Storming Heaven

C. J. attends monthly meetings of the Annadel Political and Social Club, which is held at Ermel’s gambling room, and includes Doc Booker, Ermel, Isom, the entire Annadel town council, some policemen, and other townspeople. Many people have different political beliefs and they argue all the time, but C. J. loves it. They receive a letter from Rondal saying he made it to Colorado. Coal miners in Colorado had been on strike. Rondal is now working for a union in Colorado, but he warns C. J. that trouble is coming their way. However, they later hear that in Colorado “[t]he gun thugs and the U. S. Army attacked the tent colony there, shot people, set tents on fire and burned women and children to death” (121), meaning that the strikes had gotten much worse. Rondal is now escaping to Chicago.

One day, the Baldwin-Felts guards break into Ermel’s gambling room while the club is meeting and arrests all of the men for “seditious activities” (124) and for selling alcohol on a Sunday. They lock everyone up in the town jail cells. After several hours, the men start singing the national anthem in order to annoy the guards into letting them go. After they are finally released, Isom convinces everyone to vote him Chief of Police so that he can make sure this doesn’t happen again. But Isom makes it clear to C. J. that he is not a socialist like C. J. and Doc Booker, and that he doesn’t believe the government should be running the mines.

Carrie moves back home to the Homeplace in Kentucky. Ben and Flora have a baby named Jane. Miles marries a woman named Alice Collins. One day, Albion Freeman visits the Homeplace. He is now a Baptist preacher and was called to preach at a church eight miles north of the Homeplace. During his visit, Albion invites Carrie, Ben, and Flora to come spend the night at his home, attend his service the next day, and have dinner with him. The night they arrive at Albion’s home, a cabin with a small barn, he tells Carrie that he is a “No Heller,” meaning he believes everyone has a chance of going to heaven, even sinners. After church the next day, Albion shares some of his homemade wine with Carrie, Ben, and Flora. Eventually, Ben and Flora decide to visit some friends and leave Carrie and Albion alone. Albion tells Carrie that he wants to court her, and Carrie admits that she is not a virgin and that she is still in love with someone else, but Albion says he doesn’t care.

Albion visits the Homestead every week and Carrie allows him to court her, but she refuses to do more than hold hands. Carrie is nervous that Albion doesn’t even own his own home and is worried that he will “turn the other cheek” (141) if the coal companies come for the Homeplace. One week, Albion invites Carrie to a dance at his local school. Albion notes that the “Regular Baptists” don’t approve of a preacher dancing, but that King David “danced before the Lord with all his might” (142). At the dance, Carrie notices that the band’s banjo player is Rondal. Carrie tells Rondal that she loves him and that she would run away and marry him, but Rondal says he doesn’t want to marry anybody. Heartbroken, Carrie runs back to Albion’s home and hides in the barn. Albion, worried, eventually finds Carrie and admits that Carrie has never looked at him the way she looked at Rondal. But Albion still wants to marry Carrie and move out to West Virginia to preach to the coal miners, which he believes God is calling him to do. Finally, Carrie tells Albion that she wants to marry him, telling Albion:“[Rondal] makes me feel alive […]But I’m at home with you” (149).

The coal operators start baseball leagues, which C. J. disproves of for a long time because he feels they “caused the miners to turn on each other instead of cooperating” (150). Eventually, however, Isom wants to start a baseball team in Annadel to play in the Independent League, the league for teams that aren’t owned by coal companies. C. J. is elected Mayor of Annadel in 1915 and begins attending baseball games, believing that it is his duty as mayor. Eventually, C. J. has to admit that he loves baseball, and with Isom’s encouragement, he joins the team. They become one of the best teams in the state, along with the Davidson team, but because Lytton Davidson is a coal operator, the two teams never play each other. C. J. doesn’t approve of the way the Davidson baseball players get special treatment at the coal company and don’t have to work in the mines. Two of the Davidson star players are Mario Angelelli and his son Carmello Angelelli. Finally, Annadel and Davidson decide to play each other on the Davidson field. Everyone in the area shows up for the game, including the preacher Freeman. The Annadel players notice that the Davidson team brought in a ringer, a professional baseball player from Philadelphia, which they consider cheating. Nevertheless, they play their best, and by the 9th inning, Annadel is ahead 9 to 6. But as an Annadel player pitches the ball, Talcott, who works as a coal miner but recently returned from fighting in WWI, shoots the ball with his gun in protest of the coal companies. The police arrest Talcott, and everyone begins arguing over who won, but the umpire calls the game a draw. Talcott and his wife Pricie are thrown out of their home on the coal company property, and Talcott is sentenced to a year in prison. Ermel, who is friends with the county judge, gets him to release Talcott after two months, and Ermel gets Talcott a job at his hotel. The Davidson baseball team is disbanded.