Hattie Big Sky Part 18

Behind the autos came the County Council of Defense, all mounted on Tipped M horses. Traft touched the brim of his hat as he pa.s.sed me. I didn't acknowledge the gesture. Behind the riders, the Methodist church staged a patriotic tableau, and then the children of the Wolf Creek School-minus their star pupil, Chase-marched, adorned with blue sashes and singing "Over There." As my charges waved their flags in approval, a gust of wind snaked down the street.

Fern's flag flew out of her hand. "Fwag!" she cried, toddling toward the steps.

"Oh, careful, honey." I pulled her back. "You might get trampled!"

"Fwag! Fwag!" Plump tears rolled down her plumper cheeks.

"There, there," said Mr. Hanson. "None of that." He reached into his pocket and pulled out three pieces of ribbon-striped stick candy. "Hold on to this for a while," he told Fern. He gave a stick apiece to Chase and Mattie and then unwrapped the last one for Fern.

"What do you children say?" I asked.

"Thank you, Mr. Hanson!" Mattie and Chase chimed together. Fern flashed a juicy baby smile around her treat. Mr. Hanson laughed. "A sweet helps any hurt, don't it, Fern?" She kept working on her stick candy.

At the very tag end of the parade came Mr. Cogswell's delivery wagon, its sides adorned with hand-painted signs proclaiming "National War Savings Day Parade." Unable to resist this ripe opportunity for promotion, Mr. Cogswell had also tacked a smaller banner across the back of the wagon, advertising "Fresh Cherries at Cogswell's. Best price in town."

Mr. Hanson catcalled good-naturedly when he saw that. "Come on, children." He took Mattie by the hand. "Let's get something cool in you." Chase followed, and some of the other children from around town did, too.

"Go on ahead," I said to the children, handing Fern to Leafie. "Now that the parade's over, I can retrieve her flag."

"Better hurry," said Leafie, smas.h.i.+ng her hat tight to her head. "With this wind, it'll be blown clear over to North Dakota in no time."

I scampered down the stairs from the sidewalk to the street. Fern's little flag had not escaped being trampled by the parade's partic.i.p.ants. I picked up the sad, tattered souvenir, hearing her wails in my head. I didn't want her day to end on tears, so I walked back over to the Herald office to buy another flag. What was a nickel, anyway?

A wrangle of male voices caught my attention. Down the way, from where the parade had ended, another parade of sorts was beginning. The leader appeared to be Traft Martin.

The crush stopped next to the land office. Several hulking men shouldered their way inside. Soon they were back, pus.h.i.+ng a slim man with gla.s.ses out ahead of them. It was Mr. Ebgard.

"Word has it, Ebgard, that you haven't been doing your share to support the war effort," growled a man I didn't know.

"Seems mighty unpatriotic of you," said someone else.

"Maybe with a name like Ebgard, you're hoping the Kaiser wins."

A tall man stepped forward, towering over the much smaller Mr. Ebgard. "Perhaps you forgot how many boys from Wolf Point are over there-"

"And Circle and Vida," called other voices in the ever-growing crowd.

"From all over around here, boys we grew up with..." The tall man's next words were nearly drowned out in cries and shouts. "Seems you'd be thinking of them instead of some foreigners."

I pressed up against a storefront, close enough to Mr. Ebgard to see sweat beaded up on his nose and forehead. His gla.s.ses were askew. He straightened them. "I have done nothing wrong," he said quietly.

"Nothing wrong?" Traft Martin spoke up, looking at the gathered men. "Why weren't you watching the parade? And what about writing that letter to the governor? In support of that preacher over to Brockway?"

"His church is mostly immigrants. They can't understand him if he preaches in English." Mr. Ebgard's voice was calm.

"That's the language of loyal Americans." Traft took one step closer to Mr. Ebgard. I could see veins popping out on either side of Traft's neck. Rivulets of sweat rolled in icy streams down my spine.

"Tell you what we'll do, Ebgard." Traft spat out the name. "You can prove your loyalty here and now. Fred?"

The tall man-Fred-pulled out a small American flag. He waved it under Mr. Ebgard's nose.

"You love this country?" asked Traft.

"You know I do." Mr. Ebgard's chin quivered slightly, but his voice was strong and clear.

Fred backed up the street, almost to Erickson's Hotel. Traft pointed toward him. "Then prove it. You get down on your hands and knees and crawl before your flag." He stepped closer to Mr. Ebgard. "And when you get there, you kiss it. You hear me?"

