SlavesbyEthanBooker
“More! More
streamers! This has to be the greatest birthday party extravaganza
Samuel looks up at Colonel William Dukesbury with distress in his eyes and pleads. “But which color, boss?”
“That’s your job, slave!”
The Colonel turns to leave and Samuel Cooper begins to fret. “Red or blue? Red or blue? Thank golly there are only two dyes at the party store. Man, slavery sucks!”
Cooper excuses himself past Miss Sarah and out the kitchen door to sit on the back stoop with close friend James Booker. “This place is killing me, Samuel.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. This party’s gonna be hell.”
James takes the wheatgrass out of his mouth and stares at Samuel. “You’re having a party?”
Samuel shakes his head. “No, it’s for Little Miss Cindy Dukesbury, she’s turning fourteen.”
James’ eyebrow rises slightly. “Oh, good for her.”
“I’ve
been setting up the dunk tank all morning. What’d you do?”
“I picked cotton.”
“Boring! What are you doing this afternoon. I’ll be finished blowing up balloons by two probably.”
“I’ll be picking tobacco all night.”
“Ew, you’re gonna stink. Maybe I’ll just catch you tomorrow morning.”
“I don’t know if I’m going to be here tomorrow morning.”
Samuel pops some pilfered pistachios in his mouth. “Where ya gonna be James?”
“I’m thinkin’ about gettin’ outta here, Sam. I need to see my daughter again.”
Samuel laughs and slaps James on the back. “Whatever dude. You know nobody’s ever escaped from Dukesbury alive.”
James looks pleadingly at Samuel. “That’s why I was thinkin’ I’m gonna need some help.”
Samuel guffaws. “Are you kidding me? I got it made in the shade here James! I got my own room, one square meal a day. I don’t have to pay taxes or deal with the government. To them I’m a nonentity.”
“You’re a slave, Samuel. You’re white and you subsequently get preferential treatment, but you’re still a slave.”
Samuel crosses his arms and pouts. “You’re a slave.”
James rolls his eyes. “Great comeback. Look, I haven’t seen my daughter since Dukesbury sold her away from under me ten years ago. If you’ve got any compassion I you whatsoever you’ll help your best friend find the one piece of home he has left in this world.”
Samuel bites his lip and mulls it over. “Alright, I’ll help you plan an escape. But I can’t leave, James.”
James hugs Samuel tight. “That’s all I needed was a push in the right direction. Thank you, old friend.”
Samuel’s eyes bug out and he pushes James away, muttering under his breath. “Dukesbury’s coming.”
He puts on a fierce face and points a finger at James. “Get back to work, nogger!”
James walks closely by Samuel and whispers. “It’s nigger, you idiot.”
Then he adopts his simple slave accent. “Mornin’ Masta Colonel.”
“Mornin’ Reggie.”
James mutters to himself as he walks away. “It’s James, you old bitch.”
Colonel Dukesbury stops in his tracks. “What was that, boy?”
James turns around, smiling sweetly. “I say, this heat’s givin’ me a stitch, Masta Colonel.”
Samuel points at James and the Colonel turns to face Cooper. “That’s not what he said, boss. Want me to get your bullwhip?”
James holds up his hands behind Colonel Dukesbury in a what-the-fuck manner, but the Colonel waves Samuel off. “That won’t be necessary, slave. Run along now, Reggie.”
James flips a bird at Samuel, two to the Colonel with his back turned and heads for the tobacco fields.
“Ah, what a beautiful day. How’s the party coming along, slave?”
Samuel follows the Colonel inside. “Swimmingly boss. Once I fill up the balloons I’ll set up the ring toss and we should be all set.”
“Dammit, Cooper!”
Samuel hurries towards the Colonel who’s staring at a triple-decker birthday cake on the kitchen counter. “Yes, boss?”
“What did I say about sprinkles?”
Samuel shrugs. “That they’re delicious?”
“Cindy hates sprinkles. You’re gonna have to head to the farmer’s market at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning and get supplies for a new cake. I’ll have to finish this one off tonight and destroy the evidence before it goes bad.”
