by Risner, Fay
Aunt Tootie kept watch at the living room window. Just before eleven, she announced the sheriff and fire chief had arrived. Half and hour later, she related the sheriff and fire chief were headed to the house.
Aunt Tootie opened the door.
“Morning, ma'am,” the sheriff said. “Would it be possible to talk to Nurse Hal a minute?”
“She isn't feeling well and is supposed to stay quiet,” Aunt Tootie declared.
“It's all right, Aunt Tootie. I can talk to them,” Hal said.
“All right, you can come in.” Aunt Tootie begrudgingly stepped out of the way.
Chief Miller nodded. “Glad you're going to be all right, Nurse Hal. You gave everyone quite a scare.”
Sheriff Dawson said, “You got quite a wallop on the head I hear.”
“Feels like it for sure,” Hal replied.
“We won't disturb you long. We just wondered if you could tell us anything about what happened in the barn,” Sheriff Dawson said.
“Not a thing. I was ready to leave. Last thing I remember I reached for the lantern and felt like my head exploded,” Hal said. “Have any leads?”
“No. I hate to tell you this, but clearly, you were meant to burn in the barn. Otherwise, the arsonist would have let you go outside before he set the fire,” the sheriff said. “You made anyone mad lately?”
“Nah, but maybe the arsonist was anxious to get away, and he didn't want to wait for me to leave. He might have been afraid I'd see him. He was working under cover of that dense fog. If it lifted, he might have been afraid if he waited much longer someone would see him out on the road,” Hal reasoned.
“You could be right,” Charlie Miller agreed. “We best get out of here and let you rest.”
“Feel better soon,” Sheriff Dawson said.
Noah rode in from going to the school to talk to Emma. He ran up the porch steps and stuck his head in the door. “You doing all recht, Mama Hal?”
“Jah, just a little swimmy headed yet. I can't stand up for very long, and even if I could, your mammi and aendi won't let me,” Hal grumbled to him.
“I told Emma you had been in the hospital. She is going to come over to visit this afternoon,” Noah said. “Now I have to get to the barn and help.”
When John, Jim and the boys came in for lunch, they were blackened by soot and ashes.
Hal opened her eyes when they banged the screen door.
Redbird and Beth frowned from the quilt on the floor where they were playing with a set of toy dishes.
Redbird scolded, “Shhh! Mama sleep.”
“Sorry, Redbird,” John said quietly. He turned to Jim, nodding at Redbird as he grinned. “I think we have another Emma on our hands.”
Hal rolled over toward them, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “John, how you coming with clean up?”
“Gute, it won't take much longer. The fire was put out before it could do much damage.”
Hal gasped. “I forgot to ask. How's my milk goat?”
“Jumping out of the pen this morning more times than we could count,” Noah commented.
“Sure enough, she followed us around while we cleaned the barn even when we did not want her to,” Daniel said.
“In the way and a nuisance for sure,” John summed up dryly.
“Can't Gano be put in the pasture with the sheep now? That will probably satisfy her,” Hal suggested.
Noah said, “I think that is a gute idea for this afternoon. The time has come for the goat to get to know the sheep flock.”
“Mama Hal, we have bad news,” Daniel stated glumly. The person who hit you on the head killed Tom Turkey. He must have tried to protect you and fought with the man.”
“Fudge! That's awful,” Hal cried. “I am so sorry, boys. We will certainly miss Tom, ain't so?”
John said, “If we had found the turkey in time, we could have butchered him, but by this morning, he was already stiff.”
“Daed, we could not eat Tom,” Noah cried.
“Nah, we could not,” Daniel agreed with a fast shake of his head.
“John, that was not a very gute idea,” scolded Hal.
“Jah, I forgot for a moment he was everybody's pet. You might as well carry him off to the timber for the coyotes to find,” John said to the boys.
Daniel's shoulders sagged. Noah's lips tightened as he stared at the floor. Hal could tell John's second plan for the deceased pet wasn't any better received than the first one. The boys didn't want to let the coyotes eat Tom.
