New Beginnings A Fresh Start
Ch. 53:
Irrepressible Imps
Saturday morning, Ethan is awakened by two young boys bouncing on either side of him in the bed. "Boys? What are you doing? It's not daylight yet, why're you in my room?"
"It's SATURDAY. You said we're going to town early this morning and you are going to buy us birthday things." Ben answers while George confirms "You told us last night to wake you up early, remember?"
"I said wake me up after you finished your chores. Are those finished?" Ethan asks in a mock stern voice.
"Umm, well no, we haven't been able to start as we still aren't allowed to light a lantern without supervision and nobody will get up." Ben answers for his brother.
"We would do the chores Papa but we can't see in the dark as the kittens can." George contributes.
"Papa, don't you think eleven is old enough to light the lantern without anyone with me?" Ben asks
"I'll allow you to begin lighting the tin lanterns now, Ben. I don't want you lighting the glass chimney lamps though. Those chimneys break so easily. However, you must light them on the porch not inside the barn, agreed? You have been taught the safety instructions, remember them."
"I will and George will too. Thanks Papa!"
"You are quite welcome. Now you two, go get coats and boots on. I'll meet you outside in just a minute or two. I need a cup of coffee then I'll help with chores. Afterwards we'll go to town for a special breakfast before shopping. How does that idea sound?"
"I like that idea. Let's go get dressed for outside, Ben." George announces scrambling off the side of the high bed.
"I really must remember to make a lock for this door. With Delphie coming, we need privacy." Ethan thinks as the two energetic children dash out of the room.
Coming out of his room, Ben sees his sister standing at the stove ready to begin breakfast.
"Claire! Don't crack any colored eggs, remember? Those are for the party. Pa, George and I are going to town for breakfast so we don't need you to cook for us."
"I won't use the colored eggs, Ben. My how special! A breakfast in town just with Pa. I won't be making apple pancakes then. I had in mind to try to use applesauce to make them. Well, you enjoy your restaurant breakfast."
"Apple pancakes? With little ears and eyes and a smile?" Ben asks, hesitating before going out to the barn.
"Those were the ones I had planned."
"I love apple pancakes. Maybe we should have breakfast here."
"I'll make them for you another time, Ben. I promise. Pa wants to treat you to a birthday breakfast. Hurry and get your barn chores finished so you can get on to town."
Pouring the last filled can of oats into the trough in the back of Lucky's stall, Ben calls "I'm finished. I did my stalls, fed and checked the water for my horses. Are you done George?"
"I am almost done. I'm just finishing spreading the hay in Betsy's stall. What of the eggs, though? We have to gather them."
"I'll go start, you come when you finish. Hurry! I'm already hungry and we have yet to get to town!"
"Maybe Papa is done with the chores for the new group of horses by now." George replies as Ben scampers out of the barn.
Riding next to Ethan on the wagon seat, Ben asks him "Can I hold the reins and drive? I'm eleven now. You let Joseph drive when he was eleven, he said so."
"Ben, you make it sound as if I haven't ever let you drive now that you are the same age as Joseph when he began. You've been eleven for how long now, one day?" Ethan asks with a smirk.
"Five days! I've been eleven five days and George has been ten for two already. We're big kids now. Can I drive?"
"May I, and yes you may both have a turn, slide over and sit on my legs."
"But I wasn't wanting to sit on you, we always do it that way. I wanted to drive on my own."
"Ben, that isn't going to happen until you are at least twelve or even thirteen. The same as it was with Joseph. You need to be taller and stronger to hold the reins alone. Now, do you want to drive?"
"No, thank you. I'll just ride." Ben answers before turning to his brother. "What are you having for breakfast? I want sausage, pancakes and some of their special cinnamon rolls, Rob said Alex told him about."
"I want to see what waffle is like. Mama said she had waffle one time and I want to know what it tastes like. I don't even know what waffle is but I want to try it. Do they have waffle at the hotel, Papa?"
"I don't know George. We'll have to ask and find out. I do believe that it's called 'waffles' and it's similar to a pancake. Would you like to drive the wagon?"
"No thank you, Papa. The horses are too strong for me and might run on me. I'll let you drive."
"What's our special surprise Papa?" Ben asks having tried as hard as he could not to ask but needing to know.
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"YES!" Both boys say at the same time.
"We're meeting your Mama after breakfast and she's coming along. We're going to buy each of you a pair of boots just like Rob, Joseph and I wear."
"YAY! Working man pointy toe boots! No more round toe kid boots that have to be put on over shoes! " Ben cheers enthusiastically.
