Glimmers of Change (24 page)

Robert and Moses appeared beside her, heaving things out the door while Rose, June, and Aunt Abby grabbed them and pulled them away from the building. All of them worked frantically to save what they could.

A sudden whoosh and crackling sound told Carrie they had run out of time. “We have to get out!” she cried. She grabbed a final box that held medical records. Coughing, she pulled Robert and Moses from the building, recognizing the determined looks on their faces.

“I can get some more,” Robert wheezed.

Carrie shook her head grimly. “There is not one thing in there worth your life.” She watched as the roof exploded into flame. She had a vision of the terror Sadie, Sadie Lou, Susie, and Zeke must have felt as the fire consumed them. Shuddering, she stepped closer to Rose and wrapped an arm around her.

“How did this happen?” Rose whispered. “Moses banked the fire down before we left.”

“It was no stray spark that ignited this fire,” Aunt Abby said flatly. “Someone set it.”

Just then Clint rode up on a fresh horse. He vaulted off and ran to where they were standing. “I saw them!” he yelled over the crackle of the flames. “I tried to stop it, but it was too late.”

“What are you talking about?” Robert asked sharply, reaching for Clint’s hand but releasing it quickly when Clint gave a cry. “What…?”

Carrie stepped forward quickly. “Your hands are badly burned!” She motioned June to get some of the supplies they had saved and then turned back to him. “What happened, Clint?”

Clint’s breathing was shallow. “I saw them, Miss Carrie. I was out riding Scottie through the woods when I heard voices. Something didn’t feel right, so I tied Scottie to a tree and snuck up close so I could see.” His voice tightened. “There was a whole bunch of white men that had horses. They went up to the school, broke all the windows, and tossed a bunch of burning branches into the schoolhouse. They was cheering when they got back on their horses and rode off.” He lifted his eyes to Robert. “I’m real sorry I didn’t stop them,” he said hoarsely.

Robert put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You were wise not to try to stop them. They would have hurt you. But you must have tried to put the fire out,” he said with a grim look at Clint’s hands.

“Weren’t no use,” Clint mumbled. “I ran inside and threw some of the branches out but there were too many. I couldn’t get them all. The walls had already caught on fire…” He cast his eyes down. “I’m real sorry…”

Rose walked over and took his face in her hands. “What you did was so brave,” she said softly, her own eyes glazed with grief. “Thank you for trying. I’m just so glad you weren’t hurt any worse. Did you burn anything other than your hands?”

Clint shook his head. “No. They’re okay. They don’t hurt so bad,” he said stoically.

Carrie took over, recognizing the strained look in his eyes that negated his words. There was nothing any of them could do to stop the fire. “Come with me,” she commanded. “Your hands need to be taken care of.”

“Here is some cloth, Carrie,” June said quickly. “What else do you need?”

Carrie realized her supply of herbs and salves had not made it out of the fire. She pushed aside thoughts of the loss. “There is just enough light to gather some plantain. Will you recognize it?”

June nodded. “I’ll get it. I saw a brand new patch growing this morning.”

“I’ll help,” Abby said quickly. “Just show me what it is.”

Robert stayed with Clint while Carrie went through the supplies they had saved. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found a jar of honey. She grabbed it and carried it back to Clint. Robert had pushed him down against a tree far enough away from the fire to be safe, but close enough to benefit from the light the flames produced.

“Here you go, Carrie,” June said, holding out several handfuls of plantain weed. “What are you going to do with it? You don’t have anything here to create a salve.”

Carrie smiled grimly as she took a handful and shoved it in her mouth, waving her hand to tell everyone to do the same thing. “We missed dinner,” she said lightly, trying to add humor to a tragedy. “It’s perfectly safe to eat, but it’s a little bitter. Just do me a favor and don’t swallow. When you have it well chewed, let me know.”

Everyone followed her direction. Carrie chewed determinedly until the weeds had broken down into a paste inside her mouth and then spit it out in her hand. Clint watched her quietly, but she was concerned by the glazed look in his eyes. She knew shock was a danger, especially with the temperature dropping. In spite of his casual attitude, the boy’s burns were serious. “Did we save any blankets?” she asked crisply.

Robert appeared by her side with several blankets. “Lean forward,” he ordered.

Silently, Clint leaned forward so Robert could wrap the blankets around his shoulders, leaving only his hands exposed.

Carrie took one hand gently, wincing at the red, inflamed skin. She spread the plantain over the wounds, accepting everyone’s offering until both hands were covered. Then she carefully spread honey on the wrapping cloths June had given her and swaddled his hands. “They’re going to be very painful,” she said calmly, “but they will heal completely.”

Relief washed over Clint’s face. “That’s good,” he mumbled. “I was worried I wouldn’t be able to ride again if I messed my hands up.”

“You will ride again just fine,” Carrie said tenderly, laying her hand on his forehead. She could only imagine the pain he had endured when he rode over to tell them what he’d seen. “But not tonight,” she added firmly. “Robert will ride Scottie home. You’ll join us in the carriage.”

Clint nodded weakly. “Yes, ma’am.”

Carrie met Robert’s eyes over the boy’s head. “Stay here with him,” she said.

Standing, she walked over to where Rose and Moses stood staring grimly at the still-raging fire. Moses held a sheet of paper tightly in his hand, a look of fury in his eyes. “What is that?”

Moses stared down at her. “I found this on the tree by the road.”