The crush of men closed in on him. I wobbled like a newly dropped calf, overcome with the smell of sweat. And fear. And pure meanness.

Step forward, I told myself. Make them stop.

The men continued with their vicious prank. Someone pushed Mr. Ebgard, hard. He fell to his knees. His gla.s.ses flew toward me.

"Start crawling," Traft ordered.

Dread and disbelief turned me into a statue. I watched Mr. Ebgard struggle to his feet. His jacket sleeve was torn out of the shoulder seam, and his pants were filthy with horse droppings.

Do something! My brain cried out the orders, but my legs refused. I couldn't take my eyes from the horrifying scene.

Someone kicked Mr. Ebgard. He fell to the ground face first. Blood trickled from his nose.

I glanced around. Why wasn't anyone stopping this? A wave of nausea swept over me as it had that day I fainted in the field. There was no "anyone" at a time like this. There was only me.

"Traft." I could hardly get the name past my trembling lips. I tried again. "Traft!"

Startled, he turned.

"Go on home, missy," one of the men called.

I took a baby step forward. Thank G.o.d my legs held. "I-I-" What could I say to these men? "I have business with Mr. Ebgard." Another baby step forward. And another. I bent to pick Mr. Ebgard's gla.s.ses up out of the dust. "A legal matter." With trembling hands, I returned his gla.s.ses to him. "I'm sorry I'm late."

Mr. Ebgard rose and slipped them back on his face. "Won't you step into my office?" I took his arm-to steady myself.

A hand grabbed my shoulder. "What do you think you're doing?" I didn't recognize the voice, but I refused to turn. My stomach churned; I could taste bile in my throat. I steeled myself against the blows that were sure to come.

"We've nothing against her." That voice I did recognize. It was Traft's. "Let her be," he said.

The stranger released me with a jerk, spinning me away from Mr. Ebgard.

"You're all a bunch of traitors," the stranger said. But most of the men began to ease away, as if they'd suddenly found other business in town. Fred and his flag were nowhere to be seen. Traft stared at me, then opened his mouth as if to say something more. He shook his head and walked away.

I made it into Mr. Ebgard's office before I collapsed, slumping into the nearest chair. "I feel..." I swallowed hard. "Sick."

Mr. Ebgard rummaged in the cabinet behind his desk. He pulled out a bottle and two gla.s.ses. He poured something into each one. "Drink this."

The liquid burned down my throat. After one sip, I set the gla.s.s on the desk. "That was horrible," I said. "Those men-"

Mr. Ebgard set his gla.s.s down, too. His hand trembled as he dabbed at his mouth with a handkerchief.

"They all look so normal." I couldn't express what was roiling around inside me. "Like neighbors."

He poured himself another shot. "Some of them were. My neighbors."

"I don't understand." My arms, legs, head, everything was heavy. Too heavy to move.

He lifted his gla.s.s to his lips, started to sip, then put the gla.s.s down. "It's the war."

I placed my palms on the desk, breathing deeply. "Did the war burn Karl's barn?" I said slowly. "Break little Elmer's arm? Change you into a criminal?"

"No." He sat heavily in a chair. "No. But this evil is so big. The fight has spread far beyond the battlefield. It's to the point that anything-even writing a letter on behalf of a pastor and his flock-can be seen as treason."

Mr. Ebgard's voice was calmer; I noticed my hands had stopped shaking. "I'd better get back to Leafie and the children. They'll wonder." I stood slowly, testing my legs. They wobbled as they had that day on the train, during the fat man's tirade. But they held.

"You are a brave girl." Mr. Ebgard patted my arm. "A brave girl."

I looked at his sc.r.a.ped and bruised face. "You might want to clean up before you head home," I said. "Good day, Mr. Ebgard."

"Good day, Miss Brooks." He opened the door and glanced outside. "All quiet," he said.

I stepped through the open door, pausing on the walkway to take another deep breath. I paused again before going over to Hanson's Cash Grocery. I tried to clear my mind of what had happened. Clear my mind so it wouldn't show on my face. My legs were barely shaking as I went inside.

"Here." Mr. Hanson handed me a sarsaparilla. "You look like you could stand to wet your whistle."

"Fwag?" asked Fern. Absently I handed her the trampled one.

"Hattie?" Leafie looked at me. I shook my head to keep her from saying anything else.

"Dirty." Fern threw the flag down.

I thought about Traft and the men with him, swarming like enraged wasps. I wiped my eyes. "Yes, it is," I said.

