The Two Sams: Men of the West. F. M. Worden
Чтение книги онлайн.
Читать онлайн книгу The Two Sams: Men of the West - F. M. Worden страница 7
Название: The Two Sams: Men of the West
Автор: F. M. Worden
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Вестерны
isbn: 9781927360484
isbn:
He sat on the same bench. Stone was still there. He said with a smile, “Heard you got some trouble, at the counter.”
“Not much.”
The last of the young girls went up on the block and were sold. Stone got up and left. Now the one Sam came for was on the block. No bids. She looked terrible. In a dirty grey dress, more of a rag than a dress. She was bare footed, stood with her head down, never looking up. Blood streamed down her hands from her tied wrists. There was no reason for anyone to buy this woman.
The auctioneer was screaming for a bid. Sam let him scream. Still, no bids. Sam watched the crowd. It had thinned out quite a bit, still no bids and then Sam bid. “One hundred dollars.”
“Sold to the man in the black hat.” Sam was surprised he got her so cheap. He headed to the counter, paid the money, got his bill of sale. He was handed the neck rope. This time the gruff one backed away saying, “No trouble, I don’t want no trouble.”
Sam lifted the rope off her neck, tossed it to the man and said to the black woman, “Follow me.”
A man standing in the door said, “Watch her she’ll run off.”
Sam gave him a dirty look and showed him a clinched fist. Sam was uncomfortable with this whole business of buying slaves. To have some white numbskull say something made him mad. The man backed away. No more was said, any way not to this man. Sam had the look of a man of fixed conviction.
At the wagon yard, no words were passed between the two blacks but their looks told Sam all he needed to know. For the first time a smile broke the two black faces.
“We better hurry, it’ll be dark soon and we have a long way to go.” He hitched up the mules and turned them toward the front gate. He was looking down below the seat. He said, “There should be three sacks here, I see only two.”
He turned to the black man and asked, “Did you see two or three sacks?”
“Only two,” the black said as he showed two fingers.
Sam stopped the wagon, hopped down and entered the livery stable. “You the owner?” he spoke in a harsh tone to the man standing there. “Yeah, what’s the trouble?” The man seemed unconcerned.
“I have a sack missing from my wagon. I want it back, right now!” Any blind man could see he was mad.
“Okay, okay, if it’s here, we’ll find it. If it ain’t, too damn bad.” The man said and shrugged his shoulders.
“Too damn bad for you,” Sam said and opened his coat to show the handle of his pistol.
“OKAY, OKAY. Hey boy,” he yelled to a little black boy standing in the door of the tack room. “You seen this mans sack?”
“I ain’t see’d nutt-n’. I ain’t see-d no sack,” the little boy called back.
Just then another older black boy came from the harness room, holding a sack and asked, “Is this it?”
“That’s it.” He took the sack and returned to the wagon.
The three started the trip home. Sam Duncan had purchased two black slaves. A man and a woman.
Chapter 3
Slave Owner
Sam and his blacks drove on thru town to the south road. They drove for over an hour. No words were passed between Sam and his newly purchased blacks. The sun was starting to set.
Sam announced, “We must stop and fix something to eat. I’m hungry, I ain’t had nothing since this morning.”
Finding an open spot in the trees, he pulled the mules off the road. Getting down he tied the mules to a nearby tree, retrieved two nose bags and slipped them on the mules. During this time the black ones were picking up leaves and twigs to start a fire. As they finished Sam handed the woman his flint and steel. She struck a fire immediately. Sam took down a water jug and from a sack of tin utensils, a coffee pot and filled it with water. Set the pot by the fire. We’ll have coffee as soon as the water boils.
All three sat silently staring into the fire. Soon the water boiled. Sam from a small sack, took a hand full of ground coffee and dropped it into the boiling water. From a food sack he took a chunk of meat wrapped in oil cloth.
“Possum killed and cooked yesterday,” he told them.
“I shore like’s possum meat,” the black man said licking his lips.
Sam brought forth tin cups and plates, from the utensils sack. He cut three chunks of meat and put them in a skillet by the fire to let them heat. Cold biscuits and a baked potato finished the meal.
“Go ahead, eat, eat.” He set three tin cups on the ground and filled them with coffee. He motioned for them to pick up and drink. “Careful, it’s hot,” he advised. They both cupped the cups in their hands and sipped slowly looking at Sam as they did. It burned the man’s mouth.
“Blow on it,” Sam kinda laughed. “Never had hot coffee before?”
“No sur, never has. I’z a wonders why our white folk always had to have coffee in the morning.”
Sam laughed, “Now you know.”
“It’s good.”
They built the fire up. Now they could see each other as the darkness came on, the fire danced in their eyes. Sam could see hunger had taken them over as he handed plates to eager hands. They pushed the food into their mouths with their fingers as fast as they could.
“Take it easy you wanta to choke. When was last time you had some food?”
“Kin’t rightly say. Been some time...ni-on two- three days.”
“What-ya drink if you drank no coffee?” asked Sam.
“Well water mostly, had apple cider one time when the foreman ain’t looking. We squeeze pear juices when they was ripe, if we could steal some pears.” The man hung his head as to be ashamed of stealing.
“I ain’t been told your names, what do I call you?”
“My name is Joe,” the man replied.
“What’s your name?” he asked the woman.
She replied, “I ain’t never had a named.”
“What would you be called?” Sam asked.
The man spoke up. “I calls her sweets.”
“I can’t be call-en her sweet’s.” Sam laughed. “How come you think she’s with child?”
The woman stood up, pulled her dress up and showed him her little round belly. “I believe you’re right,” Sam said. “She sure looks like she is.” He had no more questions.
After СКАЧАТЬ