Read The Scarlet Thread Online
Authors: Francine Rivers
She left the room in bitter silence. She entered the bedroom,
not even bothering to turn on the light. Enough light filtered
through the window for her to see. Besides, the darkness fit her
mood better. She prepared for bed, then slipped between the
cool sheets. As she turned on her side, the journal, which she’d
laid on the bed stand, caught her eye. She reached for it, fingering the soft leather wistfully.
At least Mary Kathryn wouldn’t mind spending some time
with her.
Mama says livin in the wildurnes aint no resun
to bee ignurant.
Her papa wuz a larnud man and wud not want
fuls in his famlee. The preechur brung buks and
jurnals to rite in frum Ant Martha and now with
snow up to the windows, we got time. Papa sits
by the fire smokin and Mama reeds to us frum
her Bible.
Matt dont like to rite much. He draws wulfs
with big bludy dripin fangs that giv me nitmars.
He drew me a hair once. I stil got it hung up over
my bed. It iz nis. I wish he wud draw birds and
flouerz stead of wulfs. He only seen one wulf his
hol lif and it was ded. Magots wuz eting it.
Lucas does not draw nor rede nor rite. He says
Papa dont no how an he dont need to neether.
Papa tuk him to the wud shed fur sasing Mama,
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but he wernt no better wen he cum bak. So Papa
giv him the gun and told him to go huntin. He
wuz gon three daz. Mama wuz sure he got kilt by
injuns or a bar, but he cum bak dragin a dear on a
palot fixt up. Papa laft and gav him a cup of rum.
Mama was mad as a wet hornet, but she dont tel
Lucas to rede or rite no more.
Dearest Mary Kathryn,
Please practice spelling the following words and then
write an essay using them. I love you and have grand
hopes for you.
Mama
living journal life whole read choice
dead learned wolf/wolves come journal
back flower
If you want to be learned, you got no choice. You
got to read and write your whole life until you are
dead. You can not be a wolf or a flower who jest
enjoys living. You got to come back to the table
and werk in your journal until yer fingers is
crampt and aking.
just
cramped
your
are
work
aching
just
cramped
your
are
work
aching
just
cramped
your
are
work
aching
just
cramped
your
are
work
aching
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Stubbornness is unbecoming to a lady.
Stubbornness is unbecoming to a lady.
Stubbornness is unbecoming to a lady.
Stubbornness is unbecoming to a lady.
“Spring”
Spring is the time when snow melts and flowers
come up. Papa and Matthew plow them under
and I have got to go to the wuds to pik some. I
like to pik flowers in the wuds but Mama worrees
I mit get took by injuns. One come to the house
once askin fur food. Mama give him sum and I
aint seen him since. I gues he didnot think much
of her cookin.
Spring is also wen Matt turns the dirt in
Mama’s vechtable gardin. Every wurm he turns
up I put in a kan fur fishin. I like catchin fish but
I hate eatin em. Lucas told me he new a boy who
chokt to deth on a fish bone. Mama said he wuz
foolin me but I aint et fish since.
Papa says spring is a time for courtin. I askt
him wat courtin wuz and he said it is when a
yung mans blud comes up like sap in a tree. Wen
I askt him what he ment, Mama giv him her look
and he laft and wud not tell me. I askt Matt later
but he turned red and wud not say. Lucas said
courtin was wen Papa took the cow over to
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Graysons bull. Matt told him to shut his dirty
mouth and Lucas hit him in his and Papa come
runnin to stop them before they kilt each other.
I am more and more interested in what courtin is.
Spring is wen the preecher comes and stands
on a stump and screeems holy murder at us. He
yells about GAWD and SALVATION and the
BLOOD OF CHRIST. Peepull come from all
rownd to see him. He gits so wurkt up his face
turns red as fire. Frum up or down I aint sure
witch. Mama says he is zelus for the Lord. Papa
says he is plum crazy. But every tim he comes we
go and watch with every one else. He is the best
entertanmunt a rownd.
We always end up at the river with the preecher
washin peepul clean of sin and buryin them and
razing them up with Jesus. Mama says amen and
creyes every time someone gets dunkt and Papa
comes bak from the wuds smellin of whiskey and
tobako.
