Will O Wisp (8 page)

Gracie stopped just inside the kitchen
door. “Girl, here is the pan to wash up in. The bucket of water is
to pour into the pan and get drinks out of. When you see the bucket
is about empty pour what is left in the dishpan or teakettle and go
fill it.”

“
Where is the
pump?”

Gracie walked over to the window.
“Look out yonder. It's standing there plain as day. See that tin
cup sparkling in the sunlight. You can even get a drink right there
if you've a mind, too. If the pump doesn't work right off, you
might have to come in and get that water you poured into the dish
pan. You have to pour it down the pump to prime it then pump the
handle fast. Water always comes out.”

“
That's what
I'll do,” Shana said. “I've primed Maudie Brown's
pump before so I know how to do it.”

“
Now, we can go see the
living room,” Gracie said, leading the tour. “The Sawyers kept most
of the furniture I had. The brown horsehair couch has been here a
long time. My papa sure liked it when he wanted to take an
afternoon nap after he ate a big lunch. He'd rest for a spell then
go back to work. See these rockers.” Gracie rubbed her hand across
the arm of one and the back of the other. “These were my mama and
papa's rockers. He built them special for the two of them to sit
next to each other at night. One on each side of the lamp table
here so Mama could knit and Papa could read the Locked Rock
newspaper. When I look at the rockers, I still see my Mama and Papa
rocking in them.”

“
What a grand fireplace,”
Melinda explained. She studied the large rock fireplace and slick
wooden mantle, lined with keepsakes and pictures of the Sawyer
family.

“
Those rocks came out of
the field. Papa built that fireplace with some help from me and my
mama. The fields needed cleared of them rocks, and Papa never
wasted a thing. That fireplace kept the house warm all winter.
Well, between the fireplace and the wood cook stove in the
kitchen.”

Shana said, “Where tis it that I'll
sleep?”

Gracie opened the door by the
fireplace. “This was my room. You sleep there. The pegs on the wall
are to hang your clothes on when you have time to empty that bag.
The door over there on the opposite side of the room was my folks'
bedroom. Melinda and me will sleep there.” She turned to Melinda.
“Guess I forgot to say there was only two bedrooms. You all right
with sleeping with me?”

“
That will be fine,
Gracie,” Melinda said.

“
Each bedroom has a thunder
bucket so if you need to go in the middle of the night just use it.
Girl, that means you have to empty yours next morning and rinse it
out with water from the well. No leaving the stinky bucket sit in
your room.”

“
Yes, and sure it tis, I
will be sure to remember such as that,” Shana said, wrinkling up
her nose. “Where do I empty it?”

“
In the outhouse holes,”
Gracie said. “Now let's go get something to eat right quick so we
can go for that walk this afternoon.”

“
What should we fix?”
Melinda asked.

“
A quick sandwich like
fried eggs might work. We will worry about what else to fix for
supper later. Now that Millard knows we're here, and you invited
him to eat with us, no telling when that man will show up. I'd just
as soon be done eating when he comes,” Gracie
complained.

“
Oh, Gracie, that isn't
nice,” Melinda said. She looked around the parlor. “You know this
place could use a bit of tidying up before company comes. Gracie,
beat these throw rugs, and I'll sweep the floor. Shana, I'll give
you a dust rag. You go over all the furniture and the lamp table in
the parlor.”

“
That's a lot of work to go
to right off the bat. I'm sure Ivy works hard at keeping this place
clean, and we just got here,” groused Gracie.

Melinda ignored Gracie as she ordered,
“Shana, you and Gracie each take a rug and hang them over the
clothes line. I'll bring the other one with me so Gracie can get
started. We will have this place tidy right quick like.”

Melinda threw the throw rug she
carried over the clothesline and handed Gracie the older broom.
“Now you beat the dust out of them. It won't take me long to sweep
the floors before I start lunch.”

Gracie gave one of the rugs a hard
whack that made the wire clothesline dance and sing. Melinda turned
back to check out the noise. She put her hands on her hips.
“Gracie, I said beat the dust out of the rugs, not destroy
them.”

“
If the company is just
Millard you expect to show up, this ain't worth all the work I'm
going to for that man,” groused Gracie.

“
Company is company no
matter who shows up,” Melinda said as she walked up the porch
steps. “Come along, Shana. You dust right quick and set the table
for me.”

Shana ran after Melinda, thinking it
was safer to get as far away as she could from Gracie's swing. That
broom might connect with her if she stayed too close.

Gracie was right about egg sandwiches
being a quick lunch. Melinda set the three saucers and skillet over
by the dishpan. “We can wash these dishes with the supper
ones.

Chapter 6

After lunch, Gracie led the way down
the lane to show them the soddy. “This is where we lived. That
crumbled pile is the main mud house. Now it's covered with wild,
white morning glories and honeysuckles. That soddy was warm in the
winter and cool in the summer but awful small living quarters for
three of us.”

“
Did you have much trouble
with varmints?” Shana asked.

“
Once in a while, a snake
crawled in under the door, but most snakes in this area are
harmless. Matter of fact, they're good to keep around. They eat
mice and rats so Papa didn't mind them. He caught the bull snakes
when we saw one in the soddy and turned it loose in the
barn.”

“
The place doesn't look
like much now,” Shana said.

“
Nope, it doesn't atall,”
Gracie said sadly as she thought about what once was. “After we
moved into the house, I used this place for my play house. I spent
a lot of time in it until I got big enough to do farm work with
Papa. Once my folks got old, I did most of the farming. I didn't
have time to come look about the shoddy very often. By the time I
paid attention, the place had crumbled.”

“
Come on, Gracie. We better
keep moving before it gets to be chore time,” Melinda
encouraged.

“
Yip, reckon that's best.
We can walk down to the end of the lane where the family cemetery
is. I'll show you where my folks and baby brother are laid to
rest,” Gracie said.

The wind moaned softly through the
stand of aged evergreen trees behind the fenced in tombstones.
Shana ran ahead to look over the fence. When Gracie and Melinda
caught up to her, Gracie unlatched the metal gate. The rusty hinges
made a grating squeak as Gracie opened the gate.

Gracie pointed. “Over in the corner is
my mama and papa's grave. Beside them is my baby
brother.”

Shana asked, “What happened to the
babe?”

As Gracie walked between the other
stones, she turned to answer, “He was dead when he came. Born too
soon. Reckon Mama was a little old to be having a baby.” Gracie
noticed Shana was walking on the graves. “Stop right there, girl,”
she barked.

Shana stiffened at the sound of
Gracie's voice. “What's wrong now?”

“
You watch where you walk.
Go around the graves like Melinda and I are doing.”

“
Why?”

“
First off, you might just
fall into the grave by standing on it like you are now.” Gracie
pointed to the soft earth under Shana's shoes.

Shana jumped back.

“
That's better,” Gracie
said.

“
Why would I be after
fallin' in?” Shana asked.

“
The coffins are made of
wood. Wood tends to rot over the years so the ground beneath is
hollowed out. Any amount of weight on top will make the ground cave
in,” Gracie explained.

“
The other reason is these
graves are Gracie's loved one. We need to respect them by not
tromping on the graves,” Melinda said.

“
Much obliged, Melinda,”
Gracie said as she headed to her parents graves. “I hate it that
the stones are so old they lean backward and tilt some. This is my
father, Joseph Evans. Everybody called him Joe,” she said as she
rubbed the stone. “Next to him is my mother, Mira, and the small
stone is for my brother, Harry.”

Shana squatted down by the
baby's stone. “
For sure, I like what it
says on the babe's stone. One of God's lambs.”

“
I
t
was my mother's idea to have those words inscribed on the stone.”
Gracie's face wore a frown as she surveyed the area around the
graves.

