New Beginnings;
Ch. 30
Regrets
Walking into his bedroom, Rob finds Joseph stretched out on top of his bed. "What're you doing in here? Get OFF my bed!"
"Hmm, fussy tonight aren't we? What went on in town? Pa seems mad about something and I feel the something might be you. What'd you do?" Joseph asks, swinging his legs off the bed to sit up.
"I don't want to discuss it with you. Go to bed!"
"I can't right now. I need your help with something first. Will you help me, Please Rob?"
"Depends on what it is."
"I need to sneak out your window to get to the barn and then back in. It won't be but a few minutes. Please?"
"Joseph, I would think you learned better last week about sneaking out! What's in the barn you have to do right now?"
"I left the shotgun out there and you know how Pa feels about taking care of guns. I can't leave it in the barn all night!"
"No, you can't. Go tell Pa and let him go get it. You aren't sneaking out, so get out of my room. I'm going to bed. It's been a long night and I've got a unpleasant day coming tomorrow."
"Why? What's coming tomorrow?"
"Joseph! You are really irritating tonight. Now, either leave me alone or I'm calling Pa to come take you to your room. I doubt he'd be pleased about you not listening to me."
"I'm going grouchy one! Jeez, I tell you everything when I'm in trouble and you tell me nothing!"
"JOSEPH... I'm counting to three... ONE, TWO ... TH... at the beginning of 'three' his brother is up, moving and closing the door behind him.
Unfortunately for him he walks straight into a solid human wall.
"What are you doing in Rob's room when you are to be in bed by now?" Ethan asks, eyes narrowed.
"I was just talking to him. Pa? I need to go out to the barn again for just a few minutes." Joseph answers looking away from the fierce scowl he's receiving.
"And just why do you need to go to the barn?"
"I took out the shotgun because I heard noises in the barn but in the excitement of Daisy, I forgot to bring it back in. Can I go get it?"
"Go to bed, Joseph. I'll get the gun this time. I don't want this to happen again, son. You must be responsible if you are to handle any gun. Keep up with it, take care of it and be careful to only point it at what you plan to shoot! Remember those three things at all times, Joseph."
"Yes sir, I remember."
The next morning when Ethan comes to the table for breakfast, all the children are there except George. Ben is setting the table while Rob and Claire cook.
"Good morning children, it's nice to wake up to the smell of breakfast cooking. I see we are dining on eggs, ham, and more today."
"Morning, Pa. Yes, I thought we'd have a big breakfast this morning with everyone's favorites. We ought to celebrate the colt's birth." Rob answers as Claire pulls a pan of biscuits from the oven.
"Where is George? Isn't he awake yet?" Ethan asks Ben.
"Yes sir, he's awake. He went out to see the colt and hasn't come back. He's supposed to be helping!" Ben complains.
"I'll go find him. Since you did all the setting up for breakfast, George will clear the table this morning." Ethan tells the boy as he walks out.
"Ha, George won't like that. He hates to have to handle the dirty dishes." Ben tells Joseph as they put the food platters on the table.
Walking into the barn, Ethan finds George sitting on the ground peering into Daisy's stall.
"George? What are you doing out here? Aren't you to be helping with breakfast?"
"I came to check on Lucky. That's what I'm naming him. You told me I could name the baby when it came, remember? I named it Lucky. He's standing better and eating better too. How long will he have to stay inside the barn?"
"I'm keeping them in for a couple of weeks. George, come here beside me for a minute." Ethan says as he sits on a hay bale.
"Am I in trouble, Papa? I didn't mean to stay out here long."
"No, son. I have an answer to your question of the difference in boys and girls if you still want to know."
"I do. How did Joseph know Lucky is a boy horse? I couldn't tell."
"Well son, Lucky has the same boy part you do. Think about when you use the W. C., now look at Lucky. Do you see what I am saying?"
