Nobody in the cabin slept that night. Jacob, Peter, and Two Rivers sat fingering their weapons and wordlessly staring at one another. No words were necessary. The fear they felt sat heavy enough upon them without giving voice to it. Besides, none of them had anything encouraging to say. They felt like men condemned, and they sat waiting to die. Cassius stood watch amongst the trees. This was one of the few occasions where his black skin actually came in handy. They sat, and they waited, and the moon crept slowly across the night sky. It felt as if they had waited for an eternity. But soon enough Cassius ran in with a warning.
“They comin’! Everybody load up and git ready. They comin’!”Finally, it was time. The band of patriots all burst into activity as they set a trap for their tormentors. Two Rivers separated the barrels of his shotgun from the stock of the weapon and slid his shells home.
“Once more into the breech dear brothers.”Jacob loaded his pistols and readied them for action.
“Cry havoc.”
Jacob, Peter, and Cassius took their positions in the east-facing entrance of the cabin. Cassius lay with his rifle in the doorway to provide accurate shots and snipe away at the enemy one by one. Jacob and Peter crouched beneath the windows to either side with a pistol in each hand to lay down covering fire at a rapid
58 rate through wide and interlocking fields of fire. Two Rivers crept out the back entrance and waited for the war party behind the cabin. He had a surprise for them.
The four freedom fighters heard a rustling amongst the leaves. Their enemy drew near; it would not be long now. Once they were all hidden behind nearby trees, they began to creep out. They crouched low and held their weapons tight as they took slow and silent steps forward towards the cabin. As Two Rivers had advised, Cassius didn’t shoot ‘till he saw the whites of their eyes. The nearest overseer stopped and drew in a sharp breath. They had been spotted! Before he could warn the others Cassius fired the first shot, thus ensuring the man would never speak another word in his life. It had begun.
The overseers quickly ran to the treeline for cover. Jacob and Peter popped up and encouraged Jones’ men to keep running. No such luck; once they had found cover behind the trees they started shooting back. Jacob and Peter got down to reload. Two Rivers crept up as close to the edge of the cabin as he dared with all of that lead flying his way.
With a nod, the three in the cabin simultaneously returned fire. As they did, Two Rivers bolted from the cabin to the treeline. So fixated were his adversaries on the three people shooting at them that they did not even notice that the veteran guerilla fighter was taking position on their left flank. The first shotgun blast caught them by surprise, and with the second they began to scatter. Two Rivers dropped his shotgun and pulled out a pair of pistols to provide enfilading fire. Cassius picked off a retreating overseer and drew his own pistols. Peter and Cassius ran out to take the fight to the enemy, and Jacob put down what suppressive fire he could.
It did not last much longer. Soon the head overseer was heard yelling out the only words spoken during the battle, “Let’s git!” Three Kansas guerillas suggested with their guns that their opponents run as fast as they could. Their blood was so up they did not even notice that only three were firing, not four as there should have been. Once it was over, the only sound to be heard was the anguished moaning of the wounded. The three got up to inspect the battlefield. As Jacob walked over to the trees he noticed that one of the wounded was not dressed like an overseer at all. It was Peter!
Jacob cried out in disbelief, “Peter!” He ran over to pick up his bleeding comrade and cradle him in his arms.“Peter, you can’t die. Can you hear me? You can’t die Peter! We need you. I need you. You have to stay with me. Oh Peter...”
Jacob’s words trailed off as he was overcome by tears. Two Rivers ran over as fast as he could. He brushed the younger man aside and kneeled to inspect Peter’s pierced side.
“It is not bad. He will live, but I have to get this bullet out of him. Go back to the cabin. I need water and cloth to use for bandages.”Jacob ran back inside the cabin to fetch the needed items. Two Rivers drew his knife and cut Peter’s clothes away around the wounded area. Peter screamed in agony as his friend dug out the offending ball of lead. Jacob found what he was looking for and ran back. He stopped in his tracks and nearly dropped the bucket of water he was carrying as shots rang out. Cassius was shooting the wounded overseers. Jacob trembled for a moment but continued. At that moment he had more immediate worries than his friend’s fall into darkness.
By the time Jacob had returned Two Rivers had found what he was looking for. He tossed the bullet aside and reached for the water and a rag. He cleaned the wound as best he could and held the rag over the bleeding area. He reached for Jacob’s hand.
“Here, hold this. Put as much pressure as you can directly over the wound.”Two Rivers took the shirts Jacob had brought him and cut them into strips. Then he bandaged Peter’s torso. Two Rivers inspected his work, and then he nodded. The bleeding had stopped; Peter would indeed live. He spoke to the others.
“Come on, we have to get him inside. Help me carry him.”His grim task completed, Cassius helped the others tend to Peter’s broken body. Once they were inside, Jacob sat with his friend’s head upon his lap, laid hands on him, and prayed for his life. Cassius and Two Rivers sat in silence, each trying to make sense of the horror they had just witnessed. Nobody in the cabin slept that night.
