CHAPTER ELEVEN

The next eight months, from summer of 1864 to the spring of 1865, were unlike anything Scarlett had ever known. They were full of hard, terrible work. Scarlett, Suellen, and Carreen had to plant cotton seeds! They had to work in the fields, like slaves! They had to plant vegetables, and cook and clean with Mammy and Dilcey. When Pork told her that the O'Hara's pigs had escaped just a few days before she had arrived at Tara, Scarlett made him hunt for the pigs in the woods. He was only able to find a few of the pigs, so that winter the family lived on very little meat. There were vegetables from the garden, and corn in the field. The girls grew very thin, and their skin and hands became red and rough from working outside.

Melanie had never really recovered from her little son Beau's birth. She was still pale and weak. In fact, before the baby's birth, the Hamilton family's doctor had told Melanie that she would only be able to have one child. However, although she couldn't work outside, Melanie was able to help Scarlett with duties inside the house.

Sometimes Southern soldiers passed by the house. They were trying to return to their families in other parts of the South, because now the war was really over. The South was a conquered land, and the Northerners controlled it now. They were going to unify the South and North into the United States of America.

Usually, the soldiers who came to Tara were almost dead from hunger and tiredness. Scarlett was always angry when these men asked for food and water, because the family did not have enough to feed themselves. But Melanie always fed and comforted them the best she could. One day, when Scarlett grew angry at her for feeding yet another group of soldiers, she said sadly, "Oh, Scarlett, please don't be angry at me. I know we don't have enough to feed ourselves. But I feed these men so that they can return to their wives and families, like I pray that Ashley will! Somewhere, maybe Ashley is cold and hungry, and trying to come home to me! I hope that some woman is feeding him."

When she heard these words, Scarlett could say nothing. In the past months, the two women had not spoken of Ashley. Each was deeply afraid that he was dead, because there had been no news or letters from him.

One day a soldier named Will Benteen came to Tara to ask for a little food. Although Scarlett did not normally talk to the soldiers who came to Tara, she liked Will's quiet, calm manner. He did not seem as upset about losing the war as the other soldiers Scarlett met. He seemed to accept that life was hard. Scarlett discovered that this was because Will was from the mountains, and came from a very poor family. "I didn't have money back then, and I don't have money now. Nothing has changed. It's you rich people that are suffering the most," said Will calmly. In the old South, Will's family was the lowest class of people, poor farmers. But after the war, the South was not the same—everyone was poor, even the best families!

Scarlett decided to make Will an offer. "Will, you can see that Tara is doing terribly. I've made everyone here work hard, trying to plant a little cotton to sell sometime. But I'm working day and night just to try and feed us all, and we can't plant enough cotton. If we want to survive, we have got to sell cotton! I need money, Will, lots of money. If you stay here and help us plant and grow cotton and other crops, you can live at Tara." She waited anxiously while Will thought about her offer.

Finally he said, "Miss Scarlett, I would be happy to help you make Tara successful again. The land here is good, and I think I can help you to grow plenty of cotton. It will be very hard, and it will take a long time. But I think we can do it."

"Then you'll stay here? Thank you!" cried Scarlett. Will looked at her, a little surprised at her happiness. He did not understand the great relief she felt.

During this time of trouble for the South, Scarlett had changed. Her temper was terrible, and she was often shouting at Pork, Mammy, Melanie and her sisters. Suellen and Carreen complained about Scarlett to Melanie, and even Mammy thought Scarlett was being "difficult". They did not understand that it was the family's terrible situation that made Scarlett so unpleasant to be with. Even though she didn't talk about her feelings, the truth was that Scarlett lived in a world of pain and fear. She was terrified of the family going hungry, and they never had enough to eat. And there was no money, because all Southern money was now almost useless. You couldn't buy anything with it any more! So Scarlett was deeply relieved when Will came. Here was another pair of hands to work the land. Poor Gerald was too weak and sick now to do anything. He sat on the porch and stared at nothing. Sometimes he would say to one of his daughters, "Where's Ellen? Go and tell Ellen that supper is ready!" Ellen's death had been a terrible shock to Gerald, and he could not accept that his wife was gone. Gerald could not help Scarlett now.

Having a strong man at Tara helped greatly. Will was a very good farmer, and he was able to plant more cotton and grow vegetables. He was also a good hunter, so the family had a little more meat on their table. Will was a very quiet person who knew how to work hard. He was kind to Suellen and Carreen, and listened to their stories about old friends in the happy days before the war. How long ago they seemed! Soon Scarlett's sisters were very good friends with Will.

One day, Scarlett and Melanie were sitting on the front porch of the house. Will was out hunting with Pork. Scarlett was thinking to herself how long it had been since she had had a new dress, or fixed her hair. She had not thought of any of these things in almost a year. The old Scarlett O'Hara was gone, and in her place, a thin, angry woman stood. The only thing this woman thought about was staying alive.

Melanie looked up and saw a man coming down the road. "Scarlett, there's another soldier coming. I'll see what we have to eat in the kitchen—" Suddenly she stopped speaking and stood up.

Scarlett was thinking how much she wished all the soldiers would just die where they were, and leave Tara alone! She stared down the road at the man who was coming. He was tall, and walked slowly. He had blond hair. Wait! This wasn't just any soldier—

"It's Ashley!"

(end of section)