“Sure
thing boss. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go set up an escape plan for my
good friend James.”
The Colonel looks up with a
mouthful of cake. “Wha was tha?”
“Uh, I said this heat’s giving me a stitch, boss.”
Samuel turns to leave and the Colonel holds his arms up confused. “What’s everybody talking about? It’s seventy degrees and overcast today.”
~~~
That night James and Samuel are huddled around the small rickety table in James’ shanty on the outskirts of the Dukesbury plantation, poring over a scaled map of the Dukesbury estate, looking for a sign of weakness.
“How ‘bout we burrow a tunnel under the fence?”
James shakes his head. “No, that’s stupid. How ‘bout the McGillicuddy Stream?”
Samuel stares blankly at James, then replies incredulously. “You’re stupid!”
James distractedly points at the map. “If we follow the stream down towards the woods the dogs’ll lose our scent in the dense forest. Well, my scent at least.”
“Oh, so now I stink?”
James holds his nose. “You don’t even work, how do you get B.O. like that?”
“Do you know how many balloons I blew up today?”
“So,
the river idea?”
Samuel looks at him. “Where
are we gonna get a boat? You got any canoes hiding in this one-room garbage
can?”
James stares at Samuel but doesn’t respond. Samuel stares back, brow raised expectantly. “Well, do you?”
James rolls his eyes. “No I don’t. Doesn’t mean we can’t make one.”
Samuel scoffs. “And how are we supposed to do that, Christopher Columbus?”
James looks around at the thin plywood walls of his scant shack. He smiles at Samuel and the two men go to work.
~~~
After sex, the two begin dismantling the roughshod shanty and transforming it into a crude canoe that would’ve made Pocahontas blush. At the first sign of daybreak, the two men stand back and smile at their monstrous creation. The slapped-together vessel seems to breathe in the early morning light. Course, neither man got any sleep last night. A rooster on a fence directly behind Samuel sends him leaping into the air before coming to rest on the other side of the canoe.
James laughs. “I think we did a pretty solid job here Sammy.”
Samuel
comes back around to James’ side and slaps him on the back. “Yessir. Your house
made a horrible house, but it made a slightly less horrible boat. Now ya just
need some oars.”
James frowns. “Damn. Well
maybe we can just carve some out of those branches over there.”
Samuel waves his hand and walks back toward the house. “Fuck it. I’ll just pick up a set at the farmer’s market when I go to get Little Miss Cindy’s second birthday cake here in an hour. Can you believe the Colonel ate that whole cake by himself yesterday?”
James freezes. “What?”
Samuel turns around and laughs. “No lie. He’s gonna be gassy as shit today.”
James shakes his head impatiently and takes a step toward Samuel. “Before that. You’re going to the farmer’s market?”
Samuel looks nonplussed. “Yeah, why do you—ohhh.”
~~~
Thirty minutes later James Booker is stashed under a potato sack in the back of the ox cart as Samuel Cooper trots the mules off Dukesbury Plantation and onto the main road. Once clear of sight, James joins Samuel in the front and glowers at him.
Samuel smiles. “Why the pussface, Pussface?”
“We tore my home apart and built a canoe when you knew you were going into the market this morning?”
Samuel shrugs innocently. “What? It’s not like you’re gonna use that house again anyway.”
“We wasted an entire night where we could’ve rested up for our escape.”
“Well I forgot and I’m sorry. And it’s your escape, not ours.”
James stares at him. “I need you man. Besides you’re in on it now; you’re aiding and abetting the guilty party.”
Samuel begins glancing around nervously. “No, I’m just driving to the market for cake. Oh and I gotta get those oars too, don’t let me forget that.”
James
explodes. “We’re not getting cake and we’re not getting oars either! We’re
driving right past that farmer’s market and heading north to
Samuel looks sad. “What about the birthday party?”
“Forget
the party and forget Dukesbury. We’re done with
Samuel pouts. “Guess I shoulda packed some clothes. All we have are these potato sacks.”
