I grew up rough and survived by learning to take advantage of every situation. I was no patriot and found many ways to benefit from the chaos of war. When I joined Orrick’s Rebel Rangers as a scout, I found I had opportunities for profit. Many people had too much in life and I had too little, so I set about evening up the score. People always need things in wartime and I supplied them.
I’ve known Rob Johnson all my life. He came from a rocky hill farm and I’ve often thought that land was all he really cared for. He swore that no one, North or South, would take his home from him. Early in the war, Rob joined Orrick’s Rangers with me and it was like old times.
I remember when Rob and I spent that terrible Christmas of 1862 with Laura Meeks and her granny. Laura and Rob were in love, Granny was crazy, and I spent my time digging a grave by the smokehouse. That summer, I found that Rob was working on the Underground Railroad for a group of rich Quakers. He now had a fine Quaker ladylove, but that ended when he arrived at her safe house with 10 runaway slaves, Laura and her new baby. Stubborn, pig-headed Rob, who always tried to do right, seemed to end up in the damnest messes.
After the war, I returned to Morgan County a rich man. Rob, on the other hand, had lost everything. He didn’t deserve that. We’d had our differences, and had fallen out over Laura, but he was still my oldest friend.
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