the area, I'd say. We can't let ourselves be the only ones fighting back. We'd draw too much attention. In areas where the English farmers resist, it's different. The Feds and state governments can't send troops everywhere. They're stretched thin already. And even though you never hear about it, they're dealing with mutiny and desertion from boys who don't want to shoot other Americans.”
“So you think there's hope?” Erin asked.
“There's a good chance,” Zigg said, “they'll bankrupt themselves before they do irreparable damage. They're desperate because their empire is crumbling. We need to be talking to our English neighbors, helping them when they fight back. Like old Wilhelm used to say, it’s our Last .”
“Care to expand on that?” Erin ventured with a raised eyebrow.
“ Last means our load, our burden. Wilhelm Freisasser was kind of a philosopher among us, he always said, freedom needs to be tended like crops or family. And he had all kinds of ideas for encouraging it, by seeding defiance and self-reliance in our neighbors. He’d seen his father thrown in jail for not marching off, smiling, into the Great War, like the rest of you Americans, a thoughtless army of bootlickers for bankers and politicians, as he put it. He was concerned about the modern age, and put a lot of thought into fighting it. And he changed a few minds, but you know, we’ve always kept to ourselves. I think Harm here follows his ideas better than anyone. That might be the only reason you’re here, Mrs. Gordon, still holding your child.”
“I was lucky,” Harm said nostalgically, “I got to meet him before he died. I was in my teens, living with Bern’s family at the time. He was old, but he still spoke with fire.” His eyes flitted around as his mind jumped to other things.
“Your brother’s farm will be a target now,” he said in a more serious tone. “He and his family should clear out for a time.”
“They're packing as we speak,” Zigg said, “and trying to plant some fields before they go. And in case you didn’t hear, Oscar is hosting a meeting of all the Häupter from the Gau at his place tomorrow. Since you’ll be there, it seemed like the best place. They value your opinion, you know, even the Häupter who don't talk to you.”
Erin heaved Hughie up into her arms and stood watching. Harm stowed the boxes in the other Jeep and stared at the ground.
“Look,” he said, leaning over to pull from the ground a nondescript little plant with deeply divided, toothed leaves that was growing in a dense patch at their feet. “Waterleaf. We used to call it Indian Salad when I was a kid, since we learned about it from them.”
He plucked a leaf from the stem and ate it, then handed one to Erin.
“Sometimes I think the Indians had it right,” he continued, “living wild off the land and never settling in one place for too long. Once you've settled, it's too easy for them to find you, to come along and milk you like cows.”
“Thieves, kings, and governments,” Zigg added. “But don't forget, whoever doesn't profit them, they wipe out, like they did the Indians. That’s why we have to walk that line in between.”
“Maybe so,” Harm shrugged.
“Not bad,” Erin said as she chewed. “But I don't know if I could live on these things.”
“You won't have to,” Zigg said with a smile. “If I know Hilda, there’ll be plenty of food for you, even in these times.”
“Hilda?”
“My sister,” Harm said. “Our next stop.”
Chapter 19
“Zigg,” Erin said as they drove along a country road past mostly abandoned farms. “You people have some unusual names. Is that short for Siegfried?”
“Yeah.”
“Aren’t you impressed? I guess I didn't take that class on Wagner’s operas for nothing.”
“He surprised me,” Harm said. “He told you his real name, maybe because he knows Bern told you about the Kreis . We don't normally do
“So you think there's hope?” Erin asked.
“There's a good chance,” Zigg said, “they'll bankrupt themselves before they do irreparable damage. They're desperate because their empire is crumbling. We need to be talking to our English neighbors, helping them when they fight back. Like old Wilhelm used to say, it’s our Last .”
“Care to expand on that?” Erin ventured with a raised eyebrow.
“ Last means our load, our burden. Wilhelm Freisasser was kind of a philosopher among us, he always said, freedom needs to be tended like crops or family. And he had all kinds of ideas for encouraging it, by seeding defiance and self-reliance in our neighbors. He’d seen his father thrown in jail for not marching off, smiling, into the Great War, like the rest of you Americans, a thoughtless army of bootlickers for bankers and politicians, as he put it. He was concerned about the modern age, and put a lot of thought into fighting it. And he changed a few minds, but you know, we’ve always kept to ourselves. I think Harm here follows his ideas better than anyone. That might be the only reason you’re here, Mrs. Gordon, still holding your child.”
“I was lucky,” Harm said nostalgically, “I got to meet him before he died. I was in my teens, living with Bern’s family at the time. He was old, but he still spoke with fire.” His eyes flitted around as his mind jumped to other things.
“Your brother’s farm will be a target now,” he said in a more serious tone. “He and his family should clear out for a time.”
“They're packing as we speak,” Zigg said, “and trying to plant some fields before they go. And in case you didn’t hear, Oscar is hosting a meeting of all the Häupter from the Gau at his place tomorrow. Since you’ll be there, it seemed like the best place. They value your opinion, you know, even the Häupter who don't talk to you.”
Erin heaved Hughie up into her arms and stood watching. Harm stowed the boxes in the other Jeep and stared at the ground.
“Look,” he said, leaning over to pull from the ground a nondescript little plant with deeply divided, toothed leaves that was growing in a dense patch at their feet. “Waterleaf. We used to call it Indian Salad when I was a kid, since we learned about it from them.”
He plucked a leaf from the stem and ate it, then handed one to Erin.
“Sometimes I think the Indians had it right,” he continued, “living wild off the land and never settling in one place for too long. Once you've settled, it's too easy for them to find you, to come along and milk you like cows.”
“Thieves, kings, and governments,” Zigg added. “But don't forget, whoever doesn't profit them, they wipe out, like they did the Indians. That’s why we have to walk that line in between.”
“Maybe so,” Harm shrugged.
“Not bad,” Erin said as she chewed. “But I don't know if I could live on these things.”
“You won't have to,” Zigg said with a smile. “If I know Hilda, there’ll be plenty of food for you, even in these times.”
“Hilda?”
“My sister,” Harm said. “Our next stop.”
Chapter 19
“Zigg,” Erin said as they drove along a country road past mostly abandoned farms. “You people have some unusual names. Is that short for Siegfried?”
“Yeah.”
“Aren’t you impressed? I guess I didn't take that class on Wagner’s operas for nothing.”
“He surprised me,” Harm said. “He told you his real name, maybe because he knows Bern told you about the Kreis . We don't normally do
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