Maddie drug Luke and three other men that she found alive
but seriously wounded into the cabin. She knew she it was safe to light a fire
and the candles because just before she came looking for Elliot she had heard
that General Longstreet had gone to finish the fight that morning but decided
it better to retreat and headed on to Russellville that afternoon. The battle
was over and now it was just a matter of picking up the pieces afterwards. One
long day and night of gun fire and dead bodies had taken its toll on the town.
The tavern had taken most of the damage and there were many Union men lying
dead on the tavern floor. Still, there were so many wounded men left in the
care of the women of the town like Maddie and her mother.
She settled the three men on makeshift beds made of the few
blankets left in the cabin on the floor by the fireplace. Then she set to task
on building a fire and lighting the candles. She went straight to the place
where she kept the matches and lit the only two candles in the small one room
cabin. Then she built a big fire in the hearth with the remaining wood she had
stored for the year. She sat there by the fire with her arms stretched towards
its warmth in an attempt to regain the feeling in her hands. She would be of no
use to these men she had brought in if she could not use her hands correctly. A
few minutes passed and at last she started to feel human again as her fingers
and feet soaked up the warmth. She turned and looked at the four men lying on
the floor and wondered what she was supposed to do with them. She noticed the
older of the four had blood coming from his stomach. The one lying beside him
had a head wound. There was one man who looked as young as her brother Elliot and
he seemed to be the one in the worst condition. He was trembling all over and
was covered in blood from his face down to his feet. She realized he was
missing one of his boots. Then there was Luke. He seemed fine, all but his leg.
He had no use of his right leg at all. She tried to see if there was blood
anywhere on him but all she could find was the blood stain her brother had left
on his lap. She hatched a plan right then. First she would tend to the worst of
the three and then move on to the next in order of severity. When she had them
stable or did as much as she could she would go back to town and get help. She
fretted having to see her mother and tell her the news of Elliot but she had to
do it.
She set to work on the youngest man first. She found that he
had been shot several times. She had nothing to pull the bullets from the
wounds so she decided to wrap them up and try to stop the bleeding as best as
she could. She lifted the shirt from the boy to get a better look at the wounds
on his chest and was shocked at what she found. This was no boy or man. This
was a woman. She had wrapped her breasts up tight and disguised herself as a
man. Maddie had thought about doing the same thing when talk of war started but
her mother needed her here at home. So she had stayed. Now she was thanking her
lucky stars for that decision. This lady had six bullets in her stomach and
chest and Maddie knew that she was not going to make it.
She leaned down close
to the girls’ ear and whispered, “I know you are a woman and I will keep your
secret. I would like to know your name, your real name, so if something were to
happen I can get you home.”
“Laura Stoker,” was all the girl could manage to say before
blood starting coming from her mouth.
Maddie whispered a prayer in the girls ear, covered and
tucked her in with the warmest blanket she had left and moved on.
Maddie moved fast
from one to the other. All the men were half conscience and the only thing that
came from their mouth while she was working on them was groans and mumbles that
she could not catch. She talked non-stop about random things besides the war.
She introduced herself and began telling stories that her father had told her.
Then she told them about the cabin they were in and stories of her, her father,
and her brother, hunting here. She told them about her last kill, a massive
buck. She was very proud of that kill because she had finally outdone her
brother. She pointed to the wall closest to the door to the cabin and said,
“See there are the antlers. My Brother said it would be good luck to keep them
and so we did.” Of course, none of the men looked in the direction of the
antlers or gave any indication that they were even listening to her at all.
Nonetheless, she continued with her ramblings. When she was finished with the
three men that were in much worse shape than she had thought to begin with she
moved on to Luke. She looked at him and he gave her a little smile.
“You talk a lot,” he said through his smile but Maddie could
hear the pain and weakness in his voice.
“I normally do not but I feel like you four men deserve a
bit of normal conversation after such an experience. I would think that if I
was lying here like all of you, I would enjoy having someone talk to me. If I
am bothering you I can stop though.”
“You are not bothering me at all. I do like it.”
“I am going to wrap your leg as best as I can; just as I did
with the other three men and then I am going to go for help. I haven’t got the
right stuff to tend to these properly here.”
“I can see that. You have ruined your dress and apron.”
Maddie looked down and seen that she had ripped and tore
most of her dress, and her apron was nothing more than a string tied around her
waist now. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight of herself. Her mother was
going to be furious but Maddie was sure she would understand. “This was my only
dress, my mother is going to be livid I’m afraid.”
“I can buy you a new one.”
“Oh, I cannot allow you to do such a thing. I will manage.”
“I insist, after all you have done, it is the least I can do
to repay you.”
“I am not looking for a reward or recognition. I am doing
this because it is only right.”
Maddie ripped Luke’s pant leg as to get a better look at the
wound. It was on the upper half of the thigh and it was bleeding badly. She had
not realized that he had lost a good deal of blood just lying on the cabin
floor. She found the last clean edge of her dress at the bottom and tore it off
all the way around. It needed to be long enough to wrap around a few times and
still tie. She wrapped his leg and stood.
“I have done all I can do here. I am going to fetch some
help. I have no more wood for the fire but I should be back not to long after
it burns out. Are you comfortable enough?”
“We will be fine. Thank you for your help.”
“I will see you soon then.” With that Maddie made her way to
the door. Before she opened it to leave she turned back around and said, “Luke,
thank you for being there with Elliot when he passed. Thank you for listening
to him and saying a prayer with him. At least I know he did not die alone and
that gives me some peace. I will always be grateful for you and your kindness.”
“No need to thank me. Just be careful. There may still be
men lurking about in these woods and it is dangerous for you to be out there
alone.”
“I am well aware of the dangers and I will be. Try to get
some rest while I am gone.” And with that she left.
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