Red River

That evening, Sheriff Clinton comes looking for Noby at his house and speaks to his wife, Emma. She is surprised by his tone, which is “neither harsh nor dismissive” (319). She stays calm for her children. Simon Hadnot accompanies the sheriff and, “unlike the sheriff, the man makes no pretense of cordiality, too angry and agitated to extend the least courtesy to the family of the colored man who dared strike him” (320). Outside are more men. This is the day Emma has dreaded since she married Noby 27 years ago, because she has always known he has a temper.

The sheriff sends Simon Hadnot outside to wait while he searches the house. However, Emma realizes that he is stalling, either hoping that Noby will appear or “to convince those on the outside that he has performed a more thorough search” (323). After 10 minutes, the sheriff leaves, stopping only to tell Emma that Noby’s attack was “a shame. He’s a good man” (323). 

The trip to Boyce is long but uneventful for Jackson, Amy, and Noby. They arrive in Boyce, and Aston, Noby’s son, helps him out of the wagon. He has a plan for smuggling Noby away: “we got to put you in a coffin […] if they check the colored cars, you too beat up to miss” (327). Once the train reaches Alexandria, Sidney will intercept Noby, and Lil’ Hansom will be waiting for Noby in Oklahoma.

Thinking of the torture of the journey, Noby starts to laugh. He thinks of his father, whose spirit was broken by the white men and whose body was destroyed as well. He “witnessed the decline up close, and he refuses to repeat the pattern” (329). To do so, he chooses to see the humor in the situation. All his life, his mother “told him he has cheated death from the time he was a baby, and he will do it again. He is sure of it” (329).

The next year, in 1919, Jackson’s 15th grandchild is born, and he still misses his friend Noby terribly. Noby sent word when he arrived safely in Oklahoma, and Emma went to stay with him for a while. Lucy blames David for his brother’s exile.

The weather is wet, and The Bottom is likely to flood. Jackson and Nathan-Green work to protect their house and secure their belongings before they evacuate. The women gather the supplies they’ll need when they leave. Jackson loses patience with Nathan-Green, snapping, “[I]f Andrew here, it be done already. Stick to it. For once” (334). He regrets comparing his sons immediately. Jackson feels that it is time to pass on his life’s work to his children but cannot ignore the fact that Andrew is everything that Nathan-Green is not.

Jackson orders the family to leave by wagon. He checks to make sure Lenora has loaded his books carefully, which she has. Although the wagons get stuck twice, the Tademys make it to the tent city in the hills, where the residents of The Bottom have evacuated. Cold and wet, the family huddles together.

It has been 12 years since the commissary and school burned down. As the storm continues outside, Jackson finally says aloud: “I promise.” He is promising Noby to rebuild the school and “is firm in his resolve and absolutely clear about what he must do” (340). Three weeks later, the family returns home. The flood wasn’t the worst they’ve seen; the house is safe, and most of their belongings are salvageable.

Six years later, in 1925, Jackson has built a schoolhouse and a high school and is preparing for his birthday celebration. His mother, Polly, is in attendance, though she can no longer walk. Seeing one of his young grandchildren, Jackson goes to retrieve the old primer from his library, and he and Nathan-Green take the boy, Ted, to see the high school in town.

He tells his grandson, Ted, about the family’s history in Egypt. On the way back, Jackson asks Nathan-Green to ride through the white part of Colfax, to show Ted. They stop at the courthouse, where Jackson tells his grandson about the bravery of those who fought to defend it. White men start to stare at them, and Nathan-Green takes them away after one of the whites tells them to keep moving. Jackson tells Ted never to fight because “only a fool don’t have sense enough to walk away” (347).

They reach the Grant Parish Training School. They tour the school so that Ted can see where he will one day be educated. The school has two rooms; Nathan-Green teaches the younger students, and Andrew teaches the older ones, also serving as the principal. Pleased with his legacy, Jackson is ready to return home for his birthday.