Gingham Mountain

by Mary Connealy

  “I don’t have any either.” Charlie stood from the table.

  “Maybe you two should stay in and help Benny and Libby with whatever homework they have.” Grant pulled on his coat and listened to a rising wind whip around the cabin. Good, this oughta about kill him—which should keep his mind occupied.

  “No need, Pa,” Sadie said as she cleared the table off. “I’ll wash up, and Marilyn can watch over the studies. As soon as we’re done, we’ll be out, too.”

  Marilyn began settling the little ones at the end of the kitchen table Sadie had already cleared. “Miss Cartwright and Mrs. Harrison both say I’m old enough right now to be a schoolteacher. If it wasn’t for Wilbur, I might consider it. I could probably take a term somewhere while Wilbur is making up his mind about building a cabin. Mrs. Harrison is going to ask around and see if there are any openings in the county. I could even teach a spring term.”

  Grant flinched to hear of one of his children growing up so soon. “I think this spring is too early, Marilyn. You’re just sixteen.”

  “I’ll be seventeen in a month, Pa. We’ve had teachers younger than that at school and there’s a real need.”

  Grant looked at his daughter and thought of how well she did running his house and caring for her little brothers and sisters. He knew she could handle a school. “I don’t want you out on your own just yet.”

  “I could help a lot of children who might not get an education otherwise. Besides, I’m almost through all the books. Miss Cartwright says I’ll graduate this spring. And the schools are real careful to find a good place for the teacher to live.”

  “All except Sour Springs,” Charlie said. “Working at the mercantile is kinda fun. I run all over town, carrying packages. I’m getting to know a lot of people. When I made some deliveries to the diner, I peeked in Miss Cartwright’s room to see where she lives.”

  “Charlie, you shouldn’t be sneaking around.” Grant spoke sternly then ruined it by adding, “What’s it like?”

  “It’s hardly bigger than our loft.”

  Grant looked up at the tiny triangle of space over his head. “That small?”

  “Well, she can stand up straight in the middle, but it’s not much bigger. Her room is cold, too. There’s no heat except what comes up from the diner, and they shut that all down at night. I saw half a loaf of bread and no other food. I don’t think she had enough money to feed herself at all until her first pay came in. Now, it’s barely enough to make do. Most schools let a teacher live with a family, and then they can have their meals and a warm house. It’s no wonder this town can’t hang on to a teacher.”

  “Hannah’s cold and hungry?” Grant’s heart started beating too hard. He hadn’t known. She’d never said a word. Of course, when had they exchanged normal words? They were either fighting or. . .

  “I’m sure she’ll be okay. Warmer weather is coming. She’ll only have to be cold a little while longer.” Sadie smiled at him, but it wasn’t a friendly kind of smile. “And after all, she’s an orphan. I’m sure she’s used to being cold and hungry. I’ll bet she doesn’t even mind suffering anymore.”

  Grant’s eyes narrowed. Sadie and Marilyn exchanged another one of those confounded female glances.

  Joshua pulled on his coat. “Miss Cartwright said I’m going to graduate this spring, too, Pa. Ian offered me a job at his blacksmith shop.”

  Grant thought of his son Ian, who’d gone out on his own black-smithing after living with Grant for only a year. As soon as he was set up in business, he’d come back and scooped up Megan, one of Grant’s daughters, to marry. That had been a first. Ian and Megan had two children and one on the way. The blacksmith shop was a success, and Ian hustled to keep up with all the work. It was a fact Ian could use the help.

  Joshua’s dark eyes flashed with excitement. “I’m thinking I can work for him and file on a homestead. I’ve already got my eye on a good spot out near Will’s ranch.”

  “You have to be twenty-one to do that.” If Joshua and Marilyn left, he’d be down to four kids. He wouldn’t even need to add on to the house.

  “Who’s to say how old I am, Pa?” Joshua buttoned his coat up to the neck. “You always make us pick a birthday for ourselves so we can have birthday cake, and all I know about my age is what I guessed at. I don’t have any record of being born. If I say I’m a full-grown man and do the work of a full-grown man, then I don’t see why the people filing homestead claims should disagree.”

