“I’m sorry,” I said to him. “This is Rachel Zook, my friend, and I have to go with her for a little bit. I’ll see you later, okay?”
The corner of his mouth began to twitch, and he put his right hand up in front of him, as though he wanted to wave.
I ran with Rachel out of the willows and toward the pasture, glancing back as we crawled over the picket fence. Elton was still fooling with my camera the last I saw him.
Rachel started talking. “Mam and Dat went to some doings at the bishop’s. Levi says it’s about Ben Fisher, but we can’t be sure. Anyhow, Levi wants us to go over our spying plans one more time before tonight, while no one’s home.”
“Good idea.” I matched my stride to hers. “Maybe Ben’ll repent at the meeting and you won’t have to worry.”
“For his sake, I hope so.” She cast a furtive glance my way; her lower lip trembled. “Shunning’s the last thing a body wants.”
By the time we ran up the barn ramp and into the hayloft, I was gasping for air. I dove into the sweet, sweet hay, my heart pounding in my ears.
“We probably don’t have more than an hour before everyone gets back home,” Levi explained. He closed and latched the heavy double doors, making the loft darker and more secretive. Then he began rehearsing our plans from yesterday. “Maybe we should practice hiding at our lookouts.”
“Yes, let’s!” Rachel shouted with glee as though this were a game.
Levi tweaked a piece of straw and put it in his mouth. “Okay, we’ll have a practice. Everyone pretend it’s dusk. Now…sneak into the barn and take your post quietly.” He lowered his voice. “Tonight when we all meet, Mam and Dat, Grossdawdy and Grossmutter will be in the house. They mustn’t know we are out here.”
At that moment, the tiny white kitten crept out of hiding, coming over to me. “How will you and Rachel be able to sneak out without your parents suspecting something?” I asked, picking up Lily White.
“We’ll think of a way,” Levi said. It struck me that he must’ve done some late-night sneaking before.
“Where’s the lasso?”
Levi smiled. “I have it all ready.” I knew better than to ask where. Amish boys were taught to model their fathers. And in Levi’s case, it was obvious that he’d picked up the influential, take-charge voice of Abe Zook.
“Don’t forget to whistle.” Rachel leaned back in the hay, resting her head on her hands.
“Can we practice now?” I asked.
“If you want to,” Levi said. “Just don’t whistle too loud.”
I puckered up my lips and forced the air gently through. Easy enough.
“Shhh!” Rachel cocked her head. “I hear something.”
Levi’s eyes were saucers. “Ach! What do ya hear?”
“I’m not sure. Sounds like a car.”
Levi shook his head. He was crouched in the middle of the hayloft. “No cars.”
“Listen!” Rachel insisted. I wondered who on earth would be driving a car onto Zooks’ property.
Levi dashed to the window in the gabled end of the upper level.
It was across from the hayloft on the opposite side of the barn. Levi’s courting buggy and farm equipment were kept there. He leaped up on his buggy, gazing out the window.
“See anything?” Rachel asked.
Levi shook his head. “Nothing’s out there. But we’re gonna be ready if Ben—or whoever it is—shows up come dusk.”
“Shouldn’t we have a signal besides a whistle?” I asked. “I mean, what if we see someone and freak out, and we’re too scared to pucker?”
Levi jumped off the buggy and ran alongside the wall as he made his way back to the hayloft. “If I see something, I’ll whistle. Then you distract him, Rachel, with your horse sounds.”
Rachel agreed, but this horse stuff was news to me. I’d never known Rachel to make horse sounds. Ever.
That’s the thing about friendship: someone’s always changing.
The spying rehearsal began. Rachel climbed up on a feed bin filled with loose hay—her post overlooking the field. Levi marched back to his window view of the house and yard. I settled down at my perch on a bale of hay, snuggling Lily White as I watched for intruders. The moment was soft and peaceful, and I took advantage of it by breathing in the pleasant aroma of horses and barn.
After a few minutes, Levi called to us. “Okay, time’s up. Good enough for now.”
