Flood Warning (5 page)
They had covered a lot of ground. A few times they met a car coming toward them. Each time, the car had pulled off to the side of the road to let the cows pass. Tom had waved thanks to the drivers.
They soon met up with other dairy cows making their way to the graveyard. If Tom hadn't been so tired, he would have laughed at the strange sight they made.
As he walked, Tom wondered how his dad and the other men were doing on the dykes. And when would Dad be able to join them?
Finally, they arrived at the graveyard. Tom led the cows up the hill to an empty patch of grass beside the rows of headstones. Mom drove the truck as far up the hill as she could, then parked.
Tom looked back down the hill toward the town and his family's farm. He could see the river in the distance, spreading past its normal banks. The water did not rush. It oozed and crept. The fields that he and Peggy had walked through that morning had been swallowed. Water licked around the houses. Ahead of the water, the road out of town was full of cows and vehicles making their way to the graveyard.
Tom left the cows grazing and headed down to help Mom unload the truck.
“We'll put the tent up over there,” Mom said. She pointed at a spot where several canvas tents had already been set up. “We've got to get those cows milked and the milk trucked away before the road closes.”
By the time all the work was done, the sun was beginning to set. Tom was exhausted. He slumped down on the ground beside their tent. Other tents had risen all around them. It was like a tent city full of bustling people.
“Here you go,” said a woman whose hair was tied back with a yellow kerchief. She held out a cup of steaming coffee to Mom and one to Tom as well. Tom didn't really like coffee, but he took it gratefully.
“Thank you,” Mom said with a tired smile. “It's been quite a day.”
“Yes,” said the woman with a tired smile of her own. “But with everyone working together, we'll get by.”
Mom nodded and sipped her coffee.
“The Red Cross is feeding everyone tonight,” the woman said. “So there's nothing to worry about.”
That is good news, Tom thought. But as he looked down toward the dark, silent water, he wondered how his dad and the other men were doing on the dykes. This time, he did not wish he could be there with them.
When Tom woke in the morning, there were three people in the tent. Dad had joined them during the night. Mom was already up and opening the tent flap for Amos to go out. She saw Tom was awake and put a finger to her lips.
“Let him sleep,” she whispered, nodding at Dad. “You and I can do the milking.”
A few minutes later, Tom was standing outside the tent looking around. A patch of hill was covered with tents. A huge crowd of cows mooed and munched grass beside the gravestones. Tom looked down the hill and out toward the farms. Brown water seemed to cover everything. Branches, bushes and fence posts floated on the surface. The roof of a chicken coop with a chicken still perched on it floated by. About the spot where the road used to be, someone was rowing a boat. The graveyard was now an island.
“Hey, Tom!”
Tom turned to see a boy waving at him from beside a tall headstone. It was Mike from his class at school.
“Do you want to play hide and seek?” Mike asked. Tom saw several other kids getting ready to hide among the gravestones.
“Sure!” Tom said. Then he remembered the cows. “After I help with milking,” he added.
Partway through the milking, Dad joined Tom and Mom. He had not shaved since the start of the flood. His clothes were rumpled and dirty.
“I hear you were a big help yesterday,” Dad said, resting a hand on Tom's shoulder. “I knew I could count on you.”
Tom wanted to shrug off his dad's praise. He wanted to tell him it was all in a day's work for the Lone Ranger. But he couldn't stop the smile that tugged at his mouth.
When the milking was finished, Dad put his hand on Tom's shoulder again.
“We might be here awhile,” Dad said. “Some of the adults are meeting to make plans for getting the milk to market and supplies delivered. Do you want to join us?”
Tom felt a warm bloom of pride in his chest. Finally, he was getting included in the important stuff. He paused as he heard laughter and saw two kids running through the graveyard, dodging headstones.
“Home free!” one of them called.
Tom thought of the long walk with the cows yesterday and all the extra work he had done. Even the Lone Ranger needed a break sometimes. He looked up at Dad.
“Is it all right if I go and play?” he asked.
“Sure,” Dad said with a grin. He ruffled Tom's hair with one big hand. “You've earned it.”
Tom and his parents stayed in the graveyard camp for almost three weeks. It took that long for the floodwater to finally sink and seep away.
When it was time to return home, Tom searched the graveyard for some long, tender shoots of grass that the cows hadn't already eaten. Dad laughed when Tom stuck the grass under Amos's collar and the cows started following Amos.
The walk home, however, was grim. Everything was covered with dark, stinking mud. The crops were ruined. Berry bushes and hop plants were dead. Dad said it would probably be awhile before they saw another rat or mouse.
Tom felt relieved when they herded the cows down their own driveway at last. He looked across the street to Peggy's house and wondered if she was back yet.
Tom and his parents had visited the farm the day before to assess the damage, repair fences and clean out the cow barn. Now, Tom opened the double gates to let the cows back into the field beside the barn. The sun was shining, and Dad said the ground would soon be dry.
“Let's have a break for lunch,” Mom suggested.
The three of them stood looking at the house. Luckily the ground the house was built on was slightly higher than the rest of the farm. But a dark water stain skirted the bottom of the house. They had all looked inside yesterday and seen the mud that coated the rooms on the first floor. Now, Mom and Dad didn't seem to want to go back in.
“I don't know where we can eat,” Mom said. She had packed them a lunch before leaving the graveyard camp. It would be a while before the kitchen would be clean enough for the furniture to be moved back downstairs. She looked around the farm at all the mud.
“We could sit in the truck,” Dad said.
Tom looked up at his bedroom window. The kitchen table was crowded into his bedroom with other pieces of furniture.
“Let's have a picnic inside,” Tom said. “We could all sit on my bed.”
Mom and Dad smiled.
“And later,” Tom said, “we can find the radio and listen to the Lone Ranger.”
Amos barked, as if in agreement.
Tom entered the house with his mom and dad. There was a lot of work ahead of them, but it was good to be home.