  Grant saw Joshua slip a quick look at Sadie and Sadie looked back. Grant was shocked. Sadie did know her birthday. She’d be sixteen in a few months, the same age as Megan when Ian married her. Sadie’d been with Joshua since before Grant found them in Houston. She’d have her birthday about the time Joshua graduated from high school, got a job, and had his house built. If Sadie hauled off and married Joshua, Grant would be down to three kids.

  “When we’re done here we can start building a cabin for Josh.” Charlie went out the door following Joshua.

  The boys disappeared, closing Grant inside with the girls and Benny. If he wasn’t careful, they’d build on to the blasted house without any help from him at all!

  Sadie, Joshua, and Marilyn all growing up right in front of his eyes. Grant pulled his old Stetson on tight against the cold wind, saving his new one for going to town, and went outside to add on a room before his whole confounded family moved out on him.

  There wasn’t another orphan train due for two years.

  Jogging to catch up with his boys, he thought desperately that he was getting plumb short of children!

  TWENTY-SIX

  The day Gladys Harrison dropped in unexpectedly at school and caught Hannah handing out the award for champion speller to Emory, Hannah knew her position as teacher was secure for life

  Gladys seemed to have completely forgotten which children were orphans and which weren’t. Emory, Libby, and Benny were best friends, and Gladys was as kind to them as if they were her own. Blessed with a beautiful singing voice, Gladys worked tirelessly helping the children learn songs for the pageant.

  The day three new students showed up at the school, along with their burly father and browbeaten mother, Hannah doubted she’d last until the end of the week.

  Mrs. Brewster stood slightly behind her husband and studied her clutched hands. Mr. Brewster spoke rudely to Hannah, scowled at Joshua and Sadie, and left after making a few veiled threats.

  The three students, two boys and a girl, managed to disrupt the whole school.

  Hannah would never have made it to morning recess if it hadn’t been for Joshua, Marilyn, and Sadie.

  Joshua kept interfering when Wally, the older boy, would get too disruptive. He stepped in when the boy, nearly as big as Joshua but in Charlie’s grade, tried to pick a fight with Charlie.

  Sadie spent all morning diverting the little girl, Celia, who was about Sadie’s age and pulled hair and tattled with every breath.

  Hannah had her hands full with Cubby, a first-grader who was as big as two of Libby, his classmate, and didn’t seem able to sit still for a minute.

  Marilyn taught the rest of the school by herself.

  At one point, Joshua came to the front of the room to ask a question. Since Joshua had yet to need a moment’s help with his lessons, Hannah wasn’t surprised when he whispered, “This is the family that made Pa pull us out’a school every year. They joined a wagon train to head west, but something must have happened to bring ’em back. No way will we get through the first recess, let alone the whole day, without Wally knocking someone down.”

  Hannah shared a worried look with Joshua. “We have to keep that from happening.”

  Hannah saw Cubby get up from his desk and go to the window.

  Marilyn came up to the two of them. “No matter what we do, these boys will still hit someone, and Celia will run crying to her father to tell lies. She’s always hated Sadie especially.”

  Hannah couldn’t stay and plot strategy for another second. When the
window wouldn’t open, Cubby had pulled a length of firewood out of the woodbin and approached the glass.

  Just before it was time for recess, Charlie stood from his desk and said loud enough for everyone to hear, “I’d like to stay in from recess today and practice the pageant. I want to know my part a little better.”

  Charlie knew his part, letter perfect.

  Hannah caught on instantly. “Let’s all stay in from recess. It’s a really cold day anyway.”

  The howl from the Brewsters was deafening.

  Hannah did her best to act surprised. “You children don’t have a part in the pageant, do you? Would you like a part? We’ve got plenty of time to work you in. Or, if you’d like, you can go on out and play while we keep working.”

  Hannah saw smiles break out on every face in the room but three. The Brewsters didn’t confine their cruel mischief to orphans.