He was jumping off his precious buggy when one of the horses below us began to whinny. Another horse, and another, joined in the chorus and the neighing grew to a terrifying pitch. I heard the unmistakable sound of horses kicking at the stalls, trying to escape. Lily White arched her back and let out an ear-piercing meow !
“What do ya hear, little lady?” I said as she leaped off my lap. Worried, I glanced around at the shadowy hayloft. Who was scaring the horses?
Levi whistled softly and I looked at him. For one eternal second our eyes locked in powerful recognition. This was no longer a practice run. This was the real thing!
Levi grabbed the rope and made a running leap. I knew what he was up to. He suspected someone was on the ground level irritating the livestock. Maybe Ben Fisher!
Clinging to the rope, Levi swung out past the loft, into the open area between the loft and the gabled end.
“See anything?” I peered over the edge.
Levi’s face turned white.
“Smell that?” Rachel whispered.
I sniffed the air. Gasoline fumes!
My stomach wrenched into a cold knot.
Chapter
14
Levi came flying back on the rope. “Get out of the barn! Fast!”
Then he did a frightful thing. Taking a running leap, Levi swung out over the second floor opening again and let go of the rope, disappearing below.
A half second later, he was shouting, “Fire! Fire! The barn is burning!”
I grabbed Rachel’s hand and ran toward the closed double barn doors. Halfway across the loft, Rachel stumbled and fell. “Hurry! Get up!” I pulled on her hand.
A ball of fire shot through a small opening in the loft floor. I screamed as the flames licked at her bare foot. Stunned, Rachel’s face turned beet red as she clutched her right foot. With my help, she managed to hop one-legged across the loft. We came to the locked double doors and I struggled with the latch.
Smoke from smoldering bales of hay burned my eyes. Frantically, I shoved on the heavy wooden latch.
Stuck!
I tried again and again, fear pulsing through me. Billowing smoke filled the barn as the fire spread.
I leaned hard against the latch. Finally, it popped opened. With one giant heave, I shoved the barn doors wide. “Thank you, Lord!”
I shouted, helping Rachel down the dirt ramp leading to the open field below. She hobbled on one leg, leaning hard against me. At last, we were safe—away from the burning barn.
Levi emerged out of the smoky ground level at the other end of the barn, sputtering and coughing as he led the mules out. Six beautiful horses followed. Working quickly, Levi secured the animals a safe distance away. By now the barn was sending up a spiral of raging black smoke.
“Rachel’s hurt!” I called, and Levi came running to inspect her blistered foot.
“It’s burnt but not too badly,” he said. “Get some cold water on it right away.” He patted her shoulder. Then with a hopeless glance at his father’s barn, he shook his head, wiping his sooty face. “I’ll go get help.”
“It’s useless,” Rachel said, still holding her red foot as she hobbled toward the outside pump well. “The ole barn’ll be gone in minutes.”
Levi ignored her comment and ran to the house.
“Where’s he going?” I asked.
“To ring the bell on the back porch,” she said. “It will bring help.”
I helped Rachel to the pump, then looked back at the blazing fire, thankful to be alive. That’s when I spotted the white kitten perched high on the barn’s windo
w ledge.
Lily White!
Without a second thought, I left Rachel and ran toward the bank of earth leading to the barn’s second story.
“No, Merry! Come back!” Rachel called. “It’s not safe!”
Peering inside, I could see the kitten. For some reason she’d chosen my lookout post. “Here, kitty, kitty,” I coaxed her with my best kitty-lovin’ voice. I had to get her out of there. Fast!
“Merry!” Rachel was hysterical. “Forget about the cat. Come back!”
For a split second I thought of leaving the kitten behind, but through the haze of smoke, I saw her tremble. I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t leave her to die a fiery death.
I eyeballed the distance between Lily White and myself, calculating the amount of time it would take. I could make it. I was sure of it…if I hurried.
“Merry!” Rachel wailed from the yard below. “Please don’t!”
Taking a deep breath, I darted into the loft. The air around me penetrated the pores of my skin like an instant sunburn as I made my way to the window. I thought my cheeks would melt as I climbed the bales of hay, stretching…reaching for the darling kitten.
