by D. L. Dennis
Miss Cartwright was as baffled as the rest of the staff and could not understand why Jenny was so drawn to the old man, but she did not say anything to her to stop her from going to talk to him. Mrs. Miller assured them that Jenny would tire of the old man eventually if they did not make a fuss about it, but that did not seem to be happening. It seemed that Jenny was more enthralled than ever. Miss Cartwright never got too far from Jenny and the old man, although she was sure that he was harmless. He had been there all summer and never even tried to talk to the children or the staff. He appeared to be very old. His face was craggy with deep wrinkles. She wondered how he even wandered through the woods from his house.
Miss Cartwright watched as Jenny sat down by the old man, something she had never done before. She watched Jenny pull something out of her pocket. She knew that Jenny was a very generous, caring youngster and was sure she had brought something from the breakfast table for the old man.
Jenny saw Miss Cartwright watching her and gave a little wave to her. She turned to the old man and said, “Hi. How are you today? I am glad you are here.”
With a smile, the old man turned his head to look at Jenny and said, “I am just fine, Jenny.”
Jenny looked intently into his eyes and said, “I remember your name is Christopher. If you live in the woods, does your family live with you? I have something for you. I brought you my sweet roll from breakfast. I hope you like it.”
As she handed the sweet roll to Christopher, he took it from Jenny’s hand and said, “Thank you, Jenny. You are a very special young lady.”
“How do you know I am special? I have a crippled foot. I cannot run as fast as the others, but that is OK. I like to play. I have lots of fun. Mr. Jake made this crutch just for me.”
Christopher smiled and said, “Mr. Jake is a very kind man.”
Christopher looked at Jenny and said, “I know you have a cripple foot, Jenny, but some day your foot will be well. I will always be here for you, Jenny.”
Jenny was baffled at what Christopher had said. What did he mean when he said he was going to be there for her? And, he said her foot would be well. She knew that her crippled foot would never be like her good foot. She was perplexed and was about to ask him what he meant when she heard Miss Cartwright calling for her to come and play.
Oh how she wanted to sit on the bench and talk to Christopher, but knew that she had to listen to Miss Cartwright. She wanted to get to know Christopher better. Her mind was full of questions to ask him, but she never got to sit with him long enough to ask the questions. Even though the other children made remarks about how he looked just like a ragged old man, Jenny did not care. He was not just a raggedy old man. She knew he was an extraordinary person.
“Jenny,” Christopher said, “Run and play with the other children. I will be here.”
Jenny smiled her biggest dimpled smile and said good-by to Christopher. She hopped off the bench and headed toward the swing set, dragging her crutch. She turned around and gave a little wave to the old man, which he returned with a smile.
Jenny loved to fly through the air in the swings as her hair blew all around her face, if it was not pulled back into a pony tail. She closed her eyes and pumped the swing to go higher and higher, letting the breeze cool her face. The other children were running around the playground, sliding on the slide and playing on the monkey bars, but she was content in the swing. Miss Cartwright glanced over at the old man on the bench occasionally. His eyes never seemed to leave Jenny.
Chapter 24
JENNY’S PLUNGE
Even though the sky had been a brilliant blue when they crossed the bridge, dark clouds were beginning to sneak across the sky, moving rapidly in their direction. There had been torrents of rain the past few days, and Miss Cartwright was not looking forward to another round of thunderstorms. She decided it was time to gather the children and head back across the footbridge before they got caught in the rain. As the sky began to darken, she called to the children to hurry and form a line so they could cross the footbridge. All the children jumped off the playground equipment and hurried toward Miss Cartwright. Jenny had to get her swing to stop, and then she had to grab her crutch. By the time she headed towards the other children, Miss Cartwright was hollering for her to hurry. Jenny scurried as fast as she could and looked over her shoulder to see if Christopher was still on the bench. As she glanced over, Christopher raised his bony hand in the air with a wave and smiled at her.
