Orson Card - THE CRYSTAL CITY

It was the first time Verily had seen Abe Lincoln look scared. "If you were hoping to rob somebody easy," said Abe, "you're half right. We'll be easy, only we ain't got nothing to steal."

"Speak for yourself, Abe," said Coz. "I bet Mr. Cooper's got everything he owns on that horse."

Abe gave Coz a shove. "Well, ain't that a fine thing, drawing this man's attention to our friend Mr. Cooper!"

"Well Mr. Cooper was planning to fry me up like bacon!" said Coz, shoving Abe back.

"That was a joke, Coz," said Abe, shoving him harder.

"He says now," said Coz, shoving Abe back, even harder.

But when Abe flung himself forward to shove again, it wasn't Coz he shoved. He took a flying leap at the stranger and down they tumbled into the bushes.

"Don't you worry, none, Mr. Cooper," said Coz. "Abe's a pretty bad fighter, but he puts his whole self into it and he don't give up early."

"Verily!" called the big man from the bushes. His voice sounded like somebody was pounding on his chest.

"He knows your name?" said Coz.

"Verily, are you going to say something, or am I going to have to kill your big ugly friend!"

"He oughtn't to call Abe ugly like that," said Coz.

"Abe," said Verily, "this man is not here to rob us."

The fight quieted down. "You know each other," said Abe.

"Abe Lincoln, meet Mike Fink. Mike Fink, vice versa."

"Leave off that legal talk, Mr. Cooper," said Mike. "It just riles me up and then I have to kill somebody."

"Well, don't kill Mr. Lincoln," said Verily. "He hasn't yet told me why he brought me to this godforsaken spot."

"I don't know either," said Mike, "but this is where Peggy said you'd be on this very evening, so this is where I came to meet you."

"Don't tell me you rowed upstream the whole way from Hatrack River," said Verily.

"I'd never tell such a lie," said Mike Fink, "but it's kind of flattering you'd think it was a possibility. Also kind of stupid, since half the journey would have been down the Hio, which ain't upstream."

"Ah. You didn't start in Hatrack River," said Verily.

"Vigor Church, and I took the train west to Moline and then I got a boat and came down the river. Got here this morning. You took your time coming. Springfield ain't that far."

"My butt says it was far enough," said Coz. "They made me ride the uncomfortable horse."

"Any horse with you on it's gonna be uncomfortable," said Abe.

"So Peggy knew that we'd be here," said Verily.

"Who is this Peggy," said Abe, "and how did she supposedly know days ago a thing I didn't find out about till yesterday?"

"A man who fights like a big-armed baby oughtn't to imply that a man that just whupped him is a liar," said Mike.

"Didn't accuse a soul," said Abe. "I asked a question."

"Peggy is Margaret Larner," said Verily. "Alvin's wife. I told you about her."

"She didn't happen to say," said Abe, "whether the plan that brought us here is a good idea."

"I'm not here for you," said Mike. "No offense. Nor for Verily Cooper, neither."

"Well I sure hope you ain't here for me," said Coz, "cause I peed my pants just looking at you, and if you rassle me it'll get all over you."

"I appreciate the warning," said Mike. "But I'm here for Alvin."

"I thought Peggy sent you," said Verily.

"Peggy sent me," said Mike, "to meet Alvin here. And Alvin's coming here because you're here."

Coz was delighted. "Alvin's a-coming here! Did you have any idea of that, Abe? Or was that your plan?"

"That makes this a right propitious spot," said Abe.

"No it doesn't," said Verily. "Margaret wouldn't have sent Mike Fink unless Alvin was in danger."

"What Peggy says is, when neither Alvin nor his lawyer showed up in court, the judge put out a summer judgment against Alvin and demanded that he be arrested for theft and brought back to Carthage City where he will either produce the gold item in question or be jailed for attempt of court."

"Let me guess," said Verily. "Is there a reward?"

"Somebody put up five hundred dollars," said Mike.

"And you're here to help Alvin resist arrest?"

"I'm here to take anybody who tries to earn that reward and grind him into flour and bake him like bread."

"We ain't looking to do that," said Coz.

"Five hundred dollars is a lot of money," said Abe.

Mike took a step toward Abe-who, to his credit, did not flinch.

"Calm down, Mike," said Verily. "Abe Lincoln is a man who likes his joke. He's a trusted friend of Al's."

"Ain't trusted by me" said Mike.

"My question is," said Coz, "if he's got you willing to protect him, how come he runs around all the time with that scrawny brother-in-law of his?"

"He don't need me to protect him from the kind of danger you meet on the road," said Mike. "He can defend himself just fine against that. It's when they come to him with legal papers and he gets all honorable and starts believing that he should let them haul him off to jail and then he stays there even though we know there ain't no jail can hold him-that's when he needs me. Because I don't mind beating in the face of a man who's just doing his job."

"Or biting off his ear," added Coz, hopefully.

"Gave up ear-biting long ago," said Mike. "And eye-gouging. Alvin made me promise."

"Made you?" asked Abe.

Mike looked embarrassed. "He's a blacksmith, don't you know. Look at them shoulders he's got. Not to mention that he could just look at my leg and break it."

"I think the fight, which is legendary, was equally unfair on both sides," said Verily.

"Oh, that's so," said Mike. "I wasn't accusing Alvin of nothing, I was just explaining how he could beat a fellow as mean as me." He took a step and loomed over Coz. "I am mean, you know. It ain't all show. I like that scrinchy sound a man's face makes when I'm grinding it into the ground."

"Ha ha," said Coz lamely. "You're such a joker, you are."

"When's Alvin getting here?" said Verily.

"Well, you know how Peggy gets kind of vague when it comes to Alvin's doings. I don't think she knows, except he'd get here while you were here, so here I am."

"Came by train," said Verily. "Would've been nice if I could've done that."

"So I wondered if you folks already et," said Mike. "Because I just couldn't see no point in hotting up a pot just for me, and I also didn't much care to eat my beans cold."

Soon they had a fire going right on the bluff, with two pots beside it, one full of stew, the other full of water, waiting to come to a boil.

"I reckon we're putting this fire right out in the open like this," said Abe, "so anybody seeking a reward won't waste time tripping over foxes and beavers in the dark."

"Alvin ain't here yet," said Mike, "so there's no reward, is there?"

It wasn't that Mike Fink was completely incautious, though. He volunteered for the first watch of the night, and warned Verily that he was next.

So it was that a groggy Verily Cooper was the one leaning against a tree looking out over the river when suddenly there was a man standing beside him. "River's beautiful at night," said Alvin softly.

Verily didn't even bat an eye. "Someday I'd like to see it with no fog."

"Someday," said Alvin. "When there ain't no need for it."

"Glad to see you," said Verily.

"Glad to be seen."

"Where's your company of five thousand?"

"Six thousand now. They're coming north. I ran on ahead to meet you and see if you're doing what I hope you're doing."

"Finding a place for your people to come."

"Have you? Found a place?"

"Abe Lincoln and I have been up and down, here and there," said Verily. "There are abolitionist towns that'll take a hundred or so. But I don't think there are sixty such towns in the whole state."

"Bad news," said Alvin.