Journey With the Comet

by Dana Wayne Haley

  Leona’s eyes brightened, and she said: “Really? You mean you would give your telescope to….”

  Then her eyes lost their sparkle when her father interrupted.

  “Leona and I appreciate the generous offer, Mr. Berry, but she couldn’t take your telescope. You kept it all these years, so it must mean a great deal to you. Thanks anyway.”

  “Don’t be silly, Mr. Haley. I want Leona to have it. I still have the telescopes I bought for my son and daughter, and they mean much more to me than my own. The one I want Leona to have wasn’t a gift. I bought it myself, so it doesn’t have that much sentimental value to me. Since she’s so interested in astronomy I want your daughter to have the use of it. All it does now is collect dust.”

  “Well, in that case I guess it would be all right. Would you like the telescope, Leona?” Murdock asked, knowing full well what her answer would be.

  “I sure would, Papa,” she answered. And the sparkle came back into her eyes as quickly as it had left.

  “Well then, it’s settled,” Charlie said. “I’ll bring it tomorrow and then you can find out what it’s like to see the Moon and the stars close up. I’m sure you’ll have yourself a real good telescope by the time Halley’s Comet comes along again, but in the meantime you’ll at least have something to search the sky with. And who knows, maybe someday you’ll discover a new comet with the help of my old telescope. If you do you can name it the Haley-Berry Comet.”

  “Gee, that’s a good idea, Mr. Berry,” Leona said excitedly. “I’ve been wondering—if I ever did discover a comet—what I could name it, since Haley’s Comet is already taken.”

  With that, Charlie stood up and thanked Margaret for the lunch.

  “I especially enjoyed your homemade bread and cookies. They were wicked good. I wish I could stay a whiles longer, but it’s time I was goin’. My garden’s waiting for me; unfortunately, weeds don’t pull themselves. Anyway, thanks much though for your hospitality.”

  “You’re more than welcome, Mr. Berry. And thanks again for helping my little girl, and also for helping Murdock when he was hurt.”

  “No need to thank me, Mrs. Haley. Like I said, anyone would’ah done the same.”

  “Just a minute, Mr. Berry, I have something for you to take home. Arlene, please fetch the fresh-baked loaf of bread from the kitchen.”

  When Arlene returned with the warm loaf of bread wrapped in a cloth she handed it to her mother.

  “I think you’ll enjoy this, Mr. Berry. It’s hot out of the oven,” Margaret said, handing the soft loaf of homemade bread to Charlie.

  “There’s no thinking involved,” Murdock said. “You’ll definitely enjoy Margaret’s fresh baked bread. I can guarantee that.”

  “I’m sure I will. And after meeting you folks I think I’m beginning to change my mind about people,” Charlie said as he shook their hands, bidding them goodbye. And then he left, pulling his wagon with Margaret’s still warm loaf of bread tucked safely under his left arm.

  —2—

  “He’s such a nice man isn’t he, Leona?” Margaret said of Charlie as they watched him walk across the back field and disappear into the woods.

  “He sure is, Mama. And you sure were right when you said you can’t believe everything you hear. Mr. Berry is nothing like what people have said about him; not one bit.”

  “That’s for darn sure,” Murdock said. “There’s not many around as pleasant and as likable as him. And as generous; I still can’t believe he’s gonna give you his telescope.”

  “I know, Papa, me neither. I sure wish I could pay him back for it somehow.”

  “Maybe you can, dear,” Margaret said. “Would you mind taking him some of my homemade bread and jam every now and again.”

  “I’d love to, Mama.”

  “Good. It’s the least we can do, after all he’s done for us. Now, tell your father and I a little more about what happened to you today.”

  After hearing the full story about what the boys did and what they intended to do, Leona’s parents were furious, especially when they heard that Jake and the other boys intended to cut off their daughter’s hair.

  “I’m not taking this lying down,” Murdock said. “As far as I’m concerned, those kids hav’ta be taken down a peg or two. They bit off more than they can chew when they threatened my daughter, and they’re gonna rue the day for doing that. I’m gonna find Sheriff Crowley right now and have those boys arrested. They’ve gotta be punished this time and I’m gonna see to it they are.”