"Yes, he gets to wet standing up like me! Girls have to sit down and they don't have one of those. Papa, Joseph said Daisy is going to give Lucky milk. How's she going get milk if she can't get the bottles from the bucket inside the well?"
"George, Mama's are made with special parts to give their babies milk. The milk comes from inside of them. Mama's are able to make the milk they need to feed their babies." Ethan answers trying not to let his amusement show at the boy's comment about Daisy getting milk from the well.
"Oh, I get it now. It's kind of like when we used to have a cow. The cow made milk. Thanks Papa!" George says smiling.
"You are quite welcome, son." Ethan answers, relieved he didn't have to go into this topic any further. "Right now, breakfast is ready. Claire and Rob have fixed pancakes and much more."
"I love pancakes! Let's eat!" George answers pulling his Pa by the hand.
"Slow down young man, the breakfast will be there, we don't need to rush." Ethan says smiling. "You will be clearing the table this morning since Joseph and Ben did all the work getting the table ready."
"I will. Come on Pa, I'm hungry for pancakes!" George says, trying to hurry him up.
Ethan watches the younger boys enjoying their favorite breakfast foods. Joseph is serving himself more fried ham and eggs while Ben and George work on their plates of pancakes. Glancing at Rob, Ethan sees he is mostly pushing his breakfast around the plate more than eating."
"Rob, you need to eat. We have a full day ahead of us and lunch is a long time away."
"Yes sir, I'm just not very hungry this morning." Rob replies, forcing himself to swallow some eggs.
"Rob, you make the best pancakes! You ought to eat some of them." George says around a bite of pancake.
"George, remember your manners please." Ethan scolds quietly.
"Yes Papa. Rob, please have some pancakes. They are very good." George says around another bite of pancake.
Over Joseph's snickers, he hears Claire say "George, you don't talk with food in your mouth. That's what Pa meant when he said 'remember your manners'."
"Oh. Umm, I'm sorry Papa." George says hoping he won't be scolded again.
"Finish eating George. I forgive you, pancake boy." Ethan teases the child stuffing himself with pancakes.
"Joseph, that's enough. It isn't that funny."
"Rob, when you get old enough, you ought to work in the restaurant in town. You could be the breakfast cook. Mrs. Greenbush has a recipe for apple pancakes that you could make as well as these buttermilk ones. Your pancakes would make them lots of money."
"Thanks Ben, I might have to try Mrs. Greenbush's pancake recipe sometime. I don't know about working as a cook in a restaurant though. I think they would want to have me cook more than pancakes."
"Well, Claire can teach you to cook fried chicken and potatoes, that's good too." Ben answers swiping the last biscuit across his plate to soak up the ham gravy.
"Ben, those are good suggestions for Rob, but he may want to do something besides cook. Today, we're going to knock out some of the stall walls in the second set of stalls and you boys will help with that. Before we start, I want the dishes and kitchen area cleaned. Claire has some chores she needs help with this morning. Joseph, you get the washbin ready for her to wash clothes, please."
"Yes Pa." The boys answer.
"Rob, dip a bucketful of water and warm it. You and I have some chores in the barn to do."
"Yes sir." Rob answers wondering if his punishment for the night before is about to begin.
"Here's the warm water, sir. What do you want me to do with it?" Rob asks walking up to the stall where Ethan is examining Daisy.
"Bring it here and get two clean cloths from the tack room. We're going to wash her this morning." Ethan answers.
"Alright, carefully wash the teat and under her belly, stroke gently. That's good, she is leaning into your hand because it feels nice to her. Keep warming the cloth and stroke gently. I'll wash under her tail while you stroke her. Rob, she may jerk when I touch her so be prepared."
After washing the mare and brushing her coat, Ethan says "This small bath and brushing will make her more comfortable. We'll leave them in peace to sleep now. She needs her rest after her hard work last night. Speaking of last night, you and I have some talking to do. Come with me."
