A Stranger On My Land - A Civil War Romance by Sandra Merville Hart

Author:Sandra Merville Hart [Hart, Sandra Merville]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas
Published: 2016-06-03T04:00:00+00:00

• CHAPTER SEVEN •

Carrie endured her aunt’s complaints about Adam as best she could for the next few days. Aunt Lavinia insisted on Carrie’s help to walk to the front room. Every day she sat in a chair facing Adam. Carrie didn’t know if her aunt intended to protect her family or remind the soldier of her presence. Either way, all felt relieved when Aunt Lavinia returned to her sickbed after an hour or so.

It had to make Adam uncomfortable and concern him, but he didn’t complain. In fact, he went in and out of sleep several times a day. He was friendly with her, but didn’t talk often. Carrie’s worry for him increased as she realized his condition was worsening.

She changed his bandage daily and applied the poultices. The bruised, torn flesh didn’t show much improvement. She went back to using plain water to wash the arm, but it didn’t change the appearance of the open wound.

If he wasn’t busy with chores, Jay sat beside her as she tended Adam. No matter how gruesome the sight appeared to her, Jay paid close attention.

Realizing both Jay and Star were fidgety, Carrie sent her brother out to replenish the firewood on Friday, December 4th. When her aunt retreated to bed after breakfast for a nap, Carrie took the opportunity to pray for Adam again as the soldier slept restlessly. Her ideas had run out, and still Adam showed no signs of improvement. In fact, he grew weaker. One of the wounds remained open. The bullets must be lodged inside the arm somewhere. Aunt Lavinia couldn’t remove them, even if she could be persuaded to help a Yankee. Jay couldn’t do it. All their close neighbors had fled. Of those who remained further up the mountain, would any possess the skill to remove a bullet?

Thoughts of the army tents surrounding Chattanooga came unbidden. The army had surgeons. But no, it was at least a two or three-mile walk to get to the closest camp. She couldn’t take Adam to them. He couldn’t walk such a distance, and they had no horse. If she brought them to the cave, their food could be stolen along with the livestock. They would starve. She couldn’t do that to her family.

Adam had been shot on November twenty-fourth. The bullets had now been in his arm ten days. They must be removed. What could she do? How could she save Adam’s life and not risk the livelihood of her family?

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