The Sweetness of Water

Prentiss observes the empty jail cells. Sheriff Hackstedde eats his meal and tells Prentiss stories about the time he was employed as a patroller. Prentiss, bored by the stories, would rather sit in silence, and the more Prentiss asks for silence, the more stories Hackstedde shares. After he finishes eating, he slides the leftovers through the bars and onto the floor. He tells Prentiss to eat before the scraps get cold. When Prentiss refuses, Hackstedde tells him to clean up the mess, to which Prentiss, noting that he will likely be dead as soon as the judge delivers his verdict, refuses. Prentiss ignores Hackstedde’s stories by focusing on memories of hearing Landry’s footsteps behind him. When the sheriff tells Prentiss that Isabelle came to see him, he is relieved that she did not come into the jail to witness the squalor.

Prentiss awakens to the voice of a woman outside his cell. Clementine, posing as Prentiss’s cousin, arranged a deal with the sheriff that he could have any woman he desired at the brothel in exchange for allowing her to bring Prentiss fruit. Clementine’s visit puts Prentiss at ease. He eats a peach and tells Clementine about his past. Clementine asks Prentiss if he ever had passion for a girl. He talks about Delpha, an enslaved woman at the Morton’s with whom he had fallen in love. Delpha would be whipped if she did not pick enough cotton, so to spare her punishment, Prentiss ran to her row to put some of his cotton in her basket. One time he tripped and fell onto a cotton stalk, arousing the attention of Gail Cooley, who was patrolling the fields.

Prentiss is fascinated by Clementine’s past and imagines a life with her and Elsy. Clementine allows him to engage in the imaginary story and reaches through the bars to hold him. Once visiting hours are over Clementine leaves and Prentiss dreams of again being woken by her voice.

Caleb wakes before the sun comes up. He goes to the basement and collects his pistol and walks to his father’s field. He feels alone and isolated, wondering why his mother did not comfort him as a child and hoping that somehow, she might come to the field to lead him back home. He feels under the dirt to see if his father’s plants are growing. They feel meager, but somehow feel that his father would be happy enough with their growth. He returns to the cabin and collects his grandfather’s rifles from the cellar. He leaves the cabin and sets out for the Webler’s.

When Caleb arrives at the Webler’s house, he contemplates how soundly they sleep, imagining lying in bed next to August and caressing him until morning. His daydream is interrupted by the complex shadows of trees against the house and seeing that no one has detected his entrance through the gate, he walks to the stable. He saddles one of the Webler’s horses and leaves the stable, knowing that as soon as Wade Webler’s hired help realize what happened, they would be after him. He again thinks about how he wishes he would have seen August peering at him through his upstairs’ window watching him escape.

Caleb arrives at the jailhouse in Selby and frees Prentiss by forcing Tim to unlock the cell at gunpoint. Outside the jailhouse, Caleb gives Prentiss a rifle and helps him onto the horse. They plan to ride north but first stop at the Walker’s cabin. Upon arrival, Caleb sees dim candlelight and the figures of his mother and father at the dining table. When Caleb and Prentiss explain what happened, George calls them stupid for endangering their lives. Caleb explains that they have come home to pack up provisions for their trip north. When Isabelle threatens to lock them in the house, Caleb says that doing so only ensures that they will both be sent to the gallows. Isabelle relents and helps them pack canned fruit and other supplies. George insists on joining them on the journey. Questioning his hatred of travelling, George says he is needed on the trip and will ride Ridley with them to the edge of the county and then return home. Worried that George will return to face charges of helping criminals escape, Caleb reluctantly agrees to allow George to accompany them. 

Isabelle takes comfort in sleeping in George’s armchair soon after he, Caleb, and Prentiss leave. When she wakes, she thinks about how George would sit and read each night in the chair and how he asked her if she had gotten past Hackstedde when she told him that she went to visit Prentiss in jail. She thought about how she decided not to tell George about her visit with Clementine and how ashamed she was for feeling jealousy over their relationship. Her thoughts are interrupted by the arrival of Wade Webler, Sheriff Hackstedde, Gail Cooley, and a couple of younger men who appeared to be Caleb’s age. They ask for George, but she tells them he is on a hike. When she refuses to tell them where Caleb and Prentiss have gone, they search the barn, allowing their hound to pick up Prentiss’s scent. When Isabelle refuses to offer any information, they leave to look for the missing men. She tells them never to set foot on her property again.

