Bridge to Cutter Gap / Silent Superstitions / The Angry Intruder

by Catherine Marshall

  “Zach, what are you talking about?”

  “I got to go, Miz Christy. My pa and all. Will you be all right the rest of the way over to the mission?”

  “Of course I will. And thank you, Zach, for taking me this far.”

  With an awkward tip of his little red cap, Zach slipped into the trees and vanished.

  The next day at school, Christy didn’t say anything to Zach about the incident in the woods. She noticed that he seemed even quieter than usual. Wraight and Lundy, on the other hand, were especially bad-tempered and rude. Twice she’d had to scold them during reading lessons.

  It had been a frustrating day, even with the help of her new Junior Teachers. When Lizette had tried to help Wraight with his spelling, he’d snapped at her so gruffly that she’d practically cried.

  Christy was glad when the school day finally ended. As she stood in the doorway, saying goodbye to the children, she was surprised to see Mr. Pentland appear at the top of the ridge.

  “Back so soon?” Christy called.

  “Not just me,” Mr. Pentland yelled back. He jerked his thumb back toward the woods. “Got some delivery folks a-comin’, too. Mighty big load.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful!” Christy exclaimed. “Donations for the mission?”

  “Yep. All of it’s for the mission, near as I can tell. Been piling up at the train station for a while now.”

  Soon a big wagon, pulled by two pairs of strong oxen, lumbered into the schoolyard. It was piled high with crates and boxes. Some were covered with a large tarp.

  Christy ran to greet the wagon. So her letter-writing campaign had worked, after all! What would David and Miss Alice say when they saw how well her plan had worked?

  Most of the children, who’d been about to head home, stayed to watch as the two delivery men began unloading large boxes.

  Only Zach, Lundy, Wraight, and Smith hung back on the porch, as sullen and watchful as ever.

  “My, it’s Christmas in March!” David exclaimed, rushing over to help the delivery men. “Are you sure they’re in the right place, Mr. Pentland?”

  “Yep. Took two days to get here over those rutted roads. But they figured better now than when the spring thaw comes and the mud with it. It’s all for the mission. Oh— ’ceptin’ this package for you, Miz Christy.” Mr. Pentland reached into his bag and handed her a small package. It was wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string. “Mighty big week for deliveries.”

  The careful handwriting on the package told Christy it was from her mother.

  “Ain’t you goin’ to open it, Teacher?” Ruby Mae asked.

  “I’ll save it for later,” Christy said. “We’ve got enough to open, don’t you think?”

  David borrowed a hammer from one of the delivery men and began to open a large wooden crate. “This says to Miss Christy Rudd Huddleston,” David said. “From the Martin Textile Company in Charlotte, North Carolina.” He grinned at her. “You have connections in Charlotte?”

  “Well, not exactly,” Christy said. “It’s a long story.”

  The top of the crate popped off. “Blankets!” Ruby Mae cried. She and Bessie began pulling out the fresh wool blankets, one by one. David opened another crate from the same company, this one filled with pillows.

  One by one, David revealed the contents of the other crates. Each time, the children gathered around, gasping in surprise at the bounty inside. Christy beamed as she watched the donations pile up. All of it was so desperately needed—sheets, towels, rugs, cleaning supplies, medicine. And all of it was the result of Christy’s letter-writing campaign, with the exception of two barrels of secondhand clothing, sent by her mother’s church. The Bell Company had even come through with a large donation of telephone wire and a telephone.

  David stared at the wire, frowning in disbelief. “And how exactly am I going to hook up telephone lines?” he asked.

  “Well, you built an entire schoolhouse, didn’t you?” Christy said with a wink. “How hard will it be to install one little telephone?”

  “It has to be connected up, you know. Two ends, something to carry the voice.”

  “A telephone!” Ruby Mae exclaimed. “Wouldn’t that just be the most all-fired amazin’ thing Cutter Gap ever seen? How long will it take you to hook it up, Preacher?”

  David rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t hold your breath, Ruby Mae. It may be a very long wait. In spite of your teacher’s confidence in me.”

