Chapter 21
Nathan had bagged nearly all the potatoes, his shirt was soaked, and the cart was nearly full. He bent lower over his work in complete exhaustion, but his pace remained the same. In between filling sacks, he looked in the distance in every direction.
The children desperately wanted to take off their long tunics, but they became increasingly worried that perhaps Nathan would be as horrified with their shorts and T-shirts as James had been. There were six more sacks to carry, but they were past the finish line and sunk down on either side of Bear. They lay on their sides each flinging an arm over their dog. Bear was hot even in the shade, but with great loyalty, he remained still and allowed them to whisper over his back.
“Why do you think he keeps looking around?” said Sean.
“I don’t know, but it’s creepy. Don’t worry; we’re leaving as soon as he’s done.”
“He makes me feel like we’re going to be attacked any second by those men he talked about.”
Reece lifted herself up and looked into the distance. “What worries me a little bit,” she began then checked for her brother’s reaction. “Is that James was worried too, and we thought it was nothing.”
“But, people really were chasing him.”
“I know.”
Nathan tied the mouth of the last sack then picked up the remaining sacks two at a time and hauled them to the cart. Three trips later the job was finished. He mopped his face again with his handkerchief then lifted the tongue of the cart from the ground. “Okay, I’ll pull; the two of you get behind and push.”
The children sat up and stared at him. He couldn’t possibly think of dragging that humongously heavy cart somewhere. They were hot, tired, and yes, very thirsty! And moving that cart was not on their list of things to do that day. On the other hand, maybe that’s why he’d been so angry when he first saw them. Maybe he was too young to drive and was expecting someone to show up with a truck instead of two kids. And, besides, where was he taking that enormous pile of potatoes? Couldn’t he just sit and wait until someone came for it?
Both children as well as Bear slowly stood up. Reece cleared her throat twice then looked up at Nathan’s chin. “Well, uh, actually we need to leave. Uh, we’re only a little lost, but I think we know how to get home now, so we’ll be leaving. I’m sorry we can’t help you, but. . .”
“We were just passing through anyway.” Sean was sure he’d heard that phrase somewhere.
Nathan put the tongue of the cart on the ground again. He placed his hands on his hips, pressed his lips firmly together, and took a deep breath then began in the softest voice he could manage. “Where have you two kids been for the past year? And why are you wandering around here by yourselves? Didn’t you hear me say there are two enemy encampments nearby with at least five hundred men in each one? I don’t know which way they’re going to go. They could be heading in our direction, and I’ve got to get word about this back to our main camp.”
Reece licked her lips before speaking. “But, couldn’t you just go back to your camp and send somebody here with a. . .I mean just send somebody back for the cart?”
“And, while I’m gone risk somebody stealing our food supply?” Nathan sighed as loudly as the Professor ever had. “Why do you think I risked coming back here in the first place? We need this food!” He took a few seconds to look around and listen before continuing. “Do you really think I’d be dumb enough to come here with no way to get the cart back? I brought my horse along, but when I stopped to get water at the stream, I heard the sound of someone firing shots nearby, and they were nearly on top of me before I could hide. I was splashing water on my face, and I suppose that’s why I didn’t hear them sooner. Anyway, my horse bolted and ran away.” Nathan’s voice squeaked at the end and his shoulders sagged from the loss of his horse, from the fear of capture, from the huge responsibility of getting all this food back to his camp, and from the utter weariness of arguing with these two children who he had to protect and were only marginally helpful.
The children had just lost a beloved pet and fully understood that kind of sadness. “What was your horse’s name?” asked Reece softly.
“Scottie. He was a sixteen one bay gelding.”
They didn’t know where to start with that one, so they continued with their sad looks and nodding heads.
“I raised him from the day he was born. Now, I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again.” Nathan blinked several times. “When we get to the camp, my brother and I will go look for him,” then he added softly. “Unless they’ve taken him.”
“I’m really sorry about Scottie,” said Sean.
Wanting to comfort but knowing nothing about horses, Reece asked. “What does he look like?”
Nathan looked into the distance and smiled. “Well, he’s a bay, but his coat is on the reddish side of brown. And of course, his mane and tail are black. He didn’t have any white socks, so his legs were all black, too. When he was out in the pasture with the other bays, I could tell him apart from a distance, because he had a jagged white stripe running down his forehead like a flash of lightning. “He’d always come when I called him. I’d say, ‘Come here, big boy’, and he’d come running. I didn’t need to attach a lead rope to his halter or anything. I’d just say ‘Let’s go’, and he’d follow me.”
“Was he a real big horse?” asked Sean.
“Over sixteen hands and maybe a thousand pounds or so.”
More head nodding.
“Did you actually see them catch Scottie?” asked Reece.
Nathan’s smile faded, and he shook his head. “No, but he’s a good horse. . .a great horse,” he hesitated then added. “They’ll catch him if they can.”
“But, maybe they didn’t,” said Sean. “Maybe he’s out there wandering around looking for you.”
Nathan didn’t exactly glare at them like the Professor, but it was close.
Reece looked down at Bear. “One time our dog got away from the kennel, and he tried to come home. Maybe Scottie will do the same thing. Do horses try to go home if they get loose?”
“Of course they do! You should know that, but he isn’t here, is he.” Nathan continued to look into the distance, but this time his eyes searched. Squaring his shoulders and narrowing his eyes, he took command. “Now, I don’t want to hear any more talk about leaving on your own. We’ve got to get this back to camp. Now, start pushing the cart, and let’s go!” He picked up the canteen and walked to the far side of the cart then shoved it under the sacks.
The children looked at each other then Sean said in a low voice. “What did Mama say about the man who fixed our furnace?”
Reece thought a few seconds. “She said he was a ‘reasonable man to work with’.” They both turned to look at Nathan then she added. “Maybe people are different if they think somebody is chasing them.”
“What are we going to do?” asked Sean, but the planner turned her head slowly scanning the open area with nervous eyes.
Fear is very contagious, and Reece was falling under its spell. When Nathan picked up the tongue of the cart, she walked behind it and began to push.
Sean fell into step with his sister and allowed the weight of his body to press against the back of the cart.
It took half a dozen pushes and pulls, but the three finally got the wheels out of the rut and moving forward.
Bear looked in the direction of the woods, whined for a few seconds, then lowered his head and followed the children.
Nathan led them down a dirt road that seemed to go on forever. Dust kicked up in their faces. What was it with all this dirt? Didn’t anybody believe in paving roads around here?
Reece gave her brother a crooked smile. “It’ll be all right, Seanie,” she said calling him by a name she hadn’t used in three years. “We’ll get Nathan to where he needs to be then we’ll go home and have our cookies. He’s very sad and nervous, so we can help him for a little while.”
“Ok,” said Sean doubtf
ully then added. “So, you think everything will be all right?”
Reece nodded her head several times as her smile got even brighter. Worse yet, she patted him on the shoulder.
Sean stared at his sister as her eyes continued to scan the open ground behind them. She was worried, and he’d never seen his sister really worried before. But, more than worried, she was trying to act as though she wasn’t worried at all. And, that really worried him.
The Door Into Time Page 21