The market comes into view and Samuel nods at it. “We should at least stop for supplies.”
James agrees. “But real quick, in and out.”
Samuel laughs. “You said in and out.”
~~~
In the market, Samuel is carrying as much snacks and candy as he can stand while James picks out the essentials. James is off in the other room looking for organic toothpaste when Colonel Dukesbury and two of his field overseers enter the market. Samuel stops dead in his tracks and the Colonel smiles. “Cooper, glad I caught you.”
“Mr. Dukesbury, I can explain.”
“Just wanted to remind you to pick up some rainbow sprinkles for Cindy’s cake.”
Samuel nods fervently and glances behind him. “Right sir, got it. Catch ya later.”
Dukesbury slowly begins to pace down an aisle. “You can ride back with us. I’m just gonna browse for a while.”
James leaves the back room and walks flat into Colonel Dukesbury, slowly looking up at him. “Eep.”
~~~
Back at Dukesbury Plantation, in the basement of the Colonel’s sprawling estate, James Booker and Sam Cooper are tied to chairs, their legs shackeld together, with the Colonel standing before them, cronies with rifles surrounding him. A shy little Cindy Dukesbury is hiding behind her father’s legs.
“Thought you could get away, eh Reggie?”
Samuel clears his throat, “His name’s James actually, boss. And if you would just let me explain—”
Colonel Dukesbury snaps, “I don’t care what his name is and I don’t wanna hear your explanations!”
The Colonel turns to one of his men and lowers his voice, “Have some of the slaves tie a pair of nooses and build another stockade. We lost the last one when we tried to hang Fat Reggie.”
Samuel clears his throat again, “His name was Fat Bennie, actually.”
The Colonel looks at Samuel flummoxed and turns back to his men, “Tell the slaves to just tie one noose. I’m gonna personally shoot that white one in the face.”
They turn to leave and little Cindy pulls on the Colonel’s shirt, “Daddy, can I stay behind and spit on the slaves?”
The Colonel smiles warmly and pinches Cindy’s cheek, “Of course you can, sweetie; it’s your birthday. Just don’t be late for your party. There’ll be plenty of slaves to spit on there too.”
He winks at her and pushes his men out the door.
James turns to Samuel, “Yo, stop callin’ Dukesbury ‘boss.’ He’s about to kill you man, have a backbone.”
Samuel nods, “Sorry, force of habit.”
“And how exactly were you going to explain our escape?”
Samuel shrugs, “I dunno, I was surprised I got that far before he interrupted.”
Cindy approaches the two men, turns and walks behind them. Samuel looks at James and pipes up, “Lady, if you’re gonna spit on us, at least let us watch.”
James looks down in surprised shock as his ropes are loosened and he holds his hands in front of him. The same is done to Samuel and Cindy comes back around to stand before them. She nods towards James, “I heard about your daughter. Miss Sarah told me about her over lunch one day. I hope you find her.”
James stares at her wide-eyed, unable to speak until Samuel elbows him in the ribs, “Thank you.”
Samuel scoffs, “I’m sorry to ruin this whole touching scene, but exactly how are we gonna get out of here with your dad’s knuckleheads running around shooting anything that’s black and escaping?”
Cindy smiles, “My dad and all his knuckleheads are in the backyard at my party. You can just go right out the front door. There are some horses near the gate.”
She walks upstairs and waves goodbye to James and Samuel.
“Happy birthday Cindy!”
Samuel turns back to James, “I really thought she was gonna spit on us.”
~~~
The
two men race out the front door and reach the entrance/exit to the
James points at two goats peaceably chewing on grass near the fence. Samuel’s brow lowers, “Cindy never was the brightest girl.”
~~~
Miles away from the Dukesbury Plantation, the ex-slaves’ goats are struggling under the weight of their first riders’. James takes a swig of water from Samuel’s canteen and hands it back to him. The two are uncomfortably close as they are still shackled together, though riding separate goats. The sweltering heat pounds on their whip-scarred backs and the goats baa painfully.
