Through the Storm Read Online Free PDF Page B

and when the time has come for me to go, the Lord will let them kill me.”
     
    They set out after dark. When Araminta instructed Sable to be quiet and sit still, Sable obeyed. When she asked Sable to stay behind and wait while she scouted ahead, pistol drawn, Sable did that also.
    During the next day’s daylight hours, they slept in the shell of a Yankee-burned mansion and headed out again as soon as dusk gave way to night. As dawn of the second day approached, Sable began to notice a change in the landscape. A dense forest had once covered this area but now, the land looked as if a giant had come through with a mighty scythe and cut down every tree. There were acres and acres of nothing but stumps for as far as the eye could see.
    “General Sherman needed the wood,” Araminta explained.
    Sable marveled at the denuded land and her awe grew when she and her companion crossed what had once been one of the region’s main railroad lines. The iron ties had been torn out of the rails and were now twisted macabrely around the trunks of the few trees that remained.
    Araminta explained, “They’re called Sherman’s neckties. His men tear up the ties, then heat them in a pile. Once the ties are red hot, they’re twisted around trees. Rebs can’t use the ties or the railroad. Smart man, that General Sherman.”
    Sable could only stare in amazement.
    They walked for four days, through burned-out battlefields filled with fresh graves, across land scarred by cannon fire and past abandoned fortifications. There were more Sherman neckties, and every now and then the bodies of soldiers in blue and gray who’d died alone and remained unburied.
    Midnight of the fourth day found them crouched in the thick brush above the banks of the Ocmulgee River. It was a moonless night, and the surroundings were so silent, they could hear the water lapping softly against the embankment.
    Whispering, Sable asked, “Why are we here?”
    “To meet some friends,” came Araminta’s low reply.
    Sable didn’t see anyone. “Where?”
    “Out there,” Araminta answered, pointing at the dark river. “Let’s see if they’re at home.”
    Sable watched silently as Araminta struck a match on a flint and held the flame above her head. She waved it toward the river for only a second, then blew it out.
    A few heartbeats later, an answering light appeared against the blackness. Araminta took Sable’s hand. “Come, we must hurry.”
    Sable was surprised by the old woman’s agility as they made their way quickly down the bank, but she was surprised even more to see six Black men propelling a raft silently toward them.
    Araminta splashed out into the water to meet them, and Sable, faced with no other choice, did the same. Both women were helped aboard by strong arms.
    “Take a seat, ladies,” said a tall man. “We need to get across as quickly as possible.”
    Sable sat beside Araminta on the damp wood. The men dug their poles into the shallow water and turned the conveyance around. Sable had no idea where they were headed or who these men were, but she trusted Araminta and the Old Queens to keep her safe.
     
    Up river, Major Raimond LeVeq of the Union army paced back and forth in front of his tent. Mrs. Tubmanwas a day late. If she didn’t show up tonight, he and his small band of cavalry were going to have to push on without her, even though she might be carrying information vital to the Union command.
    Not that she couldn’t make her way back to the main camp on her own. Her reconnaissance and survivial skills were so legendary that the late abolitionist John Brown had dubbed her “the General.” While in South Carolina with Colonel James Montgomery she’d headed a group of Black men who’d acted as the unit’s scouts and spies. Montgomery, one of the Union army’s best guerrilla fighters and foragers, had used her tips to mount raids in South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. One of the most celebrated sorties had taken place near the