Kid, Ruth, and the children were ready to go before their traveling companions were. Apparently the Wilkersons weren't used to making early starts to their day.
"It'll be awhile before we take off. Francis is in low spirits." Permelia informed them, and from the way she said low spirits, it was a regular occurrence.
Ruth glanced at Kid, wondering if the man was hungover. He had acted a little strange, but it hadn't seemed to stem from intoxication to her. Kid would know better about that kind of thing though.
He saw the question in her eyes and shrugged to show he didn't know what it was either. Perhaps it was nothing but an artist's temperament.
They used the time to study the lines while Permelia watched the kids although they would have preferred to be heading towards fresh water.
By 10:00, Francis was ready. No smiles though and he had a barely audible voice so different from last night.
Fresh water was closer than the map had showed or their estimate of where they were at had been a little off. For they came upon fresh water by late afternoon.
Ruth couldn't have been more relieved when she saw the stream. It was no wonder to her then that the Lord called Himself the fountain of living waters. As a girl, she'd taken the value of having fresh water for granted as they'd never had to worry about drinking water, but out here one could never take water for granted and nothing satisfied like water to quench a terrible thirst.
Kid and Francis loaded the barrels with the fresh water.
The acting company stopped by the early evening. They didn't make good time traveling that was for sure. They all practiced again the scenes and play again. Francis couldn't praise Ruth's acting enough. Her piano playing was another story, but she'd told him not to expect much. He wasn't very thrilled with Kid's acting, but he muttered that it'd do.
Hamming it up was the preference of the day. Though Ruth 's humorous, silly side might not be the first thing a person noticed about her character, she had it in spades, and she was very physical and energetic, which lent itself to making exaggerated movements, funny or otherwise, second nature. It was a strong contrast to Kid's dry wit and stiff bearing that translated poorly to this kind of acting style. Ruth would have been perfect for the melodrama, but she got an escape because she could semi-play the piano.
And Ruth was also used to speaking to crowds, so she knew how to make her voice loud enough to be heard without yelling. Kid didn't and his voice was naturally low anyway, so Francis was constantly telling him to speak up.
Othello was the one they'd gotten memorized first and the one they were able to practice without the papers for it. Francis had them practice it last.
The scene started with a soliloquy from Othello and in the middle of his solo speech, it called for him to kiss Ruth.
"This is my kind of job where I'm required to kiss you," he whispered in her ear right before he tenderly kissed her lips.
Ruth resisted the urge to smile since she was supposed to be asleep.
"O, banish me, my lord, but kill me not!" Ruth begged Kid as Desdemona a few lines later.
"Down, strumpet!" he said, pushing her down onto the bench that served as a bed.
"Kill me tomorrow: let me live tonight!" She clasped her hands together dramatically.
" Nay, if you strive—" he began.
" But half an hour!"
" Being done, there is no pause," he said, moving closer and picking up the pillow.
"But while I say one prayer!" Ruth pleaded.
"It is too late." Ruth was so convincing, he almost felt a little guilty covering her face with the pillow. Of course, he didn't really hold it firmly against her mouth, but he felt like he was doing a pretty good job of making it look like it and he was wearing a look of anger. She put up a small struggle beautifully.
Mercy's scream pierced the air and then she broke out into a run. Permelia had been watching the children since she had no role in this one, keeping them entertained with a puppet show, but Mercy must have wanted to see what her parents were up to and had snuck away. She'd happened to choose a very inopportune moment.
Kid hurried after her and so did Ruth. They found her hiding behind the wagon with a tear-streaked face.
"It's okay," Kid said, his voice making her jump. "We were just playing a game. See? Your mother's alright."
Ruth reassured her daughter by hugging Kid. "He didn't hurt me. It was just for fun. You see we'll be telling stories to people for a little while and sometimes they might seem a little scary, but they're not real. Your daddy and I love each other."
They both felt bad that they hadn't explained it to her more beforehand, but she seemed to be calming down. He squatted down and brought Mercy onto his knee. "It's just pretend. No more real than the puppet show you were watching, I promise. You know I'd never hurt your mother, don't you?"
Mercy's auburn curls bobbed up and down in the affirmative, but nonetheless, she looked greatly relieved to hear it.
"Or you or your brother either. We haven't got to spend a lot of time together the past couple of days, have we? You know what? We'll call it quits for the night and tell you and your brother a not scary story after you both are ready for bed."
"A princess story, Daddy?" Mercy ventured hopefully, a grin on her face.
"I don't see why not," he said, relieved Mercy seemed to have put it behind her already. "Maybe Permelia will let us borrow some of her puppets for the story."
"Oh, boy! Oh, boy"! Mercy said, bouncing up and down on his knee with excitement.
"That certainly cured her in a hurry," Ruth said with a laugh.
