Tobit's Dog, page 11
“Can we not just walk to the convent?” asked Sister Charlotte.
Sister Marie Regina leaned over to speak softly to her superior. “Sister, I told you, we are some miles away from Harper Bay yet.”
“Yes, of course”, said Sister Charlotte.
In short order it was decided that the sisters would sleep in the seating section of the bus. The men would bed down in the partitioned storage section. Sister Charlotte instructed that the stores be inspected for items they could add to the meal.
So it was that in addition to the catfish some potatoes, carrots, lard, flour, and seasoning became available to Chef Tobias. Seeing, and amused by, the young man’s discomfort, sisters Elizabeth Maria and Mary Lenora took on the preparation of potatoes and carrots, allowing Tobias to concentrate on panfrying the catfish.
Ace and Jake rigged up a table and benches with old planks and cinder blocks. When it was time to eat, the men sat across from the sisters. Sister Charlotte prayed for grace over the food and then all began to eat.
There was much praise for Tobias’ catfish, and he had to admit that it was a particularly tasty catch. Near the end of the meal, Ace built up the fire at the rear of the shed because a cold drizzle had begun again. The benches and camp chairs were rearranged around the fire after the two youngest sisters had cleaned up after the meal and packed away their supplies, while Tobias packed away his kit.
Ace Redbone spoke to the sisters of the journey he and Tobias had taken up. He told them of the tribulations of Tobit. He laid before them the tale of young Jamie Farmer.
“The poor child, and your poor father”, said Sister Charlotte as she looked into Tobias’ eyes.
“It seems so unjust, Sister”, replied Tobias. “I think worst of all for him is that he feels exiled from even his own faith. We speak of it sometimes, of the comfort of the Mass, the consolation even from the scent of incense and the Latin chants.”
While Tobias spoke, Ace had taken his guitar from the case and casually checked the tuning before beginning to play a few soft tunes. Then he began to sing. He had an excellent, wide-ranging tenor voice. He sung a few Negro spirituals. The sisters especially liked There Is a Balm in Gilead. After that he delighted Sister Charlotte with hymns in Latin, German, and Spanish.
“Oh, what delight!” she exclaimed, clasping her hands together. Then her wistful expression turned sad. “I was born in Bavaria, Mister Losrouge, but my family moved to Prussia in my youth. There we faced the irrationality of Bismarck’s Kulturkampf. Those were terrible days, when they tried to root Catholicism from all aspects of life in Germany.
“We moved for a short while into Austria, and I entered the order there. I then went to Spain because I was adept at languages, first to study, and then to teach.”
Her expression had turned so dour that Sister Marie Regina took her hand and softly squeezed it. Sister Charlotte managed a smile. “I was teaching introductory German, French, and English at a large school for girls in San Cyprian, a small town near the Pyrenees Mountains when the civil war erupted.
“Such horror, San Cyprian was in a no-man’s-land between the Nationalists and the Republicans. The order directed us that we should leave for France, but we begged that we be allowed to stay with our girls.”
“Sister, you need not—” began Marie Regina, but her words were cut off by a shake of Sister Charlotte’s head.
“No, I must”, replied the older woman quietly. “The Communists came and burnt the school. The people of the town smuggled us into the countryside, but several of them were shot for it.
“It became a nightmare of hiding and clandestine movements, almost always at night. We arrived finally in Colinaverde, a larger town. We were to wait there for transport across the mountains and into France.
“The next morning a force of Communists and Republicans arrived. They began rounding up the priests and sisters from the local parishes, but suddenly a force of Nationalists also arrived, and there was a day and a half of skirmishes before both sides withdrew into the hills.
“This complicated things for us, very much. We knew the Republican side would arrest us, but were not sure that the Nationalists wouldn’t turn us away from the border. We hid in that poor, ravaged city for three days. We did what we could for the wounded and the homeless, but finally our guides decided we must make an attempt to slip between the two forces.