Following his Pa, Rob sees he is being led to the woodshed. A wave of nervousness washes over him as he remembers that last meeting in the woodshed. The time he snuck out to drink and gamble in the saloon while staying with Ethan nearly two years ago. His Uncle Vern had been on a trip to California and Rob was living with the family for two months, while he was away. That meeting had left him too sore to sit for a day and vowing never to get drunk again. A serious whipping and being forced to drink until he threw up, was a surefire way to stop him from sneaking out to a saloon for a long time.
Watching Rob and his Pa go to the woodshed from where he is picking vegetables in the garden, Ben whispers to Joseph "Rob is in huge trouble isn't he? What did he do, Joseph?"
"I think so. I don't know what he did, Ben. He wouldn't say when I asked." Joseph whispers back, all the while wondering why they are whispering to each other. As far as he can tell, the woodshed is far enough away, they can't be heard.
In the woodshed, Ethan motions for Rob to sit on the large cutting stump they keep for sawing logs.
"Let's discuss last night, Robert. Explain it to me again so I can see your side of what happened."
"Reverend Davis asked us to get chipped ice, we went to the new hotel restaurant for two bucketfuls, they didn't want to give more, we went to the saloon for the other two bucketfuls." Rob recites in a bored tone of voice. He's told him the same events three times. He'd explained twice last night and this morning and Pa didn't seem to be listening well at all. Rob has the feeling his Pa isn't believing what he hears.
"What made you decide to go into the saloon when you know you are forbidden to do so?"
"I couldn't find any other way to get someone to give us ice chips other than to go in and ask for them. I'm sorry."
"What about the drinking? How did you get a drink when I know for a fact the barkeep does not serve anyone who looks younger than twenty one."
"We were not drinking, sir."
"Matthew said he caught the two of you boys standing at the bar with whiskey glasses in your hands. The glasses were NOT empty! I don't advise lying to me at this time!" Ethan's voice has the deadly tone to it.
"I'M NOT LYING! We didn't drink or even order a drink. We just picked up glasses sitting on the bar." Rob answers, angry at being accused of something he didn't do.
"Watch yourself, you are in enough trouble already! I wouldn't be raising your voice to me. Robert, this story of yours just doesn't hold up. It makes me think you are covering for yourself. You were caught in the saloon with whiskey in your hand!" Ethan declares, waiting to see if Rob has anything else to say. When he gets no response, he says "Well young man, I thought I had left an impression the last time you were caught in a saloon. I thought the whipping you received would remind you not to do such foolish and dangerous stunts as the one you pulled last night. Apparently you need a reminder."
"I'm telling you the truth, we only went in there to get ice! I was trying to help Reverend Davis." Rob says defending himself.
"There are several places to get ice, Robert. Mrs. Greenbush's Boarding House, or even Mr. Axelrod's Mercantile. They all have ice houses also. Not choosing one of them has you in this fix you are finding yourself in right now. I am disappointed in your choice last night. I feel this was done deliberately just to get into the saloon to drink. I also think you coaxed Alex into going along. You put yourself and someone else in danger with this stunt you pulled. Turn around, drop your pants, and put your hands on the log pile."
"Please don't do this. I'm very sorry. I wasn't thinking straight. Please Pa, I didn't go in to drink! I wasn't drinking. The glasses were on the counter there and I just picked one up while waiting for the man to come back with the ice. I don't know why we picked up the glasses. I just did it to do something with my hands. The men were all staring at us and it made me nervous. I'm telling you the truth, I only went in to get some ice. Now that you tell me of the other places, I know it looks bad. I just didn't think about anywhere other than the saloon. I won't go there again. "
"It's my job to see that you do think straight before you get yourself or someone else injured! You ..Do.. Not..Go ..Into ..Saloons! Now, I believe you deserve some consequences to remind you to think before you act! I will give you a choice however, housebound and extra chores starting today and continuing for the next two weeks, or take the whipping. Which do you choose?"
"I'd rather not have you burn my backside, I'll stay on the ranch for two weeks." Rob replies, swallowing hard to keep the tears from falling. He still feels his Pa doesn't believe him, which really hurts.
