Chapter 42:
The next day an entire company of soldiers came up to Logan's front gate. "Hey, Mister!" said the man in the lead, a tall, imposing man with blond hair bleached so pale by the sun it looked almost white. "We've come to collect your horses for the Union Army!" Snow punctuated the call with a loud bark.
Logan flung open the cabin door, yanking his shirt over his head. "Keep yer pants on," he grumbled. "Why'd you have to come so early?" He opened the front gate, to admit the cavalcade of soldiers, and then waved the man in front around the side of the cabin. "Horses're out back there. Let me show ya which ones ya can have." Snow continued to eye the men warily, and Logan, remembering the way Walbrook had looked after Snow had torn the man's throat out, ordered the wolf to sit and stay where he was. The wolf sat, eyeing the soldiers distrustfully.
The previous night Logan and Jubilee had cut Thunder and Shadowcat out of the herd and put them in a separate pasture, and chosen the tack they'd give the soldiers. Logan was only slightly mollified by the fact that they were leaving anyway; he'd kept the best tack for himself and Jubilee, and the oldest, dirtiest saddles and bridles were left. "There," he said, gesturing to the paddock. "Them's yer horses right there." The commander looked all the horses over and seemed satisfied, but one of the men, a little behind the commander, looked sharply over at the two horses in the other pasture. He nudged the commander and said something.
The commander said something back. The first man argued. Then the commander nodded, and the man came up to Logan. Logan bristled. This was the same man who had brought such blatant attention to his use of Jubilee almost a year ago. Logan hated him. "I was wondering if I could have that black out there," the man said, gesturing to Shadowcat.
"Nope," Logan said. "She's too small fer ya, an' anyway, she ain't mine ta give. She's my daughter's horse."
The man's eyes narrowed. "That little black haired, slant-eyed chick? She's a slave."
Logan growled low in his throat. "Not anymore she ain't," he growled. "She's a free woman now. The guy I sold her to took her up north, freed her, and offered ta make an honest woman outta her. We're headin' up there now so I can attend the weddin'."
"Papa?" and here came Jubilee, holding both packs. "I finished the packing. Should I saddle up Thunder and Shadow?"
Logan was about to tell her yes when the soldier spoke. "Hey, girlie. Your master here is saying you're not a slave anymore. Is that true?"
"That's Miss, sir, to you, and no, I am no longer a slave. I have been freed. I am also a Canadian citizen. I am here on a visitor's pass. I came to get my father so he can attend my wedding." Jubilee produced her papers. The soldier took them, looking suspicious, and scanned them.
The commander looked at the papers in the man's hand, then nodded courteously at her. "Glad you got your freedom, Miss," he said. "Sorry about the rudeness. We won't bother you again. My soldier here wants to know if you'll be willing to trade your black mare for another mare in the herd."
"The black mare is on loan to me by my husband, who is waiting in Canada for my return," Jubilee said sweetly but firmly. "The mare is his, she is not mine to give away or sell. Good day to you." She put the packs down in the dust, ordered Snow to watch them, and went off to the barn to get the saddles and bridles for Thunder and Shadow. The man made a sudden movement, as if to go after her, but the commander froze him with a look, and he turned away with a muttered oath and went into the corral to get himself a horse.
The commander dismounted from his horse. "We'll lead the horses into town," he said to Logan. "Mighty obliged. Thank you. Now how much would you say your horses are worth?" They settled in to haggle.
They finally settled on a decent price for the whole herd. It was less than Logan would have gotten if he'd sold them off individually, but it was more than he'd heard the army was buying horses for, so, all things considered, he didn't have much to complain about. "I'm headin' to Canada," he told the fort commander. "I ain't gonna be able ta take the pigs and chickens and cows with me. Ya wouldn't happen ta need em, would ya?"
The commander pushed his hat back on his head with a broad smile. "Mister, with all the extra men comin' into the fort, I sure could use some more foodstuffs," he said gratefully. "The cook's gonna be grateful. How many chickens and other livestock do you have?"
Logan took the man around, showing him the pens. The man nodded. "Yes, we'll take them all. Here…" and he handed Logan more cash. "For the livestock."
"I wasn't expectin'…"
"It's all right," The man said. "Saves me from having to haul in more supplies by train. And with your girl getting married, you're going to need the money. Take it." Logan pocketed the money with a smile.
The sound of raised voices from around the front of the cabin, and then a wolf's angry snarl quickened both men's steps. Logan growled as he saw what was happening.
Jubilee had been tacking up the horses; two of the soldiers, ones who Logan knew had molested her in the past, were hovering around her, whispering taunts. One man reached out and touched the front of her dress.
