Chapter 5

Grant immediately apologized for his outburst, but the group expressed their understanding due to the new surprise that had been dropped on them. In the area in front of the barn were Larry and Missy’s camp, including their trucks, trailers, tent and even the fire ring. The travois that had been abandoned was now leaning against one of the trailers.

In addition, there were two large trailers off to the side with the wheels chocked and the trailer supports down and sitting on a large four by eight. Noise of some motor unit was coming from the closer of the two trailers. Lastly, a cardboard sign was attached to that same trailer.

Curiosity got to the group, so they moved closer to the sign. It read:

Decided not to wait until storage area built. This should help until that is complete. Note that Refrigeration unit can also be plugged in and run on standard electricity.

Good job so far,

Oscar

“I wonder what they left us,” said Beth.

Grant responded, “I guess we should get some lights and look. I doubt I’ll sleep much until we know.”

Beth started back to the house to get a large flashlight before realizing that both the downtimers were standing there in shock. Grant resumed command and urged everyone back into the house. Once inside, he delegated the investigation of the trailers to John.

After sitting the father and daughter on the sofa, Beth gathered two small glasses of brandy and induced the pair to take a couple of very tiny sips. After a few of these sips, the two seemed to be returning to normal, but they were still somewhat glassy eyed and unable to talk.

In the meantime, John returned from his investigation and reported to Grant, “One of the trailer units is a dual powered reefer, which we’ve already plugged into our grid. It’s full of pallets of frozen vegetables and boxes of different meat cuts, including beef, pork, chicken and even a small amount of lamb. The area nearest the rear doors is separated by those thick plastic strips. That area is cold, but not freezing. There must be a couple of tons of swinging meat, as well as cases of soft drinks, milk, juice and even bread.

“The other trailer has a section in the front with standard products we need, such as toilet tissue, paper towels and feminine products. The rest seems to contain massive amounts of medical equipment. I think there’s enough there to consider eventually building a separate clinic, or at least adding on to the house.”

An excited Beth looked up at the ceiling, and mouthed, “Thank you.”

Thomas Lynch looked at Grant, and said, “Son, I know my daughter said that you were from the future, but my mind can’t even grasp what we just saw. What’s more, from what I observed, you were more surprised at their sudden appearance than the objects themselves. How can our two cultures even attempt to live together?”

“Mr Lynch, I think it’s in the book of Ecclesiastes where the Bible states that there is nothing new under the sun. Now, we now know that in our uptime that was not completely true, but most of what you see is just new variations of things in your everyday life. Those two long silver things are big wagons, covered to protect the insides from the weather. One of them even has the ability to keep things frozen, or at least cool, just as this house is much cooler than the air outside.”

“And how do you do this?”

“In the winter, do you not light fires to remove cold from a room?”

“I’m not sure we would think of it in that manner, but basically you are correct. The heat from the fire does remove the cold.”

“What we’ve learned through science is how to remove the heat, leaving only the cold. It’s not done by magic, but by machines.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it, at the moment, but it does make sense.”

“The two smaller objects with wheels and an open area in the back are called pickup trucks, and they’re the mechanical equivalent to a team of horses pulling a wagon. The difference is that the mechanical engine has the power of more than a hundred horses and as long as fuel is available it never gets tired. As for the objects behind the trucks, they’re also trailers, though smaller than the big silver ones. One of those trailers was specifically designed to carry horses from one place to another.”

“Why would someone put horses in a trailer rather than just riding them?” asked Sabrina, who was also beginning to overcome her shock.

Answering a question with a question, Grant asked, “If you rode the fastest horse you have to Charleston, how long would it take?”

“Well, I couldn’t let him gallop the whole way, so I’d guess an hour and twenty minutes.”

“How about to Philadelphia?”

Sabrina’s father said, “It normally takes me eight to ten days, but I’m spending my nights in inns along the way.”

“In comparison,” said Grant, if the roads were smooth enough and without any others on the road, I could drive to Charleston in less than twenty minutes, and with someone to alternate driving, we could make it to Philadelphia in a day.”

“Sabrina smiled, and said, “So, they’re the same as our horse and wagon, just bigger, faster and much more powerful. Do you plan on using your wagons?”