The first two in the line had started over the bridge as Jenny hobbled up behind the last one. Miss Cartwright was encouraging them to go as fast as they could, but to be careful on the slippery, wet boards. Big splats of rain began to fall, and the wind was whipping the tree branches.
Oh my, thought Miss Cartwright, I should have gotten these children over the bridge sooner. This storm popped up so quickly, I did not see it coming. We will all be soaked by the time we get to the house.
The rain began to fall steadily and the wind began to howl. Suddenly, one of the little girls slipped and fell down. Miss Cartwright quickly grabbed her hand to pull her up. She yelled at the children to hold tightly to their partner’s hand and go as fast as they could. With the rain and the wind so strong, she wanted desperately to go back to the end of the line where Jenny was. As she turned, she saw Jenny’s little crutch fly up in the air. In the blink of an eye, Jenny lurched forward. As soon as her body hit the slats, they broke. It looked like Jenny was airborne between the slats on the railing and fell over the side. Miss Cartwright screamed as she saw Jenny plunge into the water below. The river was swollen from the recent rains and was flowing very rapidly. Miss Cartwright felt like she was moving in slow motion.
Those children in front of Jenny began screaming, and two little girls burst out crying. Miss Cartwright yelled at them to hold tight to each other and to get across the footbridge. The rain pelted her face as she ran back down the footbridge. She had to get down to the edge of the river and see what happened to Jenny. Under the footbridge, there were large rocks that were slippery from the slime and moss that had accumulated on them. As she climbed over the rocks and looked down the river, she saw Jenny several yards beyond her. The river was flowing rapidly and Jenny was being carried downstream away from her. She could see Jenny’s head bobbing in the water and an arm fly up into the air. She had to rescue Jenny! But how was she going to do it?
Miss Cartwright glanced quickly back at the other end of the bridge. She could see the children running up through the yard toward the house. As she did this, her mind was racing. She either had to run down the river’s bank to try to catch up with Jenny, or she had to get into the river and hope she could swim with the current and catch up with Jenny. As she started to kick off her shoes and jump in the river, she took one last look and saw the old man running down to the river’s edge. As he ran, he jerked off his heavy, ragged coat, threw it on the ground and waded into the river. Within a split second, the river engulfed him, and she could barely see where he was in the river. Miss Cartwright was stunned to see the old man move so nimbly and fast. She was even more surprised to see how quickly he was in the water and swimming in the same direction as Jenny. How could that old man accomplish that feat? She could not see where Jenny was nor could she see the old man The rain was coming down in sheets.
Miss Cartwright was almost paralyzed with fear for Jenny and the old man. She ran down the river’s edge in the same direction that the current was taking them. She looked down the river and could see Jenny’s head bobbing up and down and saw her hand reach up for a large piece of debris. The current was very strong due to all of the rains that had occurred, and there were all sizes and shapes of debris floating in the water. As she ran along the edge of the river, she prayed that neither one of them would get hit by something in the water.
Miss Cartwright’s heart was beating so fast she thought her chest would burst. Her tears mixed in with the rain as it assailed her face. With all of the logs, limbs and other debris in t
he water, and the current carrying the old man and Jenny downstream, she was so frightened she could hardly get her thoughts together. She knew that it would be no use for her to try to save Jenny from the river. She was not that strong of a swimmer, and the current was much too strong.
What seemed like hours, but yet, was only minutes, there were other staff streaming across the yard of the orphanage paying no heed to the rain. The children had run into the house screaming that Jenny had fallen into the river. They were all trying to talk at once which made it difficult for anyone to understand what they were saying. Finally Mrs. Miller got one of the older boys to calm down enough to piece together the story and figure out what had happened. Several of the staff members ran out the door and headed to the footbridge, while others tried to calm the children.