Just when I thought my lungs would burst, I exhaled and took in a quick breath. Smoke! It burned my lungs and made me cough uncontrollably. My eyes teared up.
Zooks’ bell began to toll.
In a flash, I snatched the white furball off the ledge and slipped her into my button-down shirt. A spray of crackling fire exploded below as I crept around the wall side of the loft. At the opposite end, Levi’s courting buggy writhed and twisted in the blazing inferno. And for one second, I regretted never having taken a ride in it.
The heat made my scalp burn, but I kept going, making my way toward the open double doors. Lily White meowed and trembled inside my shirt. She dug her razor-claws through the T-shirt underneath and into my chest. The pain took my breath away, and I sucked in more dangerous smoke.
Suddenly, a wall of fire, like a volcanic eruption, spewed out of the opening below. I screamed as it rolled toward me, blocking my way of escape. I reeled back in terror.
My brain clouded up. I couldn’t decide which way to go. The heat…the fear paralyzed me.
Precious seconds ticked away.
Ding-a-dong! Ding-a-dong! Ding-a—
Zooks’ bell continued its dreadful tolling.
Was I going to die?
In one last desperate move, I yanked a tarp off a rusty old push mower and covered myself. The insulation made a difference, and I began to grope my way to the door.
Then something knocked me off balance. A white light went off in my head and I fell backward into the hay.
Lily White shook hard and I held her close. She was safe…riding in a courting buggy…Lily White…dressed in a white fur coat…on a hot day…too hot…
Fighting the haze in my mind, I heard a voice. Harsh. Grating. High-pitched. It mingled with the sound of a distant bell.
“Merr-ry-y!”
The voice rang out again. Like the Zooks’ bell, it tolled its message.
“Merr-ry-y!”
Like the monotonous ticking of a clock.
“Merr-ry-y!”
Part of me tried to step away from the blackness and survey the situation. And as if in a dream, that part of me recognized the voice.
It was his voice. The voice no one had ever heard. And it was coming closer!
I tried to rouse myself to answer his call. Afraid that I might never answer it. Ever again. Then, with every fiber of my being, I listened…
And heard nothing.
Chapter
15
I was vaguely aware of someone carrying me away from the heat. My arms dangled, legs flopped. The tarp slipped to the ground.
Welcome fresh air rushed over me. I coughed, almost choking. Seconds passed and I became aware of strong arms lifting me down to the ground. The cool blades of grass under my shirt made me shiver. I felt my eyelids flutter. Slowly, I opened them.
A cherubic face looked down at mine. An innocent face, with eyes full of pain.
“Elton?” I heard myself say.
He nodded and didn’t stop. Not until I reached up and touched his face. Most of his hair was gone. His beautiful blond hair had been singed off by the fire’s fury. In its place were burns and blisters. At that moment, even in spite of my terrible confusion, it all made sense. Elton had saved my life.
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you.”
Before he could respond, two men in white rushed over and had him lie down. In the midst of my fog, I heard them calling for two stretchers.
“He doesn’t talk,” I said softly as gentle hands inspected my body. But my words were too soft for anyone to hear, and there was no energy left in me to repeat them.
For the first time, I was aware of the crowd. I turned my head to see fire engines, police cars, and an ambulance. Huge plumes of black smoke billowed out over the area. Two paramedics placed me on a stretcher, and I felt myself being wafted through space toward an ambulance.
“Merry!” It was Levi’s voice. He was running alongside the stretcher, looking down at me, his straw hat gone. “What happened? I thought you were safe at the pump…with Rachel.”
“Don’t excite her,” one of the paramedics said. “She’s in shock.”
“Where’s Lily?” I muttered. But before Levi could answer, I was lifted into the ambulance. The doors closed and the shrill siren settled into the mosaic of patterns and sounds in my mind.
Questions came, but I was too weary, too dizzy, to ask them. I let my body relax as we sped away.
When I awoke, shadows played tricks with my vision. Where was I? The smell of antiseptic tickled my nose.
“Honeybunch?” It was Dad’s voice.
I opened my eyes again. Mom and Dad were leaning over my hospital bed. Dad held my hand. “Hello, baby,” he said.