“It did not go well. Two of our sisters were captured, along with a priest that was travelling with us. The rest of us had to watch from our hiding place as they were shot at the side of the road by the Communists.”
Sister Marie Regina interrupted her. “You must understand that Sister Charlotte and others wanted to intervene. They wanted to go down to plead for the release of the others, but the guides would not allow it. They said there was nothing that could be done and to reveal themselves would put everyone at risk.”
Sister Charlotte was staring now at the fire, and Tobias tried to imagine what she might see in those crackling flames, but decided he rather not know. Finally she began again. “The executions were so swift and haphazard. One moment there was talking, arguing, and the next a Communist leader just fires his pistol and kills the priest and our sisters. We hid for another day, not even daring to bury our fallen sisters and the priest, because the guides were certain they were left there to draw us out.”
Sister Charlotte hung her head with a sigh, gathering internal strength. “Finally shepherds came out of the hills and buried the bodies under a pile of stones, a ‘cairn’ I think you call it in English. Then we knew we could move on.
“We passed through another village. It was deserted. The church was burnt, and the old pastor and his young assistant were hanging from a nearby tree. We took them down and buried them.
“It was not far from the border when we came upon the bodies of the Communists. There must have been fifteen of them who died in a battle with the Nationalists. It looked as if the Nationalists hung another six of them.
“May God forgive me, but I felt such elation at this, seeing it as an avenging, though I could not even be sure these were the same men who had been murdering our brothers and sisters. I was burning with such sadness, anger, and shame.
“It was after this that we were discovered by a Republican force of twelve men. By the mercy of God they were not, however, Communists, but Basque separatists. While allied with the Republicans, they were devout Catholics and had become irate with the Communist faction. The dispute had erupted into a skirmish where two of their men had been killed.
“It was heartbreaking, though, to hear these good Catholic men speaking gleefully of having killed seven of the Communists. It stung me with my own elation at the dead Communists we had stumbled across.”
Sister Charlotte sank into a grim silence, seeming to ponder the sins of her past. Marie Regina softly picked up the tale. “The Basque militiamen were not from the immediate area, but they used their knowledge and skill in the Pyrenees to guide the refugees safely over the mountains and into France.
“Still, it was a long and twisting journey that took them another week of dreadful hunger, sleeplessness, and fear.”
“The last stretch was most anxious”, said Sister Charlotte with a sigh. “The Basque were not welcomed by the French, so they had to leave us before the last few kilometers. At the top of each rise in the path we could see the border station, but then we would descend again, not knowing what might await us, hidden behind the twists and turns along the way.
“Many of the refugees feared the French would turn them back, and they melted away to try and find entry where there was no official presence. The captain of the station, it turned out, however, was a good man. He arranged transport for us to a refugee station. From there, those of us from the order were processed to another refugee camp near Lourdes where we were to rest and recover.”
Sister Charlotte shook her head in sad, confused wonder. “It was there that I was offered a chance to come to America and work with the Negro missions. America seemed such a safe place, for all its imperfections.
“I was onboard the ship when word came to us of the bombing of Guernica. What hope could there be for the decent people of that tortured land? Madness gripped both sides, and God’s essence was betrayed and violated in one way or another no matter where you turned.
“I stayed in the cabin the entire voyage. In the wake of Guernica my accent would not have created much welcome for the other sisters travelling with me. But now I am in America. I have been working for the schools and medical clinics the Church has founded for the Negro. Your people have known a long history of the sort of sorrow I saw being inflicted upon the people of Spain. I am honored to serve.”
From time to time, as she spoke, Ace had been feathering a melody from the strings of his guitar. I have seen my Jesus crucified, he began to softly sing. The sisters joined him in the whispered song. Tobias and Jake Choory did not know the words, but they sat still and listened.
Okra sensed the sorrow shrouding Tobias’ heart, so the good dog rose and trotted to rest his chin upon the young man’s thigh. His strange, dark dog eyes gazed longingly at his young master’s face. They seemed to offer and entreat: Love. Love. Love.
