Even though I'd only been at the mission for a few days, my life settled into a basic routine. One day as I was helping with supper cleanup by shaking out the tablecloth, I glanced down at the ground from my high position of the porch. I saw a piece of cloth, and thinking a rag had been dropped, I leaned over the porch rail for a better look. I quickly straightened, however, seeing what looked like a small boy!
In the fading twilight it was hard to see, and I nearly crashed into Miss Christy in my haste to reach the safety of being inside. She held her lamp higher, and seeing my pale face, said "Is something wrong, Crystal? You look as though you've seen a ghost!"
"I saw something under the porch, but it didn't look like a ghost," I replied as we hurried down the stairs. Sure enough, we could see, by the dim light the lantern gave off, the form of a boy. He wore a dusty pair of breeches and a shirt. His ragged cap had been crammed over his long brown hair. No doubt he'd been sleeping under the porch for warmth, as the frosty February nights gave none.
Miss Christy ran back up the stairs and into the house, returning with Miss Alice.
I jumped up and shouted "Miss Alice, we've found a boy!" When I moved the lantern closer to reveal his face, I saw something I hadn't noticed before. An empty moonshine bottle was in his hand. "Do you know who he is?" I inquired of Miss Alice.
She nodded grimly. "Amos Cooper."
I searched my memory, trying to remember any Coopers in the Cove.
"I doubt you've met him, Crystal. He ran away about a month before you joined us here. The Cooper children have only been to school a few times. There are four of them: Arietty, Opal, Tanner, and Amos. Amos must be ten by..."
"But why did he run away?" I interrupted.
"His father mistreats him," she said bluntly. "Here, help me take him into the mission. He needs to be warmed." Miss Alice lifted Amos in her arms and carried him up the stairs.
I ran ahead to hold open the door. "Why hasn't he woken up yet?" I was puzzled at how he slept so soundly.
"He's drunk." Miss Alice stated bluntly as she brushed past.
I was shocked, I'd never thought of that. All of the drunk men I'd seen in the city had been grown-ups, not children.
Miss Alice laid Amos on a cot in the corner of the living room, then we moved the cot closer to the woodstove. "It's late." she said, glancing at the clock. "But Amos might need care though the night... We'll have to take watches, Crystal, I believe you should take the first."
"Me? But Miss Alice..." I stuttered, startled.
Miss Alice nodded, and drew up a chair by the cot. I sat down hesitantly, not wanting to spend the night alone with a drunk boy, especially since I was afraid of the dark, but I knew Miss Alice was serious.
"I'll take the second watch, Crystal, wake me up at midnight."
"I'll help." Miss Christy offered, but Miss Alice brushed her off. "You need your sleep, Miss Huddleston, to teach school tomorrow, and you're looking rather fatigued now."
Miss Christy left without arguing, and I could see she was glad. Miss Alice hugged me good-night, and went upstairs as well.
I looked around the dark room. The lantern didn't give off much light, and there were strange shadows. I heard Miss Alice moving around upstairs, then all was quiet.
Amos twisted his torso, and I jumped. What if he woke up and wanted to leave? How could I stop him? I looked at the clock, anxious for the minutes to tick by. I knew Miss Alice had given me less than half of the time she would have for watch, and tried to be thankful for that. But I could feel the darkness closing in around me, and it was hard to breathe. I looked at the clock, but only ten minutes had passed. I jumped when there was a noise at the window, and ran over to investigate. I almost screamed when I saw a shadow move quickly across the ground until I realized it had been my shadow. I sat down in my chair limply. My heart beat quickly and I swallowed hard.
I started to sob. I didn't want to be down here, but I couldn't act like a little kid and tell Miss Alice I was afraid of the dark. My pride kept me in my seat. How could I survive the rest of the night, though?
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned around quickly. Miss Christy was kneeling beside me. "Crystal, are you all right?" she whispered. I dropped my eyes and quickly brushed away the tears on my cheeks.
"I heard something down here, what's wrong?"
"I thought you were in bed." I murmured, not willing to admit my fear.
"I was working over some lessons for tomorrow." Miss Christy hugged me tightly. "Do you want me to bring my work down here and stay with you?"
I wanted her to, very much, but I said "no, Miss Alice said you needed your sleep."
"I was planning to stay up until about midnight anyway, so it won't matter if I work down here."
Miss Christy went upstairs and brought an armload of books back down. She set them on the table and brought the lantern over. "Come sit with me, and you can watch Amos too." I drew my chair over to the table and sat down timidly. "Are you afraid of the dark?" she asked.
I nodded reluctantly.
"So am I, I have been since I was a little girl. My daddy used to come up and sing me to sleep, but gradually I got used to the idea of sleeping in a dark room. I'm stilll rather apprehensive when I'm outside alone, but otherwise I'm usually fine."