As they got to the base of the footbridge, they could see that Miss Cartwright was down the river bank, but had turned and was running back in their direction. She ran across the footbridge and met Jake. Rain was still pouring down and the wind was whipping her wet hair across her face. She did not know what Jake was going to do. She saw Jake suddenly stop and pick up Jenny’s crutch. Oh, her heart ached for him, because she knew that Jenny was so special to him. He had just given her a new crutch a few days before, because she had outgrown the other one he had made. Jake grabbed Miss Cartwright’s arm, and she could feel the silent sobs racking his body. He was yelling at her to tell him what happened, and in between sobs, all she could say was Jenny fell.
Jake took Miss Cartwright back to the orphanage side. Everyone was in a state of panic, and no one knew what to do. Someone shouted that Mrs. Miller had called the fire department as soon as she heard that Jenny had fallen into the river. Miss Cartwright was so winded she could hardly talk, but kept saying over and over, “Jenny – The old man – The river” No one knew what she meant. All of a sudden, Miss Cartwright felt like a rock was sitting on her chest, and everything was beginning to move in slow motion around her. Then everything went black, and she fell to the ground as she fainted.
Everyone gathered around Miss Cartwright and all were talking at once. Why was she talking about the old man? They knew Jenny had fallen into the river, but what did the old man have to do with it. Jake had heard what Miss Cartwright had mumbled, but it made no sense. Jake was so stunned to think that Jenny had fallen into the river that he could hardly think straight. Scrambled thoughts kept rolling around in his mind, none of them making any sense. How could Jenny have fallen off of the footbridge? Was there something wrong with the crutch that made her fall? It must have been his fault! How could his little Jenny be carried away down the river? Why was Miss Cartwright mumbling about the old man?
As Jake looked down the river, he could see nothing except rocks and tree limbs in the swollen river. Jenny could not have fallen into the river. That was impossible. She was not tall enough to fall over the rail. But, where was she? Everyone was soaked from the rain, and no one seemed to be able to make a decision. Jenny was in the river, and Miss Cartwright was on the ground in a faint!
Mrs. Miller was quick to assess the situation and started giving orders for someone to run to the house and get some blankets for Miss Cartwright who was beginning to rouse. Jake was in such a stupor he felt utterly useless. The only thing he could think to do was to go back across the footbridge and run down the bank to see if he could see Jenny. Maybe she would be clinging to a low branch. He had to do something to try to find her.
Jake knew that the firemen would be coming soon, but he wished they would hurry. Fortunately, the rain was beginning to slack off, and the wind had stopped blowing, but the river was still flowing rapidly. Jake pulled the bill of his cap down and took off across the footbridge again traveling as fast as he could, praying for a miracle. He had no idea how long Jenny had been in the river, but he had to try to find her. He was not giving up on Jenny. He believed in miracles, and he sure needed one now!
As Jake ran across the footbridge as quickly as he could, he glanced at the playground and the forest of trees. Even though his mind was in a turmoil and full of grief, he could not help but think about how Jenny loved crossing the footbridge, playing on the swing set and her love of the forest. Just thinking about it brought on a fresh round of tears. There was the bench in front of the forest. He knew that Jenny had become friends with an old man that sat on that bench every time she crossed over the footbridge.
Chapter 25
JENNY’S MIRACLE
As Jake neared the end of the footbridge, something caught his attention as he glanced at the bench. With his eyes full of tears, he could hardly make out anything, but he thought he saw something on the bench. He wiped his eyes and squinted as he looked. There was something on that bench! No one else had crossed the footbridge so what could it be? His eyesight was not very good, and he could not make out what it was. As far as he knew, the old man was the only one that ever used the bench by the forest. He was torn – should he take the time to investigate what was on the bench, or should he head down the river bank in the direction the river was flowing? It did not make any sense, but Jake felt an urgency to run over to the bench. It was like he was being pulled toward the bench.
