Cy in Chains Read Free Page B

if you go there, you find him wishin’ he hadn’t done such a thing. That boy probably scared o’ the dark, and cold, too. You go get him, and he follow you home like a little lost puppy. With any luck, we can get Teufel put up and Travis in his own bed without Mist’ John ever findin’ out. Please, Cy! Go an’ fetch him home. You know he look up to you.”
    Yes, Travis would listen to him, but Cy felt uneasy. This was between Travis and his father. How many times had his own father said that the black man must
never
get in the middle of white folks’ business? If he did, when everything was settled, somehow the black man was the one who ended up in trouble. No, best keep out of it. Let Travis come home on his own.
    But Cy couldn’t leave Travis out there somewhere in the dark with a horse he couldn’t really handle. Not with Uncle Daniel begging him to find the boy and bring him home. And what if Travis really
was
gone for good, if he hadn’t gone to their secret place near where the Ogeechee was extra wide, the spot folks called the Bull Hole? At the least, he’d have to try and find Travis, see if Uncle Daniel was correct.
    â€œAll right,” Cy told the old man.
    â€œOh, thank you, son! You can use my lantern. This place o’ yours, it ain’t too far, I hope?”
    â€œNo, sir. It gon’ take time to get there in the dark, though.”
    â€œAll right. You best hurry along. Sooner we have that boy home safe, the easier I can rest. Dorcas an’ me be sittin’ up, waitin’ on you.”
    Cy eased back inside the cabin. His father was snoring hard. He’d be out cold for hours. Cy grabbed his coat and closed the door behind him. Outside, Uncle Daniel gave him the lantern and put a piece of pound cake in his hand. “From Aunt Dorcas,” he said. “She always say a nice sweet make things seem better.”
    Cy left the clearing and headed for the Bull Hole, cutting through the woods on a narrow path only he and Travis knew about. Even in the dark, he could go pretty quickly because he knew the way so well. Still, it took what seemed a long time to get to the river, which he heard before he came up to it. Spring rains had been heavy, and the water was running high and fast.
    Cy slowed to a cautious walk as he came to the place. There was no light except from his lantern, but when he stood still, he could hear another sound besides the movement of the water surging to his right. The soft nickering of a horse. It had to be Teufel.
    â€œTravis, that you? It me, Cy.”
    For a moment, there was no answer. Then, “Cy? You alone?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œYou swear? Daddy ain’t with you?”
    â€œI swear. Uncle Daniel saw you hightail it outta the barn, and he come get me, asked me to find you. I got to bring you home ’fore your daddy wake up.”
    â€œI ain’t coming home!”
    Cy moved forward into the small clearing. Travis stood facing him, Teufel beside him, his reins tied to a tree. In the lantern light, Cy could see the boy had been crying. His face was smeared with dirt, and the hair hanging on his forehead was wet with sweat, even in the cool night air.
    â€œHey,” Cy said. “You all right? And Teufel?”
    Travis nodded. “He’s okay.”
    â€œUncle Daniel claimed he saw you
ridin’
him. That the truth?”
    â€œUh-huh. I didn’t think I could do it. But I did like I’ve seen you do—talked to him quiet, told him we were going to run away, that Daddy wouldn’t touch him ever again. He understood me, Cy! I know he did.”
    Cy went to the horse. He held out the piece of pound cake, which Teufel took and swallowed in one bite.
    â€œWe got to go home now,” Cy said.
    â€œI told you, I ain’t goin’ back there.”
    Cy stepped toward Travis, who turned his face away.
    â€œLet me see you,” Cy said, and Travis turned back. In