Seven
Ace stoked up the fire again so that the sisters could have enough light to read and pray. The three men and the dog retreated nearer the bus. Jake Choory went into the storage section and found blankets, which he took to the front for the sisters to use that night.
“All manner of things in the back there”, said Choory. “Every parish where we stop, the people donate to the sister’s work. Catholics in the South are a peculiar sort. Most of them want to assist the Negroes, except that they should worship in the same church building with them.
“It is not maybe so bad in Harper Bay as elsewhere, bad as it might be. I suppose that when my folk came over they brought a dose of what was not lily-white with them.”
He chuckled then as he rearranged some of the items in the back of the bus so that the men would have places to sleep. “I was a very young man when we came from Lebanon. My family was among the first. None of us spoke much English, and for sure nobody at Harper Bay spoke Arabic. We made do for a while with a mix of English and French.
“We were Maronites, you know. Still, the bishop welcomed us into the diocese. We had no Maronite priest, but since we were in communion with Rome we started attending the local Roman churches.
“They were shocked to see us, I tell you. I don’t suppose they ever considered there were Christians in Lebanon, or had ever heard of Lebanon.”
When he was done prepping for the night, Choory stood back and appraised the bus. “This old beast had seen better days before it was donated to the sisters. I don’t know what we will do if Tobias cannot get it running as it should.”
“We will get you to a telephone”, said Ace. “Then you can call someone to come up from Harper Bay and collect the sisters.”
“They may already be looking for them”, suggested Tobias.
“Probably not; we were running early.”
“A new day brings new possibilities”, declared Ace with a firm conviction. “I have heard nothing but bragging on Tobias’ turn of a wrench.”
The sisters had finished their prayers and readings. Choory assisted them each into the bus. He had made pillows for them out of pillow cases stuffed with towels that had been donated. He beamed at their praise and gratitude.
Before Sister Charlotte boarded the bus, she paused to look up into the night sky. She seemed confused. Tobias thought perhaps she was just tired, or maybe she was given to coming and going in presence of mind the way some elderly people were.
“Look, the sky is clearing”, she said absently. The three men and Marie Regina glanced up to see patches of hard, cold stars. She smiled at the stars, and then she looked at Ace. Her expression became earnest and intent, as if trying to bring forth some memory packed far away in her mind. “You are familiar to me. I think I have seen you before. In Colinaverde, I think. I saw you walking among the wounded. You were offering them comfort and aid. You didn’t care if they were Republican or Nationalist.”
She smiled as she looked at Ace and whispered, “Of course, you were a woman then.”
With that she turned so Choory could help her into the bus. Jake shrugged at Tobias and Ace. Sister Marie Regina looked at Ace with an apologetic expression. She was about to say something, but Ace shook his head that it was not necessary.
When the sisters were aboard and secure, Jake gestured to the other two men. “I am worn out and I haven’t been walking all day like you two. Let’s get some sleep.”
He paused then near Ace, gesturing with his hand, “Ladies first.”
Tobias could not help but laugh despite Ace Redbone’s admonishing gaze. Then the musician allowed a reluctant chuckle himself. Near the back door of the bus he paused. He glanced around at the clearing sky.
“I think I would rather it had rained”, he said. “It will be cooler now.”
“Something else”, prodded Tobias, trying to read his companion.
“Well, just not so likely that there would be any prowling critters in a good rain”, said Ace. Then he gestured with his head toward the bus. “I’m going to sit by the fire a bit. Me and Okra here. We’ll be joining you before too awful long.”
Tobias studied the inky night of the scrubby forest around them. Then he said, “Yes, ma’am.”
When everyone aboard the bus had slipped into sound slumber, Ace Redbone put a rolled-up blanket under one arm and nodded toward the dark-forested aisles. “Come along, Okra. Let’s get ourselves into the night.”