"Alright, now I want you to spend time in your room to think this through. We can talk more later if you'd like to. One more thing, Robert. If you go into a saloon again, you will not be given a choice on consequences. Do you understand my meaning?"
"Yes sir."
A short time later, George looks up to see Rob walking past on his way to the house.
"Hi, Rob. Are you allri... then at Joseph's shake of his head, he changes his question to ... going to help us pick vegetables?"
"I'm to go to my room for a time, George." Rob says as he stops to answer. After he has walked into the house, Ben whispers "Rob's crying. His face is red and his eyes were wet. Rob never cries!"
"You'd be crying too if you just got your butt burned by the strop. Leave him alone about this, boys. If I find out what went on I'll tell you, but don't pester him about it. Okay?" Joseph asks his brothers.
"I won't." George answers sadly. "I'm not going to mention it, Joseph." Ben replies wistfully. "You will find out what happened though, right?"
"I'm pretty sure I can, Ben. Let's finish picking so we won't be in trouble also. We still have the turnips and carrots to pick."
Walking up to the garden fence, Claire sees all three of her younger brothers busy pulling carrots. Seeing the bushel basket full of pea pods, she smiles.
"Well boys, you are finding good things in the garden today. I'm surprised you found that many peas ripe enough to pick. Just look at those carrots, all long and full! Rob was right, spreading the fertilizer we used did the trick. The vegetables are twice the size they were last time."
"Claire? Are you sure you need us to pick turnips for you to cook? Couldn't we just use them for the animals? I detest turnips!" George asks wrinkling his nose at the thought of cooked turnips.
"I'm sure, George. We are going to use some for us and the rest for the stock. I'm fixing them for our meal today. Joseph, could you help me hang the sheets on the line? They're too heavy for me to lift alone."
"Sure. Boys I'll be back in a few minutes. Just leave a third of the rows of turnips and I'll do them myself. How many is a third of six, George?"
"Umm, that would be... two, I think." George answers after a quick flurry of his fingers.
"Hmm, right answer, getting good on that math work, aren't you little brother?" Joseph teases.
"Claire, I'm hungry, when are we having lunch?" Joseph asks after they hang four sheets.
"Joseph, what is it with you lately? All you want to do is eat! We had a huge breakfast today and you ate two platefuls. I saw you, so you can't be hungry already!"
"I know I did, but I am hungry again. I can't seem to get enough to eat lately. I have to get up at night and get some bread and butter because I wake up hungry."
"So you are the mouse who has been into my bread! I knew it was going down awfully fast! Two loaves would last at least three days. Now they last two! Maybe you need to go see Dr. Amy. She can give you something for that worm in your stomach that is eating all your food."
"I don't have worms, Claire! I'm not an animal!"
"You eat as much as a horse, Joseph." Claire teases her irritated brother.
"I'm going back to the garden before I get called on it by Pa. You can finish handling this chore yourself now that we hung the sheets!" Joseph replies stalking back to the garden.
Just as he finishes the last row of turnips, Joseph hears Ethan say "Well boys, you seem to have picked everything clean this morning. You three did a fine job, I can tell by looking. Take the bushels up on the porch for Claire and rest for about ten minutes. I need all of you boys down in the barn to help take out the stalls. We'll try to get that finished before lunch and afterwards you can take the rest of the afternoon off."
"That sounds great, Pa! Can George and I go swimming if one of the big boys comes along?" Ben asks.
"I'll think about it, Ben. Now help your brothers."
Knocking on Rob's door, Joseph goes inside when he is given permission. "Rob, Pa wants all of us in the barn in just a few minutes. He is going to take out some stall walls and needs help. Rob? Did he use the razor strop? I know you had to go to the woodshed."
"No, he confined me to the ranch with extra work for two weeks. I really messed up last night but I didn't do it deliberately. It was just a spur of the moment thought and I acted on it. It was stupid, now that I look back on it."