CHAPTER 18.

JULY 1918.

THE ARLINGTON NEWS.

Honyocker's Homily ~ Independence Day Don't think, because we have no fancy bandstands or city parks, that we can't celebrate Independence Day with as much verve as you do in the big city. Folks from all around will gather on the banks of Wolf Creek to picnic, play baseball, and commiserate about the dreadfully dry weather. Though the tone will be light, we will stop at noon to honor our servicemen. And each of us, this writer especially, will pray that the current Allied success at the Battle of Cantigny signals a speedy end to this war.

"And there'll be vanilla ice cream." Chase had gone on for a full five minutes about the upcoming Fourth of July picnic. "Oh, and the baseball game!"

"It sounds wonderful." I filled another kettle with water from my well and lugged it over to the struggling garden. Thank the Lord for the deep well Uncle Chester had dug. After carrying countless kettlefuls to the green beans that morning, my arms felt as if they would fall right out of my shoulder sockets.

Chase filled a smaller pot and carefully measured the water out over my sunflower. "Mama did this last year," he said. "Planted flowers in coffee cans. She said this year, she planted a baby instead." We both laughed.

As we carried water to my onions and beets and melons and carrots, I thought back to all the gallons of water I'd wasted in my life. Not here! Every drop was put to good use: even my Sat.u.r.day night bathwater was stretched out, first was.h.i.+ng me, then was.h.i.+ng the cabin floor, and then was.h.i.+ng the dust off the tiny flower garden by the front steps.

I stood and tried to stretch the kinks out of my aching back. "Oof."

"Karl says it's thirty-two days without rain. Mr. Nefzger says it's thirty-one." Chase dipped his hand in the pot, wetted his fingers, and sprinkled his red face with a few drops of water. "I think Karl's right."

"I'd bet on Karl, too." I tousled Chase's hair. "If I was the gambling kind."

With Chase's help, my ch.o.r.es were soon done. I sent him home. "We'll be by for you tomorrow, early!" he called over his shoulder. I bustled myself inside, and soon there were four chokecherry pies cooling on the kitchen table-if it were possible to cool in this blamed heat. I'd taken to sleeping on my mattress out in front of the cabin in the last week. There wasn't a breath of air inside at night, even with the door open.

The first night I'd slept outside there was a lot of outside and not much sleeping. It's amazing what you can hear when you're stretched out on the prairie gra.s.s. Once the chickens settled, the night birds got to talking. Then there was the rustling gra.s.s all night long. I could only wish that rustle was caused by a breeze. But the air was as thick as corn syrup. No, these rustles belonged to the prairie night-pack rats and prairie dogs and who knew what else. Perilee had seen a skunk not long back. The only animal I didn't much worry about was Violet's wolf. There'd been no sign of it since that one winter's day; bounty hunters no doubt had dispatched it, as they had most of the wolves in this part of the country.

The second night I dragged my mattress outside, I was done in from lack of sleep, the heat, and pulling weeds all day. Sleep s.n.a.t.c.hed me up as fast as the hawk I'd seen s.n.a.t.c.h up a field mouse that day. Though the mattress did little to smooth out the lumps on the ground, it was better than sleeping inside that oven of a house.

Independence Day morning, Mr. Whiskers tickled me awake with a lick of his sandpaper tongue. I patted him, then stretched.

"Ouch." Every night I'd slept out, I'd found some new crick in my neck or back the next morning. I bent stiffly to pick up my mattress, took it back inside, and got myself organized for the day at Wolf Creek. In with the pies and the blanket and the fan from the National War Savings Day parade was something that would no doubt surprise everyone at the picnic.

When I was ready, I added to the letter I'd started to Charlie: Here Leafie and I were worried about Lottie at first, being so small, but that child is now solid as a tin of lard. I wondered if the other children might have their noses out of joint a bit about the baby, but they all adore her. Mattie nearly mothers her to death! She got it into her head to make Lottie a quilt-"a sister quilt"-so I am helping her. The st.i.tches are uneven but full of love.

The jingle of harnesses made me set aside the letter, grab my hat, and take one last look around. If I'd forgotten anything, it would have to stay forgotten. I hefted my basket of goodies and stepped out to greet the Muellers.

"Don't you look the picture?" said Perilee. I smiled, noting with approval that there were some cherries in her cheeks. She'd been slow coming back from giving birth to Lottie.

"A picture of a cooked goose, you mean." I climbed up next to her and began to fan myself. "Do you think we'll ever get a breath of breeze again?"