Morning Star (4 page)
Authors: Judith Plaxton
CHAPTER 9Flower
THE FAMILY
searched for
food as they prepared to cross the river. Berried bushes provided most of their
meals, the bread now long gone. Samuel caught two squirrels. He roasted them in
a pit at night so that the smoke would not be visible. Flower ate her share but
felt a pang of remorse, remembering the charm of the busy little animal she had
admired just three days before.
As they sat with their shared meal, Flower tried
not to look in Samuel's direction. If his bandage rag slipped away, she would
catch a glimpse of his grisly wound.
“Not much meat on a squirrel,” Samuel said.
“Yes, next time catch us a bear.” Sometimes
Flower's father joked to make people feel better. He was rewarded with a rare
smile from Samuel.
After their meager dinner, they walked to the water
to wash the food from their hands. Cleo looked with foreboding at the dark water
flowing by. “Not one of us is able to swim.”
“The raft is coming along.”
“It's taking a long time.”
“No. It's going well. Stop fussing, woman!”
“I'm not fussing. I'm just worried.”
“Worry is a waste of time.” Eldon embraced his wife
and patted her back affectionately. “Find us some more vines, and we'll get back
to work.”
Flower watched her parents and wanted to be
included in their hug, wanted to run over and place herself between them, as she
used to do when she was little. Instead, she squeezed her brother, who rewarded
her with a wet kiss on her cheek.
Samuel dragged another log as they walked to the
sheltered cove. He was not as strong as her father, who pulled the logs along
with ease. Eldon helped him place it alongside the others.
“We have six of almost equal length.”
“Six more would make it right.”
“If only we had an axe.”
“There would be noise then, and someone would hear
us.”
They all turned briefly to look over their
shoulders, a nervous reflex. Eldon regarded the small craft. “It's starting to
look seaworthy.”
“As if we knew what we were doing,” added Samuel.
“You should be proud,” Cleo said. “You've never
made anything like this before.”
Flower looked down at the rectangle of logs with
less respectful eyes. To her, it just looked like a jumble of mismatched trees,
barely held together with vines, not capable of carrying them anywhere,
especially across the river. “I'm not going to get on that.”
Her father gave her a stern look. “You'll do what
you're told when the time comes.”
At the plantation they'd escaped from, they had
spent their lives doing what they were told. Flower recognized that at least her
father was giving orders for her own safety, not to work her to exhaustion. Her
thoughts returned to Aunty. Flower hoped she wasn't being given extra chores now
that they were gone and not able to share the daily labor.
Gabriel began to whimper and held out his arms to
his mother, who lifted him into hers. “I'll feed him, and then we should be
bedding down. The sun will soon make things bright.”
“I'm hungry too,” said Flower.
“Have some more berries and a sip of water, then
settle in.”
“I want bread.”
“You know there isn't any. Hush now, child.” Cleo
took her daughter's hand, and together they started for their shelter. Eldon and
Samuel began to lay leafy branches over the raft to hide it.
Suddenly, they heard a dog barking. Even the baby
lifted his head. Another bark, then two dogs together, perhaps more. They
sounded far away, but they were moving. Samuel began to moan.
Eldon looked at the water. “It's time.”
“How can we? It's not finished.” Samuel hung his
head. “It's too late.”
“Hurry now! It's our only chance!”
Samuel started to moan again. “Oh, Lord⦔
Eldon grabbed the other man by the shoulders and
said, “The Lord helps those who help themselves. Remember?”
“I'm so afraid.”
“Come on. Let's get going.”
They uncovered the raft and returned to the task of
lashing the remaining logs together. The vines were in a heap. Flower reached
into the tangle, handed the shoots to her father and Samuel as fast as she
could. The men tugged and twisted, weaving the lumber together, making the joins
as tight as possible. Cleo sat and nursed Gabriel, murmuring to him to try to
block out the yowling of the approaching animals.
Soon they could hear men's voices, as well as the
pack of dogs. Eldon and Samuel eased the raft into the river and helped the
others huddle in the center of it. Both men stepped aboard, each with a long
pole. Together they planted them against the ground and pushed off into the
current.