"Oh, Thank You Papa! May we wear them to school? The other boys do." George asks.
"You may wear them everywhere you'd like except to church. Sunday shoes will be worn to church, boys."
"Yes Papa."
"MAMA!" George greets Delphie as the three 'men' walk into the clinic. Chuckling to himself at his son's enthusiasm, he still chides "George, you don't shout inside a building."
"Yessir. I'm sorry. Hi, Mama. We're going to buy boots! Real boots, not little boy boots!" George babbles as he bounces in place.
"Splendid news, George. Hello Ethan and Ben. I'm all ready so let's head out. Before we go to the Tannery, I'd like to stop at Mr. Hiram's store. I have a special purchase to make for two birthday boys."
"US?" Ben asks, not quite sure if she means he and George.
"Well, I don't know. Did you just have a birthday? Both of you?" Delphie asks stooping down to look at both boys at once.
"We did. Our party is after lunch, remember? We colored eggs night before last with you. We used onion skins, tea and beet juice remember? That was for our birthday party." George answers wondering if his new Mama was having memory problems already. Ben must have been wondering the same as he asks "Papa? Is Mama having old people remembering problems already? I heard of that. People get old and can't remember things they should remember."
Before Ethan can even begin the scolding she sees him getting ready to administer, Delphie laughs delightedly. "No you two imps, I'm not having any problems with my memory. I was just teasing you. Now I need two handsome boys one ten and one eleven to escort me to Mr. Hiram's General Store. Are you available by any chance?"
"Yes Ma'am! Come on Papa, we're taking Mama to the store. You can come too." Ben announces much to Delphie's amusement.
"Why, thank you Ben. Such a well mannered boy at times." Ethan replies after catching Delphie's twinkling eyes.
"Hello Sheriff, Miss. Delphie, boys. Come to shop, have you? Mr. Cord, Rob was a different young man after our talk. He came by my room last evening and sincerely apologized for his actions. He promised to put forth his best effort as well. I think your persuasive methods work."
Listening to the man, Ben pipes up "Rob will be good for you because he wants to be allowed to see friends. He doesn't want another whipping either."
"BENJAMIN CORD! That is private business and you know it. We're here to do your looking around so do that and keep out of trouble!" Ethan scolds stooping down to give his recently turned eleven year old a firm no nonsense eye to eye look.
Recognizing the warning tone and the look, Ben nods quickly, adding "Yes Sir, I apologize sir." to keep from having his Pa dole out swats right in front of everyone.
"Come with me Ben, George. Let's see what you find that you wish to have for your gifts."
"Delphie?" Ethan petitions, then adds when she looks at him "Please, stay within fifty cents total. That's plenty for them both. No more than that please."
(A/N / .25 cents is equal to about $6.00 each in today's value)
"Whatever you wish. I do want to buy something special though. I have many birthdays to make up for."
"Not necessary. Just let them each pick up to twenty five cents and that's enough. You can do more at Christmas if you must. They have enough gifts what with myself, Joseph and Claire plus what Rob gave them. Agreed? We used to do one gift each from the entire family but somewhere in the last few years it's branched out. It's a little much in my opinion. Will you agree to limiting it to a twenty five cent piece each, please?"
"Yes, I will if that's what you wish. Now, let me go catch up with the boys as they seem to have disappeared on us." Delphie answers, sighing in resignation.
"Well, what have you boys found that has you so captivated?" Delphie asks as she comes upon the two boys staring at the wall.
"Look up there, Mama. Do you see that brand new squirrel gun? The sign says for boys ages eight to twelve. We're both way over eight now." Ben tells her.
"Yes you are but the gun is out of bounds isn't it? Don't I remember your Papa saying just the other night that you have to be twelve or older in order to shoot a gun?"
"But why would someone make guns for boys age eight if it isn't alright to have one?" Ben asks looking from his Mama back to the shining silver and dark wood gun.
"Because people want to sell things, Ben. They'll do whatever it takes to sell something, no matter what. Remember that man last Fall who tried to cheat me at the Harvest Day celebration?"
"We won't be buying the gun, Ben. You have twenty five cents each to spend and the gun is two dollars. Let's go look and see what else you find." Delphie replies, taking the boys by the hands to walk them away from the display of guns.
"Mama, do we have enough for this? I don't see a tag on it." George asks showing her a set of bow and arrows.
"Well, if you want to go in together and buy it you could have enough. It's forty five cents. There's a sign right over here on the side."
"Do you want to, Ben? We could share it. there's six arrows. We'd have five cents left to buy something else."
"Yes, I suppose so. I was going to get some candy and some of those new wax colors you can draw with but we won't have enough money now. What're they called again, George?"
"They're called crayons. Yes, I like that idea. Mama, could we have this set and get a box of crayons, please? The crayons are five cents a box." George tells Delphie.
"Wait, if we didn't get the box of crayons, we'd have money for candy." Ben whispers to his brother.
"Each of you will get a box of your own, Ben. I'll make sure you get a bag of candy too." Delphie whispers just as the boys were doing causing both to grin happily.
At the candy counter a few minutes later, Ben tells Mr. Hiram in a rather bossy tone of voice. "I want a scoop of chocolate babies, one of mixed gumdrops and four scoops of broken crackers in another bag." Ben decides to add a "Please sir." after seeing the reproving frown on the teacher's face. Remembering how the man got Rob in trouble by informing on him, Ben decides it's best to show good manners.
"That will be five cents worth." Mr. Hiram replies eyeing the boy to see if he has the money.
"Yes sir. My Mama will pay you. George, your turn."
"I would like one half scoop of chocolate babies, a half scoop of lemon drops, one scoop of peppermint drops, seven red and seven black licorice whips and two scoops of broken candy sticks, please sir." George tells his request for each item carefully, waiting for each request to be filled before asking for the next. Unlike Ben who orders it all in one long demanding sentence.
"Thank you sir." George says as the two bags are handed to him.
"You are welcome, young man. Thank you for using excellent manners and for patiently waiting while I filled your order. You could teach a few ladies patience, Happy Birthday. I heard it's your birthday today."
"Thank you but my birthday was two days ago. I just turned ten and Ben turned eleven on Tuesday. We're having a birthday party today though."
Really, well you two enjoy yourselves. I never had parties as a child so you are lucky boys. Now Ma'am, would you like to settle the bill or charge it?" Mr. Hiram addresses Delphie.
"I'll settle now, please. We have the two boxes of crayons and this bow and arrow set. Then we have the price of the treats."
"They each ordered five cents of treats, the bow and arrow set is forty five cents, the crayons five cents a box with two boxes, so the total would be sixty five cents."
"Excellent. Here's a fifty cent piece and the dime makes it sixty plus the five cent piece is sixty five. Thank you sir. Let's go find your Pa, boys. He's gotten lost because he wandered off. We'll have to scold him about that wandering away he does, won't we?" Delphie asks as she ushers the two happy boys out of the store.
Catching up to Ethan as he leaves the Sheriff's office, Ben announces "Papa, Mama said she was going to scold you for wandering away. You might have to stand in the corner tonight! You left us without even telling where you were going."
"Yes, I did, didn't I? I apologize boys. I saw someone enter the office that I needed to speak with. Now, what's in all these bags? Delphie, I thought we agreed, this has to be more than fifty cents worth of purchases."
"The boys have treats to share with their friends at the party plus some for themselves. They also agreed on one gift to share plus one small thing for each. That's very good negotiating isn't it Ethan?"
"Hmm, I suppose it is." Ethan replies shaking his head at her going around his wishes. "Let's go measure and get those boots, boys. We need to head home and help get things ready for your party."
Happily examing his new black boots with white stitching, Ben grins at his brother. "I like the boots you chose, George. The tan with the black stitching was my second favorite."
"I like yours too. Black is one good color for boots."
"Yes, but maybe I should have picked dark brown. That color wouldn't show mud and horse shit as much." Ben answers dropping his voice to quietly whisper "horse shit" causing his brother to smother the giggles.
"Ben, George, come greet your guests! Alyssa and Aaron are here as well as the Blackstock children." Ethan calls to the boys in their bedroom.
"He didn't hear me, did he?" Ben asks silently with a panicked look to his brother.
"No, he'd be in here warming your bare behind if he did." George answers. "Don't say it again or you'll slip and say it where someone else can hear, okay?"
"Yes. Let's go out."
"Alright children, you stay outside and play until all the guests arrive. We'll have the cake then." Ethan tells the group assembled at the front door.
"Come on, let's go see the Pirate Ship my brother made us." George calls leading the group on a race to the treehouse.
"Well they certainly have much energy don't they." Delphie exclaims watching the kids race after George.
"Much more than I do, I tell you that. Now, if you'll sit at the table, I need to have Rob speak with you. Please listen and then if you have anything you'd like to say, tell him after he finishes. This is necessary. He isn't going to be allowed to get by with speaking to you the way he did." Ethan stops her protest with his final sentence.
Facing his future stepmother, Rob licks his lips and after a quick sideways glance at his frowning father, begins. "I am sincerely sorry for how I spoke the other day. I shouldn't have raised my voice to you, Delphie. I shouldn't have blamed you for what I did, either. I apologize and I won't be doing that again. Thank you for trying to negotiate a better punishment for me also. Pa told me you interceded on my behalf and that made me even more ashamed of my behavior. I will do my best not to confuse you with the woman who was in my first Pa's life when my Ma died. She wanted to send me away and was cruel to me when Pa wasn't around. It was because of her that I wound up living with my Uncle Vernon at around George's age. After that I saw my Pa about every two years. I will do my best to remember you are not here to cause me or the boys problems. Will you forgive me, please?"
"I will most definitely forgive you Rob. I want only to offer friendship to you. I know you are past the age to need a mother but I'm here to listen and advise if I can. I only want to be your friend not your parent. Ethan is your parent. I hope you will allow us to be friends and don't mind that I mother the younger boys some."
"I will happily accept your offer for friendship. Joseph and the boys will be happy to accept you as a mother. Especially the little guys who really don't remember their own Ma. Claire and Joseph, they remember though and it might be hard for them to have a new Ma."
"Claire and I are just going to have a friendship, similar to you and I. Joseph, well we haven't talked so I'm not sure what our relationship will be." Delphie replies.
Speaking for the first time since Rob entered the room, Ethan tells her "You will be considered the boy's parent as well as myself. You are to be treated as such by Joseph, Ben and George. They are to obey you and respect your word as final just as they do me. I've already discussed this with them. Now, let's go check on the children as I believe we have a party to begin. Joseph most likely would like to be freed from babysitting for a few minutes. With Claire in town, he's not happy about having to watch the young ones."
"I'll help watch them, Pa. Joseph and I will hide the egg nests while the kids eat. Then they can hunt for them while we watch. Building those nests was more difficult than I thought. It's hard to weave dried lily leaves, Delphie. We had to build little boxes to line with straw instead. I hope that's alright." Rob contributes to the discussion.
"Yes, whatever you need to do to have something for the eggs to lay in, is fine. Now when you do hide the nests, put them in places you remember. The children may not find them all and you'll want to get those eggs before they start to smell."
"We'll remember but we're not planning to make the nests that difficult to find either. Do you want me to go get the kids?"
"No Robert. I'll gather the wild ones and while you help Delphie set the table." Ethan replies.
As he closes the front door, Rob says mostly to himself, "He is still peeved with me, it seems. I wonder if it will take the whole two months for him to care for me again."
"Two months? Rob, what do you mean?" Delphie asks handing him the stack of plates to pass around.
"He restricted me to the ranch for two months and he's still using my formal name, Robert instead of Rob. That's a sign he's still mad about what went on. I don't know what else to do to make it up to him."
"Two months! That is an excessive restriction in my opinion. I'll work him down to less time. You watch and see if I don't. A young man needs time in the spring to court his lady. Here, put these two cakes one on each end. Ben requested chocolate and George, white cake with the white frosting. Ben does love chocolate, doesn't he?"
"Yes' m, he really does. Delphie? Please don't worry Pa about my restriction. I don't want him to think I asked you to do something about it."
"He won't even know we discussed it. I hear the children, be ready to sing the birthday song with me."
As the door opens and the children all file in much quieter than she would expect, Delphie breaks into "Happy Birthday" finishing with "Happy Birthday Ben and George, Happy Birthday to You!". Joseph, coming in last has special lines to add "Happy Birthday dear pesky little brothers. From your greatest brother of all, Happy Birthday to you."
"Thanks Mama, Thanks Rob and Joseph, Rob is the greatest brother of all." Ben teases back causing Joseph to act as if he's been stabbed in the heart, staggering across the room and collapsing in a chair. This delightful exhibition causes the children to clap and giggle.
"Your brother is a real actor." Timmy tells George.
"He's a silly one, 'tis true. Now do you want some vanilla cake or chocolate cake?"
After the children enjoy slices of cake and each has a choice of two pieces of candy from the boy's candy bags, Ethan tells them to put their plates in the sink.
"Now when you have put your plate up, come gather around in the front room. We have some instructions for today."
"First and most important is to follow all instructions. We are here to have fun and it won't be fun if someone is standing in a corner instead. Understand?"
"Yes sir." The children reply as Matt, Delphie and the older boys listen in.
"Second, stay with your partner on the egg hunt. No wandering off. The nests with the eggs are not past the big oak tree so there will be no reason to move out into the woods."
"Third, we have wild horses on our ranch at this time. They are in the far pasture. You may look at them if you wish from behind the pasture fence but DO NOT go into the pasture or try to touch them. They are unpredictable."
"Fourth, keep yourself and your friends from harm by playing safely. Does everyone understand the rules?"
"Yes Sheriff Cord, Yes sir." The children answer once more.
"Very well then, there are twenty small nest boxes with eggs hidden between the barn and the big oak. Choose a partner and go hunt them. The team that finds the most eggs wins first pick of what to play next. Alright, choose partners."
After the kids are all paired up, Rob takes charge. "Alright as Pa said, there are twenty nest boxes with each having at least one colored egg. You'll see them as they are reddish, tan and brown and are in wooden nest boxes. They are hidden well though so you'll have to really look. Bring me the nest boxes please and keep one for your eggs. Ready? ONE! TWO! THREE, GO!"
"Rob, next time wait until they get outside to count and release them, please. They nearly beheaded me on the mad rush to the door." Matt complains jokingly.
"So sorry, I'll watch it. Let me get with them before they disappear on me." Rob returns with a smile.
"NO PEPPER! You can't eat the eggs!" Ben complains as he and Aaron find a nest but the dog swallows one egg whole.
"Pepper, Go HOME!" Rob admonishes pointing back to the house. Watching the droopy eared dog obey with his tail between his legs, Aaron says "Maybe we should have let him stay. He looks so sad."
"He'll get to play with you on the next game and he'll be fine. It may not be good for him to eat the shells with the eggs. How many eggs have you found?" Rob asks.
"With the one Pepper just ate, we have four eggs. Can't we count the one he ate?" Ben asks as Rob says "That would be three not four."
"No, you have to be able to see the eggs so you have three. Keep looking, there are twelve more eggs to find in nests." Rob replies as he hears Joseph call from a distance "Caleb and George found two more!"
"Make that ten more to find then." he says as Alyssa and Lauren run past each holding a nest box.
"The girls are finding more than we are!" Ben complains.
"Then stop complaining and keep looking, Ben." Rob answers walking away.
Gathered back in the front of the house, the children all admire the colored eggs. "We found the most! George and I did. We found eight eggs!" Caleb announces happily.
"Well we came in second with six." Jackson replies nodding to Timmy.
"I thought the girls would win because they were ahead for a while." Ben tells his friends.
"We couldn't find any more after we passed by you. Five is all we could find." Alyssa tells him. "How did you get the colors on the eggs?" Amalee asks from beside Alyssa.
"Mama dyed them with tea for the dark ones, onion skins for the tan and beet juice for the reddish ones were other things she used. We boiled the eggs in the colors. They're really pretty aren't they? If we had blueberries yet we could have maybe had blue eggs." George tells her.
"Or strawberries for bright red ones." Caleb adds before asking "May I go use the W.C. or do I have to go down to the outhouse? My boots are kinda muddy to be going inside."
"You can go inside, just be sure to wipe your feet good on the straw mat. We'll take turns. You go first and then the girls can go. We can go play on the pirate ship afterwards." George responds.
"Can you show us the kittens your Pa and brother brought home?" Timmy asks.
"They're out in the barn for today. We can see them when we finish our turns to go inside." Ben answers as George leaves to ask for something to drink for the children.
"I want to go see the new horses too. Let's do that after we do the pirate ship." Jackson informs the group. Not replying to that, Ben says, "Girls, your turn to go in. All of you can go in together if you want to and just wait inside."
"Thanks for hurrying Caleb." Alyssa says as she, Lauren and Amalee go up the steps. Passing through the front of the house, Alyssa hears Matt ask "George, is Caleb behaving politely today?"
"Yes sir. He's been very nice to be with today, Uncle Matt. He and I were partners and he's been fun to be with today. I like the new Caleb."
"Thank you for telling me. He promised he'd be well behaved so I was just checking to see if he was keeping his promise."
"Come on kiddo, let's get the drinks out to the thirsty troop. We've used every jar and cup we have." Joseph tells his brother.
"Since Caleb and I won the egg contest we decided to go play on the Pirate Ship for the next activity, Joseph. We're going to see the kittens first though. You and Rob don't have to play a game with us. You can go in and do something you want to do." George tells him as they walk out with the trays with a lemonade pitcher and tin cups or glass jars to drink from.
"Thank you George but Pa said we have to supervise so we'll be nearby if you need us. I will not be disobeying Pa and I'm sure Rob won't be either."
"It's too bad Derek, Ryan and Tom couldn't come. This is a fun party!" Caleb tells George and Aaron as they climb into the lookout tower of the ship."
"Yes, Tom's Pa said he had to help with the field work today and the other two guys, well their Ma got sick so they stayed home to watch their baby sister." George tells his friends.
"I'm glad I don't have a baby sister. Alyssa is hard enough to look after. Caleb when your Mama has your baby, will you be looking after it?" Aaron asks.
"What are you talking about? What baby?" Caleb asks suspiciously.
"You didn't know? Aunt Linnea is getting a new baby. I hope my new Mama will get a baby soon, too. I want a little brother so I can be the big brother finally. What do you want Caleb?" George asks his shocked cousin.
"You have to have been married months before a new baby comes so maybe by next Halloween since your Mama and Pa will get married this June." Aaron says sharing his knowledge importantly as Caleb stares at them quietly.
"Fellas. I, uhm, need to go inside. I'll be back in a few minutes." Caleb says climbing down and running off towards the house.
"George?" Rob calls having seen Caleb run past in tears.
"Yes?"
"Come down here."
"What Rob?" George asks irritated at being called away from his friends.
"What happened with Caleb? He just ran by and was crying. Did someone say or do something? Caleb never cries."
"Well, not on purpose but Aaron let out the secret that Aunt Linnea is going to get a baby. He didn't know that Caleb didn't know."
"What?" Rob asks not following that last part.
"Aaron didn't know that Caleb didn't know they were getting a new baby! Listen to me, I just said that!"
"Watch yourself, George. I'll pop your backside 'til it smarts even if it is your party day, if you sass me again! Go play."
Inside, Caleb is tearfully asking "Pa? Is Mama having another baby?"
Taking the boy into his arms and having him sit on his lap, Matt answers "Yes son, we are going to have a baby join the family. It won't be for a long time though. You'll be back in school again after the summer before the baby comes. Don't you think having a baby around will mean we don't love you, though. Your Mama and I have so much love that we can love you, Sarah, Elisha and then have more left over for another child too. You are going to make a wonderful big brother, Caleb. Just like Joseph and Rob are to Ben and George. Do you think that might be nice?"
"Why didn't anyone tell me, though? Why did Aaron and George and everyone know and I didn't? Are you planning to send me away and keep the new baby?"
"Send you away? Of course not. Families have babies all the time and keep the children they already have. We are hoping to have more babies after this one and we'll need you to help us care for them." Matt answers.
"You just want me to be the babysitter then! You don't want me for me!" Caleb yells before rushing back outside.
As Matt stands to follow him, Ethan says "Wait Matt. Give him time to calm down and then talk to him again. You said all the right things it's just a shock to him. Give him time to think it over."
Watching Caleb run past once again, Rob calls "Caleb? Come talk to me."
"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!" the boy calls back as he runs straight to the pasture with the new horses.
"JOSEPH! We have to go get him. He's upset and who knows what he might do." Rob calls to his brother grooming Betsy outside the barn.
Dropping the brush and following Rob, the two older boys see Caleb crawl through the rails of the fence.
"CALEB! NO! COME BACK HERE!" Rob yells as the child walks straight into the middle of the group of untamed horses. Then seeing the other children preparing to follow Caleb, he says "Every single child better stay on that ship!"
"PA! UNCLE MATT! COME QUICKLY! CALEB IS IN WITH THE NEW HORSES!" Joseph yells having turned to run for help.
Just as the two men clear the steps running, they see one of the stallions rear catching Caleb on the head with his hoof. Watching helplessly, Matt sees the boy collapse on the ground just as Rob jumps down from the top of the fence shouting.
Reaching the fence, the men see Rob waving his arms as he shoos the horses away from the child.
"Caleb! PLEASE GOD! Talk to me, son." Matt calls climbing through the rails instead of over them.
"He's out cold Uncle Matt but he's breathing. The horse must not have really struck him as there's no marks on his head." Rob tells the men as they reach him.
******Well, we end the chapter here. Yes, I know. I'm cruel leaving you all hanging to see what happens next. :-) It will be a New Year's gift when we meet again. This is your Christmas gift to enjoy. To all who have been with me and to all the new readers this year, Merry Christmas from Jasper and me. See you all in 2018. :-)
