Chapter 3

While BA and Sally were talking in the kitchen Face and Johnny were talking quietly in bed.

"I may be clean but I'm not going to church. I'll find a way to keep from going, you'll see?"

"What do you have against going to church?"

"The orphanage I was placed in after my mother died had a director who took a dislike for me. He was always hurting me and I had to be extra quiet during church or he would pinch me and whip me when we got back to the orphanage. It left me not wanting to ever go again."

"How many times did you have to go?"

"Always on Sunday but then throughout the week if they had a revival going on."

"I'm sorry, but I don't think that is going to keep you from going, Face. You should give my church a try, I like it and after church, we have a picnic on the grounds."

"I'll think about it," was all Face would say as he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

The next morning Face got up when Johnny did and hurriedly got dressed before breakfast. He had thought about what Johnny had told him when he first woke up and decided that he still didn't want to go so he dressed in the clean clothes Murdock had brought over the night before and plastered a smile on his face. He had to convince Aunt Sally that all was well so he could take off before they left for church. He joined the family for breakfast and acted like nothing was wrong.

"That was delicious Aunt Sally. May I be excused? I want to visit with Dandy for a while."

"Go ahead but don't be gone too long, church starts at 10:00 and we have a distance to go before we get there."

"Yes ma'am."

Face lost little time in getting to the barn and greeting his family before grabbing an apple to take to Dandy. Hannibal didn't notice that anything was wrong and watched him go to where the horses were grazing. "Don't get dirty, kid!" he shouted as he watched Face nod his understanding and went back to what he was doing. Everybody was getting ready to leave and no one noticed Face getting on Dandy's back except for BA who was about to head out for the little church he was attending. Face was so focused on Hannibal and Murdock that he didn't realize that BA hadn't left until he was yanked from Dandy's back and spun around to see a scowling BA.

"Now where do you think you are going, little brother?"

"I was just going to go for a short ride…I haven't seen Dandy for some….OW!"

BA swatted him before growling, "You lie to me again Face and I will dust your britches real good!"

"I don't want to go to church…satisfied?"

BA didn't reply only took him by his arm and pulled him towards the barn as Hannibal walked out to see what was wrong. "What's going on BA?"

"He was trying to run away so he wouldn't have to go to church!"

"Is that true kid?"

Face nodded, "I don't want to go, Hannibal!"

"Why?"

"I just have bad memories from being forced to go while I was at the orphanage. I vowed that I wouldn't go back."

"I'm sorry kid, but you are going. This church service will be different from what you experienced at the Orphanage."

"But Hannibal…"

Hannibal stared at him, "Face, you are going…that ends the discussion! Now get into the wagon we are ready to leave."

"Why can't I ride Dandy, you and Harry are riding your horses into town?"

"Because on horseback you might be tempted to ride away and face the consequences of your actions after the service ends. Now get into the wagon!"

Face's expression caused Hannibal to chuckle. That was just what the boy was planning. He would have to be on his toes or the kid might find a way to get away. He continued to watch as the boy dejectedly did as he was told. During the ride into town, Face didn't make another peep and Hannibal knew that he was thinking of ways to escape the church service.

"Colonel? Look at Face…he's up to something?". Murdock and Hannibal had been watching Face off and on the journey into town. For most of the journey, Face had a serious and determined look on his face but now he was smiling.

Hannibal glanced for himself and noticed the smile, " He's thought of a plan to get out of going. I'll just have to have a serious talk with him before we go in, won't I?" He grinned seriously.

Face had a plan, he would just misbehave in church and they would send him out and he would just wait for the service to be over and enjoy the picnic lunch with the rest of them afterward.

They arrived about fifteen minutes before the service was to start. Johnny and his family walked in but before Face could follow Hannibal grabbed the boy by the arm and whispered in his ear.

"You wouldn't dare?"

"Misbehave and find out!" Hannibal threatened.

Face stared at Hannibal for a moment before entering the church.

"What did you tell him?" asked Murdock.

"I told him that if he misbehaved in any way I would yank him out of his seat and take him outside and wear him out before returning him to his place and he would have to listen on a very sore bottom!"

"Do you think it will work?"

"I don't know, only time will tell. Come on the service is about to start and we don't want to be late," and the two men hurried in to find that Face was not sitting with the Moore family

"Where are the boys?" Hannibal asked Sally.

"They are sitting with the Brown family in the pew in front of us."

Hannibal looked and saw Face sitting among several boys in the pew in front but at the far end. They seemed to be quietly talking among themselves.

"We are going to have to keep an eye on him throughout the service," Hannibal whispered to Murdock who nodded his agreement.

Face had decided that Hannibal's warning was only an empty threat. He had misbehaved several times since joining the Colonel's regiment during the war and had only been punished by BA and that time for risking his life. He felt that he could have a little fun during church and nothing more would come of it except for a stern lecture from Hannibal afterward. He felt that as long as BA wasn't there he was safe from any painful punishment.

At the beginning of the service, Face was quiet. He figured to lure the Colonel into a false belief that he wasn't going to be a problem. He mimics everyone around him. When they stood he did as well and when they began to sing he joined in using the hymnal with Tommy Brown who was sitting next to him. He did everything they did and he didn't cause any trouble but during the sermon, he started to get antsy…to him the sermon was boring and he thought to liven it up a bit. He started to pull the ponytail of the little girl sitting in front of him, which caused Tommy to snicker. He stopped when the girl turned around to glare at him.