“For right now, it’s more important that we try to fit in with your culture than it is to try to overwhelm yours. That doesn’t mean that we won’t slowly introduce technology early if it can benefit mankind and this country, but we also want to learn from mistakes that man has made the first time.”

“I’m not sure I’m following your thoughts,” stated Thomas Lynch.

“Mr Lynch, suppose you had an opportunity to relive much of your life yet knowing what you know now. Would you do anything different?”

The older man smiled, and said, “Yes, probably thousands of things. So, what your saying is you are hoping to do that with the world, instead of just yourself.”

“To a degree, but when we time jumped The United States of America was the most powerful country in the world, with its longtime ally Britain not far behind. If we can slowly implement changes in just those two countries, then, over time, it will make huge differences to the entire world.”

“That’s a big responsibility son. It seems it would very easy to use your advanced knowledge and weapons to simply rule the world.”

“And you would be right. The key, I think, is the people who were sent back. I know that we’re not going to be able to do so, but if I had my way, I’d spend the next 200 years living back here next to the river and the salt marsh. All of us have good minds, and most are experts in differing areas, but none of us have the kind of personality or ego to become a dictator.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Grant. If true, I think you will find me one of your greatest supporters.”

“Thank you. Those words mean a lot. Now, shall we get back to our prisoner?”

While they again journeyed to the barn Thomas looked with concern at his daughter, and asked, Grant, “Are you planning to torture this thief and murderer to get the information we want?”

“As much as I’d like to, we won’t have to do anything like that. Beth will stick him with a needle and moments later he will be in a mild sleep. He should pretty much answer any question we have and will be totally honest. The key is knowing the right questions to ask, because he will not have the ability to just volunteer information.”

Over an hour later the group emerged from the barn. They were exhausted. At Cal Peterson’s suggestion a selected group of Thomas Lynch’s personal items were planted on Gill, along with items from Gill’s saddlebag that once belonged to Lynch’s son. Cal and Zeke were leaving immediately to find a proper place for their prisoner to break his neck. There was even some blood smeared around the man’s crotch.

As Grant and the others returned to the house, Grant asked, “Thomas, now that we know what is going on, how do you think we should proceed?”

“Grant,” asked Sabrina, “do you have the capability of catching that ship at sea and taking command?”

“We do.”

Sabrina looked knowingly at her father, and he nodded, before saying, “I say we let things play out as they would normally. We can use Gill’s attack on my son, Sabrina and me to warn the other planters to be careful. The real problem is the governor’s new rule on possession of firearms by those who are not part of his royal militia. If we defend ourselves we’re guilty of treason and they take our land, and if we don’t, they murder the men and coerce the women to make a quick sale. I can’t believe they think they can take over the bulk of the low country in less than a month.”

Grant answered, “I have to admit their plan is rather ambitious; especially the idea of bringing in new colonists to purchase the confiscated properties before heading to Jamaica with the government’s treasury and the deposits sitting in the bank.”

“Yes,” said Sabrina, “and with Lyttleton as the new governor of the island, nobody could touch him or his gang of six. If we let it play out and take the ship at sea, then we end up with the gold, and the King’s influence in the Carolinas will be greatly reduced.”

“Not only that,” added Pat, “but those six were the worst of the loyalists during the revolution. Their acts of violence against even innocent women and children were despicable. If this is an example of what they would do in six or eight years, then I think we can also assume that their real loyalty was to themselves, not the King.”

Grant countered, “I can agree with all you are saying, but we also need a strategy to protect the landowners during the small window of vulnerability that exists before these guys must set aside their plans and just leave. I don’t think they can delay the arrival of the new Governor any longer, because he has to have already left England.”

“I don’t understand this window you speak of,” said Thomas Lynch.

“As I see it,” replied Grant, “for them to be able to leave in less than a month, they must gain control of all the properties within a little over two weeks. After that point they wouldn’t have sufficient time to close the deals and transfer the deeds. I guess they could keep the property for themselves, but then it would be impossible for any of them to deny involvement in the scheme.”

“And that two week period is the window you referred to.”

“Exactly.”

“Then one of the things we can do,” said Pat, “is to use the media and public opinion against them. Play up the inability for a landowner to protect himself from murderers, footpads and rapists. We also need to study the actual edict to see if there are any loopholes.”