“I have a better idea. Would you like to bury Tom in the walnut grove by Patches, say a prayer over him and put a cross on his grave?” Hal asked.
Nora listened at the kitchen doorway. “Sounds like a good idea to me. What do you think, John?”
Noah and Daniel perked up, waiting for John to agree. “If the boys want to do that, it is all recht with me. Tom Turkey has earned his way around here as a watch dog. He deserves a nice burial for protecting Hal when the arsonist killed him. He should have a proper burial. That what you want for Tom, boys?”
“Jah,” they said in unison and started for the front door.
“Tom Turkey should have a proper send off. We all got a kick out of him. Can Mammi and I come?” Jim asked.
“Sure enough,” Noah said. “Come on, Daniel. We'll get the shovel.”
“Wait a minute,” Jim said. “I think the funeral could wait until after lunch. You might have your grandma and aunt after you with a wooden spoon if you don't eat first.”
“We wish you could go with us, Mama Hal,” Daniel said.
“I wish I could, too,” Hal replied wistfully.
“Oh, no, she's not getting up for at least another day,” Nora protested.
Hal winked at Daniel. “You heard your mammi. I'll say a prayer for Tom from here and visit his grave as soon as I feel up to it.”
While they milked that evening Noah said, “Daed, we are going to take the dog through the timber by Bender Creek this evening. We plan on stopping in on that party.”
“Are you really sure you want to do this?” John frowned.
“We are now,” Daniel said. “After what happened to Mama Hal and Tom, we want to find the fire setter as bad as everyone else does. He is dangerous.”
“You're right about that, Daniel,” Jim said. Your Mama Hal is lucky she survived that blow on her head and to not be burned alive with the barn. That makes me worry about you boys getting hurt by the same man if you find out who he is.”
“You have to be careful,” John cautioned.
“We will, Daed,” Noah agreed.
After supper, Noah and Daniel put Biscuit on a leash and walked across the pasture to the timber along Bender Creek. A boom box, cranked up to the max, blasted them with music long before they arrived at the clearing.
Albert Jostle swaggered over to meet them. He shouted to be heard over the music. “I thought you said you did not want to come to the party.”
Noah shook his head. “Nah, I said we had not thought about coming. We decided to run our coon dog in Bender timber to get him used to trailing again.”
“We heard the music and stopped in,” Daniel added.
“Come on. You might like the party well enough to hang around,” Albert said loudly.
When Daniel tugged on Biscuit's rope, the dog stiffened his legs and drug his feet. He didn't want to go with them. “Come on, boy. We will not stay long,” Daniel whispered in his ear.
Biscuit whined as he flopped down in the dried leaves. He put his front paws over his ears. The music hurt his ears, and he didn't want any closer.
“Tie him to a bush. We can come back to get him,” Noah said.
“I cannot say I blame the dog. The music is too loud. The mood Biscuit is in he might bite someone,” Daniel joked.
When they caught up with Albert, he said to the others, “Look who is here to join us.”
Teenage boys and their girlfriends looked up to see who Albert was talking about.
Noah
and Daniel knew the Plain part of the group. Some of the strangers were English. The ones they did know waved a greeting. That was easier than trying to speak from a distance which would be drowned out by the loud music anyway.
Albert sat down by a black haired, girl in a tank top and skinny jeans. He gave her a lascivious smile as he rubbed her thigh. “This girl's mine for the night, but I might could pry a couple of girls away from my two brothers if you want them.”
Noah shook his head. “Denki, but nah. Next time, we will bring our own dates.”
“What can I offer you boys to drink? The keg is over there.” He wiggled a finger at a gooseberry bush with the keg by it. He picked up a half full bottle of clear liquid and said with a slur, “I have vodka here. Using orange juice in it tonight.”
“We are not used to the hard stuff. Got any pop?” Noah asked.
