“I felt good and all washed clean of sin for the first time I had ever felt so in my life, and I knowed I could pray now. But I didn’t do it straight off, but laid the paper down and set there thinking—thinking how good it was that all this happened so, and how near I come to being lost and going to hell. And went on thinking. And got to thinking over our trip down the river; and I see Jim before me all the time; in the day and in the nighttime, sometimes moonlight, sometimes storms, and we a-floating along, talking and singing and laughing. But somehow I couldn’t seem to strike no places to harden me against him, but only the other kind. I’d see him standing my watch on top of his’n, ‘stead of calling me, so I could go on sleeping; and see him how glad he was when I come back out of the fog; and when I come to him again in the swamp, up there where the feud was; and suchlike times; and would always call me honey, and pet me, and do everything he could think of for me, and how good he always was; and at last I struck the time I saved him by telling the men we had smallpox aboard, and he was so grateful, and said I was the best friend old Jim ever had in the world, and the only one he’s got now; and then I happened to look around and see that paper.
It was a close place. I took it up, and held it in my hand. I was a-trembling, because I’d got to decide, for ever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself:
‘All right, then, I’ll go to hell’—and tore it up.”
When Leona was finished reading, she had goosebumps and felt a chill come over her, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She remembered the same thing happening the first time she read those words, and recalled what she thought.
“He might have been mischievous, but Ole Huck turned out to be not near as bad as people thought. Mama and Papa were right, you can’t always go on your first feelings about people.”
—4—
Another valuable trait that Margaret and Murdock instilled in Leona was that of being a hard worker.
Her father once told her: “Anything worth doing is worth doing well, no matter how small the task. And the rewards that come from being a hard worker will surprise you. So don’t be afraid of work, embrace it. In particular, when you sit down to study your homework, block everything else out of your mind and do the best you can at that task. Hard work hasn’t killed anyone, yet; and you’ll feel so much more satisfied when the job is done if you put your best into it. And, what’s more, you can take pride in knowing that you did it yourself.”
Murdock wasn’t alone in teaching Leona about the virtue of hard work. She also learned firsthand from her mother just what it meant for a woman to work hard in those days. Margaret wasn’t one to shy away from hard work of any sort, and that was obvious from the way she kept her house clean, fixed meals, washed clothes and dishes, as well as from the long hours she toiled in the family garden. Indeed, working daybreak to sundown was nothing new for Margaret, and Leona tried hard to lessen her mother’s load by helping out with her many chores. Like her mother, Leona seldom complained about all the work she had to do, mainly because she realized that she was helping her parents, and anything to make their lives easier Leona would gladly do. It didn’t hurt that she also got to listen to their amusing stories whenever she helped them. They were good parents in her eyes because they would talk to her as if she were a grown-up, and not like a child who was just in the way, as she had witnessed some of her friends being treated by their parents. But most of all, they spent time with her, teaching her the three R’s—reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic—just as they had with Arlene and Lillian when they were little.
In addition to that, Margaret and Murdock often played card games and a creative spelling game with Leona, which was not only a way to entertain her, but, more important, a way to educate her. Because of those things, Leona’s reading, writing, and math skills were always exemplary thanks to her parent’s help, and she was much better at them than most 1st-graders were, long before she attended school. As a result it didn’t take her long to easily master reading once she started her formal education. And when that happened she would read almost everything she got her hands on, including an illustrated encyclopedia that Eunice gave to all the Haley children for the Christmas of 1914. Leona’s insatiable appetite for reading helped her excel in school because she often knew facts about historical places and events long before Miss Hutchinson taught them. Indeed, she made a habit of finding out in advance the subjects Miss Hutchinson planned to teach and then use the encyclopedia, or whatever else she could get her hands on and found useful to read, to learn more about those subjects.
However, not everything that Leona learned was found in the encyclopedia or textbooks. Her father often entertained her with stories of his childhood in Canada, and she remembered how her mother would read bedtime stories to her until she could read on her own. As a child Leona especially liked to read stories of far off places, all the while dreaming of traveling to those places when she got older: Asia, Hawaii, the South Seas, the Caribbean, London, Paris, Rome—all the wondrous places she read about.
The 7th grade was particularly gratifying to Leona. She received five A’s on her report card, and that made her parents extremely proud. They were even more proud of Leona when Miss Hutchinson complimented her on the way she helped the younger students.
“Leona had a knack when it came to explaining things to the 1st and 2nd-graders,” the grateful teacher told the Haleys at a PTA meeting.
“That’s probably due to her interaction with Wally when he was a tyke,” Margaret replied.
“Yeah, he was such a devil, you had to be very clever to get him to do anything,” Murdock added. “It seemed like Leona was the only one who could get through to him.”
“Well, that explains a lot,” Miss Hutchinson said. “Leona was particularly helpful when Wally began school, because he was sooo hyperactive that it was hard for me to teach him and the other students too. Indeed, when I saw how calm Wally was when Leona was helping him, I allowed her to spend as much time as she could with him.”