"What did you do?"
"We were asked to get chipped ice and the restaurant wouldn't let us have but two bucketfuls. I took Alex and we went into the saloon to get two more buckets. Uncle Matt caught me and hauled us to jail. Mitch told Pa and Alex's Da, that we were also drinking whiskey because Matthew saw us with whiskey glasses in our hands. Honest Joseph, I didn't drink. The glasses were on the bar and we just dumbly picked them up. This story didn't sound true to Uncle Ethan and he punished me!"
"Well you do have bad luck don't you? Every time you go in a saloon you get busted for it! If I were you, I wouldn't try it anymore until you are too old to punish! This is what the third time?" Joseph asks.
"Fourth actually, unless you count the card room in Denver or others I prefer he doesn't know about as they happened before I lived here." Rob answers grinning slightly.
"You're lucky you didn't get the strop used on you! Now, lets go see what Pa wants us to do. Why did you call him Uncle Ethan anyway?"
"I can't think of him as my Pa when he believes I deliberately defied him. He should know me better than that. That hurts more than the fact that he punished me, Joseph. He doesn't trust me right now, and that really bothers me."
"Ben and George, I need you two to pile the boards into the wheelbarrow. Rob, Joseph and I will be knocking down these walls. When we finish, we'll have one long stall for Daisy and her colt. Even when they go to pasture, we'll still pen them up in here for the night. I feel it will be safer for them."
"Pa, did you forget his name? I told you I had named him, remember?" George asks.
"No, son. Everyone, the colt's name is Lucky." Ethan tells the other boys.
"Good name, George!" Ben praises.
"Joseph, Rob, take turns and swing the sledgehammer right in the center of the wall. I'll do the same on the other wall. They should split in two or more pieces. Ben, George, you two stay out of the stall until we finish breaking the wall." Ethan instructs the boys.
An hour later they had removed two stall walls, leaving one long stall.
"Pa, what do you plan to do about the door? We took out the doors for the middle two stalls and there's this opening here." Joseph asks looking at the wide opening.
"I was thinking to build a long half wall from the first gate to the end of the stall. We really don't need but one gate per stall. Would you like to build it, son? I'm sure you could do it. We would use the pieces of wall, we just took out."
"You think I could do that? I've not built a wall before, Pa." Joseph answers, amazed at the idea.
"You built a pony cart, son. That's much more difficult than a wall!" Ethan replies ruffling the boy's curls. "You need to ask Clarie to trim your hair, it's getting long."
Grinning now, Joseph answers " I will. Yes, now that you say it, I guess a pony cart is harder. I'll try, Pa."
"Great, you can start tomorrow. Right now, I feel like a swim. Who's with me?" Ethan asks.
He hears"ME!" from George, "I'm in!" from Ben and "Me too!" from Joseph but nothing from Rob.
"Wouldn't you like to go to the swimming hole too, Rob?" Ben asks.
"I can't Ben. I'll stay here today." Rob answers quietly, looking at Ethan.
Nodding in approval, Ethan says, "Alright you three, go get towels, ask Claire for a jug to put water in and we'll go."
After an hour of swimming races, much splashing and some arguing, Ethan calls the boys out of the water to rest.
"But Papa! We haven't had a chance to play on the rope swing yet." George whines.
"I'm not saying we're leaving, George. We're just taking ten minutes to rest before we do more. If you whine, I'll let you sit and watch your brothers when they play on the rope." Ethan tells him.
"I'll rest too." George agrees quickly. Having "thinking time" at the swimming hole is definitely not his idea of fun.
As they relax on the bank of the pond, Joseph asks "Pa, can you tell us what you had to do the other day when you got the telegram or is it private?"
"It isn't private, Joseph. The stage line was very late getting to the stop before Paradise and the stage office workers were worried. They thought something had gone wrong on the route and were asking for our help. It turned out that the drivers were new and unsure of the route. They took a wrong trail and wound up getting lost. Once Chris, Mitch and I escorted them back to the correct trail, there were no problems."
