Across the Border (5 page)

The heat continued without a break, but the work went on as usual. Fresh vegetables and fruit were canned to replenish the root cellar, and almost everyone took part in the job. The men and Ethan gathered a fresh supply each morning while the ground was still wet with dew. Simon and Will were set to stringing beans, shelling peas, cutting tops from beets and carrots, and stripping the outer leaves from the cabbages. Frances and Alice washed, cut up, and peeled bushels of everything, while Polly and Manda supervised the cooking and canning. It was a never-ending job.

“We ain't even started the butcherin' yet.” Polly wiped her face with a wet towel and sat at the table for a minute. “We got a lot of meat to put down.”

Manda nodded. “I'm thinking we'll make a quantity of jerky to take on the trip. It's a long way, and ice won't keep more than a few days.”

“That'll do for gettin' there, but it won't hold us all winter and however much longer we stay.”

“I'm not worrying about that. I told Chad that I wasn't planning to lug a year's worth of food across the country. We'll live like the people there and eat what they eat.”

“Hmmph.” Polly was skeptical. “And what might that be?”

“I don't rightly know, but just about everyone in the world eats bread and meat and vegetables. I daresay we'll find something that looks familiar.”

“Probably a whole lot that ain't, too.” Polly sniffed. “I'm gettin' past the age of making a good pioneer.”

The family was glad when Saturday evening arrived and they could turn their attention to getting ready for church. Baths were dealt with quickly. The men and boys elected to carry soap and towels to the creek, thus taking care of six people at one time. It was a cooler group that gathered on the porch to enjoy the end of the day. Simon and Will had energy left to chase fireflies and put them in a jar that Polly provided.

“Do you suppose we can get enough in here to be able to read by?” Simon asked.

“You might have a little trouble getting 'em all to turn on at the same time,” Luke joked. Then he said more soberly, “And they won't live long without air.”

“We better let them go, Will,” Simon decided. “They look prettier flying around anyway.”

“What's that funny noise coming from the trees?” Alice asked.

“Cicadas,” Chad answered.

They listened to the high-pitched sound for a minute.

“Are they birds?” Simon asked.

“No, they're insects. They only hatch every seventeen years. We haven't heard them since we've been here.”

“The Bible calls them locusts,” Manda said. “God sent a plague of them to Egypt so that Pharaoh would let the children of Israel leave the country.”

“Did Pharaoh let them go?” Simon asked.

“He said he would, but he didn't. The locusts didn't stay long, but they ruined the land while they were there.”

Simon frowned. “I hope the cicadas don't do that to us.”

“They can be pesky and fly into your face,” Luke said, “but they ain't likely to clean us out. I wouldn't worry about it.”

Sunday was another hot, clear day. Early in the morning, the family prepared to leave for Winner to spend the day. Picnic baskets were stowed in the wagon, and Luke took the reins to drive to church.

“Feels good to be out and able to get around again,” Luke declared. “The service'll mean a lot more to me than it did before I got sick.”

They rode briskly down the road between the fields of corn. “It'll be shoulder high in a couple of weeks, if this weather keeps up,” Chad remarked. He surveyed his crops with pleasure. “I'll be back in time for harvest.”

“The Lord willin',” Polly added.

“Yes, the Lord willing,” Chad said.

“Aren't we going to have a farm in Mexico, Papa?” Simon asked.

“Not exactly. Remember I told you that we were planning to sell the land? First we'll drill for oil. The folks from the big companies will buy the land if we find oil.”

“It won't be as pretty as our fields, will it?” Alice said.

“No, it won't,” Manda answered for Chad. “Nothing is as pretty as these green leaves and sprouts of corn.” She glanced at her husband. “We'll all miss it.”

Chad remained silent for the rest of the trip to Winner, and the children wisely said nothing more about Mexico.

The small church was crowded with worshippers, and after the service it seemed that everyone pounded Luke on the back and welcomed his return after so many weeks.

“I hear you folks are joining the caravan to Mexico,” the minister said. “That's a pretty long trip. Staying a year, are you?”

“We plan to,” Chad replied. “I've filed on several sections, and it'll take that long to see whether it's going to be profitable.”

“Taking a chance, aren't you? What if your claim is a pile of rocks that won't even grow cactus?”

“Don't think it will be,” Chad replied. “We have to take the land agent's word for it, but if he tries to hoodwink all of us, he'll be in big trouble.”

Dr. Flynn wandered over while the ladies were putting out the dinner. “I happen to know that this is the best food around,” he said. “Polly sure got you back on your feet, didn't she, Luke?”

Luke happily agreed that this was so, and Polly looked pleased. “Go along with you, Doc. You just saw this berry cobbler and thought you'd get a piece of it. Why don't you and the missus join us for dinner?”

“We'd be happy to do that. I think Elaine is already over here talking to Frances.”

He sat down with the men, and they were soon discussing the crops and the upcoming trip to Mexico.

“You're leaving your place in good hands, Chad,” Dr. Flynn said. “Henry and Amelia are capable young people, and her brothers are good workers. We'll miss all of you, especially on Sunday when Frances isn't here to play the organ. You have a wonderful family. Make sure you don't lose any of them in Mexico.”

Ethan was sitting with some of the older boys. They were talking about Mexico too.

“You're lucky, Ethan. I wish I could travel like that.” Sam Goode sighed. “I'll spend the rest of my life on the farm and maybe get to town on the Fourth of July.”

“You come in to church every Sunday, Sam.”

“I don't count that as going to town. This is the only thing I see.” Sam gestured at the woods surrounding the little church on three sides and then out across the prairie they were facing. “Hey!” he exclaimed suddenly. “Look at the dark clouds coming in! Do you suppose it's going to hail the way it did three years ago?”

The boys stood and watched the black clouds come closer. The men stopped talking and walked to the edge of the churchyard. Very soon the sun was covered, and the bright day had turned to dusk.

Mothers gathered their children and headed for the church. “Hurry and get inside! We're going to have a downpour!”

“Them ain't rain clouds. We'd best take shelter,” one of the older settlers declared. He headed for the building, and Ethan and the others followed quickly. As many as could crowded around the windows to watch the ominous blackness approach. There was silence in the church. Even the small children watched wide-eyed while objects like pebbles hit the panes of glass, and the room was darkened.

Simon tugged at his father's coat. “What is it, Papa?”

“Cicadas. They're migrating.”

One by one the men turned from the windows and slumped onto the benches.

“They'll be past us soon,” said one. “We can go on home and start over.”

“Too late for corn, but mayhap we can get some late wheat,” said another.

“We'll share what they didn't get. Sometimes they only cut a swath a mile or so wide.”

A solemn group headed for home late that afternoon. As far as they could see on either side of the road, the prairie grass had been stripped to the ground. When they reached the outer boundaries of the farm, their worst fears were realized. The corn was gone. Not one blade of green remained. It was as if some giant mower had moved through while they were away and flattened everything in its path.

“Where did it all go?” Will asked. “What happened?”

“The grasshoppers ate it,” Ethan told him.

“Did God send us a plague like he did Pharaoh?” Alice looked frightened.

“No,” Chad said, “they're just doing what's natural for them. When it's been hot and dry for a long time, they migrate from one part of the country to another. They travel in big swarms like those we saw today, and they eat everything in their path.”

Henry and Amelia joined the others at home. Polly prepared supper, but her heart wasn't in it. “All the food we saved is what grows underground or what we already canned. Nobody's gonna starve, but this is one desolate-looking place. Looks worse than it did when we came.”

“It'll look brand new again by the time you get back here,” Henry told her. “This won't happen two years in a row. We'll replant whatever we can right away.”