  “I was thinking Ma should be here for practice,” Emory suggested.

  Gladys lived over a mile from town, but maybe tomorrow. Her heart lifted as she thought how much help Gladys would be, even if only as a witness.

  “Ma was going to stop for coffee at Mabel’s,” Emory said. “She always lingers when she does that. I’ll bet she’s still there, just across the street. She’d be glad to come over.”

  “Emory, why don’t you run over right now and see if she can come.”

  “And if she’s gone, maybe Mabel will come back with me.” Emory nodded and dashed out of the room.

  Wally Brewster reached out his leg to trip the little boy as he ran past, but somehow Joshua was there, not saying or doing anything except being in the way. Emory had to slow down and make a wide detour around Joshua, and that kept him away from Wally. Emory escaped unscathed.

  “Why does he get to go out and we don’t?” Cubby started banging his fist on the desk.

  “Why, you can go out, Cubby,” Hannah said brightly then kept talking to slow them down so Emory could make a clean getaway. “It’s time for recess all right. I’ll work on a part in the play for all three of you tonight. Tomorrow you can stay in at recess and practice with us.” Hannah looked out the window and saw Emory disappear into the mercantile. “But for now you might as well go play.”

  Wally got up, shoving his desk out of line with the others. Celia pinched Sadie so hard Sadie jumped out of her desk with a squeal of pain. Cubby kicked Libby as he passed her. Hannah caught Libby because the little girl looked inclined toward revenge. The three Brewsters stormed out of the schoolhouse door.

  “Joshua, watch to make sure Emory gets back inside without trouble,” Hannah ordered.

  Joshua headed for the window.

  The minute the Brewsters were gone silence reigned. Hannah breathed a huge sigh of relief until she remembered that the recess couldn’t go on forever. And it wasn’t fair for the rest of the school to go without a recess so they could hide from the Brewsters. This was no time for relief.

  Hannah didn’t feel it was appropriate to discuss the naughty children with her students. Instead she began working on the pageant just as Charlie had suggested.

  Gladys and Emory showed up almost immediately, and Hannah could tell from Gladys’s disheveled appearance that she had hurried over. Hannah wondered how bleak a picture Emory had painted. Gladys gave Hannah a commiserating look then dove into working on the play.

  Gladys stayed for the rest of the day. Hannah even allowed a short outside recess after the children ate their dinner. She and Gladys stayed on the playground the whole time. Despite the Brewsters’ best efforts, the school day passed and some learning even went on, mostly thanks to Marilyn.

  Hannah excused the children after school, but none of them left. They usually exploded out of the building. Instead they sat quietly until the Brewsters were long gone. A few, whose parents arrived in wagons to drive them home, left.

  “Cubby’ll be waiting for me after school cuz I made him look bad in reading,” redheaded Gordy O’Reilly said. “Can I just sleep here, Miss Cartwright?”

  Gladys ended up escorting the children who lived in town, including taking Charlie to work. She got Zeb at the livery to hitch up his team and take the children home who lived close enough to town that they were expected to walk.

  In the end, only Grant’s family, who brought their own team, was left. Just when Hannah had decided she’d have to rent a horse and ride along with them to see they got home all right, Charlie came into the schoolhouse with a wild, nervous look on his face about a half hour after school had let out. Wally Brewster had slowly begun to focus most of his considerable angry mischief on Charlie, who wasn’t inclined to be pushed around.

  “They were hanging around awhile, but their pa called them home.” Charlie started handing out his family’s coats. “I explained things to Mr. Stroben, and he let me off work early. If we head out now, we’ll be fine.”

  They all loaded into the wagon and hustled away.

  Hannah went to her room and collapsed. She ached in every muscle of her body from the hard work and tension of the day. She was never going to survive teaching school with the Brewsters in residence.

  Grace couldn’t survive one more minute in this canyon! She waited until no one was watching.

  Daniel had been eagle-eyed ever since she’d made her first break for the high trail out of the canyon. She’d only made it out three more times. Each time he’d caught up to her, let her have her visit with Tillie, then, contented, she let him drag her home.