“Sure enough, it is Rueban Rogies's night to furnish the pop in that cooler by him,” Albert said, pouring vodka in a glass. He reached in a paper sack and pulled out a small bottle of Tropicana orange juice, screwed off the cap and emptied it into his glass.
Daniel grabbed the back of Noah's arm and nodded.
Noah whispered, “I see.” He said to Albert, “We will go get the pop. Denki.”
When they approached Rueban, he rose to his knees and took the lid off the cooler. “You looking for the pop?”
“Sure enough,” Noah said, taking a mountain dew and handing Daniel one. “How much do we owe you?”
“A buck a piece,” Rueban said.
Noah slipped two one dollar bills out of his trouser pocket while Daniel checked out the teenagers in the clearing. “It looks like you had a gute turn out.”
“Anyone new to you show up lately?” Noah asked.
Rueban shook his head. “Nah, same old crowd all summer.”
After an hour and a half of wandering from couple to couple, Noah said, “We better get back to Biscuit.”
They stopped by Albert and his girlfriend long enough to say they were leaving. Noah excused he didn't want their dog to get restless. He might untie himself and run off.
Albert slurred, “I hope you had a gute time. You are wilcom to come again.”
Noah stuffed his hands in his trouser pockets. “Denki, but it is not safe to be out here with that arsonist roaming around setting fires all the time.”
“I do not fear that person,” Albert bragged.
“That so? Why not?” Daniel asked.
Albert shrugged.
“You know who the guy is?” Noah asked.
“Nah,” Albert elongated and belched. “Do you?”
“Nah, that is why he scares us,” Noah said. “We will run our dog through the timber as we head for home. See you soon.”
It was some time after midnight. The stars were fading, and the quarter moon sank low enough to be hidden by the tree line.
I wish I had not over slept. I meant to be home by now, but it is not much farther to the Weber Sisters house if I keep moving. Those women have to be stopped from luring English into the Plain community to eat with them. Getting close to the English gives Plain people ideas that take them away from the Ordnung. I'll set fire to the house and head for home. Wish I could move faster, but I cannot stand the pain. Not tonight.
The golden draft horse walked at an easy pace on the country road along Bender Creek. He shied sideways at the Bender timber line when he heard the throbbing sounds of the teenage party slice through the trees.
“Easy, Jack. I did not know there would be such a wicked gathering here tonight. I will change my plan to teach those that have strayed from the faith a lesson. I can get an earlier start next time to visit the Weber sisters.”
Once the horse turned around in the direction he came from, his ears perked up. Alerted to the smell of kerosene spilling from juice bottles into the grass and dried leaves under the trees, he tensed. The horse realized what was to come next now that he had been through this procedure several times.
The raspy scratch of a match head ignited it into a flame when the head was rubbed against the sandpaper side of the box. A flick of the wrist landed the match in the kerosene spill. The flame flickered and took hold, spreading fire through the spill. Smoke boiled up as fire consumed the leaves and grass.
A nudge of a knee in the draft horse's ribs made him move away. A pull on the reins stopped him again for a repeat of another spill and ignited match.
The first fire was taking hold, spreading and creating a cloud of smoke as it licked at the trees. The next fire would soon catch up.
Now I will go home.
Albert left his girl long enough to stagger past the underbrush to take a leak. He sniffed the air. As fast as he could scrambled on his leaden feet, he ran back into the clearing, crying, “Fire!”. The others weren't paying any attention to him. He dived for the boom box and turned it off. “Smoke! The timber is on fire. Quick, get out of here.”
Noah and Daniel heard the excitement in Albert's voice while Daniel untied the dog. They turned to see him come out of the brush and looked where he pointed.
“Odd he should see that fire right now after we talked to him about the arsonist,” Noah said.
Daniel tugged on Noah's arm. “We need to get out of here. Fire will travel fast in this dry timber. We are on foot.”
The teenagers jumped into action, packing and closing coolers. They were soon running for buggies, horses and cars.
Noah said, “We can head for the phone shed and call the fire department.”