"So it wasn't a stagecoach robbery or a holdup with hostages or anything exciting at all?" Joseph asks, disappointed.
"You, young man, need to stop reading those yellow westerns and focus on true literature, as your sister says! You know those westerns are mostly exaggerated to sell the book!" Ethan says with a firm look.
"Pa?" Ben asks after the boys have been quiet for what seems a long time to him, "May we go on the rope swing now, please?"
"We have five more minutes, Ben." Ethan replies, checking the watch he left in his pants watch pocket.
"Pa? When I stayed over at Aaron's, he showed me two new toys they have. One is a wooden dancing man with moving arms and legs. The other one is a wooden square game where the top block is folded down and it moves all the way to the bottom. They came from the General Store. Can George and I get some toys like those?"
"I'm sure Aaron will let you play with his when you visit. You don't need any of your own. You two spend most of your day outside anyway. Those sound as if they are inside toys." Ethan answers.
"But we could play with them on rainy days and at night. Please can't we go buy some? I'm sure George would like to have them too. Right George?"
"Yes and we'd share with everyone else Papa! Please can't we get some?" George pleads giving his Pa his best big eyed look.
"My answer was no, boys. We aren't getting the toys so drop the pleading. Lets go get in the water. Joseph, you swing out first and be ready to catch these two when they swing."
"Yes sir, I'll catch them and then I'll dunk them!" Joseph answers teasing his brothers.
"George, come take hold of the rope and I'll swing you out. Get a good hold and hang on until you are near Joseph, alright?"
"I'm ready Pa! Swing me out!" George calls shrieking as Ethan does just that.
"Let Go George, I'll catch you!" Joseph calls as his little brother gets close to him.
"PA! Joseph made me go under the water! He said he'd catch me and he didn't!" George yells coming up from under the water with a lilypad on his head.
"Joseph! That was not funny. You know he is afraid of going under! Catch him when he drops." Ethan tells the giggling boy.
"I tried to Pa, honest I did. He slipped off the rope before I could get him. I like your hat George!" Joseph replies, not being able to resist teasing his brother.
"Yeah George, that's a really nice hat you have!" Ben calls as he swings out and drops next to George.
"Get it off of me! I don't want a frog on my head!" George tells Ben as he continues to tread water.
Giggling at the look on George's face, Ben flicks the plant off. "It's off, you're safe. No bad frogs will sit on you now. A turtle might snap your toes though!"
"Papa! Are there snapping turtles in this pond? Ben said one might snap my toes!" George calls to Ethan.
"Ben, Joseph, you two leave him alone. If you can't behave nicely, you can come up here to hold up a tree! Now, no more teasing!"
As the three boys play in the water, there's a huge splash right behind them.
"Pa! I didn't know you knew how to swing on a rope!" George exclaims looking at Ethan right behind him.
"I know quite a few things, George. Now, you three take turns swinging out. I'll catch you George. Now watch Ben so you can see how to swing yourself out."
Although the boys are only a year apart, Ben is much more adventurous and willing to try something new. George, being the youngest has been coddled a bit too much by Claire, in Ethan's opinion. At nine, he often behaves more like a younger child. Ethan has begun to be more firm with him to stop this behavior.
"Watch me, George! You have to grab hold up high on the rope and run to swing way out. Watch me!" Ben yells as he runs with the rope. Dropping with a splash right near his brother, he says "See there, George. You can do that, it's not hard."
"Joseph, will you go up and swing me out? I don't think I can do that." George asks.
"No, Joseph is going to stay here. You can do it George, if you really try. Go on and try. If Ben can do it, so can you." Ethan tells him.
"I'm scared, Papa." George tells him quietly.
"Go try it George. I'll be here to catch you and won't let you go under. I promise." Ethan replies giving the boy a boost up the bank.
Papa! I did it! Joseph! Ben! Did you see me? I ran and swung out and dropped and Papa caught me and I did it all by myself! Did you see?" George chatters a few minutes later.