One night while sleeping in George’s chair, Isabelle was awakened by the wind. As she listens, she can hear the crackling of the leaves from beyond the cabin. When she looks out the window, she can see that George’s peanut field is on fire. She races to the field to see the flames and great plumes of smoke devouring her husband’s hard work and ruining his soil. In the smoke, she sees two figures riding in circles. She cannot make out their faces, and before she can identify the men they disappear into the darkness. She returns to the cabin asking, “what have you done,” perhaps of the mysterious men or herself. The wind spreads the fire down the road as it heads toward the Morton’s farm and eventually toward the town of Old Ox.

The men make camp for the night in the forest. George and Prentiss talk about the mystery of the forest and that no one has the right to say what exists in its darkness. George’s last conversation with Ezra revealed that Ben and Taffy would dress in layers and take to the woods to appear as a large animal as a joke played on George. George does not believe that his father and Taffy would act so deceitfully. Prentiss tells George that they should cling to their faith and that he plans to search for his mother though he fears she is dead. George asks Prentiss to protect Caleb once they make it to safety. In the morning, Caleb tells George that they have made it to the county line and that he can return home. George declines and tells him he insists on accompanying them until they are safe.

They come to a river, which leaves George in awe of its grandeur and power. Having rarely left Old Ox, he had never seen such a force of nature. The men attempt to cross the river, but it proves more difficult than expected. Caleb suggests that the physically ailing George return home, but he insists in continuing, taking the reins of the horses and Ridley and leading them across the water. On the other side, they are greeted by Sheriff Hackstedde, who is awaiting his men. George, Prentiss, and Caleb quickly escape by mounting their horses and riding off. George, riding Ridley, falls behind and insists that he must surrender. George tells them to keep moving and he will stay where he is.

As George continues leading Ridley and the horse through the forest, he realizes that Hackstedde kept up with them by following the prints in the mud. George decides to serve as a decoy to give Caleb and Prentiss time to move out of the area. George becomes weak and disoriented. He thinks he sees his father in the woods and then the appearance of the animal that has eluded him his whole life. The animal clearly presented itself, and George could see the dark hair of its mane and the marble white eyes. George does not feel fear, and he calls for the animal to come closer. Suddenly George drops to his knees in exhaustion, and the animal disappears into the night. He calls for Ridley to come save him and show him the way out of the forest, but all he hears is the wind, which lulls him to sleep.

When George awakens, Wade Webler, Gail, Hackstedde, and two young men approach him. Webler asks George where the men have gone, but George pleads with Webler to take him instead. He offers Webler anything he wants including more land. Webler tells George that he promised the town that Prentiss would be hanged, and that is what he intends to do. George pulls the pistol from its holster and points it at Webler. Hackstedde points his pistol at George and tells him to lower his weapon. Suddenly, the men hear a shot and George, not feeling any pain at first, feels extreme heat and weakness in his leg. He looks down and realizes he is bleeding. Webler, certain that George would not have pulled the trigger, comes to George’s aid and attempts to stop the bleeding. George begs Webler to leave the men alone and suspend the search. Webler tells George to stay awake, but as George continues to bleed heavily, he falls asleep.

Isabelle thinks about the fire that ravaged Old Ox. Barns, houses, livestock, and neighbors lost to the fire made up the bulk of the stories. One man, Ray Bittle, who was notoriously known for sleeping the days away on his front porch, is credited as the hero who rode through town protecting the farms and rallying the townspeople to fight the fire. Acknowledging impending defeat, many of the townspeople gave up and ran to safety, except the fire warden who used some of the buildings in Old Ox as a barrier to keep the fire spreading through the remainder of the town. The next day children tended to the storefronts to ward off looters while the adults assembled in the church to discuss how to rebuild the town. General Glass, blamed for weak leadership was held up in the schoolhouse, acknowledging defeat and hoping that a riot would not ensue.