Albert heard him as he past the boys. “I have a cell phone. I can call.” He brought a phone out of his trouser pocket and made the call as he ran.
Sirens blared when Noah and Daniel were a mile from home. They made it safely to the road before the fire ate its way through the timber.
John waited up for them on the porch swing. His voice came out of the dark. “How did it go?”
“We watched Albert Jostle spike his vodka with a small bottle of Tropicana orange juice like has been found at the other fires,” Noah said. “I asked him if he had heard anything about the arsonist. I told him it did not seem like a gute idea to have a party with someone sneaking around setting fires.”
“Albert said he did not worry about the arsonist. We left and stopped to untie Biscuit from a gooseberry bush near the clearing. Next thing we knew Albert yelled the timber was on fire,” Daniel said.
John gasped. “What?”
“Albert came out of the bushes and told everyone to get out of the timber fast,” Noah said.
“Did everyone get out all right?” John asked.
“Jah, the breeze blew the smoke at the party so they had plenty of warning,” Daniel said.
“Did you call the fire department?”
“We said we would run for the phone shed. Albert Jostle said we did not have to do that. He has a cell phone,” Noah shared.
“Sure enough, you think Albert set the fire?” John asked.
“We did not see him do it, Daed? All we know is, he was bragging the arsonist did not scare him, and he is the first one who saw the fire,” Noah affirmed.
Chapter 8
The in between Sunday came and went quietly. Normally, the Lapp family might have gone visiting since they didn't have worship service. They, as well as everyone else in the Plain community, felt it was safer to stay home until the arsonist was caught. The next Sunday, when they had a worship service to attend, the whole Plain community would be there no matter what.
Hal was happy to spend the quiet day at home with her parents and aunt. She knew she wouldn't have them around much longer. Besides, she continued to have a nagging headache that subsided only when she remembered to take Tylenol.
Gano continued to be a headache in the making for John and the boys. The milk goat seemed to like the sheep, and the flock liked her which was a good thing. It was just that Gano liked people better. She jumped over the pasture fence as soon as she heard voices in the yard or barn. The goat was a soft
footed escape artist. She'd slipped up on members of the family and bit into their shirt or apron. The goat pulled backward before they knew she was close, almost knocking them off their feet.
Aunt Tootie had just about quit going outside by herself. Between the rooster bristling up at everyone and the goat trailing them, she decided it was safer to be house bound.
On Monday morning, John decided to donate a load of hay bales so early that morning, Jim and he dropped bales from the loft to Noah and Daniel on a hay wagon. John climbed on top a stack of bales that reached to the rafter and handed the bales down to Jim. John's foot sank into a hole between the bales. To keep from falling, he grabbed the rafter. His fingers pushed something off in front of him, and it landed by his feet. John picked the radio up and stared at it.
“What you got?” Jim asked.
“A radio,” John answered, holding it up.
Jim asked, “How do you reckon it got up there?”
“I do not know,” John said solemnly. “This could only be hidden by one or both of my sons. Both of them know this radio is not permitted by our Ordnung.”
From the wagon, David called, “Are you having trouble in the loft?”
Jim went to the window. “No, this old man just needed a rest. Another bale will be down quick like.” He balanced on the bales as he walked back to John. “We should keep the bales coming.”
“Jah, I will worry about this problem later. Jim, keep this to yourself about me finding this radio. It is just going to mysteriously disappear for right now,” John grinned.
“I understand,” Jim said, returning the grin.
That afternoon, the boys took turns staying with their pumpkins and squashes in the stand and taking the goat back to the pasture. Gano figured out where they were in a hurry and could be counted on to show up several times a day to say hello.
After supper, Daniel complained to Hal that he spent most of his day taking the goat back to the pasture.
John replied, “We now know why Rudy had the goat in that horse stall in his barn. It was the only place with high enough walls the goat could not jump over. If we had not showed up when we did, he would have sold that nuisance goat at the salebarn.”