Samuel wipes his brow and turns to James smiling, “Not too far now.”
James hacks up a lung and spits, “Where are we goin’?”
“To see an old friend.”
Over a hill the two men and two goats come upon a small cottage in the center of a sweeping green valley. A young lady is airing out a bedsheet and Samuel waves at her, sheepish grin on his face, as they approach. They reach the front porch and the ex-slaves dismount off their steeds, which simply means standing up. Samuel bows deeply and James takes his tattered brown hat off, holding it against his chest. The young lady doesn’t take her eyes off James as she talks to Samuel, “What brings you to this part of town, Cooper?”
Samuel modestly scratches the back of his head, “Oh, nothin much Emily. Just escaping from the plantation with my good friends James here.”
Emily rubs James’ chest and he puffs it out like a proud/horny peacock, “James…I like that name. Would you like to come in for some coffee, James?”
James grins, blushing, “I’d love some coffee, Miss Emily.”
Samuel peek in between the two, “And we wouldn’t mind getting these shackles off either.”
Emily waves a distracted hand at Samuel and leans in close enough for James to taste her breath, “Yeah yeah, one thing at a time, Albert.”
Samuel laughs nervously, “It’s Samuel actually, remember? Hehe.”
Emily drags James inside and Samuel stumbles after him, trying to keep up. Emily pulls James into a back room, “The coffee pot’s back here.”
She shuts the door on their shacklechain and Samuel’s left outside, one foot in the doorstep, leaning against the wall, “Must be a galley kitchen.”
Samuel looks around the small cottage, “Wow! You have two kitchens?”
He’s replied with a loud groaning from Emily.
“Must be good coffee. It isn’t too hot, is it? Say, you know you have another coffee pot out here in your second kitchen, right? Mind if I—”
Samuel tries to head towards the second kitchen but is still shackled to James. After a few more minutes a loud scream erupts from Emily behind the door.
“Aw, she spilled it. You always spill it, Emily! Clumsy girl…”
James and Emily emerge from the back room and Samuel gets up off the floor, “Do you have anymore?”
Emily smiles, satisfied, “Nope, fresh out.”
She pats James on the ass as they head for the door, “That one was on the house, Booker.”
James and Samuel leave Emily’s and James leans into him, “What did she mean by that? Is that white girl a hooker?”
Samuel nods, “Oh yeah, big hooker. You couldn’t tell? Look at the way she decorates.”
James looks stunned, “I thought she was just sayin’ that stuff, you know—talkin’ dirty.”
Samuel shakes his head, “Lotta help she was. We didn’t even get any coffee.”
James stares at him, “You do remember we went in there to get these shackles off, right?”
Samuel smacks his head, “Dammit!”
They turn slowly to head back, without tripping on each other and James smirks from behind Samuel, “And I did get coffee.”
Samuel stops, “I thought you fucked her. She was screamin’. You weren’t even in the kitchen!”
James looks confused, “Yeah we were, it was her second kitchen.”
Samuel finally gets it, “Oh that was the second kitchen. What about the screamin’?”
James shrugs, moving forward again, “I dunno, she was just makin’ noises and talkin’ about how big of a hooker she is.”
Samuel nods approvingly, “Well if you guys weren’t bumpin’ uglies, how come I wasn’t allowed to come into her second kitchen.”
James laughs, “Ah, it’s a blacks-only kitchen, Samuel.”
Samuel frowns, “She’s white!”
“It’s her house,” James replies.
“That doesn’t seem fair,” Samuel pushes ahead grumpily before noticing James scowling at him.
“I mean, how liberalized of her. What a forward-thinker!”
James knocks on the door, and Emily comes out smoking a loosely-rolled cigarette.
“We need to get these damn shackles off, baby.”
Emily stares at the shackles and back up at the two ex-slaves, “The fuck am I supposed to do?”
Samuel glances nervously over at James and back at Emily, “C’mon Em, you’ve helped me out of a bind before!”