CHAPTER 11Felicia
AT THE END
of the first week of school, the three girls talked Felicia into coming with them to the stable.
“You can watch us ride.”
“Or, you can ride yourself.”
“No. She can't without taking a lesson.”
“Do you want to have a lesson?” asked Dodie.
“Umâ¦I don't know. I have to talk to my mom.”
“Let Felicia see what it's like. Maybe she'll hate the place.”
Dodie laughed. “Are you kidding? She'll love it.”
Felicia wasn't so sure. Horses were big animals. What if she got in the way and one accidentally stepped on her foot? And couldn't horses sense when you were nervous? What if she got on one and it didn't behave and decided all on its own to gallop into town with her still in the saddle? She didn't want to be seen as the clumsy “city slicker” who didn't know her way around a barn.
“We all love it,” enthused Sophie.
“It's so much fun,” added Renate.
“Okay,” said Felicia. “I'll come.”
The barn was located on the edge of town, a thirty-minute walk from the school. Felicia followed the girls inside to a large tack room. She looked around at saddles on brackets and reins neatly strapped together hanging from hooks while the other girls changed into riding clothes. They zippered chaps over their pants, then lugged the gear out into the corridor between the stalls.
“So far, you all look like Wonder Woman.”
“The saddles aren't that heavy. Here, try one.”
Felicia picked up a saddle and sank almost to her knees, pretending to collapse with the weight. She replaced it on a post as the girls laughed at her theatrics.
“Now for the best part,” said Renate.
“What?”
“We go and get our horses.”
“From where?”
“The field. Come with us.” She picked up a halter and lead rope.
Felicia trailed behind the girls and watched as they persuaded their horses to accept the halter. Dodie's horse was the only one to resist. Every time she approached him, he wandered away.
“This calls for severe measures,” said Dodie.
“What are you going to do?” asked Felicia.
“Bribe him.” Dodie lifted a peppermint from her pocket. “Look what I have, Cecil.” The horse ambled over, lowered his head for the treat, and Dodie slipped on the halter.
Back in the barn, Felicia watched the girls prepare their mounts for the lesson. As they strapped on their helmets, their teacher arrived.
“What's keeping you all? We could have started five minutes ago.”
“Cecil took forever.”
“Too much visiting, I think.”
“Francine, this is Felicia. She's come to watch us today.” Renate made the introduction.
“Hello, Felicia, and welcome. You want to watch the lesson? The best place to do that is over there.”
Felicia sat on an old kitchen chair at one end of the arena and watched the action from behind a barrier. By the middle of the lesson, she stood and leaned against the top board as her new friends trotted along the sides of the enclosure. Felicia enjoyed the sound of hooves thumping and leather saddles creaking.
“Aren't they finished yet?”
Felicia recognized the voices behind her. These were the whisperers from the back of the class. “Hi.”
They were slender and attractive. Felicia knew the taller, prettier one was called Ashley. She couldn't remember the name of the other one. Their riding attire looked expensive. Ashley wore cream-colored jodhpurs that tapered into long, glossy boots. Neither girl said hello.
Felicia turned back to the lesson, still listening to their conversation as she watched the activity in the arena.
“Do you think Renate will ever figure out where her heels are?”
“She has all those stupid curls sticking out under her helmet.”
“Look at Dodo's braids flapping all over the place.”
“Then there's poor Sophie's complexion. She must have a million freckles.”
“That's what happens when you stay out in the sun too long, and you have carrot-red hair and pasty skin.”
“Yeah. Or else you get a really dark tan.”
Their remarks degenerated into giggles. Felicia stood like a soldier, her back rigid with contempt. If only she could think of some witty, scathing remark, put them in their place, let them feel what it's like to be hurt. But she remained silent.
The lesson ended, and the riders led their horses back into the barn.
Ashley said to Felicia, “Are you helping out today?”
“No, just watching.”
“You should stick around, see some real riding.”
This girl was too much. “But that would be really boring.”
Ashley glared at Felicia, “You don't know⦔
Francine interrupted. “Ashley! Cynthia! What are you doing just standing around? Why aren't your horses tacked up? I've got things to do if you don't.”
