Phebe's War by Michael Coudreaut

Author:Michael Coudreaut [Coudreaut, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781555719623
Publisher: Hellgate Press
Published: 2020-02-17T22:00:00+00:00

The wagons rumbled east. Phebe sat with her back against the side of the wagon, holding Derick, who had fallen asleep. The children had finally settled down. But what was to be an adventure had become an exercise in monotony. They joined an exodus of wagons that moved only as fast as the slowest one. There were breakdowns in the mud. By four in the afternoon, all progress stopped. Jacob climbed down from the lead wagon and walked forward to ascertain the trouble. Four wagons ahead, one had broken an axle, and it listed to the side in a foot of mud. It was irreparable, so the men of the wagon train moved it to the side of the road. The wagon’s owners gathered what they could carry, abandoned it, and led their horse on foot.

As the sun reached closer to the western horizon, the traffic on the road thinned a bit, and Jacob could make better progress.

“Should we find some lodgings?” Marie whispered to Jacob.

“I was just thinking that.” Jacob worried about the challenge of finding a warm place to stay for the night. Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult to find lodgings for such a large brood. Now, with so many refugees heading east, the competition would be severe.

“I see a larger home up that road. Perhaps they can take us.” Marie pointed ahead.

Jacob guided his wagon to the road on the left, past stonewalls, a pasture, and up to the front door of a stately home. It was a two-story saltbox with a central entrance and five windows facing the road. Smoke rose from each chimney on both ends of the house. There were two wagons outside. Jacob alighted from his seat and approached the front door. He knocked gently, and the mistress of the home answered the door.

Phebe’s legs had gone numb. Derick still slept, motionless in her lap. She watched hopefully as Jacob spoke with the woman. The woman looked kind enough. She was dressed in a worn black housedress, she had on an apron, and her gray hair was tucked behind her head and tied in a bun. She smiled apologetically to Jacob and shook her head no. He turned away, head down and climbed into his wagon. “They have taken in two families already. Maybe it would help to get off the main road.”

He turned north at the next opportunity in hopes of finding a place to stay off the beaten path. The road narrowed. They made it about a quarter of a mile when they came upon a well-tended farm surrounded by a split rail fence. The house was a one-story house with a pitched roof with dormers. The barn was large. There were no wagons outside, so this looked promising. As they rounded a bend and headed into the farm, a large man rushed out of the barn brandishing a musket. He was followed by a boy of about sixteen, who carried a fowling piece.

Jacob leaned back and reached his right hand behind his seat.

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