Hector and Kathy made a trip to Davis Brown Farm and came back to report that the new barn was finished. He and Ralph were designing a remodel of the solar barn which was being converted into studio apartments. They were trying to decide how many people the new apartment building could hold.
“Digging the outhouses will be the hardest chore,” Hector said.
“No, cleaning them will be the hardest chore,” muttered a girl who had broken one of the rules.
Two days before the election, in the late afternoon, a guard came running down from the guard post at the top of the hill.
“Someone’s coming,” she gasped.
Minutes later, four bicyclists rode over the rise, and a stir went up in the village. The bicyclists coasted down the hill to the parking lot, where they were met by a small crowd that included Lieutenant Kennedy. By the time Mike arrived, the Lieutenant was conversing with the new arrivals. Kennedy introduced Mike to one of the bicyclists.
“Hello, Sir,” the cyclist said as he extended his hand. “I’m Corporal Cody Carson, Ranger, United States Army. Major Collins extends his greetings. We’re here to form a regular Army guard unit. I know you and your Spears have done a great job, Sir. We are not here to replace them, just to supplement them.”
Corporal Cody introduced the other two members of his squad, and then the fourth cyclist came forward. He was wearing a black suit, a white shirt, and a black tie.
“Hi,” the man said. “I’m Don.”
“Mormon?” Mike asked.
“Methodist, actually. Good guess, though. I am a minister. I hope you won’t mind my visiting. I’ve heard so much about Petersburg that my curiosity was killing me, so I begged Major Collins to let me go with Corporal Cody. The Major told me to tell you that if you don’t want me here, then you should send me right back.”
“It’s cool for you to come here, Don,” Mike said.
“Where did you get the bikes, Corporal?” Kennedy asked.
“We found them in one of the trucks on Evil Hill,” Cody replied. “After you and the Major left, Sergeant Jenkins sent a detail to scrounge everything we could find. I led the detail. We found these four mountain bikes unassembled in one of the campers. We put them together and presto! You can tell they have a lot of miles on them, but they’re still in great shape.”
“I bet Major Collins was happy to see these,” Kennedy said.
“Yes and no,” Cody replied. “He was happy to see them, but he was pissed that we hadn’t found them before you and he left. We used them to establish an outpost at the junction to Evil Hill road. Major Collins said to tell you that he wants two of them back.”
“How long did it take you to cycle from your post to the Brown Farm?” Mike asked.
“Seven days,” Cody answered. “This morning, we stopped at the Brown Farm for breakfast and then came on. We were only going to stop for a quick ten, but Mrs. Brown can be very persuasive. Then we left and came here.”
Mike and Kennedy exchanged glances. “Seven days,” Mike murmured.
“Seven days?” Eric exclaimed. “Chief, we have to make some bikes.”
“Yes,” Mike agreed. “See what you can do, Eric. How were the tires, Corporal?”
“They’re solid foam. No tubes, no flats. They did fine.”
Mike saw John talking to Don; both of their faces very serious. It dawned on him why.
“Eric, find Lily,” he said. “Tell her to get a shingle from Hector and start working on a marriage license for John and Desi.”
“Huh?”
“Go.”
After talking to John, and after seeing Desi’s condition, Don agreed to perform a wedding. A little stiffly, Don explained that he usually required the couple to undergo some counseling before he would agree to perform a wedding, but in this case it was obviously too late. Lily hastily designed and drew an elegant marriage license on the best of Hector’s shingles. The marriage took place the following afternoon, and it was held on the grassy area below the Lodge. Almost every inhabitant of Petersburg attended. Yuie was the maid of honor, and Eric, not Mike, was the best man, because at Desi’s insistence, Mike gave her away.
“You sure can hold a grudge, Desi,” Mike groused, but Desi just laughed.
Afterwards, Mike and Howard insisted that the couple take over Chief’s Headquarters for a few days. When John pointed out that it was a little late for a honeymoon, Howard smacked him on the head.
Corporal Carson had a present for Mike from Major Collins. As soon as Mike took the soft present, which was wrapped in an expensive linen bag, Mike knew what it contained, but he peeked inside to be sure. The day came for the election. The vote was held at Meeting, and the votes were counted immediately after. Howard received thirty votes. Eric received sixteen votes. Mike declared that Howard was the winner, and that at midnight, Howard would be the new Mayor of Petersburg.
As midnight approached, Mike asked the excited audience for silence. When it was completely quiet, he and Howard opened the package that Major Collins had sent to him. Carefully, they unfolded the cloth. Using push pins, they tacked it to the wallboard behind the podium as the silent crowd watched. When they were finished, Mike and Howard stepped away from the wall but faced it. Mike cleared his throat, and then he placed his right hand over his heart. The soldiers surged to their feet, salutes in place, and most all of the residents of Petersburg rose also. Kathy removed Hectors hat from her head and held it over her heart. Mike began to speak.
“I pledge allegiance to the flag…”
Most of the assembly joined in, many remembering those they had lost. At midnight Mike embraced Howard. Mike was no longer the Chief.
Mike found the next few days to be a little awkward. People kept coming to him for advice, or for help, or to ask his opinion, when they should have been going to Howard. Howard suggested that Mike should become the Admin, but Mike firmly declined. One day, he decided to take a walk down to the guard post at Logging Road junction. He took his backpack, and after staying overnight in the RV, he decided to walk up to Davis Brown Farm. He arrived at the farm at supper time. Mary insisted that he eat in the house and not in the solar apartment building with the members of the Brown Farm guard post. After dinner, he asked Ralph if he could hang around for a few days.
Ralph shrugged. “No problem.”
A few days turned into a couple of weeks. Mike was enjoying his stay. He helped around the farm. He did what Ralph asked, and he resisted the urge to give Ralph unasked for advice.
Howard wasn’t happy that Mike had left, but he understood why. Still, with Mike gone, Howard was doing the work that had previously been done by two people. He wondered who he could appoint as Admin. Jean laughed in his face when he asked her. He asked Eric, who looked back at him as if he was from outer space. Eventually, Ahmad agreed to serve as Admin.
“Temporarily,” Ahmad insisted.
Howard’s first big test came just after the middle of July. Jacob and Jean had gone upriver to keep an eye on the Retreat. They hastened into Petersburg with the news that the remaining people at the Retreat were on the move.
“They’re headed this way,” Jean reported during Council. “They must have run out of supplies. They’re headed for the river. I think they know there are people down river. Meaning us.”
“I counted three men, six women and five children,” said Jacob. “Two of the kids are teenagers, like us.”
“What do you think, LT?” Howard asked Kennedy.
“I think we better meet them on the way, and not wait until they get here,” Kennedy said. “We know the terrain between where they are and here. We need to pick a spot that will give us the most effective opportunity to contain them and send them back, or to disarm them with a minimum of danger to our people.”