Mama and I plant corn and squash and turnups
and carots. Mama gave me a handful of seeds and
askt me what I saw and I said seeds. She askt if
they looked alive and I said they looked like
stones. She said that is rit but when we bury them
they will grow and bar frut. I said they will bar
squash. She said when you plant a seed, God will
soften it and water it and make it grow. She said
people are like that.
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him but nothing come up that I can see cepting
weeds. Lucas said worms ate him. So I reckon
that is why.
“The Well”
The well is very deep and very dark. It is cool
when you first go down but if you stay it is cold.
The walls are wet and slimy and you can hear
dripping. When you look up you can see a circle
of blue sky unless Lucas puts the cover over.
Then you dont see nothing. You just hear yourself screaming all around you. Lucas took the
cover off and called down that I was a bludy coward. I hollared back up I wasnt. He said prove it
and put the cover back. I sat in the bucket all day
so he’d know.
Matt found me when he tried to get a bucket of
water for Papa. He looked down and said what in
hades are you doing down there. Mama is going
crazy looking for you. Thinks injuns stole you. He
hollared he had found me and Mama come running thinking I wuz drowned. My backside had
no feeling and was stuck fast in the buckt. It hurt
bad when Papa popped me out. Lucas was leaning against the house laffing. I yelled I aint no
coward. No, you are a fool he said.
Papa took him to the wood shed and Mama
cried and took me in the house. She made me sit
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in the tub of hot water and drink whiskey. I dont
see what Papa likes about it. It burns all the way
down and then comes right back up.
Dearest Mary Kathryn,
Please practice these words on your slate until you are
ready for me to test you. Use ten in an essay. And do not
ask anyone else about courting.
I love you,
Mama
Go
witch/which
people
worry/worries
zealous
Indians
woods
garden
choked
liked
laughed
asked
death
pick
when
might
from
some/sum
wood/would
catching
running
washing
raising
cooking
God loves
zealous people
in the
woods.
He
might
love
some Indians.
Mama loves
washing, cooking,
and
raising
chikins.
Mary Kathryn McMurray,
You will have no supper until you write chickens
twenty-five times on your slate, and “A penitent heart is
a humble heart” fifty times.
Mama
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5
“ W H A T T I M E D O Y O U T H I N K Y O U ’ L L B E H O M E ? ”
Sierra said, trying to keep her voice neutral as she clutched the
telephone receiver.
“Five-thirty or six,” Alex said, sounding distracted. She could
hear him punching the keys of his computer.
Couldn’t he stop working long enough to talk to her for two
minutes? “What would you like for dinner?”
“Something light. I had a big lunch with Steve.”
“Where’d you go?” she said, wanting to draw out their conversation.
“La Serre. It’s a French place. Classy.”
“Expensive?”
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tab.”
Must be nice to have a fancy lunch and then ask for something
light
for dinner. She looked at the breakfast dishes in the sink.
She hadn’t even had lunch yet. She opened the refrigerator while
talking to him. Maybe she could open a can of peaches and finish
off the carton of cottage cheese sitting on the top shelf.
“We were celebrating.”
“What?” she asked, feeling left out.
“Vigilantes went into production today,” he said, clearly proud
of the game he had created. “Steve said they’ll be sending out
trial copies to game reviewers around the country by the middle
of next week.”
“What if they don’t like it?”
“They will. Look, honey, I’ve got to go. I’ve got a call coming
in, and I’m right in the middle of something important. We’ll talk
tonight.”
He hung up before she could utter a word. She held the silent
receiver and felt more bereft than when she’d called. Why had
she bothered? He was always busy and it was always important.
More important than she was, anyway.
Celebrating. He hadn’t even bothered to share the news with
her.
La Serre. Classy. Expensive.
Angry, she took a package of frozen hamburger from the
refrigerator freezer and tossed it on the counter. She’d fix
spaghetti
again.
It was easy, and the children loved it.
Turning on the television, she set the basket of clean laundry
in front of her. She had made a habit of doing the wash right after
she dropped the children off for school, and then saving the folding for now. At least then she could overcome her feelings of
guilt for watching a soap opera. She plunked down on the sofa
and began folding T-shirts, towels, and underwear while watching the episode unfolding before her. She used to scorn soap
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