Alvin Jorneyman

“I'll tell them that too,” said Armor. “They'll all take a vow to do that, you can be sure, Alvin.” He turned to Ta-Kumsaw. “You can tell your brother that for me when next you see him, that they'll all take that vow.”

Ta-Kumsaw grunted. “So much for calling myself Isaac in order to conceal from you who I really am.”

“We've met before,” said Armor, “and even if we hadn't, I know a great leader when I see one, and I knew who it was Alvin came to see.”

“You talk too much, Armor-of-God, like all White men,” said Ta-Kumsaw. “But at least what you say isn't always stupid.”

Armor nodded and smiled to acknowledge the compliment.

Alvin and Peggy were given a bedroom and a fine bed, which Peggy suspected was Ta-Kumsaw's and Becca's own. The others slept on the floor in the parlor– slept as best they could, which wasn't well, what with all the excitement and the way Mike Fink snored so loud and the way Armor had to get up to pee about three times an hour it seemed like, till Peggy heard the activity, woke Alvin up, and Alvin did something with his doodlebug inside Armor's body so he didn't feel like his bladder was about to bust all the time. When morning came the men in the parlor slept a little late, and woke to the smell of a country breakfast, with biscuits and gravy and slabs of salted ham fried with potatoes.

Then it was time for parting. Armor-of-God was like an eager horse himself, stamping and snorting till they finally told him to go on. He mounted and rode out of Chapman Valley, waving his hat and whooping like those damn fools on election night the week before.

Alvin's and Peggy's parting was harder. She and Taleswapper would take Whitley Physicker's carriage and drive, it to the next town of any size, where she'd hire another carriage and Taleswapper would drive this one north to Hatrack River to return it to the good doctor. From there Peggy intended to go to Philadelphia for a while. “I hope that I might turn some hearts against Harrison's plans, if I'm there where Congress meets. He's only going to be president, not king, not emperor– he has to win the consent of Congress to do anything, and perhaps there's still hope.” But Alvin knew from her voice that she had little hope, that she knew already along what dark roads Harrison would lead the country.

Alvin felt nearly as bleak about his own prospects. “Tenskwa-Tawa couldn't tell me a thing about how to make the Crystal City, except to say a thing I already knew: The Maker is a part of what he Makes.”

“So… you will search,” said Peggy, “and I will search.”

What neither of them said, because both of them knew that they both knew, was that there was a child growing already in Margaret's womb; a girl. Each of them could calculate nine months as well as the other.

“Where will you be next August?” asked Alvin.

“Wherever I am, I'll make quite sure you know about it.”

“And wherever you are, I'll make quite sure I'm there.”

“I think the name should be Becca,” said Peggy.

“I was thinking to call her after you. Call her Little Peggy.”

Peggy smiled. “Becca Margaret, then?”

Alvin smiled back, and kissed her. “People talk about fools counting chickens before they hatch. That's nothing. We name them.”

He helped her up into the carriage, beside Taleswapper, who already had the reins in hand. Arthur Stuart led Alvin's horse to him, and as he mounted, the boy said, “We made up a song about us last night, while you two was upstairs!”

“A song?” said Alvin. “Let's hear it then.”

“We made it up like as if it was you singing it,” said Arthur Stuart. “Come on, you all got to sing! And at the end I made up a chorus all by myself, I made up the last part alone without no help from nobody.”

Alvin reached down and hauled the boy up behind him. Arthur Stuart's arms went around his middle. “Come on,” the boy shouted. “Let's all sing.”

As they began the song, Alvin reached down and took hold of the harness of the carriage's lead horse, starting the parade up the road leading out of Chapman Valley.

A young man startin' on his own, Must leave his home so fair. Better not go wand'rin' all alone, Or you might get eaten by a bear!

I'm wise enough to heed that song, But who'll make up my pair? If I choose my boon companion wrong, Then I might get eaten by a bear!

I'll take a certain mixup lad, He's small, but does his share, And I'll watch him close, cause I'd be sad, If the boy got eaten by a bear!

I'll take along this barrister, With lofty learned air, And I'll make of him a forester, So he won't get eaten by a bear!

Behold this noble river rat, With brag so fine and rare! He's as dangerous as a mountain cat, He will not get eaten by a bear!

Now off we go, where'er we please. We're heroes, so we dare, To defy mosquitoes, wasps, and fleas, And we won't get eaten by a bear!

They reached the main road and Peggy turned right, heading north, while the men took their horses south. She waved from the driver's seat, but did not look back. Alvin stopped to watch her, just for a moment, just for a lingering moment, as Arthur Stuart behind him shouted, “Now I get to sing the last part that I made up all by myself! I get to!”

“So sing it,” said Alvin. So Arthur Stuart sang.

Grizzly bear, grizzly bear, Run and hide, you sizzly bear! We'll take away your coat of hair, And roast you in your underwear!

Alvin laughed till tears streamed down his face.

Chapter 19 – Philadelphia

When Calvin's and Honor‚'s ship arrived in New Amsterdam, the newspapers were full of chat about the inauguration, which was only a week away in Philadelphia. Calvin remembered Harrison's name at once– how many times had he listened to the tale of the massacre at Tippy-Canoe? He remembered meeting the bloody-handed bum on the streets of New Amsterdam, and told the tale to Honor‚.

“So you created him.”

“I helped him make the best of his limited possibilities,” said Calvin.

«No, no,» said Honor‚. «You are too modest. This man created himself as a monster who killed people for political gain. Then this Red prophet destroyed him with a curse. Then, from the hopeless ruin of his life, you turned his path upward again. Calvin, you finally impress me. You have achieved, in life, that infinite power which is usually reserved to the novelist.»

“The power to use up enormous amounts of paper and ink to no avail?”

“The power to make people's lives take the most illogical turns. Parents, for instance, have no such power. They can help their children along, or, more likely, shatter their lives as someone's mother once did with her casual adultery even as she abandoned her child to the tender mercies of the boarding school. But such parents have no power then to heal the child they have injured. Having brought the child low, they ca

“And so can I,” said Calvin thoughtfully.

“Well, to a degree,” said Honord. “To be honest, however, you did not bring him low, and now, having raised him up, I doubt you can bring him low again. The man has been elected president, even if his domain consists primarily of trees and tree-dwelling beasts.”

“There's several million people in the United States,” said Calvin.

«It was to them that I referred,» said Honor‚.

The challenge was too much for Calvin to resist. Could he bring down the president of the United States? How would he do it? This time there could be no scornful words that would provoke him into self-destruction, as Calvin's words had helped the man resurrect himself from shameful oblivion. But then, Calvin had learned to do much more subtle things than mere talk in the many months since then. It would be a challenge. It was almost a dare.