  “But David—” Christy began, stinging a little from the sarcasm in his voice. After all, she’d gone to a lot of trouble to get the telephone equipment. Couldn’t he at least show a little gratitude?

  “Well, well. This is quite a sight,” Miss Alice called from her cabin porch. But the look on her face was not exactly what Christy had hoped to see. She’d expected Miss Alice to be as thrilled as she was about the donations. Instead, she almost looked annoyed.

  “Looky here, Miss Alice,” Little Burl said, running to grab her hand as she approached. “There’s pillows in that there crate, soft as can be!”

  “So I see.”

  Miss Alice met Christy’s eyes. Now Christy was certain of it. Her heart sank a little. Miss Alice was not pleased.

  David held up the wire. “Christy apparently thinks that with my magical skills, I’ll be able to string up a telephone wire. She seems to have forgotten that the wire has to go over two mountains, not to mention a river.”

  Just then, John cried out. “Ooo-wee! Will you look at this!” He and Creed had managed to open a large cardboard box.

  Christy recognized the printing on the top of the box. It was from a textbook supplier she’d written. Could it be?

  John held up a brand-new history textbook. “Real, live books!” he cried. “Have you ever seen somethin’ so all-fired pretty?”

  Christy joined the boys. The other children crowded close. It was more than she’d ever dreamed possible—maps, books, even a globe and an American flag!

  “Oh, Miss Alice!” Christy cried. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

  “I’m glad, for the sake of the children,” Miss Alice said quietly, “but I do think we need to have a talk, Christy.”

  Before Christy could respond, Little Burl grabbed her arm. “Teacher,” he said urgently, “what’s under the big blanket over yonder on the wagon? Those are the biggest boxes I ever did see!”

  Christy was almost afraid to ask. Judging from Miss Alice’s stern look, she had made some kind of terrible mistake. Still, she had no choice but to ask.

  “Mr. Pentland,” she said, “what’s under the tarp? More boxes? Or maybe mattresses?”

  “No’m. I reckon you remember how I told you somethin’ was a-comin’ that could make noise?” He signaled to the two delivery men, who yanked the tarp free.

  Everyone gasped, but no one was more stunned than Christy.

  A beautiful, brand-new, gleaming, grand piano sat on its side in the wagon.

  “Oh, my!” Christy said, her hand to her mouth.

  “Oh, my, indeed,” said Miss Alice.

  “Mercy, Teacher!” whispered Creed. “What is it?”

  “It’s a piano, Creed. A concert grand piano. It makes beautiful music.”

  Even Lundy and his friends ran over, staring at the piano in awe. Wraight reached out and touched the shiny black piano bench, his jaw slightly ajar.

  “Ain’t it just purty?” Ruby Mae said to Wraight.

  He gave a small nod, his fingers lingering on the smooth wood.

  Christy turned to Miss Alice and David. “Well,” she said a little sheepishly, “surprise!”

  David slowly shook his head. He could not seem to find the right words.

  “Christy,” he said at last, “that may be the understatement of the year.”

  Six

  But I thought you’d be pleased,” Christy said after dinner that night. She was sitting at the dining room table with David, Miss Alice, and Miss Ida. Ruby Mae was in the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes.

  T
he boxes of donations sat in the living room, along with the grand piano. It had taken David, Mr. Pentland, and the two delivery men several frustrating hours to get it into the mission house.

  Miss Ida pursed her lips. “Miss Alice doesn’t like begging,” she said primly.

  “But I didn’t beg, exactly,” Christy said lamely. “I just wrote a nice letter to some companies. I explained the mission’s desperate need for supplies. And I told them about the children. That’s all.”

  “Now’s the time for me to explain the mission’s philosophy of fundraising,” Miss Alice said. She paused to pour a fresh cup of tea from a steaming pot. “We believe that only one reason is good enough for a person to give—because that person, without pressure, freely chooses to make the gift. Money pried out of people won’t be blessed for the work we need to do, anyway. Donations must come from the heart.”