Melinda asked, “What's wrong,
Gracie?”

“
Look at the place next to
my baby brother's grave. Someone has been digging there,” Gracie
exclaimed.

Melinda put her hands to her chest
with a horrified expression. She glanced around like she thought
the person was still yet in sight. “You don't think someone was
digging up your family, do you?”

“
I don't know what to
think, but look at how the dirt is mound up. It makes me think of a
small grave,” Gracie said. “I know one thing. I intend to keep an
eye on the cemetery. See if anyone messes around in here
again.”

“
Oh my, how could anyone do
such a thing?” Melinda said.

“
Sure and it's the creeps I
be gettin' just thinkin' about such awful goings on,” Shana said,
hugging herself.

“
We best check around the
neighborhood and see if anyone died.” Gracie looked toward the sun
slowly dropping in the western sky. “Time to head back home now to
do chores.”

When they reached the house, Gracie
went into the pantry and found the egg bucket and milk bucket. She
handed the egg bucket to Shana.

“
What is this for?” The
girl asked.

“
You gather the eggs while
I milk, and Melinda fixes supper. That way we all get done before
dark,” Gracie explained.

“
I have never gathered eggs
before,” complained Shana.

“
Just stick your hand in
the nests and pick the eggs up. Put them gently in the bucket and
bring it back here to Melinda. Try not to break any of the eggs.
The ones you break are your breakfast,” Gracie warned. When Shana
headed for the door, Gracie added, “Oh, and look in the nests
before you stick your hand in. There might be a snake or critter in
a nest eating an egg. While you're at it, look in the bushes around
the hen house and come to the barn and look in the manger. Hens
have a habit of stealing out their nests so they can sit on the
eggs and hatch chicks. We need to find every egg we can while the
eggs are fresh.”

“
What's wrong with the hen
startin' a family?” Shana asked.

“
Nothing if the Sawyers
were here to take care of the setting hens and their chicks. They
aren't here, and we don't need the extra chore,” Gracie said.
“Already got one coop by the hen house with a hen in it. Thad said
she will hatch in a few days. We'll be giving her water and feed.
Which reminds me, girl, peek in that coop to see if the hen is all
ruffled out. Listen for peeping sounds. That's a sure sign the eggs
hatched. Now go on.”

Shana raced to the hen
house to get the egg gathering job over with. She burst into the
building and scared the hens. They fluttered all around her, flying
against the window and out the door. Some landed on top of the
roost and the nests. Dust rose and clogged the air, making it hard
to see in the dark building. Shana placed her arm over her head and
waited for the dust moats to settle.

Once she could see, she stuck her hand
in the nest bedding and gathered eggs. She gently placed them into
her bucket. After she'd checked all the nests, she walked back
outside and took a deep breath of fresh air. Chicken houses were a
terrible smelling building she decided.

Shana headed toward the barn. She
heard a rustle behind her and looked back. A large, white rooster,
with his feathers all bristled out and head down low, was running
after her. She didn't like the threatening way he looked. She
turned tail and took off on the run. She glanced back over her
shoulder. The rooster was chasing her and gaining fast.

While Shana looked over her shoulder,
she wasn't watching where she was going. She tripped over a rock in
the path. As she went down, the rooster slammed into the back of
her legs. The egg bucket went flying and rolled on its side into
the lilac bush.

Shana turned over. The rooster jumped
on top of her, scratching and pecking her. She screamed as loud as
she could, “Help me. Help me.” Her arms flailed back and forth,
trying to ward off the mean rooster.

Gracie was in the feed room getting
the feed for the milk cow. She set the can down, grabbed an old
shovel handle off a ledge by the door and ran for the
yard.

Melinda had a good view from the
kitchen window when the rooster attacked Shana. She grabbed the
broom on the porch and ran to help. She screamed at the rooster,
waving the broom in the air.