The dog followed at his heels as they moved between the tree trunks. They came finally to a small area near the road where for some reason the old growth had never been cut down. The tall hardwoods had lost most of their leaves as autumn slipped over the forest. The trees formed a vault of strong limbs, and a lacy canopy of finer branches through which shone the starlight.
Ace seated himself beside an ancient oak. Okra lay dutifully beside him. After only a few moments the dog’s ears perked higher than normal as the sound of tires on the road came coasting to a motorless halt, and there followed the creaking of suspension as the vehicle pulled to the side of the road. The musician let his fingers brush lightly across Okra’s neck and back so that the raised hackles were lowered.
There came the sound of whispered voices, and Okra tilted his head to look at Ace Redbone. The dog was uncertain as to why he should not raise an alarm, but Ace just slowly shook his head to maintain the silence. The whispering ceased but was replaced with the muffled sound of feet on the leaf-mold forest floor.
Three figures emerged from the density of the pine growth into the clearer space beneath the star-domed old growth. The lead figure was fifteen feet away when Ace Redbone rose smoothly to his feet. The newcomers went still.
Ace fixed his gaze on the leader. “Lester Murphy Dunlin, what are you doing out this time of the night, sneaking around in the woods?”
The oldest Dunlin brother overcame his surprise and took a single, deliberate step forward. He was carrying a clublike length of wood, which he slapped against the palm of his hand. “Look here, boys, it’s that smart-ass nigger that was with Toby Two. We been lookin’ for you, yeller man.”
“Looks as if you have found me”, said Ace with a slow smile. He looked then to the younger Dunlin brother, who was holding an old butcher’s knife that had been sharpened over the years until it was a slender thing worthless for its original intent. “Michael David Dunlin, what are you thinking of doing with that?”
“How do you—” began Michael Dunlin, but he was cut off by his older brother.
“Toby Two told him our names”, snapped Lester Dunlin. He motioned with his hand and his two companions fanned out. His brother moved to the left of him. Lenny Morris, carrying a five-foot length of sapling, moved to his right.
“It’ll be easier this way”, sneered Lester. “First this one, then Toby Two. Time to teach ’em a lesson.”
Lester charged forward, with his companions hesitating only a moment in his wake. Ace slipped effortless to one side. The speed and smoothness of his evasion caused Lester to trip over the roots of the ancient oak. He skidded face-first over the chaotic roots, losing the grip of his club, which became tangled in his brother’s feet.
Michael Dunlin’s momentum sent him into his own sprawl. His instinct to catch himself caused the skinny knife to be stabbed into one of the oak’s large surface roots. The knife snapped off at the hilt, leaving the blade driven uselessly into the root.
Both of the young men began scrambling in a panic as Ace Redbone approached them with a grim countenance. Regaining their feet, they fled back toward the road. Lenny Morris had been frozen by the sudden burst of confrontation, and he was shoved aside by the retreat of the Dunlin brothers, causing him to lose his footing and fall square on his backside. When Ace turned toward him the young man leapt to his feet, abandoning his stave as he tried to run after his companions.
“Okra.”
With the whisper from Ace the dog burst after Lenny. He grabbed the tail of the boy’s shirt. Lenny screamed in fright when he felt the tug. The fabric gave way and a palm-sized patch tore from the shirt. The sudden release caused Lenny to fall onto his face in the leaf mold.
The boy turned over onto his back, holding out his hands in front of him defensively and pleading, “Mister, Mister, I didn’t want to come here.”
Ace had stopped so that he was standing over the boy, looking down upon him. “You should not have come, it would seem.”
“Please, please.”
From the road there came the noise of the truck motor turning over, and then the crunch of the tires as it pulled onto the pavement and trundled away. Ace had looked up from the boy to listen to the retreating vehicle.
Turning his gaze back to the frightened face, he spoke, “Leonard Levi Morris, it seems that those boys you hoped were your friends have abandoned you. Now you are alone here in the woods with the person the lot of you were seeking to beat, maybe even stab.”