"I saw George. You are so brave to do what you were afraid to try. See there, now you can face your fears and be over them. I'm proud of you, son." Ethan says hugging his youngest.
"You did well, George." Joseph says patting his brother on his back.
"That was wonderful George! You had a really big swing too!" Ben adds.
"Thanks. Let's do that again. C'mon Ben, Joseph! Let's go swing out and drop!" George calls already moving towards the bank.
That night during supper, George is busy telling his oldest brother and sister all about his 'braveness' at the swimming hole.
"Claire, Rob, I wish you could have seen me. I was so brave. I ran and grabbed the rope swing and dropped all by myself."
"That's great, George." Rob tells him a bit unenthusiastically, as he's heard this now for the fourth time.
"George, Claire went to a lot of trouble to cook the carrots, peas and turnips to have with the pork tonight. I want to see you eat all your vegetables." Ethan tells the child as he sees him pushing the turnips around his plate.
"Pa, I don't like turnips."
"Eat them anyway. Claire fixed this and you are going to eat it. Food isn't to be wasted, you know this."
Feeling tired from the exciting day, George complains irritably,"They taste awful, though. We can let the horses eat them! Horses like turnips but I don't!"
"George." Ethan answers in a warning tone.
Tears threatening, George bites his lip and continues to push the turnips around his plate. Today was so much fun and now it's all going bad because of stupid turnips! he thinks.
"George, put the turnips in with a bite of potato. It's not bad that way and you can swallow it fast." Ben says demonstrating for his brother.
"I HATE TURNIPS! Claire, you are MEAN to make them when I told you I don't like turnips!" George shouts, losing the battle with his temper.
"George Allen! Go put yourself in the corner. Face that wall and do not speak or move!" Ethan says, pointing to the space he means.
Facing the wall, George decides it wasn't very smart to shout the way he did. Pa hardly ever sends him to the corner. Ben has to go so often, Claire says they ought to hang a sign in the corner with his name on it. After a long, long time of standing completely still he hears Ethan say "Children, you are excused from the table. Take a walk outside until I call for you to come clean up."
After the door closes behind Joseph, Ethan says "Come here, George."
His face wet with the tears he couldn't brush off and his nose running, George stands in front of his Pa. "I'm very sorry for yelling, Papa. I'll tell Claire, I'm sorry, too." he says, hoping he won't be spanked.
Handing the boy his handkerchief, Ethan says "I accept your apology and I'm sure Claire will also. That does not end this however. You are going to sit down and finish your supper. We don't waste food in this family. After that, you will clear the plates and wash them also. You do as you are told and do it without disrespect or complaints!"
Thinking "It isn't wasting food if you give it to the animals" but knowing better than to say that aloud, he just answers "Yes Sir." Sitting down at the table, closing his eyes after getting a forkful of potato and turnip he quickly puts it in his mouth and swallows. Making a horrible face at the taste but not saying a word he repeats this until his plate is clean.
Later that week, Ben and George are visiting the twins at Chris' new house.
"Gosh, Alyssa and Aaron, you two have some great new toys. I like the dancing man you have Aaron. Ben told me about it but I couldn't guess how it works. Alyssa, that chicken game you have is so funny." George tells them as they sit out in the 'treehouse on the ground', as Ben calls it.
"Papa bought those for us at the General Store. The chicken game is the newest one we have." Aaron tells them.
"I asked Pa to buy us some but he said we didn't need them." Ben says sorrowfully. "Maybe Rob could make us a chicken game like this. It looks like the strings pull the little chicken heads down to peck the painted corn on the platform. I think this wooden ball the strings are all tied to under the platform must make that happen. When I swing it the chickens all peck the corn."
"You don't have to ask Rob to make you one. I can get you one from the store. Let me go ask Pa if we can go to town." Aaron tells him jumping up to leave.
Coming back a few minutes later he says "Pa said we can all go but to come home by three o'clock."
