Horrible Harvest

The house was on fire. Bailey had done it. She’d said as much just ‘fore she marched up them stairs. Naked as a newborn. Nothing but a knife in hand. She promised she’d do it, and she’d burned down the whole fucking lot of them. I tell you true, she was the finest warrior I ever come across during the war entire.

Me and Kenneth drug the fat, pretend General out the front door and across the grass just ‘fore the ceiling to the dining room collapsed and flames et up every bit of space from wall to window.

“We should have left him to burn,” Kenneth said as his daddy’s feet dug trenches in the dirt.

I held to Mr. Miller’s arm draped over my shoulder and around my neck. “Nah. Then he’d be a General who died in a war. That’s too dignified for this sumbitch. Let him rot in chains, so the whole world’ll know he’s a worthless piece of shit.”

Kenneth smiled. “I suppose I can find joy in that.”

We drug him to Captain Doc and let him fall to the ground.

Kenneth stripped away his dress and stood topless in his long drawers.

“Are you two injured?” Captain Doc asked.

The General rolled on his back. “You there. You’re an officer?”

“I am Captain Docherty of – ”

“I order you to detain these two and employ your men to construct fitting gallows for their hangings.”

The captain looked at us confused and then back down at Mr. Miller. “I’m afraid you fail to grasp the situation at hand, sir.”

“I’ve given you an order, Captain. That is the situation at hand, sir.”

Captain Doc rolled his eyes. “On your feet, Mr. Miller. At once.”

“How dare you, son. I am General Miller. You shall address me as such, and by decree of the Lord almighty, you do not give a General orders.”

“Correct, sir. I do not. I give my prisoner orders. That is you. Cameron Miller. You are under arrest – ”

Mr. Miller struggled to lift himself up. He sighed and said, “I cannot stand – I feel out of balance. Mistreatment by men under your command has rendered me disabled.”

The captain instructed me to help Mr. Miller to his feet.

I did as ordered and reached for the rich man playing soldier, only to have my hand slapped away.

“Do not let this refuse touch me.”

Quick like, I grab-holed his upper arm and yanked him to his feet. Much to my joy, he give out a cry of pain.

“Now, I am obliged under orders to refer to you by your self-titled rank, General,” Captain Doc said. “And I shall adhere to those orders from here on out, but as of this moment, all authority and privileges that accompany such rank are no longer available to you. Is that understood, sir?”

“I am Cameron Miller, son. Is that understood?”

“It is not – ”

“Then let me help you understand. This new nation – The one you serve – It is mine. I built it. I own it. I am it. The cannon fire? It is mine. Every dead Yankee belongs to me. Every Good Death of a beloved Confederate soldier belongs to me. Their nobility. Their bravery. Their loyalty. It all belongs to me. You dare believe you can deprive me of my authority and privileges? You are nothing, Captain. I am all. Now do you understand?”

Captain Doc hesitated before saying, “I do, but I do not believe it is the same point you are trying to convey.”

“So, you will execute me? Is that what you’ve come to do? Does the establishment of politicians and Generals send you to steal my crown?”

“Orders, sir – Not just orders, but order itself – That is why I was sent here. An army must be tightly bonded to a model of order to find success, and your rogue brigade has been a detriment to such cohesion – General. Your men do not act in service to the Confederacy – ”

 “They act in service to me – I am the Confederacy.”

“No, sir. You are not, and your men do not act in service to you. You are but a key to unlock a treasure trove of indulgence. They have use for you, but they have no loyalty to you. They act in service of themselves. They do not respect you. How could they? You defile your own race, General. Your own kind. Southern citizens suffer in the wake of your cruel directives. This very property we stand on is that of a grand patriot of our country. He serves in the Army of Virginia under General Lee’s command while you and your men rape his women and destroy his property – including his stock of slaves, all of whom have been rendered useless and without value due to the foul treatment they suffered under your orders.

“And we circle back to the reason I am here. I am here to restore order. That was to come under the form of escorting you to our Southern shores, but since you have refused to accept the assignment, and since you’ve no capacity to lead in a manner befitting an actual General in the Army of the Confederate States of America, I am forced to place you under arrest and transport you to Chattanooga where you will be obliged to reckon for your grotesque misconduct of command.”

“You have no authority here, Captain. I fail to see why that concept escapes you.”

“And I fail to see why you continue to insist that you have any authority at all.”

“Listen to me, men,” Mr. Miller said to the uniformed soldiers who still held rank behind Captain Docherty. “I am General Miller. These grounds are mine. This brigade is mine. I am ordering you to place your captain under arrest.”

Didn’t a single solitary word come back in response.

“There is bonus pay to the first man who puts the captain in irons. Twenty-five dollars. That is double – More than double your entire pay for the month.”

That stirred a couple of fellas. It’d been a good six months since we’d seen any kind of pay at all.

Kenneth stepped forward. “I will award a thousand dollars to the man who shoots my father between the eyes.”

“Hold on there, son,” Captain Docherty said. “He’s to face a military trial – ”

“You do not have a thousand dollars to your name,” Mr. Miller said with such a laugh it aggravated his cracked skull.

“All your treasure is mine once the bullet delivers its damage, father. All of it.”

“Two thousand dollars,” Mr. Miller yelled. “To the man who arrests the captain and murders my son.”

“Ten thousand dollars to the man who slits my father’s throat. Another five thousand if he hands me the demon’s head.”

“Stop this at once,” Captain Docherty said.

“You would squander such a fortune just for my demise. You really are a reckless and foolish child – ”

“I would trade your entire empire for your head, father! Every last cent!”

“Gentleman,” Captain Docherty screamed. “This nonsense will cease. We – My company – We are not in service to your fortune. We are in service to our duty as soldiers, and that duty is clear. General Miller, you are under arrest – And Mr. Miller,” he said to Kenneth. “If you continue speaking out of turn, you, too will be arrested for criminal insubordination. You are not a member of Company K, but I expect you to conduct yourself in a manner dictated by military code. Is that understood?”

Kenneth give pause before answering, “Yes, sir, Captain, sir. I apologize for my behavior – ”

Without warning, Mr. Miller give Kenneth a slap. “A Miller never apologizes to another man. Especially a man as inferior as the captain. You are the lowliest of worms for your proclivities, but you are still a Miller. Never bow to another in deference.”

“Mr. Tennyson,” Captain Docherty said, sounding about as angry as I’d ever heard him. “There is a set of irons in my saddlebag. Please, retrieve them, and restrain the General’s hands – And his comfort is not a priority. Is that clear?”

“It is, sir. Clear, sir.”

I quick stepped it around the captain and approached his horse. I caught a glimpse of Douglas and Charles as I worked to unbuckle the saddlebag. They was flanked by a half-dozen members of Company K. All of ‘em held long rifles at my brothers’ backs. Most peculiar of all, both Douglas and Charles let loose shit-eatin’ grins from ear to ear.

I pult the irons out the saddlebag and stepped back from the horse. The smiles on my brothers’ faces unsettled him. Something weren’t right. I turnt and said, “Captain – ”

Then come the first shot fired from the tree line. The slug struck the captain’s horse square in the ass. It leapt forward and let out an ear-piercing whinny.

The captain had miscalculated. Mr. Miller’s men was moved to free their general.