  Leona’s father was true to his word. He tracked down the sheriff and told him about the trouble. However, since the boys hadn’t followed through on their threat, the sheriff said there was nothing he could do, other than give them a warning.

  “I’d like to see those boys pay for their actions,” a frustrated Murdock told his wife.

  “So would I, Murdy. But there’s nothing we can do right now. Someday they’ll get what’s coming to them and then they’ll hav’ta pay the piper.”

  “I sure hope so, Maggie. I just hope by then that it’s not too late.”

  Chapter 49

  Jill Disappears

  On the day Leona stumbled upon Charlie Berry she was supposed to meet Jill at her home to play a game of Cribbage. Jill was expecting to see her friend by 11:00 that morning, so she was mildly concerned when Leona failed to show up at the specified time.

  “Mom, it’s 11:30 and Leona should have been here a half-hour ago. It’s not like her to be this late.”

  “Don’t worry, Jill, something probably came up,” Mrs. Jensen assured her daughter. “Maybe she had to help her mother or her Aunt Mae with something. Leona’s always offering to help somebody with something-or-other. I’m sure that’s what happened this time, and she probably just lost track of time. She’ll be here before long, you’ll see. In the meantime I’ll fix you a sandwich and milk for lunch, and then you can have a piece of my apple pie. It’s right out of the oven, so it’ll still be warm when you’re ready for it.”

  “Thanks, Mom. You’re probably right about Leona.”

  When Jill finished lunch it was a little past noon and she became increasingly worried about her friend.

  “Mom, something has to be wrong. I’m headed to the Haleys’ to see if anything has happened. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

  “Okay, dear. But I’m sure everything’s fine. Say hello to Maggie for me,” Mrs. Jensen said as Jill ran out the door.

  —1—

  It was 12:30 by the time Jill began her journey to find Leona. As she walked along Friendship Path she was wondering what it would be like going to school this fall without Leona, and she became depressed. Then she began reminiscing about all of the good times that she and her best friend had over the last 6 years, and that cheered her up.

  A few minutes later she was turning onto the Stream Road, heading for Leona’s home. After taking only a few steps the worried girl heard a noise coming from behind her, and then she felt something bump her left shoulder. Although Jill could not tell who it was, the four boys who had been scared off by old Charlie Berry were frantically rushing past her, pushing and shoving each other as they did. They had been running hard, mostly uphill, for nearly five minutes without stopping to rest and were almost out of breath. Fear showed in their eyes, and in their rush they were stumbling over small rocks and broken twigs that littered the grassy woods road while periodically looking back over their shoulders to make sure that they weren’t being chased. In their haste one of them bumped into Jill and nearly knocked her over as they hurried past. Unfortunately, when she was suddenly jostled out of her daydream by the bump, the perturbed girl made the mistake of shouting out:

  “Hey, you nitwits, what’s the rush? Watch where you’re going next time!”

  When the boys turned around, Jill recognized Jake and his friends, and that’s when they realize
d that it was Jill.

  “Well, look what we’ve stumbled onto,” a breathless Jake said.

  As soon as Jake got his wind, his eyes widened and he turned toward his friends.

  “Hey, guys, the gods must be smiling on us today; maybe we can get some revenge after all.”

  Jill couldn’t understand what he was saying, but when Jake suddenly grabbed her arms she soon realized that it was anything but friendly.

  “Stop it! What are you doing?” she cried.

  “Shut up, bitch!” Jake yelled, still furious that he hadn’t been able to take out his revenge on Leona.

  While struggling to get away, Jill kicked Jake in the shins, causing him to release her arms. As soon as he did she started to run home.

  “Billy! Justin! Grab her!” he shouted.

  The boys did as Jake said and grabbed the fleeing girl before she could make her way past them. She again struggled, screamed, and kicked at the boys’ legs, but they were too big for her; and, try as she may, she couldn’t escape their grasp.

  “What are we gonna do now?” Billy asked.

