinner, and sat down to share a meal together. When they had finished, Jacob found that he could contain his curiosity no longer.
“So, what news from back home my friend?”Peter leaned forward eagerly, and the fire illuminated his face against the growing darkness. “Good news my friend, very good news; the seeds you planted in Boston have found fertile soil. When you left, the movement you started multiplied in magnitude. The Kansas Freedom Settlement Society has many supporters all across New England. Not the least of which is your father.”
Jacob’s jaw dropped almost to the ground. “But how can that be? My father called me a damn fool and said I would starve alone in the wilderness on my way out the door.”
Peter shot him a wolf’s grin. “It would seem that you made and impression upon him. Every day he publishes and preaches on the virtues of your cause. He has convinced many and brought some very influential individuals into our camp. And he is not the only one. Feast your eyes upon this my friend.”
Peter pulled from the small of his back a recent issue of The Liberator. On the front was a picture of Jacob speaking in Boston Commons. It carried a full page endorsement from William Lloyd Garrison himself, urging all who loved liberty to pledge their support to the Kansas Freedom Settlement Society and join the struggle to found new bastion of democracy in the west. Jacob was floored. Peter continued.
“We have many friends with pull. We have significant financial backing. And the best news is, I am only here as an advance party. There are nearly a thousand settlers coming over with the spring thaw. Kansas will be free soil my friend, and you can take that to the bank.”
Jacob looked off to his side and stared up into the night sky, still shaking his head in disbelief. His heart felt lifted right up into the heavens. But when his mind turned to recent events, his heart grew troubled.
“Peter, this place is not like Boston at all. It is dangerous here. These slavery men have hearts of stone. They think nothing more of taking a man’s life than they would of putting down a lame horse or a mad dog. We’re not in Massachusetts anymore.”
Peter pulled back his coat to reveal the butt of a pistol sticking out from his waistband. “I am not afraid of them. I have already overcome much hardship to get here. If these running dogs of slavery come to take your friend or give us any other trouble then my pistol will have something to say about that. I am committed to the cause, to your cause. I won’t back down from a fight. I am here. And I will be with you Jacob, even unto the end of the world.”