by BJ Hoff
Other students were whispering and looking around, too, making enough of a disturbance that Mr. Stuart cleared his throat and lifted his eyebrows. Everyone shushed but continued to watch the door.
After a moment, Pastor Wallace returned with a small, dark-haired boy in tow.
Only when Mr. Stuart took the boy by the hand did Maggie realize that he had but one hand. There was nothing where his other hand should have been but a piece of white bandage showing below his sleeve.
Benny Pippino.
The boy darted an occasional glance from side to side as Mr. Stuart led him forward. Maggie immediately felt sorry for him, coming into a room filled with strange faces so soon after his harrowing accident. But why was he coming to school now? According to Da, none of the Pippino boys had ever gone to school.
The entire schoolroom had gone totally still, but it was the kind of quiet stretched tight by the tension of waiting. They didn’t have to wait long before Mr. Stuart stopped just in front of his desk, put a hand on the small boy’s shoulder, and faced the students.
“Class,” he said, “I want you to welcome our newest student. This is Benny Pippino, and he’s going to be studying with us from now on.”
The school in Skingle Creek rarely took in a new student. Maybe one or two a year. Nevertheless, Mr. Stuart had taught his class the proper way to welcome a newcomer.
“Welcome, Benny!” they said in unison.
“I know you’ll all help to make Benny feel at home with us.” Mr. Stuart looked as if he were about to say more, but the boy at his side murmured something so low the teacher had to bend over to hear.
Mr. Stuart straightened, smiling at the other students as he turned toward them again. “I stand corrected. Benny says everyone calls him ‘Pip.’”
From behind her, Maggie heard Billy Macken mutter something that triggered a laugh from Orrin. She saw Junior Tyree shake his head in obvious disgust. To Maggie’s surprise, Lily Woodbridge whipped around and gave Billy and Orrin one of her meanest looks along with a loud “Shush!”
Mr. Stuart’s face tightened, but he said nothing. Instead, he went on with his introduction.
“In addition to being a student, Pip will also be working here at the school part-time,” he said. “He’s going to be doing some of the extra tasks that always need attention, but which I…never find time to do.”
Maggie could hardly wait to get home to tell her parents. Da would no longer need to fret about finding a different job at the mines for Pip because Pip wouldn’t need a job there anymore!
Mr. Stuart led Pip to a desk among some of the younger, beginning students, waited until he was settled, and then came to the front again. “By the way, class, I need at least two volunteers to stay after the Christmas Exchange to help clean up. Pip will be staying too, but we can use some extra help.”
Without hesitating, Maggie raised her hand, and after a quick glance at Kenny, his hand went up too. Lily, never one to be left out, immediately started waving her hand in the air, but Mr. Stuart had already singled out Maggie and Kenny with a nod of his head. Lily wasted no time in yanking her hand down and giving an exaggerated shrug.
The Christmas Exchange was an event that Mr. Stuart had originated not long after he came to Skingle Creek, and something the class looked forward to every year. Instead of the students exchanging new and expensive gifts at Christmas—since none of the mining families had any money to spare for such extravagances—each student would wrap and give a homemade item. Names had already been drawn, and after school this Friday, they would exchange their gifts. To make it even more special, Mr. Stuart always brought the refreshments: popcorn balls which he made himself and sweet cider from the Allen farm.
As she watched the teacher take some books and paper over to Pip, it occurred to Maggie that for the first time in a long time something good had actually happened. The way things had worked out for Pip made her feel a little better. And with the Christmas Exchange, there was actually something to look forward to.
She recalled that her entire family, herself included, had prayed for a solution to Pip’s problem. Was it safe to think that what had happened was answered prayer?
She was almost afraid to take any pleasure in the moment for fear that she might somehow tempt something dark and wicked to purposely strike back in mockery at this rare and unexpected stroke of good fortune. She had heard too many of the older Irish women in town claim that laughter in the morning meant tears by night.
Even though her da said that was nothing but foolish superstition, Maggie wasn’t willing to take a chance. She would be sparing with her happiness.
Especially since these days there seemed little enough of it to go around in Skingle Creek.
