Chapter 4 – The Winds Of Change
A guard opened the tent flap as Jefferson and Madison entered. They found Mr. Varek, Jefferson's aide and project manager, behind a small desk. Varek smiled broadly and came around to greet them, "Mr. Jefferson, delighted to see you sir, and you as well Mr. Madison."
Jemmy nodded politely.
Jefferson was anxious to hear the latest news on his project and got right to the point, "Well, Mr. Varek, how is our little excavation progressing?"
"Very profitably, sir," Varek replied eagerly. He then led them to an adjoining room in the tent, "if you will step this way gentlemen, I would be happy to show some results of our work here."
They entered a much larger canvas room containing various storage crates. Near the rear of the tent, in the flickering lantern light Jemmy saw several large wooden crates heaped full of what appeared to be bones. Several human skulls were visible in these crates.
Jemmy tugged at Jefferson's sleeve and hoarsely whispered, "Thomas, those are human remains."
Jefferson paused his conversation with Varek and glanced toward the crates, "Not all of them Jemmy. I have identified deer, bear, and several variety of forest birds among those remains."
Madison continued to stare in stunned wonder.
"There is nothing remarkable there," Jefferson said, "but I wanted to show you this."
Varek opened a heavy, black safe, and removed a small locked chest. He placed the box on a wooden table and unlocked it. Jefferson stepped aside to allow Jemmy to peer inside. Jemmy gasped in astonishment. The box contained a multitude of gems, gold coins, and golden figurines.
Jefferson smiled, "Take a closer look. This chest alone will cover my current financial crisis and I expect to recover enough from this dig to easily fund any future shortfalls."
Madison reached into the box and picked up a handful coins for closer examination, "Spanish doubloons?" He glanced at Jefferson, "But how, and why here in a native burial mound?"
Jefferson chuckled, "Excellent questions, and I believe that I may have some answers…"
Before Jefferson could explain, they were interrupted when a flap opened in the rear wall of the room. An African slave entered carrying a large burlap sack full of bones. The man roughly dropped the bag near the other crates of bones. From the top of his sack a human skull missing the lower jaw bone, slowly rolled off and thudded to the ground.
Jemmy saw this and was suddenly queasy. He dropped the gold coins and swayed slightly. "Oh good, Lord," he exclaimed as he covered his mouth.
The slave turned to leave the tent and Jefferson sternly called, "You there, stop at once."
The slave humbly turned to face Jefferson and removed his hat, "Yes, sir?." As the man spoke, he noticed the skull lying near his foot. He bent over, grabbed the skull and casually tossed it into a nearby crate of bones. "I sorry, sir," he said to Jefferson.
At the sight of this, Jemmy's knees buckled. He was overcome with nausea and near fainting, "Thomas, help me," he swooned.
Jefferson grabbed Madison's arm and Varek took the other to prevent Jemmy's complete collapse, "Steady, dear man, steady," Jefferson said firmly.
They guided Jemmy to a nearby chair and slowly lowered him into it. Jefferson then turned on the slave, "Get that out of here," he stabbed a finger toward the collection of bones, "I want that…debris, removed from my sight at once!"
The slave carefully surveyed the crates of bones and asked, "What you want I should do with them, sir?"
Jefferson sighed deeply and struggled to restrain his temper. If he killed this imbecile here, it would upset the others and delay work on the excavation, "I don't care what you do with them," he said sternly, "scatter them in the forest, but I never want to see them again."
The slave nodded slowly, sighed, and hoisted his original sack of bones onto his shoulder and trudged out of the tent.
Jefferson turned his attention back to Jemmy, who remained slumped in the chair and moaning softly. "There, there, gentle soul," Jefferson said tenderly.
A short time later Jemmy's color had returned and he rose slowly to his feet. Jefferson supported his friend and guided him toward the exit, "Some fresh air will do you a world of good right now," Jefferson said confidently.
"Thomas," Jemmy asked weakly, "are you sure that scattering the last earthly remains of those people in the forest is…proper?" They stepped outside and Jemmy breathed deeply of the fresh air.
"Don't concern yourself with those remains, Jemmy," Jefferson firmly replied, "Once I have the gold and other valuables here, I will scatter this mound and erase the memory of these savages from the earth."
Before Jemmy could reply, their attention was drawn to a distant roar from the forest. The sound grew louder and across the camp men cried out in alarm. Then a roaring wall of wind burst from the trees and ripped across the encampment. The howling wind pushed dirt, leaves, and other debris before it. Thomas and Jemmy were slammed against the tent behind them and covered their faces against the stinging dirt.
Across the worksite men scrambled for cover as portions of scaffolding crumbled and collapsed. Loose boards flew in the winds, striking many workers as they dashed for cover. Several tents collapsed, while others were ripped from the ground and carried away. A dark cloud of wind driven dirt covered the camp and the howling, swirling wind carried the thundering sound of a thousand screaming voices.
Then as quickly as it began, the wind storm ended.
Across the camp, men slowly raised their faces to be certain it was over. Jefferson and Madison regained their feet, saw each other and began laughing. Their faces were blackened with dirt, their hair and clothing were littered with dirt, leaves, and twigs which had been driven by the wind.
Jemmy began slapping at Jefferson's coat to knock away the loose dirt and debris when Jefferson saw his carriage driver and hired thug, Mr. Brute hurrying across the camp. Mr. Brute was large, bearded and dim witted. But more importantly he was loyal and obedient to Jefferson's orders. "Mr. Brute," Jefferson called, "come here at once."
Brute hurried to Jefferson and without speaking, joined Madison in slapping at the dirt on Jefferson's coat. Jefferson flinched away from Brute, "What the devil!" Jefferson exclaimed. From nowhere Jefferson pulled a riding crop and savagely struck Mr. Brute several stinging blow across his face.
"If you ever lay hands on me again in that manner, I shall have you horse whipped," Jefferson thundered at Brute.
The large man dropped his head in submission.
"Now, find a wagon and horses. I have a cargo to transport to Monticello, immediately!" Jefferson thundered. To his project manager he said, "Mr. Varek, I want a party of armed men to accompany that box back to Monticello."
Varek nodded and disappeared into the crowds of men getting back to work.
Jemmy asked, "Are you cashing in your new-found valuables, Thomas?"
Jefferson nodded, "And there could be new beret in it for you Mr. Madison."
"Oh Thomas, everything with you is such an adventure!" Jemmy replied.
To Be Continued in Chapter 5 – A Wild Ride