With encouragement from Leona, Wally gradually calmed down and began to respond to Miss Hutchinson too. But even so, his older sister continued to help him with his schoolwork whenever needed.
Of course, Leona’s parents already knew of her abilities from watching the way she helped Wally with his homework, but they still appreciated it when the teacher lavished their daughter with praise. Although Wally was not as studious as Leona, he too began to get good grades thanks to her help. Margaret was especially thankful for that because she was no longer physically able to help her son the way she once did.
“I guess I’m getting old,” she told Murdock. “I don’t have the energy I once had.”
Chapter 45
Wally’s Snakes and Pranks
It seemed to Margaret that Leona looked after Wally as much now as she did when he was younger. Indeed, it seemed as if she was always there for him when he got into trouble, usually for irritating Arlene, something he reveled in doing, or when something traumatic happened and he needed reassurance. The number of times the former happened was countless, but the latter was not that infrequent either. Probably his most traumatizing experience happened in the fall of 1923 when he was only eight. He and Leona were getting ready to play in a pile of dry leaves that they had raked up the previous day.
“The last one in is a rotten egg,” Wally yelled to his sister as they walked from the kitchen and through the living room. Then he raced out the back door toward the pile of leaves, took a running leap, and landed smack in the middle of the pile. That’s when the little boy felt something squishy under his hand. He felt it move and then saw two bright-green snakes slithering out from under the leaves.
“Snakes!” the frightened boy yelled; and faster than lightning he jumped up and ran to Leona.
“It’s okay, Wally,” she said. “Those are just grass snakes. They won’t h
urt you.”
The shaken boy was skeptical. He always had a fear of snakes, but from that day forward his fear was replaced by terror, and anytime the two played in the leaves Leona had to make a habit of walking through them first, kicking the leaves vigorously to be sure no snakes were hiding there. Only then would Wally go near the leaves; even then, reluctantly. And anytime someone even mentioned snake, and more often than not that was Arlene, Wally would run away and no amount of coaxing could make him return. On the day Wally first encountered the snakes, Leona felt so bad for her brother that she gave him something very special to make him feel better about playing in the leaves.
“Here, Wally, from now on Comet is yours. With him as your sidekick you won’t have to worry about snakes ever again.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Don’t you know? Snakes are afraid of cats, so just keep Comet with you and they will take off whenever they see the two of you coming; and if you want to play in the leaves just let Comet go in first and he’ll chase ‘em away.”
That did the trick. From that day on, Wally seldom went anywhere without Comet. If he did, you can be assured that it would be a place where snakes would never be found.
—1—
Although Leona was always supportive and tried to help her brother overcome his fear of snakes, Arlene used his fear to her advantage. Since the age of seven Wally was always playing tricks on her, such as hiding her things or short-sheeting her bed, just to aggravate his sister. Indeed, he was relentless, and the madder she got, the more devious the tricks he wanted to play.
Finally, one morning in the summer of ‘24, when he refused to get out of bed, Arlene got her revenge. She found a short rope and threw it onto Wally’s bed, yelling: “SNAKE!” He jumped out of bed, ran down the stairs, and didn’t stop running ‘til he heard his sisters laughing; and then he knew he’d been tricked.
“Arlene!” he yelled. “You scared the crap out of me. You better be sleeping with one eye open from now on.”
His sisters laughed even louder when Arlene replied:
“And you better be sleeping with both eyes open.”
Not one to go back on her word, the next day Arlene came home with a rubber snake that she had bought at a novelty store in Bangor, and waited until her mother called everyone to supper. Then she placed it on Wally’s chair at the supper table.
As usual, Wally was the last one to make his way to the table, and his sisters were watching with great anticipation as he pulled the chair out and sat down.
Suddenly he jumped up screaming and was halfway out the door when he heard Arlene.
“What’s the matter, Wally? You afraid of a little piece of rubber now?”
He turned and saw Arlene swinging the fake snake over her head and then watched her toss it across the kitchen toward him. Even though he now realized that the snake was not real, he still jumped back when it landed at his feet.
“Don’t be scared, little brother,” Arlene mocked, “rubber isn’t poisonous, and it sure as heck doesn’t bite.”
Wally’s face turned red when he saw everyone at the table laughing, including his parents. Both Margaret and Murdock tried hard not to laugh, but Arlene’s prank was so comical that they couldn’t help it. It also didn’t hurt that they had seen Arlene suffer over-and-over again because of Wally’s annoying pranks.
Arlene was pleased with her latest prank, but she wasn’t nearly satisfied; she needed to do something else—something even more humiliating for her brother—so she waited patiently to really get even for all the tricks Wally played on her.