Maggie tensed when Mr. Stuart stopped her and Kenny as they were about to go out the door for afternoon recess. It didn’t help when she saw Billy Macken watching them with narrow eyes, as if he were trying to hear the conversation.
She immediately started worrying that the teacher might somehow have learned about the situation with Billy and Orrin. She had seen the way his eyes sometimes followed the two boys, almost as if he was expecting trouble from them. And when he happened to look at her or Kenny these days, his expression was often peculiar, as if he was puzzling over something.
Maggie didn’t see how he could know anything for certain, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t suspicious. Everybody knew you couldn’t put much over Mr. Stuart, not for long.
Apparently, though, he meant only to talk about Pip.
“I’m hoping you and Kenny will keep an eye on the boy,” he said. “This is all very new to him. He’s never gone to school before, so he’s going to need a lot of help. I’d like to know I can count on the two of you.”
Maggie looked at Kenny, and both of them nodded.
“Good. Some things we can start right away. Although his mother has taught him to read a little, Pip’s probably going to be somewhat behind the other children his age. Not only in reading, but in penmanship and arithmetic as well. I’m going to work with him as much as I can, but I can’t give him all my attention during class. Since both of you often finish your work early, I’d like to call on you now and then to provide some extra coaching for Pip. Are you willing to do that?”
Again they nodded.
“I was sure I could depend on you. Now, there’s also the matter of helping him to fit in with the other children. I realize that he’s younger than both of you, but you can still be of help in making sure he’s not left to himself too much during recess and lunch.
“You know, Pip has had rather a hard life so far, young as he is,” said Mr. Stuart. “His father died last year in the mine cave-in, and now, having lost his hand, he’s at a disadvantage, or he will be until he learns to adapt. His family is large, and he very much needs this job in order to earn a wage, but also to get whatever education he can. I was thinking that perhaps you could walk at least part of the way home with him after school for a few days, just until he makes some new friends his own age?”
“Sure thing,” said Kenny, and Maggie agreed.
“I want to make certain he doesn’t become the target of any mischief or roughness by some of our more…difficult…students.” He looked first at one, then the other. “I believe you know the ones I mean.”
Maggie tried not to look at Kenny. Neither of them said anything.
After a long silence, the teacher continued. “One more thing. You should know, Maggie, that your father was instrumental in working this out.”
“Da already knows about Pip?”
“Oh, yes. In fact, your father is the one who set everything in motion.”
He paused and then went on. “No doubt you’ve noticed that I’m not…as well as I’d like to be. With the help of your father, I was able to convince the board to give Pip a part-time job here at the school. His wage will be almost as much as what he was making as a breaker boy, and at the same time, he’ll be able to get an education. This will help h
im, and it will help me. It’s not likely, though, that any of this would have happened had your father not taken an interest in Pip and resolved to help him. He’s a very caring man, your father. I must say I’ve come to admire him a great deal.”
Maggie stared at the teacher. Mr. Stuart admired her da?
Her mind raced. In truth, she’d always thought of Da as a somewhat hard man, not a caring one. She seldom knew what he was thinking, and he was never one for explaining himself. In fact, her mother was forever explaining things for him: trying to soften some hard way or sharp word of his, always insisting he meant only to do what was best for them, taking up for him when he refused them some request or other.
What Mr. Stuart was saying would definitely take some thought.
The warmth that stole over her at the teacher’s praise took Maggie by surprise, but it was a good feeling all the same.
At home that night, Maggie could scarcely wait until her da came out of the washroom and sat down at the table for supper. She started right in, as soon as he said grace and reached for the potatoes.
“Da, Pip came to school today!”
“Did he now?” He went on dishing up his potatoes.
“And Mr. Stuart introduced him and asked Kenny and me to keep an eye on him. And we’re to help him some with his schoolwork as well.”
“That’ll be good. Just don’t let your own work suffer.”
“I won’t. And guess what else Mr. Stuart said, Da?”
“Maggie, let your daddy eat before his supper is cold entirely,” said Ma.
“It’s all right, Kate. I can eat while she talks.”
“He said that you played an important part in working things out to help Pip.”