Emily squints at him, “I’ve bailed you out of jail with my hookering money, I can’t blast through metal. These are my moneymakin’ hands.”
Samuel scowls, “Gross. Well what are we gonna do now?”
Emily shrugs, “My boyfriend’s a locksmith.”
Samuel grins, “Oh, this is wonderful news! Where is this gentleman?”
Emily throws her thumb behind her and bends down to butt her cigarette on the porch. A brawny man in plaid approaches the two smiling, holding out his hand.
“How’s it goin’ fellas. I’m Avery.”
Samuel looks at Emily, “Avery?”
Avery smiles, “Yes?”
Samuel jumps back, “Um, where were you the first time we came here?”
Avery points at the back room, “I was in the second kitchen.”
Samuel’s eyes bug out, “You were in there when they were fucking?”
James shoves Samuel and they both fall off the porch.
Avery’s eyes light up, “What?!”
James moves to get up, holding his hands out in front of him, “No no, we just had coffee. You were there, Avery. Remember?”
He can barely finish the sentence before Avery is ruthlessly pummeling them both.
~~~
After the ruthless pummeling, James groggily wakes up to Avery berating a crying Emily on the living room sofa.
“You said you’d stop having coffee with other men! You promised me!”
“You were there, why didn’t you say anything?”
“I had my frontier headphones on!”
COMMERCIAL BREAK: Frontier headphones. Now with pine cone paneling.
“Well you should pay more attention to me!”
“Ah geez, here we go with the attention spiel again. Fuck this, I’m leaving!”
“Fine go, you stupid lumberjack!”
Samuel wakes up wiping his eyes, “Mm, I thought he was a locksmith.”
James shoots up, “No wait, Avery! Aw dammit, there goes our locksmith.”
Samuel tries to snap his fingers in an ‘aw shucks’ manner but his arm hurts too much from the pummeling so he just settles for actually saying, “Aw shucks.”
James pulls a whining Samuel up off the floor, “C’mon, we’re going back to the General Store. Only locksmith in town.”
“Shouldn’t he have his own place. Some sort of locksmithery?” Samuel stares imploringly at James before he begins pulling Samuel behind him and out the door.
~~~
Upon entering General Store, the ex-slaves are shocked to see Colonel Dukesbury talking to the shopkeep, his two lackeys at his side. James glances wildly around the shop, and the two turn to flee, slam into each other and fall down as Colonel Dukesbury smiles, towering over them, “Hello boys.”
~~~
Back in the basement of the Dukesbury Estate one of the Colonel’s men is finishing attaching a second shackle above the first one on the men’s ankles. The Colonel nods confindently, “There, that should keep you. Now if you will excuse us, the boys and I are heading upstairs to leave you two alone and alive for no apparent reason whatsoever.”
One of the lackeys raises his hands, “I know the reason, boss. We have cake upstairs.”
Colonel Dukesbury claps his hands together, “Cake! I love it!”
As they start up the stairs, the Colonel turns back to James and Samuel holding a finger up in the air, “One more thing boys. My daughter won’t be freeing you this time. I killed her!”
The two men gasp simultaneously and the Colonel breaks, “Haha, kidding. I just beat her really good. Fellas?”
The Colonel grabs the hands of both men and they ascend the stairs oddly holding hands. Samuel raises an eyebrow toward the leaving men, and turns back to James smirking, “Gay. How are we gonna get out now?”
James shrugs, “One of my teeth is a removable dog whistle.”
Samuel shakes his head enviously, “You black people have the wildest fads. Jheri curls, laceless shoes, dog whistle teeth…”
James ignores Sam and moves his tongue around in his mouth, “When you’ve been tied up and shackled as much as I have, you learn to do a lot of things without your hands.”
Samuel thinks for a moment, “You can’t play with hand puppets.”
James whistles and the Colonel’s pack of killer dogs quickly descend the stairs and jump up, licking the men’s faces. Samuel shuts his eyes and shakes, “Man, these guys are fierce. Now what?”
James shrugs, “Maybe the ropes are made of briscuit.”