—2—
A few days later she heard Wally tell Leona that he was going skinny-dipping in the stream. Arlene followed him and hid quietly in the woods until she saw her brother take off his clothes and jump into the water. When he wasn’t looking she stole his clothes, leaving only his shoes, and ran all the way home as fast as she could. Arlene gathered with her sisters in Leona’s bedroom, and they watched the back field until they saw Wally sneaking out of the woods, totally naked. He ran from tree to tree toward the house, hiding behind each tree just long enough to be sure the coast was clear. His sister’s laughed hysterically. When he finally made it to the back porch he saw Arlene standing in the doorway holding his clothes.
“Looking for these, Wally?” she teased, exhibiting a sly grin.
“I’m gonna kill you, Arlene!” he yelled.
But she closed the door and quickly locked it before he could get inside. Then she ran upstairs to Leona’s room. The Haley girls leaned out the window, each mockingly waving a piece of Wally’s clothes, while laughing and mercilessly teasing him.
“Hey, Wally,” Arlene yelled, “how come you’re bent over and holding your hands like that; you trying to hide something?”
Her sisters were laughing uncontrollably, and Wally was looking up at her with daggers in his eyes, saying:
“You’re dead, Arlene.”
But Arlene wasn’t done; she spoke again.
“I bet you’re glad it’s a warm day today, little brother. It’d be too bad if you froze that little thing off.”
“Damn you, Arlene. You think you’re so smart, don’t you?”
“A whole lot smarter than you,” she answered. “Now tell me something I don’t know.”
Arlene kept unmercifully teasing Wally until he was finally let in by his mother.
“For God’s sake, Wally!” Margaret exclaimed. “What in Heaven’s name are you doing outside with no clothes on?”
—3—
Wally became more and more mischievous as time went on, and Arlene wasn’t his only victim, just his most frequent one. Lillian, and even Leona, suffered from his pranks, although the pranks he played on them weren’t nearly as evil as the ones he played on Arlene. Though, there was one trick he played on Lillian that really upset her.
Lillian was getting ready for school in late April and was about to leave. She went to grab her schoolbooks from a shelf above the hallway coat rack, and they weren’t there.
“Mama, have you seen my books?” she asked.
“No, dear, where did you put them.”
“The same place I always put them. On the shelf near the door.”
“Are you sure?” Margaret asked.
“I’m positive.”
“Well, if they’re not there, you must’ah forgot this morning.”
“I know I put them there.”
“Well, I don’t see them. They’ve got to be somewhere though. I’ll help you look.”
They searched the house for ten minutes and still couldn’t find the books.
“I don’t know what to say, Lil. You’re gonna have to leave without your books this morning, or you’ll miss the trolley.”
“But, Mama, my homework is with my books, and I need to pass it in on time to have any chance of getting an ‘A’ in American History.”
Just then, Margaret noticed Wally in the living room watching them and laughing.
“Wally!” she yelled. “Get your devilish butt in here.”
As soon as Wally walked into the kitchen, Margaret said: “You have ten seconds to find Lillian’s books or you’re in real trouble, mister.”
When Wally heard his mother call him mister, he knew he was already in big trouble. He walked across the kitchen, lifted the trap door to the cellar, and took Lillian’s books off the top step. He was laughing as he handed the books to his sister.
“You idiot!” Lillian yelled. “I was up past midnight doing my homework and you made me think I lost it. Can I kill him, Mama?”
“It’s a tempting thought, dear, but no. Now, get on your way and I’ll take care of your brother.”
After a good scolding from his mother, Wally headed for school, knowing that he wouldn’t be spending much time with his friends for at least a week.
—4—
Even after he had served his time, Wally had not learned his lesson. About three weeks later Margaret was baking an apple pie. After she took it from the oven she covered it with a checkered dishcloth, opened the window, and placed it on the sill to cool. Wally was outside playing hide-and-seek with his friend Earl Terrill, and he noticed the pie sitting there, just tempting him. Since Wally was starving, he decided to take it, leaving only the cloth on the sill.
“Boy that pie sure looks good,” Earl said.
“Yup, do you want some?” Wally asked.
“Sure, but where did you get it?”
“From my mother. She’s a real good mother.”
“I’ll say,” Earl said. “My mother would never give me a pie all to myself.”
“Let’s grab our fishing poles and head down to the stream,” Wally said. “We can eat it there.”
When Wally returned home later that day, Margaret only had one question for him:
“Where’s my pie?”
“What pie?” he said.
“Don’t play coy with me, young man. The pie you took off the windowsill.”
“How did you know?” he asked.
“When I saw it was missing I went outside and saw you and Earl walking into the woods with it. Now, what did you do with it?”
“We ate it,” Wally answered.
“You ate it, did you,” Margaret said. “What made you think that would be okay?”
“You did. When I asked what you were doing this morning, you said you were baking me a pie.”
“That was rhetorical, Wally! The pie was for the family, and I think you knew that. Now go to your room, young man, and expect your father to be making a call on you when he gets home.”
As he was walking away, Margaret had one more question for her son.
“How old are you now, Wally?”
“Nine,” he answered.
“Well, the way you’re going, don’t expect to make it to ten.”
Journey With the Comet Page 43
