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Not seeing some of the kids Beth asked about them. "Matthew?"
Her mother bowed her head, "He was killed at Gettysburg they said…" she cried aloud.
"Oh Mama…" Beth cried. Jacob pushed the ground with his boot and swallowed hard.
"Martina?"
"Why don't you ask me?" Martina shouted from the porch as she came out of the house. She looked just as beautiful as always, except her face looked fuller.
"Martina!" Beth cried and ran into her arms. "Oh I'm so glad to see you."
"Come inside and meet my husband…" she encouraged taking her hand and dragging her into the house. "This is my husband, Abner Ferguson.
Beth soon realized why he hadn't come outside, her husband had only one leg and his arm was bandaged tight.
"He lost it at Shiloh. But he was captured and taken to Camp Douglas in Chicago, Illinois. He got a cut and nearly had to have his arm amputated too. But he survived the filthy place." Martina put a blanket over his leg.
"You must have had a horrible time there." Beth said with sympathy.
He nodded and smiled, "It was no picnic, but I made it back, that's what is important, a lot of them didn't."
Her Ma made a big dinner for everyone and they talked into the night about the horrors of the war, and the family.
"Did they bring Matthew's body back?" Beth asked.
"No dear, he was buried where he fell, so many fell at Gettysburg."
"We heard that," Beth nodded.
"Your pa and I made a grave for him here, and a stone, out in the old cemetery."
"So did ya'll come on the boat?" Her Pa asked.
"No…the boat is long gone, Pa." Beth said sadly.
"Oh my, what happened?"
Wade, Jacob and Beth told them the story. Mrs. Cahill boned up about that time. "We'll get another boat…"
"That's right, Mama, we will." Wade smiled. Wade glanced at Jacob. "You'd be right proud how good Jacob has gotten running that boat, nearly singled handed with Beth's help."
His brothers all elbowed him.
Joan came up to Beth and sat in her lap, while her mother held Little Jake and fed him.
"I sure missed you, but I’m getting to big to sit in your lap now."
"Nonsense, you'll never be too big for that." Beth leaned to kiss her forehead.
Later, Beth caught Martina on the porch alone and went to sit with her.
"How have you been, Martina?"
"Fine. I mean…I had it rough for a while. Until I met Abner, he was so good to me. I couldn't leave him. We've been married nearly three years now."
"So this is the first one?"
"This is Abner's first…" she told her.