I didn't feel like talking about my fear, so I smiled, glad she had told me and that someone understood. Miss Christy smiled back, and we sat there together, doing more whispering than anything. I got up every once in a while to check on Amos. I looked at the clock. Five to twelve, I'd have to get Miss Alice up soon. Now I was enjoying myself, and didn't want this special time to end. Miss Christy was always so busy with school and the other students that I rarely got a chance to talk to her.
I looked up when I heard footsteps on the stairs. Miss Alice was standing there, a shawl wrapped around her white nightgown. Her hair was braided and lay over her shoulder. "Crystal? Miss Huddleston?" She asked, and Miss Christy spoke up.
"I had some preparation to do for tomorrow, so decided to work down here, where it was warmer." I was thankful she hadn't revealed the real reason for her coming down.
"Amos is fine, he's been sleeping the whole time." I put in, lest Miss Alice think I had neglected my duties.
She turned to me, and studied me for a moment before speaking. "Crystal, if thee are afraid of the dark, why didn't thee tell me before I went upstairs?"
I blushed and looked down, but said nothing. How had she known I was afraid? I didn't want to be scolded because of my weakness. I knew Miss Christy had already been in bed before she came down, because she had her nightgown on, but had so desperately wanted her to stay.
Seeing that she wouldn't get an answer out of me, Miss Alice said sternly "Now off to bed, both of you. Miss Huddleston, I insist, no more studying tonight. And Crystal..." she continued as I started up the stairs "We'll discuss this tomorrow."
"Yes ma'am." I whispered, wanting to cry again.
When we reached the top of the stairs, Miss Christy hugged me.
"I'm sorry I got you in trouble with Miss Alice." I spoke very softly, so I wouldn't wake Ruby Mae.
"Don't worry, Crystal, you didn't. I make my own choices, and no doubt I'll pay for this tomorrow when I'm tired." She saw I was about to speak, and went on. "Yes, Miss Alice was upset, but it's not your fault. And she'll be fine by tomorrow."
"Do you think I'm in trouble?" I asked anxiously, but haltingly.
"No, don't worry. She just want to talk to you about... about your fear. Okay?"
"Yes ma'am, thank you." I said, but that sounded too stuffy. "I love you, Miss Christy!" I grinned as I ran off to bed.
By the next morning Amos had recovered, and we took him home. Miss Alice nearly had to force him to come, he was so resistent. I felt sorry for him, and almost asked Miss Alice if he could stay at the mission, but thought that might not be a good idea, just in case she was still out of sorts from last night.
Arietty and Opal met us as the door of their dirty, dingy little cabin. As I looked around, I couldn't blame Amos for not wanting to go back, especially since his father abused him. I could tell the girls were glad to have their brother back again.
"Miss Alice..." I began as we walked home "Could we take Amos back home with us? I don't think he wants to live there, and he seemed to fit in well at the mission."
"No, Crystal."
"But why not!" I started to protest, but she cut me off.
"Amos belongs at his home. If we took every child here in Cutter Gap who didn't get along well with their parents, et cetera, home with us, we'd have half the children in the Cove at the mission."
I sighed and looked down. We continued on in silence for a while.
Finally Miss Alice spoke. "About last night... Crystal, why didn't you tell me you are afraid of the dark?"
I was quiet for a moment, then spoke. "I guess I'm just too proud, Miss Alice. I didn't want to have the watch, but I didn't think you'd let me out of it, so I didn't say anything."
"And you deprived Miss Huddleston of her sleep, through your foolishness."
My cheeks burned. Miss Alice was not pleased, although I knew she was being kinder than I deserved to be treated. "Yes ma'am." I whispered.
Miss Alice stopped and turned to face me. "Crystal. Look at me."
I raised my eyes slowly, unsure of whether I was in more trouble.
"I want to be more than a... rule-giver to thee. I want to be like thy mother, and to do that we will have to confide in each other. Has thee asked God to help take away your fear of the dark?"
"No ma'am, but... you seem to think God has the answer to everything."
"He does, Crystal, in fact, He is the answer to everything. We need only to go to Him in prayer, being confident that He hears us when we pray, and will answer our prayers, in His perfect time."
I didn't really know what she was talking about, so I asked another question. "How did you know I was..." I stopped, to embarassed and proud to state my fear.
"That you were what?" Miss Alice prompted, even though she knew exactly what I meant.
I finally said quickly "afraid of the dark." There. She'd made me say it, and was mean for doing it.
"Crystal, thee cannot get over thy fear unless thee first confesses it as such and tell the Lord that thee needs His help. But, as you were asking, the reason I knew was because of the way you were so hesitant to carry out the watch. You have lived here for several weeks, and it's not totally unapparent."
"If you knew that..." I stopped, then forced myself to spit it out, "that I'm afraid of the dark, then why did you let me stay up last night by myself?"
"If you're too proud to admit your fear, and wouldn't ask for help or release, then I wasn't going to help you. Remember, Crystal, that pride goeth before a fall."
I'd heard that verse before, but had never thought it applied to me. "I guess I got my fall."