The Longest Road Read Online Free
Author: Jeanne Williams
we know Thou art a God of wrath as well as a God of love. We imploreââ
Laurie wished theyâd sing instead of pray. Singing made her feel better when she was blue or scared. Sometimes a tune got in her head and she hummed it for days. Softly, so no one could hear above the storm and Brother Arlo, she started humming âOnward, Christian Soldiersâ because it had a brave, marching swing to it.
Brother Arlo was still praying when she worked through all the verses so she began âThe Battle Hymn of the Republic.â All the time, she was praying, too, that the world wouldnât end, that Daddy and Bud would come home safeâand that the cherry tree would live.
2
Bud slit the soft gray-brown hide from neck to bottom, peeled it off, and gutted the rabbit. That made three of themâthree nickels heâd get from Mr. Haynes. It wouldâve been four but one skinny old rabbit had boils and Mr. Haynes wouldnât take the ones that did. The rabbits weighed three to seven pounds before they were dressed out. Bud left the guts and skin for the coyotes, bundled the rabbits in a gunnysack, and started for the river to wash.
At first heâd got sick at his stomach when he cleaned a rabbit but it didnât bother him now except when he didnât kill one with a shot and had to finish it. Daddy had given him the old .22 last Christmas and taught him to use it. Since then, heâd had his own money and didnât have to ask for a penny or nickel like Laurie did if she wanted an ice-cream cone or candy. After he saved up enough for a pump for the .22 so it could shoot more than once without being reloaded, he was going to buy Laurie that book of poems she wanted so bad, maybe in time for her birthday that October. Even if she had thrown that hot oatmeal on him, most of the time she was a lot better than his friendsâ big sisters. Letâs seeâthere were fifty shots in a box that cost six cents and when he was real careful, he almost never missed unless the jackrabbit heard him and ran. They covered the ground, too. Daddy said they could go thirty miles an hour, at least for a while. Supposing he hit forty out of fifty, that wasâhe frowned, struggling with the sums.
Two whole dollars! After he paid for the box of shorts, that left $1.94 profit. Till now, heâd never thought about it that way, just spent his nickels as he got them, choosing Big Little Books that Mama wouldnât forbid the way she did comic books, reveling in whole Baby Ruth candy bars, or getting a dip of strawberry as well as one of chocolate, sometimes treating his friends. It felt good to do that but he was going to have to cut out his free spending so he could buy the pump and Laurieâs book and some cowboy boots to wear to school that fall.
As he wiped his hands on his overalls, the cottonwoods bent at the top, making a sound like rushing water. Boy howdy! Why hadnât he seen that big black cloud before? It was boiling over the plain, heading right for him. Oh, if only he hadnât come on out here when he couldnât find Daddy!
He wouldnât leave the rabbits behind, though, or his .22. Guessing that Mama would be too glad to see him to spank him and forgetting the blood on his clothes, he struggled to get the bag over his shoulder so it would balance more easily, grabbed the rifle, and trotted toward town.
Within a few minutes, his side ached and he panted for breath. The wind gusted harder now that he was out of the shelter of the trees and the lower land near the river. Dust blinded him. He burrowed his head against the arm holding the rifle and stumbled on, coughing.
So dark. Couldnât see the sun, see anything. The storm wailed like ghosts. He went to his knees, dropping the rifle, groped for it, and went forward, doubled over. At least he thought it was forward. He didnât know where he was.
Was it the end of the world? It sure was dark, like Brother Arlo said
Laurie wished theyâd sing instead of pray. Singing made her feel better when she was blue or scared. Sometimes a tune got in her head and she hummed it for days. Softly, so no one could hear above the storm and Brother Arlo, she started humming âOnward, Christian Soldiersâ because it had a brave, marching swing to it.
Brother Arlo was still praying when she worked through all the verses so she began âThe Battle Hymn of the Republic.â All the time, she was praying, too, that the world wouldnât end, that Daddy and Bud would come home safeâand that the cherry tree would live.
2
Bud slit the soft gray-brown hide from neck to bottom, peeled it off, and gutted the rabbit. That made three of themâthree nickels heâd get from Mr. Haynes. It wouldâve been four but one skinny old rabbit had boils and Mr. Haynes wouldnât take the ones that did. The rabbits weighed three to seven pounds before they were dressed out. Bud left the guts and skin for the coyotes, bundled the rabbits in a gunnysack, and started for the river to wash.
At first heâd got sick at his stomach when he cleaned a rabbit but it didnât bother him now except when he didnât kill one with a shot and had to finish it. Daddy had given him the old .22 last Christmas and taught him to use it. Since then, heâd had his own money and didnât have to ask for a penny or nickel like Laurie did if she wanted an ice-cream cone or candy. After he saved up enough for a pump for the .22 so it could shoot more than once without being reloaded, he was going to buy Laurie that book of poems she wanted so bad, maybe in time for her birthday that October. Even if she had thrown that hot oatmeal on him, most of the time she was a lot better than his friendsâ big sisters. Letâs seeâthere were fifty shots in a box that cost six cents and when he was real careful, he almost never missed unless the jackrabbit heard him and ran. They covered the ground, too. Daddy said they could go thirty miles an hour, at least for a while. Supposing he hit forty out of fifty, that wasâhe frowned, struggling with the sums.
Two whole dollars! After he paid for the box of shorts, that left $1.94 profit. Till now, heâd never thought about it that way, just spent his nickels as he got them, choosing Big Little Books that Mama wouldnât forbid the way she did comic books, reveling in whole Baby Ruth candy bars, or getting a dip of strawberry as well as one of chocolate, sometimes treating his friends. It felt good to do that but he was going to have to cut out his free spending so he could buy the pump and Laurieâs book and some cowboy boots to wear to school that fall.
As he wiped his hands on his overalls, the cottonwoods bent at the top, making a sound like rushing water. Boy howdy! Why hadnât he seen that big black cloud before? It was boiling over the plain, heading right for him. Oh, if only he hadnât come on out here when he couldnât find Daddy!
He wouldnât leave the rabbits behind, though, or his .22. Guessing that Mama would be too glad to see him to spank him and forgetting the blood on his clothes, he struggled to get the bag over his shoulder so it would balance more easily, grabbed the rifle, and trotted toward town.
Within a few minutes, his side ached and he panted for breath. The wind gusted harder now that he was out of the shelter of the trees and the lower land near the river. Dust blinded him. He burrowed his head against the arm holding the rifle and stumbled on, coughing.
So dark. Couldnât see the sun, see anything. The storm wailed like ghosts. He went to his knees, dropping the rifle, groped for it, and went forward, doubled over. At least he thought it was forward. He didnât know where he was.
Was it the end of the world? It sure was dark, like Brother Arlo said
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