Bringing Ezra Back Read Online Free

times we used to have with Isaac. I reckon Molly, Pa, and I were all thinking about Ezra and what was going to happen next.
    While Molly and I cleaned up, Pa and Orrin Beckwith spoke quietly by the fire. Then Pa sent Molly and me to bed. We could hear Pa and Beckwith talking more as the night grew darker.
    My feet itched something awful, and it was peculiar to think I might be going on a journey, after all. I never thought I’d sleep, what with the itching and the murmur of voices, but I did. I had terrible dreams. In them Ezra was trying to call to me for help.
    Next morning, Pa told me it was settled: I was leaving that very day to go with Orrin Beckwith. Beckwith would take me back along his route into Pennsylvania, where he was sure we’d hear news of the traveling show. It all seemed so sudden-like.
    The plan, as Pa had just described it, sounded as wiggly as his eyesight. All at once, I had my doubts about it. Pa must have known, because he caught my eye and gave a sideways glance at Molly. Then I knew there was more he wanted to say to me, but not in front of her. I nodded to show I understood.
    I looked at Orrin Beckwith, who was settling up with Pa over the cost of Molly’s dyes, and felt more than a little uncertain at the prospect of heading off with him. Then I thought of Ezra again, and pushed the uneasiness out of my mind.
    Pa caught up with me when I was doing my chores. I’d fed the chickens and Job, our horse, and was milking Golly when Pa came into the barn. I kept my eyes on the stream of milk hitting the pail while he talked.
    â€œNathan,” he said, “I’m of two minds about this thing. I want to help Ezra, but not if it means putting you in danger.”
    There was silence for a minute, and I looked at Pa. He was rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. His shoulders looked droopy. The worry in his mind showed all over his body.
    â€œI can’t think what could have happened for Ezra to end up in such a fix,” he said.
    I had been wondering about the same thing. It bothered me, too. But I’d come up with an explanation in my mind. “Here’s how I figure it,” I said. “I reckon these show folks tricked him somehow and he couldn’t speak up for himself. And since he turned his back on killing and such after he left the army, he wouldn’t fight back. That’s why he needs help, Pa.”
    Pa looked thoughtful. “Could be you’re right. There’s just no telling.”
    â€œI expect finding him will be the hardest part,” I said, then shrugged. “After that, I’ll bring him home with me.”
    Pa hesitated a minute. “What if he doesn’t want to come?”
    I looked at him, astonished. “Why wouldn’t he want to leave that show? You know how he is about being around people.”
    â€œYes,” Pa said gently. “And that includes us, too, Nathan.”
    â€œBut—”
    â€œOh, I know Ezra cares for you and Molly and me,” Pa went on. “But he’s given up on white folks’ ways, you know that.”
    â€œAt least I can get him away from that show, and then…” My voice trailed off. I didn’t know what would come next.
    Pa shook his head. “Say he is with the show against his will. Who’s holding him? And what’s a boy, even one near grown like yourself, going to do about it?”
    I was quiet, thinking. “I reckon I can’t know till I get there,” I said finally.
    Pa looked at me, and in his face I could see how much he wished he could do this instead of me.
    â€œI’m not afraid, Pa,” I lied.
    â€œI am,” he said, but his voice was so low I wasn’t sure I’d heard right.
    After a moment he spoke again. “I remember listening to a preacher one time. He said that when a man is faced with a decision, the hard choice is almost always the right one. But I can’t figure which is harder, turning my