Jubilee jerked away from him, angry, but the second man behind her grabbed her arms and pinned them to her sides, and the first man, the one who had touched her chest, started to lift her skirts. Jubilee screamed in fury and lashed out with a foot, kicking his kneecap. The man roared and backhanded her. She went spinning toward the ground. Snow stood between her and the soldiers, growling and snarling, and looking quite ready to commit murder in her defense. Logan went to Jubilee.
The commander roared "Attention!" The two soldiers snapped rigidly upright. "How dare you molest a young woman! That is conduct unbecoming an officer…"As the commander continued to upbraid his officers, Logan held Jubilee as she retched her breakfast into the dust.
"I'm terribly sorry, Ma'am," the commander said gently, coming over to them. "They will be punished for this. I will flog them myself. Are you all right?" He looked distressed when he saw her heaving and retching.
"She's gonna have a baby," Logan snarled. "Her stomach ain't settled right now. What they did just made it worse." He handed Jubilee his handkerchief to wipe her lips.
The commander went to the well and drew a bucket of water, then dipped the ladle in it and offered it to her. Jubilee drank gratefully, rinsing the taste of bile out of her mouth, then stood slowly, clinging to Logan. The two soldiers watched as Logan helped her mount Shadow, grumbling a little, but their protests were silenced by the commander. "Mount up!" he roared at his company. "Mister, I offer myself as an escort to yourself and your daughter into town, and once there, I can have the army doctor take a look at her to see if she and the child she carries are all right and have not suffered any injury from their ill behavior."
Logan looked at Jubilee. She looked tired already, and the sun wasn't even high yet. He nodded. He wanted the doctor to look at her when they got to Fort Jackson.
By the time they got to Jackson, Jubilee seemed to have recovered a bit. The commander took them up to a room reserved for visitors, and allowed them to rest for a while. When he returned, he had a woman with him. "This is the doctor that takes care of the officers' wives," he said. Logan and the commander left the women to their business, and went out to the courtyard. "Again, let me say I'm sorry for my men's behavior," the commander said apologetically. "I have arranged for seats and stalls in the baggage car for you and your daughter, and her wolf, of course…" he hesitated. "The train conductor was most unhappy to hear that she had a wolf. He tried to insist that the wolf be left here…"
"Absolutely not," Logan said angrily. "She saved that wolf's life, and he's saved hers. If he can't travel on the train we'll ride all the way ta Canada if we have ta, but he's coming with us." He could still hear Jubilee's heart-wrenching sobs when she had said good-bye to Snow the last time.
"I told the conductor that the wolf can ride in the horse's car in one of the horse stalls," the commander said quickly. "Will that be all right?"
Logan nodded. "Yeah, he'll probably be more comfortable with the horses than with us," he said. 'Besides, them sleeper cars are too small fer three."
"Then that's settled," the commander said. "I paid as far as Independence, after that you'll have to go further on your own steam."
"Thank you," Logan said, shaking the commander's hand as the woman and Jubilee, followed by the wolf, came out to meet them. "Mighty obliged to you."
"Consider it an apology for the way my men behaved," he said. "I never held with the idea of slavery. And they had no cause to treat her like that, for all and she's a free woman now. Good-bye, and good luck to you all. The train leaves in an hour." He departed with the female doctor, and Logan turned to Jubilee. "Feelin' all right?"
She nodded, linking her arm in his. "The doctor said I'm fine. The sickness is normal. She told me to drink a lot of water, avoid wine, and rest often. She told me to take the train as close to Canada as possible, and when we started riding up to the border, to stop and rest often, and walk a little. The train's going to be the hardest part, she said I'm going to suffer from the train sickness, and that would make the pregnancy sickness worse, but she gave me medicine to help that. It'll make me awfully sleepy, though."
"Darlin', you can sleep the whole way there on the trains if ya want ta," Logan said. 'I just…I hate seein' ya lose yer meals, ya know? Ya need all that food fer the baby."
"I know, Jubilee sighed. "Believe me, Papa, I know. I hate throwing up. I can't wait till I get to Canada."
Snow was completely unenthusiastic about being stuck in the livestock car. Jubilee calmed him down as she tied his rope off to a ring in the wall used to tether the horses. "You have to guard the horses, make sure no one steal s them," she told him. He submitted, albeit with bad grace; he was, after all, used to being tied in the barn when Logan went to town for supplies. He finally settled down to sleep in the thick bed of hay in the corner of Thunder's stall.
They boarded the train, put their things in the sleeper car, and Jubilee had a light dinner of bread and cold meat that Logan had brought with him, then she took some of the medicine, and went to sleep. Logan sat in the car, watching Missouri slip by when the train got into motion. For one wild moment he was tempted to go back, to the ranch where he belonged, but a look at the girl in the bunk reassured him. The ranch wasn't home anymore. Jubilee was home for him now. Wherever she was, that was home. He settled into the sleeper bunk across from hers as the train huffed and puffed its way East.