The Secretary of the Freedman’s Bureau arrives and offers aid for rebuilding the town. In return, he asked for the townspeople to recite an oath that promises that they will uphold the Constitution and the conditions of the Emancipation Proclamation. While a few men declined, most of the townspeople lined up to take the oath in front of the secretary.

Mildred visits Isabelle to survey the damage done to George’s farm. Isabelle assures her she is fine and is glad that Mildred stayed away for her safety during the fire. Isabelle asks her to check in on Clementine and her daughter to make sure they were not harmed in the fire. Mildred, unsure of the relationship between Isabelle and Clementine, agrees and leaves the Walker’s cabin.

Later that afternoon Wade Webler and Sheriff Hackstedde arrive at the Walker’s cabin and tell her about George. She asks about Caleb and Prentiss, and, lacking the manpower to continue hunting the fugitives because of the fire in Old Ox, the Sheriff explains that they had temporarily abandoned the search. Isabelle takes Ridley back to the stable, collapses in relief, and cries.

At George’s bedside, the doctor explains that George’s leg had become infected and needed to be amputated and promises Isabelle that he will fit George with a prosthetic. While George sleeps, Isabelle notices how his aged face has suddenly become smooth and cherubic and how George’s innocence was on display. While in the hospital he becomes agitated, refusing to eat and cooperate with the nurses. Thinking he may be living his final days, Isabelle promises to bring him home.

Isabelle visits Ezra to acquire a wagon to bring George home. Ezra is in the process of rebuilding his store and believes he can get one from Wade Webler, who also has met with financial insecurity since losing his land to the fire. Ezra tells Isabelle that August’s new bride Natasha Beddenfeld died in the fire. August escaped the burning house and watched as his wife remained trapped inside. Ezra says that August is planning to start over in Savannah. Ezra tells Isabelle to go back to the hospital and that he will have a carriage arrive to transport George home.

George’s condition does not improve at home. He refuses to eat and take his medication. Isabelle reads to him and watches him drift in and out of sleep. George, in one of his lucid moments, tells her that Caleb held his hand, and while he did not confirm his love for his father, George says he felt it. He places his hand in hers and agrees to let her clean him up so they can get some rest.

Silas, much to Isabelle’s surprise, arrives after receiving word of George’s condition from a messenger sent by Mildred. Silas offers to help Isabelle attend to George, to which she reluctantly agrees. Silas’s presence gives George renewed energy. For the first time since leaving the hospital, Isabelle notices George speaking more and asking after visitors, including Ezra, who had tried to visit him at the hospital. George asks Isabelle to move his bed nearer the window so he can see outside. Isabelle hesitates to allow George to see his ruined farm. She promises that she will do everything in her power to make it flourish again. As Isabelle leaves, George asks her for chicken stew, which Isabelle promises she would bring him.

Isabelle is interrupted by General Glass, who comes to visit George and tell him that he was right about Wade Webler’s intentions. She allows Glass to visit George but warns him that her husband is not one of his closest admirers. After his visit, Glass tells Isabelle that George listened to him and patted him on the shoulder and wished him well, much to Isabelle’s surprise. Glass, who is preparing to be stationed in the West, wishes George and Isabelle well and leaves.

Isabelle brings the stew to George, but he eats very little and turns his head away, angering Isabelle. George slams the side of the bed and tells her the stew is no good. Isabelle apologizes for her coldness, inability to cook, rage, and lack of tender touch when he needed it. George takes the spoon and eats a few more bites of the stew, telling her it is delicious, before the onset of convulsions that leaves his body lifeless.

George dies the next morning, and Silas offers to stay with Isabelle for as long as she needs him. She cleans the house, quickly removing all remembrances of George. Silas convinces her to stop, and they both go outside. Isabelle sits looking at the constellations well into the night and contemplates burying her husband the next day