He sniffs behind him, “Kinda smells like briscuit.”
“That was me, I had too much of that birthday cake last night.”
“I thought Dukesbury ate that cake.”
“I don’t even know anymore, James. That was so damn long ago.”
“That was last night.”
“Touché.”
Just then an old black man saunters down the steps and James perks up, “James!”
Samuel shakes his head disappointedly, “No no, you’re James. This gentleman, I’m not sure. You are?”
The man smiles, “James.”
Samuel nods annoyedly, “Yes, this is James. And you are?”
The man smiles, “James.”
Samuel tries to throw his hands up in frustration and hurts his biceps, as they don’t go anywhere, “Ow, you try.”
James grins, “Samuel, this is James. The dogwalker. How you doin’ old head?”
Old James looks down at the double-shackled slaves, “What the hell are you boys doin’?”
Samuel gets annoyed, “We’re paintin’ the Sistine Chapel, what does it look like we’re doin, dogwalker?”
“It looks like y’all’s tied up and shackled twice round the ankle.”
Young James leans in towards Old James, “Can you help us, James?”
Old James pulls out a knife and grins, “Lemme see what I can do, brother?”
Samuel winces, and whispers towards Young James, “Careful, he’s got a knife.”
Old James frees them with the little screwdriver accessory on his knife and they sneak upstairs and out the front door in the dark of night. As they reach the gate, Old James pulls Young James back by the sleeves, “Are you comin’ back for us brother?”
Young James look long and hard into Old James’ eyes before finally replying, “Nope.”
The two men leave as Old James glares at them and leads the dogs back to the yard.
~~~
The two men make their way off the plantation and into the dark night.
Samuel breaks the silence, “Finally! Now let’s go get that cake!”
“We’re not coming back here Sam, damn! We’re heading north to find my daughter.”
“I dunno, that sounds like a long way.”
“It is a long way, that’s why we’re gonna need to find transportation.
Some bushes off to their right rustle and the boys hear a Psst! A lanky white man emerges from the brush and James clenches his fists, ready for a fight. The white man holds out his hand with a smile, “Hi there, Harry Tubman. Couldn’t help overhearing. You fellas need a lift?”
Samuel stares at him, “You were just sitting in that bush over there? In the middle of the night? So cool.”
James is still skeptical, “I thought Harriet Tubman was an old black woman.”
Harry
shakes his head, glaring off into the distance, “Liberal Jew-run media. Follow
me, guys.”
Sam snaps his fingers, “The
Train guy right? Where’s your train?”
James rolls his eyes, “It’s just a symbolic figure of speech, Sam.”
The three head down a dark cave tunnel for a few meters until a large steam engine is towering before them, the tracks stretching down endless tunnels, like an early subway system.
“Welcome to my Underground Railroad!”
Sam rushes for the boxcar, “I call window seat!”
James
turns to Harry Tubman, “Can you get us to
“Uptown or Downtown? Haha, I’m just kidding of course. We only have the downtown station; just have a seat and I’ll go talk to the Conductor.
James stops Harry, “Mr. Tubman. Thank you.”
“No thanks necessary, my boy. I do this for freedom. I believe every man was created equal and every man deserves to be free and every man will be free someday. I operate this railroad for freedom…and money. So if you have any money. I could really use some.”
~~~
Sam is leaning on his elbow against the window bored, staring at passing rocks as Harry Tubman drones on and on, seated too close to Sam, “And I used to sell bathtubs; hence, Tubman. Being a tub salesman really taught me a lot about myself and my sexuality. You see, I was on the brink of suici—”
“Wow,
that’s fascinating,” Samuel interrupts, rubbing his temples, when the train
comes to a screeching halt. Harry looks up confused, “Huh, we shouldn’t even be
in
Just then a booming voice rings out from outside the boxcar, “Harry Tubman! We know you’re in there! Come out with your hands and your slaves’ hands up! This is General Robert E. Lee and that is a direct order!”
