“Stick together from now on,” said Kautz in a tight-lipped whisper. He looked sharply at Tim. “We jump from the train. I give the sign.”
They were the last to be counted into the car ahead of the caboose. As they approached the door Tim held his breath as the scar-faced sergeant counted, “Twenty-six, twenty-seven....” And Red was twenty-eight.
The guards kept their places on the tops of the cars. All the doors on the opposite side of the train were shut and probably locked.
As the prisoners climbed into the car the smell of cow dung and urine struck them full in the face. The last ones in sat near the open door.
Tim’s head ached and he was stiff in every joint, but as he leaned against the boards of the cattle car with Kautz on his right and Red on his left he smiled to himself. Friends, that’s what a man needs, he thought. It’s going it alone that makes it tough.
Kautz turned to Tim. “I’ve studied maps,” he whispered, slapping a slight bulge in the lower part of his blouse. “I thought about capture before we attacked the fort.”
Tim glanced at Kautz and for a moment he couldn’t believe his ears. Kautz had never shown the slightest doubt that they would take the fort.
“On this train,” he heard Kautz say, “we will probably head for Columbia. If so, we jump south of the city. We might branch west toward central Georgia. If we do that, I’m for jumping as soon as we see our chance. In either case, our objective would be Eastern Tennessee. If we should head south along the coast, we jump near Beaufort.”
Kautz looked around the car and leaned close to Tim. “The giving of the signal will depend on the position of the guards, the degree of darkness and other things.” His whisper became a hiss. “We will be taking great risks, in any case. I will go first, then Kelly, then you.”
The sergeant looked into the car. His skin was mottled purple and pink and white, scarred so badly that his face could express no emotion. When he talked the glistening skin crinkled dryly around his mouth. His voice came soft and deep. “We have to put three more men in here,” he said with something that sounded like regret, “but I’ll keep the door open if you behave yourselves. In this country,” he said, “escape is foolish. Don’t forget that.” He clamped his jaw shut and moved along to inspect the other cars.