Felicia was glad to see the two girls herded back into the barn by their instructor, who continued to chastise them the whole way.
CHAPTER 11Flower
THE LITTLE RAFT
scraped the bottom of the river when the men stepped aboard. Eldon hopped
off, pushed the craft into deeper water, and climbed back on. It briefly sank
sideways with the additional weight but stayed afloat. Water swirled across the
surface. Cleo and Flower knelt in the middle, Gabriel shrieking between them.
Eldon and Samuel stood at opposite corners, using their long poles to push
farther out into the middle of the river.
The two men struggled to maintain their balance as
the raft dipped and bobbed and turned in circles. Cleo gripped her infant and
held fast to the wood beneath her with her other hand. Flower wanted to cling to
her mother, but instead dug her fingers deep between two lengths of log.
Cleo said, “Hold on, daughter, hold on! Don't let
go!”
The two men tried to time the plunge of the poles
into the water, saying “heave!” with each attempt.
Now they could hear triumphant shouts. Three men on
horseback called out across the water. “Come back in the name of the law!” A
pack of hounds bayed and barked, running back and forth along the shore. Some
plunged into the water.
“Ha! Will you look at that? A whole bunch of
them.”
“The more the merrier. More money for us.”
“Come back here! Don't make us come and get you.
You'll regret it.”
Eldon tried to override the threats with his own
voice of encouragement. “Keep going! Keep tryingâwe must keep trying!”
They had almost managed to reach the middle of the
river. The water was deeper; their poles no longer touched bottom but moved
uselessly, banging against the little craft. Samuel tried to plunge his pole
down to the river bottom, lost his balance, and dropped the pole into the river.
He watched it float away, then crumpled in a heap of despair.
“We're done for.”
Eldon tried to use his pole as a paddle, but it was
too thin. He groaned with the effort of directing the raft. They had reached a
bend in the river where the current slowed, delaying their progress and sending
them back in the wrong direction.
The men on shore yelled, “Try and get away, will
you? Think you know how to make a boat? Hah!”
“We can just set ourselves down here real
comfortable and wait for them to wash back up on shore.”
The dogs barked with increasing hysteria. A few of
them started swimming out to the raft. The men laughed harder. “Go get 'em!
Bring 'em in for us!”
The dogs were getting close. Flower could see their
snarling jaws. She imagined one sinking its teeth into her leg and pulling her
into the water, dragging her back to disaster.
Her father shouted to Samuel. “Get in the water.
It's our only chance.”
“I can't swim!”
“Nor can I. We can hold on and kick our legs.”
“But⦔
“Now!” Eldon leaped into the water and, after a
brief moment, so did Samuel. They clung to one side of the raft and kicked hard
with their feet. The raft was lighter without their weight and moved
forward.
“Don't go drowning now! We don't want our wages
reduced!” The men jeered at first, but as the raft moved slowly away from them
toward the opposite shore, their laughter stopped.
“Damn! They're getting away!”
“Get back here if you know what's good for
you!”
“You're making things worse for yourself!”
Their voices became fainter. There was silence,
then a blast of firearms. Gunshots danced on the surface, but far behind them.
“Get down!” Eldon's warning was unnecessary. Cleo
lay on top of Gabriel.
Flower turned to look at her father and Samuel, but
only their fingers were visible, clinging to the edge. She could hear their
labored breathing. “Pa,” she said. He didn't answer.
The gunfire stopped. The sound of barking dogs grew
fainter. Cleo raised her head. “The far shoreâwe're almost there! Husband, take
heart! We're almost there.”
Samuel said, “Thank heavens.” Water poured into his
mouth, and he started to choke and spit.
Eldon tried to touch bottom but it was still too
deep. “Keep going,” he said.
Cleo and Flower clung to the wet logs, touched
their foreheads together with relief.
No one saw the rock. The sudden force of the impact
shattered the raft into pieces. Flower didn't have time to cry out. She flew up
into the air, then into icy blackness, her mouth and nose filling with water.
Her skirt billowed about her, clinging to her legs, weighing her down.
Instinctively, she thrashed her arms and legs and tried to bring her face to the
surface, but it was too hard. She began to sink.