  Christy hung her head. “I understand. At least, I think I do.”

  “As much as we need those supplies, you risked putting the mission in a bad light, Christy,” Miss Alice continued. “I honestly don’t think going ahead on your own like this was even good teamwork.”

  Christy nodded. She thought of many explanations for her behavior, but she knew Miss Alice was right. “I guess sometimes I do go running off on my own,” she admitted.

  “Independence can be a good thing,” Miss Alice said. “But you’ve only been here a brief time. Before you go changing the world, take things a little more slowly, and consult David and me. Sometimes it’s hard to see the whole picture. For example, these donations are going to cause some unintended problems.”

  “But how could they? The mission desperately needs everything that was sent.” Christy paused. David was gazing at the piano, grin- ning widely. “With the possible exception of the grand piano,” she added.

  “The thing is, Christy, we can’t simply give these items away to the mountain people.” Miss Alice sat back in her chair. “There’s a strong mountain code, you see. No one wants to owe anyone for anything. These people don’t respect anyone who can’t earn his own way.”

  “But all the clothes!” Christy cried. “We can’t just let them sit there in the barrels, untouched. There are lots of shoes in good condition, Miss Alice. You know how badly the children need shoes.”

  “You’re right. But do you see my point?” Miss Alice asked gently. “You need to understand the mountain people before you can help them. Your intentions were good. But the result was not precisely what you’d hoped. If you simply give away all these items, then people will feel like the few things they’ve worked so hard for are worth less. We must always remember that this mission represents a change for Cutter Gap. We hope it will be a change for the better. But change can be frightening, too. And frightened people can become angry people.”

  For a moment, everyone sat quietly, contemplating the boxes and barrels stacked high in the parlor.

  Suddenly, David snapped his fingers. “I have an idea!” he exclaimed. “Suppose we sell the clothes? Priced very low, of course. We could set up a little store. Charge something like seventy-five cents for a good suit, five cents for a vest. That sort of thing.”

  “That’s a wonderful idea,” Christy said, relieved that the donations might not have to go to waste. “And maybe we could accept vegetables or other things as payment, instead of money. That way, all the mountain people would have a chance to get what they need, no matter how poor they are.”

  “I think that’s a fine solution to a tricky problem,” Miss Alice pronounced.

  Ruby Mae came in, drying her hands on a dish towel. “I been meanin’ to ask you,” she said. “Are we goin’ to have some kind of jollification, now that we have that giant piano-thing right there in the middle of the parlor, just a-waitin’ for some playin’?”

  “Another fine idea!” Miss Alice said. “How about an open house?”

  “Ruby Mae, you’re brilliant,” David said. “We could have a party here, with music and dancing, and invite everyone from Cutter Gap. Jeb can play his dulcimer, and I’ll play my ukelele.”

  “I play a little piano,” Christy said. “Not very well, but I could give it a try.”

  “Wonderful,” said Miss Alice. “How about Saturday night? Ruby Mae, you spread the word.”

  “I’ll get right on that, Miz Alice,” Ruby Mae said excitedly. “Be tickled to death to help out.”

  “With Ruby Mae on the job, everyone in Cutter Gap will know about it within an hour,” David teased. Ruby Mae rolled her eyes, then slapped at David playfully with the dish towel.

  Miss Alice leaned over to Miss Ida, whose brow was creased with a deep frown. “What’s wrong, Miss Ida?”

  “I was just thinking about what a mess an open house like that will make!” Miss Ida groaned. “I’ll be cleaning up for a month or more.”

  “Don’t worry, Miss Ida,” Christy said. “I’ll get the children to help.”

  Miss Ida seemed to relax a little. “Don’t you fret none, Miss Ida,” Ruby Mae said, patting her on the shoulder. “Last jollification I went to, over at the Holcombes’, it weren’t hardly any mess at all.” She shrugged. “Unless, of course, you count that broken window. Or when the kitchen caught on fire . . .”

  Miss Ida groaned, dropping her head into her hands.

  Christy winked at Ruby Mae. “You’ve probably reassured Miss Ida enough for one evening, Ruby Mae.”

