Read Will O Wisp Online

Authors: Fay Risner

Tags: #mystery, #historical, #series, #iowa farm, #humorous cozy mystery, #humorous book series, #gracie evans

Will O Wisp (9 page)

BOOK: Will O Wisp
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When she was close enough, Melinda
swung the broom and made contact with the rooster. He fell off
Shana, got to his feet and bristled, running at Melinda. She
squealed. By then Gracie was there with the shovel handle. She hit
the rooster in the tail feathers. The strike landed him several
feet away. When the rooster got back on his feet, he realized he
was outnumbered. He hustled back to the hen house, giving a
cackling protest all the way to his flock.

Shana sit up and rubbed the smarting
areas on her face. She had blood coming from several scratches on
her cheeks and hands.


Shana, are you all right?”
Melinda asked, grabbing her by the shoulders to help her to her
feet.


I – I think so,” Shana
said hesitantly.

Gracie pulled the bucket out from
under the bush. She set it upright by Melinda's feet. “She broke a
few eggs. They will be a mess to wash off.”


I'm not worried about
dirty eggs right now. What would Miss Molly say if she saw the
shape her girl is in,” Melinda demanded.


She will get over it. Just
take her in the house. Wash her off and tend to her,” Gracie said
calmly.


Washing her off is a good
idea. Look how dirty the poor girl is,” Melinda said.


There's no shame in
getting dirty. The shame is in staying that way for everyone else
to see,” Gracie declared.

Melinda turned red faced and wavered
her finger at Shana. “How could you send this girl to the hen house
to be attacked by a mean rooster?”


I didn't know Thad had a
mean rooster,” Gracie defended.


Don't be upset, Aunt
Melinda. It tis all right, Aunt Gracie. I'll be prepared next time
for the mean bugger,” Shana said.


There shouldn't be a next
time,” Melinda said, taking Shana's chin in her hand and turning
the girl's head one way and the other.

Gracie corrected Melinda.
“Make up your mind right now that there will be a next time. What
happened is part of gathering eggs when a mean rooster lives with
the hens. We will find you a big stick to carry, Shana. You whack
that rooster when you see him before he gets the drop on
you.”

Back in the barn, Gracie dumped the
feed in the manger. She brought the milk stool close by and opened
the door with the intention of calling the cow. She didn't have to
bother. In fact, she just barely got out of the way in time. The
cow stampeded through the door and stuck her head in the
stanchion.

Gracie said, “Nice to meet you,
Clara.”

At the sound of the strange voice,
Clara peered sideways to see who spoke to her. Not sensing a
problem, she went back to lapping down her grain.

Gracie pulled the milk stool close and
patted the cow on the side before she sat down. When Clara didn't
flinch, Gracie eased down on the stool and milked.

She was almost done when Shana came in
the barn. She looked clean and not any worse for wear after her run
in with the rooster. She stood back, watching the milking process.
When Gracie stood up and brought the pail of foaming milk from
under Clara, Shana said, “I have half a bucket of eggs so far. I
only had two broken completely and a couple cracked
ones.”


Well, that ain't bad
atall. I saw a nest in the corner when I brought the milk stool
over. Crooked Beak flew out of it. Maybe more nests in that hay.
It's a perfect spot for them. You stand back now while I let Clara
out of the barn,” Gracie instructed.

Shana stretched to reach the eggs in
the manger as she asked, “Clara? That be the cow's
name?”


Yip,” Gracie said,
stepping out of the way as the cow headed for the open door. “Here,
Shana, take the milk pail with you to the house. Melinda will show
you what crock to pour the milk in. She needs to wash the bucket
for the morning milking. Make sure you put the lid on the crock to
keep the mice out of it. That's important.”

While they ate supper that evening,
Shana asked, “Aunt Gracie, the chickens have names?”


Some of them do. Crooked
Beak has one part of her beak crossed over the other,” Gracie said.
“There's a dark red hen that I call Two Feathers. That's all she
has in her tail.”


Sounds like an Indian
name,” Melinda mused.

Shana asked, “What will we do
tomorrow?”


I'm thinking it would be
fun to go fishing,” Gracie said. “I have a nice pond just over the
hill in the pasture.”


Sure it tis, I've never
fished,” Shana said.


Neither have I,” Melinda
added.


You're in for some fun. If
we're lucky, we'll have fresh fish for supper tomorrow night,”
Gracie said enthusiastically. “First thing we need to do is pick up
our fish bait tonight.”


What is bait?” Melinda
asked.


Nightcrawlers. The barn
yard should have some in it. Right after supper while you two do
dishes, I'll pour a few buckets of water over the barn yard fence.
Nightcrawlers come up best after a rain, but we might be able to
fake them into thinking it rained if the ground is wet,” Gracie
said.


What's a nightcrawler?”
Shana asked.


A large worm,” Gracie
answered.


Oh dear!” Melinda said
under her breath.

Gracie chose to ignore that
declaration. “We need a can to keep the worms in. Wonder if there's
an empty one around here somewhere?”


I saw one beside the
outhouse,” Shana said. “I can get it for you.”


That will be helpful,
dear,” Melinda said.

When Melinda started stacking the
dishes, Shana edged toward the back door. “I'll go get the can for
the worms.”


Not yet. You find a dish
towel and help, Melinda. We have to wait until it's good and dark
after I wet a patch down so the worms come to the surface,” Gracie
explained. When Shana groaned, Gracie added, “No need to complain,
youngun. We all have our chores to do and helping do dishes is one
of yours.”

Shana slanted her head sideways. “Tis
other chores, besides gatherin' eggs and doing dishes?”


There is, but I'll let you
know what as we go along,” Gracie said, walking around Shana to the
screen door.

After dark, Gracie led the way to the
barn yard. They went through the barn and out the side door. “I
watered down a spot by the fence. Head that way.”

The moon was large and bright, casting
a glow over the area.


That moon sure helps see
the worms,” Gracie said softly. “We cain't use a lantern. If we
did, the worms see us and go down too quick to catch.”

Shana squatted down. She made a grab
for a nightcrawler. The worm sucked itself back in the hole. “Sure
and tis, that one is a quick bugger. I didn't get him.”


You have to be quick, or
they get away. Grab for the worm's back end near the hole. You got
a better chance of holding onto the worm that way,” Gracie said.
“Now keep at it.”

A owl hooted in the large oak tree at
the edge of the pasture. Melinda said, “Isn't that a nice
sound?”


Tis spooky to me,” Shana
said. “Tis the sign that someone close is going to die when the owl
hoots three times close to the house.”


Really?” Melinda said,
looking worried.

Melinda was taking Shana seriously.
Gracie nodded her head toward Melinda and said to Shana, “Girl,
there's an old saying that works as good for an owl as it would
you. It goes, The wise old owl seldom spoke, the less he said the
more he heard, wasn't that a wise old owl? Now you think on that
while you pick up these worms. Get busy.”

 

Chapter Seven

 

Even Melinda got the hang of catching
worms. Except she made a hissing sound through her teeth as she
dangled the slimy worm away from her. She looked revolted as though
she was holding a mouse or snake. Once she got to the can, she
dropped the worm in and went back for another one.

Melinda looked at the darkness outside
the fence. She stopped walking and did a double take. In the
direction of the timber, she saw a small light flashing, growing
bigger and brighter. “Gracie, the timber must be on
fire!”


Where?” Gracie asked,
straightening up.


Over there,” Melinda said,
pointing at the flickering light.

Shana said, “I see it, too. Will the
fire come here?”


I don't think it's a
fire.” Gracie watched for a moment. “I think it's
foxfire.”


What's that?” Melinda and
Shana asked together.


When leaves and dead
plants start decaying on rotted logs, they cause a gas that puts
off a glow in the dark,” Gracie explained.


Sure and tis spooky to
know about,” Shana said in hushed voice.

Melinda scanned the dark trees. “So do
the glows ever move?”


Nope,” Gracie
said.

Melinda pointed. “Well, how do you
explain the yellow light moving along that end of the
timber.”

Gracie said. “Someone is prowling
around out there. Maybe it's the Indians night hunting for a
deer.”


How close do you think
that lantern is to your cemetery, Gracie?” Melinda said in a hushed
tone.


Not far from the cemetery
atall. I best take a walk through the trees along the lane, and see
what's going on. Maybe someone is going to do some more digging in
the cemetery,” Gracie said. “You two best go to the house with me.
I'm going to see if Thad left his rifle in the bedroom
wardrobe.”


You can't go to the
cemetery by yourself. I'm going with you,” Melinda said.


Sure and I will go along,”
Shana agreed.


You better stay in the
house, girl,” Gracie said.

Shana said, “You can't be after
leavin' a child home alone when there's somethin' strange afoot,
now can you? It wouldn't be safe for me.”


Gracie, she's right. Shana
better come with us,” Melinda agreed.


Thank ye, Aunt Melinda,”
Shana said. “Let's go before the lantern goes out so we know where
to head.”


We need to find a rock or
small board to put over our worm can, or the worms will all crawl
out before morning,” Gracie said.

Shana picked up a rock. “Will this
do?”

Gracie set it on the can opening. “It
will do just fine. Set the can near the porch door, girl, while I
get the rifle.”

Shana raced to the house with the can.
She set it on the porch and joined Melinda in the yard. Gracie came
from the house, carrying Thad's twenty-two rifle. She handed
Melinda the lantern and a handful of matches. “Now you two are
going to have to learn to soft foot Indian style in the trees and
no talking,” Gracie said softly as she slipped off the lane into
the timber.

Melinda and Shana got in behind Gracie
and eased along. Shana stepped on a twig. The snap seemed twice as
loud in the quiet timber. Gracie uttered, “Shhh!”


Sorry I'm, but I can't see
where I'm walkin',” Shana complained.


We cain't use the lantern
until we're ready to go home. We want to surprise the person
wandering around in the trees,” Gracie hissed.

They reached the edge of the timber
where it met the evergreen grove behind the cemetery. Gracie held
her arm out to stop Melinda and Shana. The glow from a lantern
wavered over the stones. The person using it was a woman in a white
dress. Her large brimmed white straw hat was tilted down, shading
her face from view. She was dressed fashionably for the times, but
usually, that sort of outfit was used for a garden party or a
wedding. Other times, women wore white clothes to church and for
special occasions. Wandering around in a timber at night and
someone else's cemetery in the dark didn't exactly fit as a dress
up occasion.

The woman set the lantern on the
ground and leaned over the bare spot. She appeared to be gently
patting the earth. She picked the lantern up and with her back to
the watchers, she climbed over the cemetery fence.


Hey, what are you up to,
trespassing in my cemetery?” Gracie yelled.

The woman broke out running. Gracie
yelled, “Stop or I'll shoot you.” The woman thrashed noisily over
dried leaves and sticks. Gracie took off after her with Melinda and
Shana racing along behind. The amount of noise they made was enough
to warn any night prowling animal to leave the area.

The woman had too much of a head
start. Once she got ahead of them, she put the lantern out. She
seemed to know the area better than they did in the dark. The white
dress, glowing in the moon light, was the only way the women barely
made out the strange woman as she dodged through the trees. She
soon disappeared from sight.

Gracie panted loudly as she leaned
against a tree. Melinda tried to catch her breath. Even Shana was
winded.

Finally, Gracie huffed, “We lost
her.”

BOOK: Will O Wisp
6.78Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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