In At the Death

"Well, it means you aren't real likely to be a hardcore Freedom Party man," Hendrickson said. "Will you swear an oath to live peacefully in Georgia and not to cause trouble for the United States if we let you go?"

"Major, I have lived through two wars now. I have had enough trouble to last me the rest of my days," Dover said. "Read me out your oath. I will swear to it, and I will live up to it."

"Raise your right hand," Hendrickson said. Dover did. The oath was what the U.S. soldier said it was. Dover repeated it, swore to it, and then signed a printed copy in triplicate. "Show one copy to U.S. military authorities on request," Hendrickson told him. "We will give you the balance of your back pay and a train ticket to Augusta. You can wear your uniform, but take off your rank badges before you leave the camp. The C.S. Army is out of business."

Kirby Smith Telford scowled at Dover as he packed a meager duffel and took the stars off his collar. Other POWs eyed him with varying mixtures of envy and hatred. He didn't care. He was going home.

A young captain looked at Cinci

"Yes, sir. I sure am," Cinci

"You have been serving as a civilian truck driver attached to the U.S. Army since the end of 1942," the captain said.

"That's right, too. Did the same thing in the las' war," Cinci

"Yes-so your records indicate. According to your superiors, you always performed your duties well, in spite of your physical limitations."

"Always done the best I could," Cinci

"You're probably eager to return to your family in, uh, Des Moines"-the captain had to check Cinci

Cinci

To his surprise, the officer took the question seriously. "There are always some who are more comfortable in the Army. They don't have to think for themselves here-they just have to do as they're told. And they never have any doubts about who's on their side and who isn't."

The young officer was probably right. No, he was bound to be right. "Hadn't thought of it that way, sir," Cinci

"That's what you're here to arrange," the captain said. "I have your final pay warrant here, and I have a train ticket to get you home."

"Ask you a favor, sir?"

"I don't know. What is it?"

"Can you arrange my train route to take me through Covington, Kentucky? I was born and raised there, and I want to see if any of my people in the colored quarter came through in one piece."

"It's irregular. It's an extra expense…" The officer in green-gray frowned, considering. "Let me talk to my superiors. You may have to stay in Alabama an extra day or two while we set things up-if they approve, that is."

"I don't mind," Cinci

He stayed an extra three days, in fact. The rest of the drivers in his unit headed for home long before he did. Hal Williamson shook his hand and said, "Good luck to you, buddy. Goddamn if I didn't learn something from you."

"What's that?" Cinci

"Colored guys-you're just like anybody else, only darker," Hal answered.

Cinci

He got the travel orders he wanted. Back in Confederate days, he would have had to ride in a separate car. No more. Some white passengers looked unhappy at sharing a row with him, but nobody said anything. That suited him well enough. He didn't ask to be loved: only tolerated.

The Stars and Stripes flew over Covington. A blue X that stood for the C.S. battle flag showed up on walls all over town. So did the word FREEDOM! The CSA had lost the war, but not everybody had given up.

Buses were ru

Not all the fences and barbed wire that sealed off the colored quarter had come down yet. But ways through the stuff were open now. Cinci

Houses and shops stood empty. Windows had broken panes; doors sagged open. Leaves drifted on lawns. Ice shivered up Cinci

A stray cat darted across the street and behind some untrimmed bushes. Cats could take care of themselves without people. Cinci

When he saw somebody else on the street, he jumped in surprise and alarm. It was an old white man in a cool linen suit, his white hair shining under his Panama hat. The white man seemed as startled to spot a Negro as Cinci

"Go to hell, Bliss," Cinci

"His place looks as dead as the rest of this part of town," Luther Bliss answered. The longtime head of the Kentucky State Police sighed. "I tried to get him out once they closed off the colored quarter, but I couldn't do it. Don't know what happened to him, but I'm afraid it's nothing good. Damn shame."

"They go and kill everybody?" Cinci

"Just about," Bliss said. "And you were in bed with 'em for a while. Doesn't that make you proud?"

"Fuck off and die," Cinci

Luther Bliss spat. "Maybe. I never knew anything about you for sure, though. That's how come I never trusted you."

Cinci

"If you'd known the old bat, you wouldn't've trusted her, either. She was an evil woman." Nothing fazed Bliss. His mournful hound-dog eyes pierced Cinci

"Keepin' tabs on me?"

"Damn straight I was," Bliss replied. "You deserve it. But things are all over now. The United States won, and if we kill enough Confederates to keep the rest quiet we'll do all right."

He waited. Cinci

"Well, we agree about something, anyway," Luther Bliss said. "I hope to God I never see you again. You gave me too much to worry about-more than Lucullus, even. He was smarter than you, but I always knew where he stood. With you, I had to wonder."

"You son of a bitch," Cinci

"I still say I was doing the USA a favor by keeping you in." Nothing would ever make Bliss back up or admit he might have been wrong, either.

The two men warily sidled past each other. Cinci