  “Well, now,” David said to Christy. “It seems everything worked out for the best. We’ve found a way to deal with all these donations, and we even managed to get that piano inside. One of these days, I may even figure out how to hook up that telephone of yours.”

  “Still, I’m sorry about all this,” Christy said. “I only meant to help, but I can see now that I went a little too fast.” She sighed. “Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever really understand these people. Take last night, when I thought I was being chased on my way home from the Spencers’ cabin. I ran into Zach Holt, but when I tried to question him—”

  “Did you just say ‘when I thought I was being chased’?” David interrupted. “What are you talking about? I thought John Spencer walked you home.”

  “He did. And it’s nothing, really, David,” Christy said with a wave of her hand. “That’s why I didn’t mention it yesterday when I got home. I heard some noises, a dead rat dropped out of a pine tree—”

  “A what ?” David cried.

  “I’m sure it was just more of the same. Another prank, that’s all. The odd thing was that Zach suddenly appeared, out of nowhere. But try as I might, I couldn’t get him to admit that Lundy has been putting him up to these things. And I’m sure that’s what’s going on.”

  “I don’t like this, not at all,” David said. “This is getting out of hand.”

  Miss Alice shook her head. “One thing’s clear, anyway. That message on the school is not going to be the end of these pranks.”

  “You’ve got to be more careful, Christy,” David said sternly.

  “I will, I promise—”

  “No, I don’t think you understand. This is just like the situation with the donations. You think you understand these people, but you don’t—not yet. They can be violent. Very violent. People in Cutter Gap have been shot for no reason.”

  “But if this prankster is just one of the children . . .” Christy’s voice trailed off. “I can’t believe any of them would be capable of real violence.”

  “Don’t be too sure,” Miss Ida warned.

  “It can’t hurt to be careful, Christy,” Miss Alice said. “To begin with, you’re not completely sure that one of the children is responsible. Until we can put a stop to this, I think you should stay close to the mission for a while, and be very careful.”

  “I understand,” Christy said. “But it sure seems to me like you’re worrying over nothing.”

  Miss Alice seemed surprised by Christy’s reaction. “Don’t forget what I told you. In these mountains, anything new and strange poses a threat. And her
e we have a new schoolhouse, a new starry-eyed teacher, and now, new books. . . . For some, that may add up to a threat to the only way of life they’ve ever known. Don’t forget all the mischief Granny O’Teale was able to make when she decided you were cursed.”

  Christy gave a wry laugh. “How could I? Still, I hate to think one of the children feels that way.” She pushed back her chair and stood. “Did you ever have one of those days when you felt like you couldn’t do anything right?”

  “Don’t be silly,” Miss Alice said, reaching over to pat Christy’s arm. “You’re doing so much right. You’ve made great strides with the children already. And I know you’re going to do much more, with time.”

  “That will only be possible if they’ll let me.”

  A smile tugged at the corners of Miss Alice’s mouth. “Remember Matthew 19:26, Christy: ‘. . . with God all things are possible.’”

  Up in her room, Christy settled on her bed and carefully opened the package Mr. Pentland had brought her today. Inside was a note written in her mother’s careful handwriting and a gift, about the size of a book, wrapped in pretty blue tissue paper. Carefully, Christy tore off the paper. She wanted to save as much as she could. Perhaps she could use it for an art project at school.

  Inside, to her surprise, was a brand-new leather-covered diary and a new fountain pen. Christy had told her mother how she’d given her old diary away to Ruby Mae after Christy had caught her snooping in it. Christy had torn out the few pages where she’d written about her journey to Cutter Gap. Most of the diary was untouched, and Ruby had been thrilled at the idea of having a private place all her own where she could write down her thoughts and dreams. As hard as it had been to part with the diary, Christy had never regretted giving it away.

  Now, here was her chance to start fresh. Something told her it was important to record everything that happened to her here at the mission. She knew she was on an important adventure, even if she had no idea how it would all unfold.

  Christy opened to the first page. On it, her mother had written: