The next morning, Johnny cooked breakfast for the two of them, and Charlie, with her usual, healthy appetite, ate three flapjacks,
and several pieces of bacon. Topped off with a large glass of milk. Teresa, tired from the evening before, was having a lazy morning in her
bedroom.
"You're a good cook," Charlie told Johnny.
"Thank ya, ma'm," Johnny said, with a grin, taking the seat across from her at the small kitchen table. "I can cook the basics. Nothin' fancy."
He took the seat at the small kitchen table across from Charlie. He forked two flapjacks for himself, and poured molasses over the top
of them.
Charlie licked a bit of maple syrup off the tip of one of her fingers. "Johnny?" she asked, tentatively.
"Hmmm?"
"Can I stay home today?"
Johnny met her eyes across the table.
"Ya seem to be feelin' fine," he observed, giving a nod at her now near-empty plate.
"I feel alright," Charlie admitted.
Johnny raised his eyebrow. "So it's just that you wanna stay home, huh?"
Charlie shrugged slightly. "It wouldn't hurt anything to miss a day."
Johnny held her gaze for a long moment, looking thoughtful. "I reckon it wouldn't hurt. On the other hand, will it help?"
"It would help me a lot-especially if you and me were to go fishin'," Charlie said, grinning at him.
Johnny looked amused, his eyes laughing. "I would really like to go fishin' with ya, pequeno. That sounds like an awfully nice
way to spend the day. But, I've got work to do. And, it's work that I can't put off."
"Oh," Charlie said, disappointed. She'd been hoping that she could convince Johnny.
"I know it's been rough on ya at school lately," Johnny went on. "I'm not gonna insist that ya go today."
"Scott wouldn't like it, though," Charlie said. "Do ya think?"
"Probably not," Johnny said, in honesty. "But, if ya need a day away that badly, then I'll tell him I gave ya permission to stay
home."
"You would?" Charlie asked, thinking what an out of the ordinary adult that Johnny was.
"I'd a lot rather play hooky with ya," Johnny said. He pushed his coffee cup away from his plate. "But, see, if I don't get the
work finished that needs doin', then I'd be lettin' Murdoch down."
"And, he might get real angry with you, huh?" Charlie said.
"I think he'd understand, alright." Johnny tilted his head slightly. "But, it would still let him down, when he's countin' on me."
Charlie studied Johnny for a long moment, and then she gave him a tilted head look of her own. "I know what you're doing," she
informed him.
"You do, huh?"
"Yes. You're telling me that so I understand that I have responsibility, too, about going to school, and not staying home just
'cause I want to," Charlie stated.
Johnny grinned. "I reckon you're right smart, pequeno."
Charlie sighed. "I'll go. But, it would be real fine with me if Miss Hummel decided to play hooky today."
Lancer
The closer that Charlie got to the school building, after she'd left her horse at the stable, the more she felt
like dragging her feet. She tried to give herself a talking to, about keeping positive. When she saw Rebecca and Jason
walking up from the other direction, she felt her spirits lift a bit.
"Morning," Rebecca greeted Charlie, squeezing her hand.
"Hi."
"I really wanted to stay home today," Rebecca said. "But my pa said no."
"I wanted to stay home, too," Charlie said.
"But Scott said you couldn't?" Rebecca guessed.
"Scott's out of town. Murdoch, too. It was just Johnny and me at home last night."
"And Johnny said you couldn't?" Rebecca asked.
"He didn't say that I couldn't." Charlie thought over her odd conversation from the breakfast table. "He said he wouldn't make me go-but
then he said some stuff about responsibility and holding up an end of the agreements and-" she paused, and shrugged. "I got the idea
that he wouldn't be very pleased with me if I'd stayed home just to avoid Miss Hummel." Charlie sighed. "And I don't want him to not be
pleased with me."
Rebecca squeezed her hand again. "He sure sounds nice."
Charlie felt proud, then. "He is."
They saw the teacher come out to prepare to ring the bell, and Charlie said, "Let's hurry. She'll say we're late, even if we
aren't."
Charlie set her mind to retaining positive thoughts. She was glad at the thought of one of the father's being present to observe. That would
keep Miss Hummel from her usual unkindness, Charlie figured. She would be too set on impressing whichever father was the day visitor.
Mr. Johnson was already there, sitting in a seat at the front of the school room, smoking a cigar. As the children began to file
inside, Charlie saw him tap the cigar against one of his boots, extinguishing it, and then putting the remainder back in his shirt pocket.
That struck Charlie as funny, and she didn't realize that she was smiling, until she saw, as she slid into her seat, Mr. Johnson
looking down at her, and he gave Charlie a wink.
Charlie guessed that he didn't think too badly of her, ever since she'd gone to their house to apologize to John last school term. Maybe, Charlie thought,
he respected those that could take responsibility for their actions.
In response to that friendly wink, Charlie smiled full-on at Mr. Johnson. It occurred to her that if Mr. Johnson was the father present for the day,
that must mean that John would be back to school. He hadn't been present since his altercation with Miss Hummel when he'd had his hand
all swollen. So, she looked for John, but his seat was empty still. Monte was in his seat, though, and he gave Charlie a jaunty salute
across the aisle.
Miss Hummel clapped her hands to settle the students into their seats. The morning began peacefully enough. The younger children
did their reciting, and then when it was time for the first group of older boys to do the same, Monte, Chester, Tommy and Jason stood, and began
taking turns reading.
Miss Hummel clapped her hands again, calling a halt to the reading.
"That is the incorrect page, Monte," the teacher said, sounding irritated. "We are five pages behind that."
"It's the readin' that ya assigned, teacher," Monte objected. He kept his tone from seeming rude, and sounded more confused.
"It is certainly not," Miss Hummle stated. "Look to-" she looked down at her own book. "Page 110. You are on page 115."
"Yes'm," Monte said. "Pages 115 to 120 were what you assigned to us yesterday."
Clearly agitated, yet still keeping her cool, Miss Hummel said, "Montgomery, look at the chalkboard-" and turned to gesture.
There, written in tidy script, were the words, 'Reading, Group 1, pages 115-120'.
Realizing now just what was happening, Charlie held her breath, waiting. All of the boys were standing, looking in supposed
respect at Miss Hummle. Charlie thought they all had possible future careers as actors. None of them were showing anything but innocent confusion.
Miss Hummel stood staring at those words on the chalkboard, and then turned to the class again after casting a swift look at
Mr. Johnson. Her face was beet red, and she said, in an attempt to appear casual, "Continue reading, Montgomery."
So Monte did continue reading. And then, all the other boys. Charlie felt the small victory against the teacher just as keenly as
the boys surely were.
After that, though she tried to appear unbothered, it seemed to Charlie that Miss Hummel was indeed bothered. Mr. Johnson stayed
silent during his observation, and left just before the children were sent outside to their lunch time.
Outside, the said group of boys were feeling their oats.
"We did it!" Tommy crowed with delight. "We put one over on ole Humbug!"
"We sure did!" Chester said, gleefully.
Monty, who was likely the 'brains' behind it all, grinned and was quiet.
Charlie, a bit surprised that Jason, who was usually so intent and never took part in any foolishness, had gone along with the prank, asked
Rebecca why. Rebecca replied that Jason hadn't known about the prank beforehand, and, though he wouldn't have gone along with it if he had, he
at the same time wasn't all that perturbed by it.
"What if they'd called on Jason to read first?" Charlie asked Monte. "He would have read the assignment she gave, not what you rewrote on the
chalkboard."
Monte shrugged in nonchalance. "I figured she'd call on me to read first, bein's as my pa was the one here today. She'd want to get on his
good side, put on a show for him."
"When did you sneak in to change the writing on the board?" Rebecca asked.
All of the culprits snickered at that. "It wasn't hard," Monte said. "She always goes outside to sweep the steps first thing-just slip in the
side door and-" he held out his hands in an expansive gesture, "There ya go!"
"What's that called again, Charlie?" Tommy asked. "When ya trick somebody into thinkin' somethin' that's not so?"
"Gas lighting," Charlie said.
"Yeah. That's what we did alright," Chester said, and after that the boys settled down to their eating.
The afternoon wasn't nearly as smooth as the morning time had been. Mr. Johnson returned to his own activities, and, without
a parent there to impress, Miss Hummel was not nearly as pleasant.
"I know there's tomfoolery going on in this classroom," she said, addressing the entire class of students.
Monte, ever the bravest, raised his hand.
Miss Hummle waved a hand as if at a pesky fly. Monte stubbornly kept his hand up, moving it about.
"What is it?" she snapped.
"I was wonderin' what tomfoolery meant," Monte said, looking entirely serious.
Miss Hummle's color rose so high on her cheeks that Charlie thought she might burst. Right there.
"You know very well what it means, Montgomery. And, I will not stand for it any longer." She began to walk up and down
the aisle between the desks, clenching her hands together as she walked.
"This is the most woefully inept group of students I've ever had the misfortune to teach-where I've taught before, the students
wanted to learn-they strived to do their best-"
Tommy spoke out without raising his hand. "Where was that, ma'm? Won't ya tell us about where ya used to live and all?"
Miss Hummel blinked in confusion at Tommy for a long moment, not calling him out for talking without permission.
"Yes, ma'm, won't you?" one of the little girls asked. Tommy's little sister, who no doubt had seen her brother nod in her direction.
To Charlie's surprise, Miss Hummle did just that. She spent most of the remainder of the afternoon regaling the students with stories
of big city schools. San Francisco, and such.
As long as it appeared the children were listening and were seemingly impressed, she talked on and on. And on.
By the end of the afternoon, she dismissed school without assigning any homework.
The whoops and hollers as children exited the school building could be heard long and loud.
"We gotta do it again tomorrow," Monte said. "It'll have to be somebody else, though. A girl. So she don't get suspicious."
"Not me," Rebecca said, swiftly. "If my pa found out that I tried to keep her from doin' the teaching, I'd catch it for sure."
"Neither me or Becca will be the one askin'," Jason said, as the group of kids walked towards the stables.
"How 'bout you, Charlie?" Monte asked, grinning in what Charlie knew was a dare.
"She doesn't like me," Charlie protested. "She'd never believe it if I acted like I was interested about her."
"Sure, ya can do it," Monte coaxed.
The other boys, Chester and Tommy, both chimed in, coaxing, too.
"Maybe Charlie doesn't want to do it," Jason said, in defense. "She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to."
Grateful for Jason's help, Charlie wished for the hundredeth time that she had an older brother like Jason. Then, he could be
the bossy one, telling the others what she would and wouldn't do, the way that Jason did for Rebecca.
Then, it would be out of her own hands, and none of the boys could get mad at her, or think she was a scared rabbit or something.
"Sure, ya don't have to," Monte said, in apparent agreement. But, when Rebecca and Jason had gone on their way, and the other boys were
running ahead, out of earshot, Monte said, "Ya won't, huh?"
Charlie studied his freckled face. "I don't know. I don't think I should."
"It's not as though you're doin' anything wrong," Monte pointed out. "It'd just be to get her talkin', so we don't have any work."
"I know, but-" Charlie hesitated. "I'm not supposed to take part in any nonsense. That's what Scott says-"
"I never figured ya for a goody-goody," Monte said.
Charlie stopped walking and faced him furiously. "I'm not!" she said. "In Stockton I was part of a street gang!"
"Yeah?" he asked, with a grin.
"Yeah! I'm not a goody-goody. It's just different for me-I don't want Scott or any of the family to think that I'm still the way that
I was before-I'm trying to be good-I'm not adopted or anything like that-"
Monte's freckled face became serious. "Ya mean that they might send ya back? To wherever ya were at before?"
"No, they wouldn't! Not to her. To my aunt. They just-well, I don't want them to reconsider me," Charlie said, her voice trailing off.
Monte studied her. "Sorry, Charlie. I didn't mean to make ya feel bad."
Ashamed of the sudden tear at the corner of her eye, Charlie turned and began stomping towards the stables again.
Gurth was saddled and readied, as was usual, and Charlie thanked Hank, the stable hand, and began to lead Gurth out
into the sunshine.
She mounted, and was adjusting her feet, when Monte looked up at her.
"Don't be like that, Charlie," he said. "I don't care if ya don't wanna speak out tomorrow at school. Please, don't be mad."
Charlie looked down at him, the boy who'd been her enemy, and was now her friend.
"I'm not mad," she said.
"Ya hadn't ought to feel bad about the Lancers, either. I mean, you've been here a long time now. They likely plan for ya to stay
until you're grown."
"That's what they say," Charlie admitted.
"Well, see?" Monte said, in triumph. "Ya got no worries, then."
Suddenly weary of the turn of the conversation, Charlie ducked her head and said, "See you tomorrow."
"Sure. See ya," Monte echoed.
Charlie rode home, her thoughts dragging. She thought she should be pleased to not have homework as was usual, and she was, but
she felt unsettled somehow, too."Wa
Teresa was outside, washing the front windows, and she called out a hello to Charlie. Charlie waved, and then went about the business of
unsaddling Gurth, brushing him down, and turning him into the pasture.
Teresa called out again, and Charlie left her tack there, on the fence, to walk over to her.
"Care to help?" Teresa asked, gesturing to the wide windows.
"Not really," Charlie said, with honesty.
"Well, will you?" Teresa asked. "I'd appreciate it, and then we can be done."
"I just got home, though, and I need to do my chores, too," Charlie said, in protest.
"Alright," the dark-haired girl said, turning back to her chore of the windows.
Charlie stood a moment or more longer, watching Teresa's back, as her arm cleaned furiously, up and down.
"Why are you doing it so late in the day?" Charlie asked. Usually, this was the type of chore that would be done in the mid to late morning
time.
"Because it's been some kind of a day around here," Teresa said, sounding curt.
"Did something bad happen?"
Teresa paused, dipping her cloth in the bucket of water, and turning to eye Charlie.
"No. Nothing bad happened. It's just been a-a rough day. With Maria gone and everything." She sighed, and then gave Charlie
a weary half-smile. "Don't pay any attention to me, Charlie. I'm just tired or something. Go on and do your chores."
Teresa went back to her task. Charlie felt a pang of guilt.
"I'll change my clothes, and then I'll help you," Charlie said, and hurried inside. She went upstairs and changed her clothes
swiftly. Then back downstairs, and only taking the time to grab a cookie from the jar in the kitchen.
She and Teresa worked together for the little bit of time, until Teresa said she needed to get back to the supper meal
preparations.
"I'll finish up here," Charlie offered, and they both turned at the sound of riders coming thru the fields.
"It looks like it's going to start raining," Teresa observed.
Murdoch wasted no time in passing off the reins to a hand and striding over to the two girls.
"I told you to leave that for another day," Murdoch said, immediately, to Teresa.
"I know. But, it's been needing done," Teresa said, taking his hand as he helped her to stand straight. "I want everything to
be nice for the weekend."
"No one will notice a bit of dirt on a window here and there," Murdoch said. "You're exhausting yourself. Now leave the rest."
"I will. I need to go see to supper," Teresa said.
"We'll have something cold tonight," Murdoch said. "You've done enough today."
"Maria left a menu," Teresa began.
"Maria wouldn't approve of you tiring yourself out. We'll have cold ham with bread," Murdoch said, with authority. He reached out to
brush Teresa's hair from her shoulder. "You look pale. I noticed it at lunch, too. Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm just a little tired," Teresa said, and patted his arm. She smiled at Charlie. "Thank you for your help, Charlie."
"It's okay. I can finish up."
Murdoch spoke before Teresa could. "No, indeed. You can dump that water, and put the bucket away. We're none of us going to worry
any more about those windows."
Charlie smiled at the way that he said that. Murdoch looked down at Charlie as Teresa headed inside.
"How was your day, my darling?" he asked Charlie.
"It was fine," Charlie said.
Murdoch looked surprised. "Well, that's good to hear. No problems with Miss Hummel today?"
"Nothing too terrible," Charlie said, lightly, and Murdoch nodded.
"Perhaps things are going to turn around," he said, just as the sky opened and raindrops began to fall.
Charlie ran to put the bucket away, and then hurried to gather the eggs, coming in thru the back door to the kitchen,
to find Murdoch there, his sleeves rolled up, slicing a ham.
Charlie set the table, and was filling the water glasses as the rain began pounding the roof.
Scott came in, wet, and Charlie ran to greet him. "I missed you," she said, hugging him around his waist.
"I missed you," Scott said, hugging her in return.
"How was your trip?"
"It was fine. Good. How was your last couple of days at school?"
"Today was better than yesterday," Charlie said, truthfully.
"Good. Have a lot of homework to do?"
Charlie shook her head. "No. I don't have any."
Scott raised a brow. "None at all?"
"No."
"Well, that's some sort of miracle then, isn't it?" Scott asked. He stepped back and gestured to his clothes. "I've got to get out of these. Did I
get you wet?"
"It's okay," Charlie said, and added with humor, "I'm barely dripping."
Scott gave her an affectionate pat on the shoulder. "Funny girl."
Scott went upstairs to change, and Charlie was just finishing with the glasses when the front door opened and then closed again.
Charlie heard Johnny's voice, mixed with Murdoch's from the kitchen, and then Johnny appeared in the dining room doorway, his hair
and shirt wet from the rain.
"Hi, Johnny!" Charlie said, with gladness.
"Did ya forget somethin'?" Johnny asked, and his tone was sharp.
Charlie blinked at him in confusion. "What?"
"Ya left your saddle out."
In horror, Charlie remembered now, leaving her saddle on the ground beside the corral. Teresa had called to her...and then...
"Golly!" Charlie yelped, and bolted towards the door.
"Hold up," Johnny said, holding up a hand to stall her. "I've put it away."
"Oh. Thank you," Charlie said. She felt unsure as she looked up at Johnny. He looked angry. "Is it alright?" she asked.
"Rain's not good for leather, pequeno." Even though he'd ended with his pet name for her, Charlie still felt a chill from his eyes.
"Can I go and wipe it down?" Charlie asked.
"It's in the barn. I'll show ya how to tend to it after supper's over."
"Teresa needed me-and then I just forgot," Charlie tried to explain.
"Ya take care of your horse first and then your tack. Always. Before anything else," Johnny said, sounding stern.
Charlie felt as though she was going to cry. Right then and there. Where was the playful, understanding Johnny of last
evening and this morning?
Swallowing hard, Charlie wasn't sure what to say. Johnny gave her another look and then headed towards the stairs,
likely to change his own wet clothes.
She was brushing at her eyes when the rest of the family came into the dining room, carrying platters of food.
"Alright?" Teresa asked, and Charlie bobbed her head.
She took her place at the table, and ate slightly, feeling subdued. The rest of the family conversed as usual. About Scott's trip
to Stockton and what he'd accomplished. About the amount of rain that was likely to fall overnight. About the coming weekend when
there would be a social gathering complete with dinner.
"Beets will be here for the weekend," Scott said to Charlie.
"That's good," Charlie said, and she was glad.
As soon as they'd finished eating, Johnny got up, pushing in his chair.
"Charlie's got somethin' to do in the barn," he said, quietly. "You finished?"
Charlie nodded, and got to her feet as well. Following Johnny somewhat reluctantly, they went to the kitchen, where he told
Charlie to put on a rain slicker. She did that and followed him across the yard to the barn in the not-quite-dusk.
Her precious, prized saddle was over a saddle tree, and Johnny lit a couple of lanterns to make more light.
"Comere," he told her, and when Charlie was standing next to him, he began to talk.
"When leather's wet, the protein bonds expand, and then they shrink when they dry. That weakens the leather and causes it
to crack," he explained.
Charlie listened and watched him with big eyes, but kept quiet.
"I've dried it some, but you use this, and go over it again," Johnny said, handing her a cloth. Charlie worked on that for a few minutes,
while Johnny did other things in the barn. When Johnny came and looked over what she'd done, he handed her another cloth and
a bottle of oil. "Put some oil on that cloth and start rubbin' it in, everywhere."
Charlie began on that task, and Johnny went to lean against a stall, watching her. He plucked a piece of straw from a hay feeder and
ran it back and forth between his fingers.
"It's wrong to treat your belongings carelessly," he said, quietly.
"I know," Charlie said, just as quietly. She looked towards him again. "I forgot, Johnny. I won't do it again. I love this saddle."
Charlie bit at her lower lip. "You and Scott gave it to me for my birthday. It's the first time anybody ever made a fuss about my
birthday before. I want to keep it, always."
Charlie heard him sigh, and then he took the few steps to where she stood. "Okay," he said, quietly.
After that, Charlie worked in silence until Johnny said she was finished.
Johnny put out the lanterns and they walked to the house together.
Lancer