The rain had slacked off considerably and was not much more than a heavy sprinkle. As Jake looked back at the staff members who were in the orphanage yard, he could see that no one else was coming across the footbridge. He looked down the river bank and then again at the bench. He did not have time to tarry. His mind was scrambling to make sense of his thoughts. He knew only minutes had passed, but it felt like hours. Jenny’s life was at stake! But, he just had to see what was on that bench. Something was urging him to go in that direction. He raced across the playground as fast as he could. The closer he got the faster his heart beat. He could not run very fast, and his feet felt like they had twenty pound weights on them. He was sure he was running in slow motion. He had a strange tingling sensation the closer he got to the bench. He wondered if he was going to pass out, but he had to keep going. There was definitely an object laying on the bench! Was that a foot sticking up in the air? How could a body be on the bench? Was it his Jenny on that bench? How could it be? She was in the river. He must be going crazy!
As Jake got closer to the bench, he began to realize that there was a small body on it. How could a body be on that bench? There was no one on this side of the footbridge except Jenny. It had to be Jenny on the bench! But, Miss Cartwright had seen Jenny fall into the river.
By the time Jake reached the bench, he was so winded, he was gasping for his breath. His chest hurt, and he felt dizzy. He dropped to his knees, and for several seconds just stared at the child laying on the bench. It was his Jenny! He reached up and gently touched her cheek and softly said her name. How did she get on the bench? Was she alive? Her eyes were closed, and she felt cold. As he touched her cheek again and said her name, her eyelids fluttered. Jake’s heart lurched. She was alive. Tears of happiness welled up in his eyes, and he felt like shouting.
Jenny was smeared with mud, her hair was matted with leaves and pieces of sticks were entwined in the curls. A bruise was beginning to form on her forehead. He did not see any other major cuts or bruises. When Jake looked down at her foot, he saw that she had lost the shoe off her crippled foot. That was OK. They could always get another shoe, but they could not get another Jenny!
Jenny was laying on something that looked like a shabby, rumpled coat. Jake could not fathom where that came from, but it was soaked and he could not wrap Jenny in it. Even though his coat was wet, he jerked it off and spread it over Jenny. The inside of his coat was still dry so it would help a little.
“Little Miss Jenny. Jenny, it’s me, Mr. Jake.”
Jenny’s eyes fluttered open as she mumbled, “Christopher, where is Christopher?”
Jenny’s eyes fell shut again. Jake knew who Jenny was talking about. He had heard everyone talking about the old man named Christopher who sat on the bench and was only present when Jenny was in the
group of children. He had no idea why Jenny was saying Christopher’s name. His only concern was to get Jenny back to the orphanage. He was chilled from the rain, and he knew that Jenny had to be soaked and cold.
The rain was a slow drizzle by now, but Jake knew he had to get Jenny back into the house and get her warmed up. He checked her arms and legs and nothing seemed to be broken. He wrapped his coat around Jenny and gently picked her up as he talked to her, telling her that he was going to carry her back across the footbridge so they could get into the house and get warm. Jenny did not open her eyes, but put her arm around Jake’s neck. Within a few steps, Jake felt her arm go slack. He prayed that she would keep breathing until he got her back to the house.
Jenny was a small child for her age, but Jake was not a young man and had a hard time carrying her across the playground. He struggled as he walked across the footbridge and had to stop for a minute to catch his breath. Everyone had focused their attention on Miss Cartwright when she fainted, and no one had paid much attention to Jake as he went across the footbridge. As Jake struggled with each step, a couple of people on the other side saw him coming back toward them. They could see he was carrying something and rushed up to help him. By that time, he was more than half way over the footbridge.
When they saw that Jake was carrying Jenny, they were stupefied. It did not take long though for shouts of joy to fill the air. He told them he would carry Jenny the rest of the way. He was not going to relinquish Jenny to anyone. Some of the staff was still looking down the river, and others were standing in awe looking at Jake and Jenny, while others ran to the house to spread the news. Jake yelled for someone to call the doctor.
Jake did not know how Jenny had gotten out of the river and on that bench, just as he did not know who had left her at the gate those many years ago, but he had rescued Jenny once, and he was going to take her to safety again. Jenny did not stir as Jake carried her toward the house. He just prayed over and over that she was not hurt and would be OK.