Carrie reached for the paper, her fury matching his as she read.

We warned you no good would come from helping the niggers. Since words had no effect, we thought you would pay attention to action. Be warned. We are watching every moment. We will not let our beloved South be taken from us.

Carrie snorted as she balled up the paper. “Cowards!” she snapped. She turned toward the woods across the road and lifted her fist defiantly. “If you’re watching,” she yelled, “know that you are all nothing but cowards. You can burn it down, but we will simply rebuild. The day will come when cowards like you will no longer have the ability to ruin our
beloved South
!” Her words rose against the crackle of the flames, hanging in the air defiantly.

Abby joined her, raising her own fist. Moments later, June joined her. The three women stood as a determined unit against the specter of danger.

Carrie finally turned to see where Rose was and moaned when she saw the anguished look in her friend’s eyes. Rose stared at the burning building, fear radiating from her face. Before Carrie could move to comfort her friend, she heard… yells coming from down the road. Stiffening, she waited to see if there was to be another attack.

Robert was by her side instantly, his rifle held ready.

Moses scowled. “One rifle won’t do much against a band of men.”

“No,” Robert admitted grimly, “but it’s all we’ve got.”

“Miss Rose! Miss Rose!”

Moments later, emerging from the darkness like vengeful ghosts, a large group assembled at the edge of the fire.

Justine slipped to Rose’s side. “Who set our school on fire?” she cried. “Why would they do that?”

“Who did this?” another woman yelled.

“They burned our school!” a wide-eyed little girl screamed, running forward to huddle against Rose. “I’m scared, Miss Rose. They gonna come to our house next?”

Her question set off a torrent of tears from the children who had accompanied their parents. “They gonna burn us next, Miss Rose?”

A little boy named Wallace walked up to Rose and peered into her eyes. “You scared, Miss Rose?”

A quiet settled down over the clearing. The only sound was the crackling of the flames as they devoured the remaining walls. The light from the fire illuminated all the way to the edge of the woods on the far side of the road, stopping short of what might be lurking just within.

Rose shuddered, wanting to scream out her fear and uncertainty. Her students were looking to her for strength, but she had none to offer. She stared over Wally’s head as the last remaining wall burned down to where shelves of books had waited for eager children. She fought to breathe as the books caught fire, their pages burning bright as sparks in the raging inferno.

Carrie, knowing she was incapable of speech, stepped forward. “I am so sorry,” she called. “It was white men who did this.” She held up the sheet of paper Moses had ripped from the tree. “This was done by cowardly men who are attempting to control by fear.”

“They hate us that bad?” Wally asked. “How come white people hate us so bad?”

Carrie knelt down to gaze into his eyes, battling a deep sense of shame. Fury rose in her to match the shame she felt over members of her race doing this terrible thing. “They don’t hate
you
, Wally,” she said tenderly.

“They just hate everything that be black,” Wally said flatly, the dull knowledge in his eyes revealing he had seen far more than any ten-year-old boy should see.

Carrie had a sudden wild desire to dash into the woods and pull out any cowardly men watching the results of their destructive act. She pushed the surge of emotion down, speaking calmly as she looked into Wally’s eyes. Only the truth would matter on a night like this. “People hate what they are afraid of,” she admitted.

“They be afraid of
me
?” Wally asked, his eyes showing his confusion.

The children all crowded closer to hear her answer.

“They are afraid because they have lost control,” Carrie said carefully. “Slavery was a horrible, wrong thing, but it made whites feel in control. They’ve lost the control now, so they are afraid.” She could hear more of the walls collapsing behind her. “They are trying to regain control by making all of
us
afraid.”

“I be afraid,” Wally admitted in a small voice.

The murmur of voices from the other children and the fright shining from the adults’ eyes said they were all feeling the same thing.

Carrie allowed the fury she had tamped down to surge upward, obliterating any feeling of shame or fear. She stood, gazed at the remnants of the schoolhouse and clinic for several long moments, and then spun back around to face the group just as all of the men and their families from Cromwell Plantation ran up, their eyes wide with questions.

“It takes a coward to burn something down,” she called loudly for the benefit of everyone listening, seen and unseen. “It takes courage to build it again.” She waved her hand toward the flames. “The fire will go out. We will rebuild.” Carrie let her eyes sweep over the group, watching as, very slowly, fear began to ebb from their faces. “We will rebuild!” she said firmly. “We worked together to build it before. We will build it again.”

Carrie motioned to Robert to join her. “Robert and I will leave in the morning to get more wood. While we are gone, all of you will clear away the rubble and prepare the foundation. We’ll be able to bring enough to frame everything. You can also start cutting down the trees you’ll need to finish it.” She took a deep breath. “Any time someone attacks you, it is normal to feel fear, but then you have to push it aside and keep moving forward. All of you will be back in school as soon as possible.”

Carrie felt Rose beside her before she heard her voice.

“All of you will be back in school
tomorrow
,” Rose said firmly, all fear gone from her voice. “I used to teach a secret school on Cromwell Plantation when I was a slave,” she revealed. “Every time my students went to school they risked being beaten. They came anyway because they wanted to learn. We don’t have to hide in the woods, because we are
free
.” Her voice rose with the flames, defiance and courage pressing against the darkness. “No one can take away our freedom. They may fight it, but they can’t take it away. It’s up to us to push past the fear and create the life we want.”