I yawned, still wiped out from the ordeal.
“Feeling better?” Mom asked.
“I guess.” The words tiptoed out.
She smiled. “This isn’t an ideal way to get out of going to school, you know.”
Skip poked his head between them. “Welcome back, Mer. Heard you saved a cat.” He held up the white kitten for me to see.
“Lily,” I whispered, reaching for her.
Skip held her in his cupped hand. “She lost some hair, but she’ll be fine.”
Maybe it was the mention of hair, but suddenly I remembered. “Is Elton okay?”
Dad squeezed my hand. “He’s being treated for smoke inhalation and second-degree burns. He’ll be spending the night here, too.” He glanced at Skip. “Your brother told us more about your new friend.”
Even in spite of the haze in my brain, I knew that I could trust whatever Skip had said about Elton.
“He saved our baby’s life,” Mom cooed.
“Where is Elton?” I asked, trying to sit up.
“Two rooms down,” Dad said.
Skip piped up. “Yeah, and if you’re a good little Merry, tomorrow I’ll wheel you over to visit him.”
“Tomorrow?” I said, leaning back on the pillow. “What’s tomorrow?”
Mom smoothed my hair gently. “Tomorrow is Tuesday, pumpkin. The docs say you’ll be coming home then.”
I drifted in and out, hearing them, yet not hearing them…so much talk of the amazing thing Elton had done. Risking his life for me. Burns…guardian angels…a miraculous escape.
Their muffled voices rose and fell, then completely disappeared.
And I fell into a deep sleep.
Elton was sitting up in bed having breakfast the next day when Skip and I went to visit. I hadn’t needed a wheelchair like Skip suggested. I walked down the hall on my own just fine.
Elton wore a porous white bandage on his head. I could tell by the way he sat, straight and stiff, that he was in pain. Tears blurred my vision as I looked at his hands and forearms. They, too, had been wrapped with sterile nonstick dressing
s to protect his burns and keep the air out.
A plump, older woman stood over him, holding a cup of apple juice to his lips. “Hello there.” Her face broke into a wide smile as I came in.
Who is she? Then I noticed the striking resemblance between her and my friend.
“How’s Elton doing?” I asked.
“Oh, he’s doing just fine.” She tucked a handkerchief under the waistband of her gathered skirt. “I’m Winnie Keel, Elton’s grandma. And you must be Merry.” She extended her hand to shake mine.
“Call me Grandma Winnie.”
I turned to introduce Skip. “This is my brother, Skip.”
“How do you do, young man,” Grandma Winnie said cheerfully.
I inched closer to Elton’s hospital bed, which was cranked up too high. If I could just see his eyes…
“I…I’d like to talk to Elton,” I said hesitantly. “Is that okay?”
“Oh, no bother,” she said, lowering the bed a bit. Then, pulling her hankie out of its hiding place, she waved it, grinning from ear to ear.
When she and Skip had gone, Elton struggled to pick up his pen from the breakfast tray. He held it in midair, staring at it as though he wished he could click it.
“Here,” I said, reaching over and taking the pen. “Your hands are too hurt for that.” And I began clicking away.
On and off.
On…off.
I didn’t feel one bit silly about clicking Elton’s pen for him. In fact, I clicked it for about two minutes before I stopped. “I can’t remember if I thanked you last night,” I said.
He nodded.
“Everything’s so blurry from yesterday. Maybe you feel the same way.”
He seemed to understand as he nodded.
I thought about the fire and the way he’d called my name over and over. “I…I heard you, Elton. I heard your voice.”
He pursed his lips, forming what looked like the beginning of an M. He tried again—this time his face turned red with the effort.
But there was no sound in him.
“It’s all right,” I whispered.
He stared down at his breakfast tray, motionless. I looked at his head, wrapped in sterile bandages, and held my breath to keep from sobbing. Here sat a true friend. Elton had done a heroic deed for only one reason. Friendship. A powerful word for a kid who couldn’t say it. And even more special for a kid who’d never experienced it. Until now.
SummerHill Secrets, Volume 1 Page 16