"Ben and I have to be home by three also." George tells him.
"Ben, what time is it now?" George asks since Ben is carrying Pa's old watch.
"Two ten, George. We have about thirty more minutes and we'll have to start for home. Pa is strict about being home on time and we'll be in trouble if we aren't home when he says. We'd be housebound from town if we don't mind him." Ben tells his friends.
"You're Pa is a lot more fussy about rules and things than ours. Papa doesn't scold and punish us for little things." Alyssa says, bragging some.
"I know Uncle Chris is easy to deal with. He doesn't spank the way Mitch will or Uncle Matt too. Uncle Matt is getting more strict with us. When he came over to have lunch with us yesterday, he spanked Ben." George tells her.
"Why?" Aaron asks.
"I talked back to him and didn't do what he said. He was telling me to clean the chicken coop as a punishment for calling Claire a broody hen at lunch. He said that was disrespectful and if I liked to call people chickens I could clean the coop. I told him he wasn't my boss and couldn't tell me what to do. I went and hid in the barn but he found me and walloped my backside. Then he made me clean the coop! I don't like him much anymore!" Ben tells him.
"What did your Pa say about it?" Aaron asks.
"Lucky for me, Uncle Matt didn't tell him. Claire didn't either." Ben answers. "Pa, Joseph and Rob were gone to get some wood for building a new hen house." Ben tells them as they walk into town.
Just outside the store, Aaron whispers his plan to his sister. "We have to get the toys for Ben and George, Alyssa. They are our good friends and that's what friends do is help each other. I'll get the dancing man and you get the chicken game. Be fast and hide it in your dress. Don't get caught! Okay?"
"Aaron! That's not right. You aren't supposed to take things without paying."
"I know that! We don't have the money now. We can pay for it later when we do. Ben and George want the toys now though, not later. Don't you want to be a nice friend to George?"
"Oh, alright. I will tell Papa this was all your idea if we get found out!" Alyssa whispers back.
"Fine by me, let's go and be sneaky! Remember how we used to do with the other father? Do that again." Aaron tells her.
A short time later, the twins come walking back out to where they told Ben and George to wait for them.
"Come on, let's go to the gazebo. We have something to show you." Aaron tells the boys.
At the gazebo, Aaron pulls a dancing man and platform from his shirt. "Here Ben, I got this for you. There was only one left."
"Thanks Aaron! You're a great friend!"
"George, Alyssa has something for you. Right Alyssa?" Aaron turns to glare at his sister.
"Here George, this is for you. I know you like the chicken game so I got one for you. No one but us will have these toys because there aren't any left." She says, handing over the toy.
"Thanks Alyssa! I really wanted one. Ben look! We have the chicken game too, now."
"Yes, thanks so much guys. We love them." Ben says grinning.
"You have to hide them though. Pa doesn't know we got them for you and might not let you keep them. Your Pa wouldn't either since he said you didn't need them. Okay?" Aaron asks.
"Yes, we'll hide them. We won't let anyone else see them." Ben agrees. "We better start home, George. We don't want to be late getting home. Bye, Alyssa and Aaron. Thanks again."
"Bye, thanks for the gifts, we'll enjoy them." George calls.
"Ben, where are we going to put these so no one sees them?" George asks as they walk into the barn.
"Right here, in the grain barrel. We can wrap them up in burlap sacks so they won't get messy." Ben answers.
"That's a good place. Since we are the ones to feed the chickens, nobody else will get into the grain barrel." George answers smiling.
"Yes, but we'll have to play with them somewhere hidden. It will not be good if we get caught with these toys, George. Maybe we need to take them to the treehouse as soon as we can."
"But if we do that, they'll get all wet. It rains into the treehouse from the window cutout, Ben! I don't want my chicken game to get all wet!"
"For now we'll leave them here. I'll try to think of somewhere else to take them. Okay?" Ben says exasperated.
"Yeah, thanks Ben."