  Jake didn’t answer; instead he pulled some scissors out of his back pocket and waved them in front of Jill’s face.

  The terrified girl pleaded: “Please don’t hurt me! I didn’t do anything to you.”

  “I guess she has a short memory, Billy,” Jake said. “But I don’t.”

  “Me neither,” Billy replied. “I remember real well what she and her bitch girlfriend did to us.”

  Jake started to move toward Jill. As he did, Mike, the most timid of the gang, said: “Jake! Don’t.”

  “Keep you mouth shut, Mike, or you’ll be out of this gang for good. I’m tired of you acting like a sissy all the time. Understand?”

  “Yes,” he whimpered, while lowering his eyes and meekly stepping out of Jake’s way. And then, with his friends holding the struggling girl’s arms, Jake began to cut off Jill’s hair.

  “Pleeease stop,” she begged while crying hysterically.

  “I’m not finished yet, bitch,” Jake screamed.

  “Why are you doing this to me?”

  “Because I want to,” he mocked.

  After a couple of minutes most of Jill’s long blonde hair was lying in a pile on the ground.

  “There, how does it look, guys?”

  “She looks just like Joan of Arc,” Billy laughed.

  “You can thank your friend Leona for your new hairdo,” Jake laughed. “And you can thank her for what’s gonna happen to you next.”

  “What are we gonna do with her?” Mike asked.

  “Don’t worry. You’ll see soon enough. Unless you’re gonna act like a wimp again and run home to mommy.” Mike looked at the ground and said nothing.

  “Bring her this way,” Jake ordered. “We’re gonna take her for a nice, cool swim; and then we’re really gonna have some fun with her.”

  Jill began struggling even harder and screamed as loud as she could.

  “I told you to zip it, bitch!” Jake yelled. “Mike, take the gag we brought for her bitch girlfriend and stuff it in her mouth. That’ll keep her quiet.”

  After being gagged, Jill was forced to walk down the road between Billy and Justin as they obediently followed Jake toward the stream. Mike walked behind them with a worried look on his face. The boys were about 200 feet from the path that led to Charlie Berry’s cabin when they saw him making his way onto the Stream Road pulling a small wagon.

  “It’s the crazy man and he’s got his gun! Hurry, let’s get her into the woods,” Jake whispered.

  Unfortunately, neither Charlie nor Leona saw the boys when they were turning onto the Stream Road. Charlie couldn’t see them because he was busy pulling his wagon, making sure it cleared a large rock sitting at the corner of the intersection; and Leona was sitting backwards on the cart holding her sore ankle, so she didn’t see the boys either. Jake and his friends frantically pulled Jill deep into the woods where they could hide with her until Charlie Berry and Leona were gone. Jill tried desperately to cry out, but the gag in her mouth muffled her cries. She knew that if either Leona or Charlie had just turned around in time they would have seen the boys dragging her into the woods. But much to her chagrin they didn’t, and Jake made sure that the two of them were well out of sight before he and the other boys dragged the scared girl back onto the Stream Road.

  “Okay, let’s take baldy down to the stream and have some more fun with her,” Jake ordered.

  Once again the boys began walking toward the Kenduskeag Stream, dragging Jill with them.

  —2—

  That afternoon Leona was resting peacefully on the living room couch reading a book, her left leg elevated, when Dr. Gifford walked in.

  “Hi, Leona, I hear you sprained your ankle,” he said.

  “That I did, Dr. Gifford. But it ain’t nothing serious.”

  “I’m sure it isn’t, but I better take a look at it anyway, to be sure.”

  “Help yourself, Doc. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. Was going dancing, but thought better of it,” she joked.

  The doctor laughed and then took a look at Leona’s ankle. He felt all around it for broken bones, finding none.

  “Why don’t you try walking on it now,” he said.

  Leona got off the couch and walked gingerly on her ankle as the doctor and her mother watched.

  “She’ll be fine, Maggie,” he said after seeing that Leona was able to walk okay, albeit with a slight limp. “It’s just a minor sprain. Well, I best be on my way. Got to visit old man Cutler, and it’s a far piece to Glenburn Center.”