  But now, he’d been lulled into a false sense of security with the coming warm weather. He didn’t realize she could almost hear the snow melting, one flake at a time. Spring had long come to the valley of their canyon, but winter would not let up its hold on the gap.

  Matthew had given up his nap at fourteen months of age. Grace sighed when she thought of how lively her little boy was. Nowadays, Matthew went out to work with Daniel for long stretches and never came back with more than bumps and bruises—he was a sturdy little thing. So, when Daniel climbed the hill behind the house to start chopping down trees to add onto the house so the baby could have a room right next to her and Daniel’s, and all of the boys followed him, Grace saw her chance.

  This time it wasn’t about seeing Tillie or Sophie. She had much more in mind.

  Grace put on sturdy hiking boots, sneaked out the front door, slipped past the barn, and headed up the canyon wall. She thought as she climbed that she might possibly have a fever. Or maybe she just felt a feverish need to escape. Whatever it was, she couldn’t help making a break for it from time to time. And this time she was going all the way. She was going to see Hannah.

  She was nearly to the steepest part of the trail when Mark caught up to her. “Runnin’ off again, Ma?”

  Grace scowled down at the little imp. Only not so little anymore. He was nine now, and as wily as ever. “Did you tell Pa?”

  “Nope, I decided just to trail along in case you needed help. I don’t mind a visit outside every once in a while.”

  “Well, why don’t you convince Pa to go along with me then? It’s a plumb nuisance having to escape when he’s not looking.”

  “Maybe he’ll come around. I heard him say he’s going to turn his attention to the high pass trail as soon as the new room is done.”

  “Well, good. That’d make this a lot easier.”

  “So, you think you’re gonna die havin’ this baby, Ma?”

  “Ma’s not gonna die, Mark. You take that back!”

  Grace stopped and turned.

  John was just a few yards behind him. Luke tagged along a few yards farther back.

  “What are you boys doing?”

  “We’re coming, too.” Luke grinned. “Busting out of the canyon is fun.”

  “Pa says Ma’s gonna most likely die havin’ this baby.” Mark started up the trail toward the canyon wall. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea to get our hearts all set on her surviving. I think it’ll be better if we plan for the worst.”

  “Mark
!” Grace turned and walked faster toward Sophie’s.

  “Could we have two or three this time, Ma?” Ike appeared on the trail just a few paces behind Luke.

  Grace stopped to see her fourth son. She threw her hands wide in exasperation. “Your pa cannot have helped but notice you’re all gone.”

  “You’re not gettin’ the hang of sneakin’ like you had oughta, Ma.” Mark came back to her side and took her hand.

  Grace held on as she plodded toward the most treacherous part of the trail. She’d have to let go of Mark and use her hands and feet and cling like a scared cat to the little handholds. But it was only a hundred feet of sheer rock face, with the occasional perfectly good handholds. Then she’d go over the peak. There were some touchy spots on the other side, and then things eased off some. “Well, I’m still practicing. I haven’t been at it as long as you have.”

  Grace came to the base of what she thought of as The Spike. The trees quit growing and the canyon wall turned to pure rock. It reached upward at an almost vertical angle, came to a point, and dropped on the other side just the same way, with only a few outcroppings of rock on the other side that were big enough for a person to sit and rest. Daniel had cut handholds and footholds in it, because he worried about getting out in case of an accident. It used to be a life and death matter to scale this cliff. But now it was just hard work. He’d been complaining about her abusing all his efforts for something as frivolous as having tea with Tillie or Sophie. The man had no idea where she really wanted to go. She touched her pocket and wondered if she’d brought enough money for train fare for eight.

  She gritted her teeth and took a step toward the first grip, but Mark beat her to it. He raced up the sheer wall like a scampering mountain goat. John headed up right behind him and Luke was next.

  Ike paused as he drew alongside her. “Go ahead. I can catch you if you fall.”

  “No, that’s fine. I’ll slow you down. When you boys get to Adam and Tillie’s, have them send a horse back for me.”