Face then pulled out his pocket knife and began to carefully cut the ponytail being careful not to pull and alert the girl. Unfortunately for Face Tommy saw and nudged his brothers to what was happening and they began to snicker as well which alerted the adults around them and Hannibal behind them.

Before Face could finish his project he felt himself being pulled from his place at the end of the pew and ushered from the church by a very irate Hannibal. He grabbed Face's knife as they walked out.

"So you decided to see if I was bluffing about punishing you if you misbehaved during church?"

Face just looked at him in shock. He didn't think that Hannibal would actually carry out his threat. "I'm sorry….but I was bored!" was the only excuse he could come up with as Hannibal came to an abrupt stop behind the wagon.

"Oh, you are going to be even more sorry once I spank your bottom, kid!" Before Face could protest any further, he found himself upended over Hannibal's thigh with his britches at his feet, getting a well-deserved spanking. He squirmed and yelped as his backside began to warm up and then he felt a cool breeze that told him that he no longer had the protection of his underwear as Hannibal began to spank even harder.

Hannibal didn't stop until he heard the kid's cries turn to sobs and knew that he had made the impression he sought and stopped. He pulled Face back up allowing the kid to pull his underwear and britches back up before addressing him once again.

"Go and wash your face…then you will sit with Murdock and me for the remainder of the service. Afterward, you will apologize to the girl you annoyed during the service."

"I can't go back in there Hannibal...everybody will know that you spanked me!" cried Face as he wiped the tears from his face.

Hannibal only pointed to the well and repeated, "Wash your face, kid. I did warn you before you went in what would happen if you misbehaved during church. You have only yourself to blame!"

Face dejectedly did as he was told and soon was walking back in with Hannibal. He yelped as his sore bottom made contact with the wooden pew as he sat between Hannibal and Murdock. He squirmed throughout the rest of the service but he did it as quietly as he could until it was over when he ran from the church. Murdock found him later leaning against the wagon trying to rub the pain from his backside.

"Kid, when are you going to learn to obey us? This could have all been prevented if you had only listened to the Colonel."

"I didn't think he would actually spank me, Harry. I've misbehaved before and all he did was lecture me or restrict me to barracks, he never laid a hand on me before."

"Facey, this time he gave you direct order to behave and you ignored him. He had no other choice but to follow through."

"Yeah, and he follow through all right, my bottom hurts so much that I can't sit comfortably," Face replied miserably as he rubbed his bottom.

"Come on kid, lunch is being served!" Harry pulled the boy towards the tables that had been set up and filled with food.

Face grabbed a plate and stood behind Harry and followed him as he filled his plate up with fried chicken, fruit, cornbread, and a piece of cake. Harry added vegetables when he saw that it was missing from the kid's plate.

"Eat up kid, and I mean the vegetables as well as everything on your plate!" Harry said as he lead them to a place under the tree. "Sit down and enjoy."

"Harry…."

"Watch me," Harry said as he put his plate down and then got on his knees and lay down beside the plate. He looked up at Face as he got on his side to eat from the plate. "See nothing to it."

Face smiled and soon joined Harry on his side eating. Hannibal joined them but decided to eat sitting down. After that, all that could be heard was the sound of the three enjoying their lunch.

After lunch Face got up and looked around, when he found who he was looking for he started walking in that direction when Murdock asked,

"Where are you going, Facey?"

"To apologize," he said as he continued on.

Murdock looked at Hannibal questionably. "I told him that he had to apologize to that girl he picked on during the church service."

About fifteen minutes later Johnny walked up and asked, "Where is Face?"

"Apologizing to the girl he bothered during the church service."

Hannibal had already left carrying their dirty plates back to be washed so Johnny was talking with Murdock.

The look on Johnny's face alarmed Murdock who instantly jumped to his feet. "What's wrong? Is Face in trouble?"

"No Mr. Allen, Amy's father won't hurt him but he will give Face a stern lecture about why he should pay attention during church. Mr. Allen is longwinded if you know what I mean. I wouldn't look for Face to be back for some time."

Murdock chuckled, "It will definitely make him think twice about doing it again. I wonder if your Ma has any more pie left," and walked back with Johnny to find out.

When Face did return about two hours later he looked exhausted. "Can we go back to the Moore's Hannibal? I'm so tired, I think I could fall asleep standing up."

"Why are you so tired, kid?"

By this time Face was in the wagon lying on his side. "I did as you said…I apologized to Amy Allen for pulling her ponytail and then cutting her hair. She forgave me but before I could return her father, who had been listening lectured me for misbehaving in church."

"But why should that make you so tired, kid?"

"He made me help wash dishes, dry them and do whatever odd jobs the ladies needed to be done. Then he made me run laps around the school. He said the exercise would keep me out of trouble. When he realized that I was too tired to run further he said I could go."

"I need to talk to Mr. Allen, he has some great ideas for disciplining that don't require me smacking your bottom." Hannibal looked down to see that Face hadn't heard a word…he had fallen asleep as soon as he stopped talking.