  “Thanks for coming out so quick, Dr. Gifford,” Murdock said.

  “Think nothing of it, Murdy. You can walk on that ankle as soon as you feel like it, Leona. It’ll pain you a little, but you can’t hurt it any more than it already is.”

  “Thanks, Dr. Gifford,” Leona yelled as her parents were escorting him out the door. After he climbed onto his buggy Margaret handed the doctor a bag of date-filled cookies.

  “These are for you and Martha. Say hello to her for me.”

  “I’ll do that. So long now.”

  “Take care, Dr. Gifford,” Margaret said.

  “Same to you. And you too, Murdy.”

  “So long, Doc,” Murdock yelled. “Be careful down on the Winter Fun Road; there’s a deep hole on the south side of the road, near the Six Mile Falls Road. A culvert is starting to wash away right there. The last rainstorm we had did a number on it, so keep an eye out.”

  “I’ll do that, Murdy. Thanks for the warning.”

  —3—

  After being pronounced fit, Leona set out anew to visit Jill, but since her ankle still felt a little tender she didn’t want to take the chance of turning it again on one of the rough woods roads. Instead, she asked her father to give her a ride in his wagon.

  “I guess that would be okay, dear. Mr. Fogg told me I could take the afternoon off if I needed to. I’ll harness up Prince and have the wagon ready in about ten minutes.”

  “Thanks, Papa. I hate to bother you, but I told Jill I’d be there at around eleven, so she’s probably worried out of her head by now.”

  Murdock readied his wagon and they set off towards Jill’s. When they were pulling into the Jensen’s short driveway Leona saw Jill’s mother sitting on her porch reading the morning paper.

  “Hi, Mrs. Jensen. Is Jill in the house?” she asked.

  “No, Leona. When you didn’t show up she got worried and went looking for you.”

  “We haven’t seen neither hide nor hair of her, Mary,” Murdock said.

  “Oh my God! Murdock, do you think something could’ah happened to Jill?”

  “Oh, I’m sure she’s okay, Mary,” he said, knowing that he couldn’t be sure of anything. “She probably just took a wrong turn
and got lost in the woods.”

  “That’s not likely, Murdy. Jill knows these woods like the back of her hands.”

  “Well, if that’s the case, then we’d better get on our way lookin’ for her. When did she leave?”

  “Not long after noon. Right after she ate lunch. Where do you suppose she could be, Murdy?” the worried mother asked.

  “Could be anywhere, I suspect. But we’ll find her, Mary. Don’t you worry ‘bout that.”

  “I do nothing but worry, Murdy. She’s my only child, my baby, and I don’t know what I’d do if anything should happen to her. I need to go with you. I’ll go crazy with worry if I don’t.”

  “Hop right up here then. The three of us will find your daughter in no time at all,” Murdock said, trying to reassure her.

  “Just a second,” the frantic mother said while turning to run into the house.

  While Mrs. Jensen was in the house moving a pot of coffee from the hot part of the cook stove to the warm part, Leona turned to her father and expressed concern.

  “I’m worried, Papa. Jill could have run into those boys on her way to see me.”

  “I know, Leona. I was thinking the same thing myself. I just pray she didn’t.”

  Within seconds Mary came running out of her house and climbed on the wagon.

  “Let’s hurry!” she pleaded.

  Because he didn’t want to upset Jill’s mother any more than he had to, Murdock wasn’t looking forward to telling her about the trouble Leona had encountered earlier that day, but he knew she had to be told.

  “I’d want to know, if I were Jill’s parent,” he thought. “Besides, she needs to know everything in order to be of use in the search.”

  After he told Mrs. Jensen the story she became even more upset.

  “Don’t worry, Mary, she’s probably okay,” Murdock said, just before saying “giddy-yup.”

  While driving his wagon along Friendship Path he scanned the road directly in front of him for any signs of Jill. He asked Leona and Mary to search the sides of the road and the woods, so Mrs. Jensen took the right side and Leona the left.