Read Online Spake As a Dragon by Larry Edward Hunt - Free Book Online

the
war was coming and he was about the right age for conscription.
Important military dignitaries traveled up and down the river,
sometimes getting on or off paddle wheelers at the wharfs. He could
not take the chance that they would see him, and his age would have
him marching off to some battle that he had no interest in
fighting. He left Ditto’s Landing and moved farther east and south
arriving in the sleepy little town of Albertville, Alabama.
Albertville had a railroad, but there was nothing of military
interest in or near this remote crossroad settlement – it was a
perfect place for him to lay low until the War’s end.
    His ‘slick’ card-playing career
coupled with his skill with his fists qualified him eminently as
the bouncer in the roughest saloon in town. One night he met his
match when he tried to oust a cotton farmer the size of a small
mule, and about as tough and ornery. He could not beat the farmer
in a fair fight so he employed a pair of brass knuckles and a
blackjack. He beat the overgrown redneck to death. Until the
circuit-riding judge arrived in town, the sheriff placed LaPree
under arrest and lodged him in the Marshall county jail at
Guntersville, Alabama.
    The local Confederate Conscription
Officer heard of LaPree’s last exploit and made a visit to the
jail. LaPree told the Captain he was Spanish, and hailed from
Louisiana. The Conscription Officer bought LaPree’s story, actually
he didn’t care about his nationality; he had a job for LaPree. A
rough job that demanded a rough man: Captain of the Home
Guard.
    LaPree saw this as two strokes of good
luck. First he would be deferred from active military service, even
if he were discovered to be an American, and second there was an
excellent chance to make some good, if not dishonest, money. With
this job, he could rob the citizens under the guise of the law and
not be prosecuted. The Home Guard’s duties including finding and
returning deserters, searching for draft dodgers and seeking out
men between the age of sixteen to sixty to conscript into the Army
of the Confederacy. Most of the time, the boys and men the Home
Guard found were reluctant to return to their previous military
units or were determined not to enter the service of the State of
Alabama altogether. This was where the skills of Simeon LaPree came
into play. He and his gang of legal thieves and ruffians were to
‘gently’ persuade those men and boys to see the error of their
ways, and change their minds.
    “ Why ain’t you boys in the
army?”
    William and Tom Henry do not
reply.
    “ Tell me boys...your ages,
or I will beat it out of you?” At the same time cracking his
menacing, eight-foot, bullwhip.
    Malinda quickly answers, “William is
going on twenty-one and Thomas Henry is thirteen.”
    “ Well now,” LaPree
grinned, twisting the end of his mustache.
    “ I’ve already got three
men in the Army, William is home to work the farm, and Thomas Henry
is not old enough...”
    “ Now we’re gettin’
sommers...” he said glaring at the two boys, “I’ll deal with you
two later.” He turns his attention back to Malinda, “now take me to
the flour and cornmeal. I’m done through talkin’
with...”
    “ I tell you we don’t have
any extra food!”
    Captain LaPree dismounts; stomps up
the walk toward the porch all the time slapping his pant leg with
his braided, leather bullwhip. Pushing Malinda aside he does not
bother to turn the handle on the door – he kicks the door
open.
    Mattie Ann and Lizzie scream and run
to their mother’s side. She kneels and pulls them close, “Don’t be
frightened everything is going to be fine,” gently stroking their
heads. “He will be gone in a while.”
    “ Who else is in the
house?” LaPree demands as he enters the kitchen. He sees Sary
cowered in the corner. “Well, what we got here – how many of these
slaves you got?”
    Malinda answers, “None! I don’t own
any slaves – Sary is a free woman. She did work for a