Harry hangs his head and begins to descend the train steps when Samuel grabs his arm, “Wait! You’re giving in? Just like that? No fight?”
“That’s General Lee out there. You can’t cross him, he never loses.”
James gets up, “Let’s go Sam, it’s over.”
“It’s over?! It just started! I’m goin’ out there and givin’ this General character a piece of my mind; and maybe alittle piece of my fists too.”
James looks up at the sky, clasping his hands together, “Please, no fists.”
Samuel bursts out of the train first and is immediately detained by Confederate soldiers before he can open his mouth. General Lee is aghast, “My God! They kidnapped a poor white man! Are you alright, my brother? Did they hurt you?”
Sam ponders his options quickly and responds somberly, “Only my feelings, sir.”
“It’s
alright, we’re taking Mr. Tubman to trial in
The General’s assistant reiterates loudly, “Everybody black on the train!”
The
General whispers to his assistant, “Back. Back on the train.”
Then he speaks up timidly,
“Everybody white on the train, too!”
He knocks his assistant on the head and pushes him inside, “C’mon you idiot. And you, kidnapped man, you will dine with me in the meal car.”
Sam
smiles, “Thank you, Mr. General, sir.”
James glares at Sam, but Sam
motions that it’ll all be alright. Harry whispers to a furious James, “Did he
just flip us off?”
~~~
General Robert E. Lee sits uncomfortably close and drapes his arm around Samuel’s shoulders, “Have you ever thought about a position in the ranks of the Confederacy, Mr. Cooper?”
“No
sir, I’m afraid I’m not a Southerner such as yourself. I’m from
“Ah, the Queen’s land. We could use someone with your worldview, how are you with numbers?”
“Terrible sir. Tell me, what are you planning to do with the…Negroes?”
General Lee waves his hand dismissively, “Ah, most’ll be hanged. Old Harry Tubman will go on trial. That’ll be big. Man, if I don’t get a raise for this…”
A Leftenant runs up to Lee, “General, the tracks are blocked up ahead. There’s been a disturbance.”
General Lee goes to the front to check it out and returns, throwing a gun in Samuel’s lap, “Lock and load. It’s John Brown’s Army, we’re goin’ to war, young man.”
Samuel is shocked and tries to catch his breath, “You know, General, we’ve got a cargo car full of able-bodied men back there. Your small troop won’t be able to take on the JBA by themselves.”
General Lee is incredulous, “What, give a bunch of angry black men guns? Are you kidding me? Let’s go Cooper, you’re not gonna let John Brown kidnap your kidnappers, are you?”
They move to the front of the train with the rest of the troop and Samuel sees an armed crowd of hundreds standing before them. Samuel gulps audibly and shuts his eyes.
~~~
The struggle shakes the entire train and James looks at Harry concerned as the other captured men mutter behind them, “Whaddya think that was, Harry?”
Harry Tubman smiles, “Friends. Or there might be a cow on the tracks, that’s happened before.”
“Underground?”
Harry chuckles, “You’d be surprised what those little buggers can get into. All sorts of mischief. Ohhhhhh, cows!”
~~~
Hundreds lay dead before Samuel, his rifle still smoking, as he finally opens his eyes and glances around at the underground destruction, “Damn.”
John Brown himself puts a gun barrel in Samuel’s face and smiles, “Any last words, honky?”
“Um, don’t?”
“Stop!”
Harry Tubman runs up and puts a hand on John Brown’s shoulder, “John, please. He’s a slave. Just like the rest.”
John Brown shakes his head at Samuel, “A white slave. Damn, your people’s gettin’ desperate.”
Samuel looks confused, “The English?”
Harry takes John aside to explain the situation and James takes the rifle out of Samuel’s hands, “You alright, Sam?”
“Haha, you care about me. Lame. Let’s get this stupid slave train goin’!”
Harry laughs and points at Sam, “You heard the man! The Underground Railroad must roll on!”
The slaves cheer uproariously, then file quietly back into the cargo car before Harry stops them, “No, guys. You can sit up here with us again. The Southerners are gone.”
~~~