Free Only the Gallant by Kerry Newcomb Page A

she would be staying in Memphis when in truth she had surreptitiously left the city with the disguised load of supplies.
    Her cheeks reddened as Jesse walked his lathered mount past the freight wagon and up to the Union sergeant. The rest of Appleton’s men remained by their campfires.
    Jesse remained impassive as he took in the surroundings. Ophelia thought it odd that he should pretend not to know her. Her own sheepish smile faded.
    “’Morning, sir,” Sergeant Appleton said, saluting.
    McQueen returned the gesture. He had left Peter Abbot back along the road, well out of sight of the Union cavalrymen. The major had provided him with crucial information about Ophelia Tyrone, and now Jesse knew what had to be done. Smuggling medical supplies out of a federal occupied city; McQueen admired the young woman’s spunk. From what he knew of Ophelia and had heard of her brother, there was no lack of courage in the Tyrone family.
    “What do we have here, Sergeant?”
    “We caught this lady trying to sneak medical supplies to the Rebs,” Appleton replied. “I’ll dispatch a couple of men to drive the wagons back and lock her up.” He held up the neck of the broken bottle. “Chloroform. She’s got a trunk of it.”
    “And see her shot? Come now, Sergeant. There is precious little beauty in the world as it is. Why diminish it even further?”
    “Sir?” Appleton frowned, trying to understand.
    “A shipment of chloroform is not going to affect the outcome of this struggle one way or another,” McQueen explained. He doffed his hat and bowed to Ophelia. “Let her pass.”
    “Sir? You ain’t serious!”
    “I gave you an order, Sergeant.” McQueen slowly looked around and repeated his command in a threatening tone of voice.
    “I aim to report this,” Appleton said. He turned to the men around him. “You boys’ll back me.” They nodded, having little use for the sergeant but none at all for officers.
    “My order stands.”
    Ophelia couldn’t believe her ears. But she wasn’t about to wait and give the Union officer time to reconsider. She returned to the carriage, took the reins from the soldier standing by the mare. At a flick of the reins the animal started forward. Ophelia heard the freight wagon creak on its axles as Dobbs gratefully released the brake and followed after the woman.
    Jesse trotted up alongside the carriage as it left Appleton and his men behind. Now he was smiling, and his deep brown eyes seemed to flash and sparkle.
    “I suppose this means you won’t be joining me for dinner tonight,” he said.
    Ophelia glanced at him. Was he making fun of her? Her temper started to rise, then subsided.
    “Why did you help me?”
    “Because you needed help.” McQueen shrugged. “And besides, who am I to deprive some poor wounded soul a modicum of comfort? Pain and suffering are color-blind. Should I be any less?”
    “Will you be punished?”
    “Probably.”
    “Then ride with me,” Ophelia said. “Come south. Join us. My brother would welcome you.”
    “No … I don’t know. Maybe someday. I have to think on it,” Jesse said. He glanced over his shoulder. “For one thing, the sergeant will suspect me of being a Rebel spy and come after us.” He tugged on the reins. Ophelia also stopped.
    “If I go back now, he’ll be afraid to disobey my orders,” Jesse told her.
    “Then all I can say, gallant sir, is thank you and farewell and—” Ophelia lowered her eyes then looked up at him with a smile full of flirtatious promises.
    “And maybe someday … ” She flicked the reins and the carriage rolled on past, leaving Jesse to whistle beneath his breath and wonder what kind of trouble he was getting himself into. Time would tell. If it didn’t run out first.

Chapter Seven
    O N THE DAY OF his court-martial, as he was being drummed out of the service, Jesse Redbow McQueen had a dream—or maybe it was a vision. After all, he wasn’t asleep. It happened without warning. The Union officers, the