Da shook his head. “I did no such thing. I merely cast my vote with the rest of the board.”
“No, Da. Mr. Stuart said none of this would have happened without your help. And you know what else?”
He sighed. “I don’t, as a matter of fact. But I expect you’re going to tell me, are you not?”
“Mr. Stuart said that he admires you, Da—a lot!”
His face reddened. “Now, Maggie.”
“He did, Da! Indeed, he did.”
Maggie noticed that she had her mother’s full attention now as well. Even Nell Frances and Eva Grace were taking in her words.
Da had paused his eating. Slowly, he placed his fork on his plate. “Let me tell you something, lass,” he said, leaving Maggie to marvel at this unusual event. Rare was the occasion when Da interrupted his meal to say anything at all other than to ask for seconds.
“I want you to know something about your Mr. Stuart. Seldom have I met a man with a heart so humble he’d be willing to bare it before other men, and for the sole purpose of helping a child. But that’s exactly what your teacher did when he came before the school board to ask for help for that poor boy.”
Her father leaned back in his chair a little, as if he were in no hurry at all and meant to tell this tale as it deserved to be told.
Maggie’s astonishment grew.
“You know the teacher is ailing.”
Maggie nodded, reluctant to talk about Mr. Stuart’s illness. Apparently, though, that was just what Da intended.
“Well, now, in order to get the board members’ attention, the man had to be more forthright than a man likes to be, especially in the presence of other men. Not only that, he risked his own job by admitting how ill he is to the very men who have the power to terminate his position. But your Mr. Stuart is a man who clearly prizes the good of others—especially that of the children in his school—above his own well-being.”
Da folded his arms over his chest, but then, as if he’d just remembered his food, proceeded to take a bite of potatoes and a sip of coffee. Maggie feared that he might stop and tell them nothing more, but he went on.
“Mr. Stuart, he stood there in that room and stripped himself of every shred of dignity, never making the effort to save face at all. For the sake of wee Pip, he made his condition known to every man in the room. He spared himself nothing.”
He stopped and then quietly added, “But in the process, didn’t he gain the respect of us all?”
Ma made a soft click of her tongue.
The long and short of it, Da said, was that Mr. Stuart apparently knew he had to make the board aware of just how badly he needed help. He had to make them see the need for an extra pair of hands…or in this case, only one hand…if he were to keep going on as their teacher. “The man had to know he was taking a risk that they might simply dismiss him and look for someone more fit—more able-bodied.”
Now Ma spoke up. “They might find a more able-bodied man, but not a better one, I’ll warrant.”
Da nodded. “Make no mistake about it. Mr. Stuart is the one who brought this about, not I. And it took a great deal of honesty and courage to do what he did.”
Maggie was fighting back tears by the time her da finished his tale—tears of pride, for hadn’t she known that Mr. Stuart was a special kind of man?—but tears of sadness as well, not only because he was so terribly ill, but because he had admitted his weakness to other men stronger and more fit than himself. That must have been a brutally hard thing to do.
How Summer would have loved hearing this, Maggie thought sadly. How proud of Mr. Stuart she would have been. The two of them would have chewed over every word her da said and taken some satisfaction in knowing that others—grown-ups at that—recognized what a fine man their teacher really was…and that Mr. Stuart admired Maggie’s da!
Indeed, the only thing that diminished Maggie’s pride and pleasure was the bitter fact that she could not run immediately to Summer and share everything with her.
Jonathan Stuart spent a long time on his knees that night. When he finally rose to get ready for bed, he was weak to the point of collapse—emotionally drained and physically exhausted as well.
But he thought he finally knew what he had to do, and he was convinced he could wait no longer.
There simply was no way to avoid going to Matthew MacAuley and Judson Tallman. Jonathan no longer believed he had a choice. The parents had to be told. Otherwise, he could see nothing but disaster on the horizon for Maggie and Kenny.
He hoped those two would forgive him for what he was going to do. He supposed he could rationalize his actions, since neither had actually divulged the situation directly to him. Still, he felt a sense of guilt, as if he were about to betray them, especially Kenny, who was being so brave and trying so hard to keep his silence and protect a friend.
On the other hand, his guilt would be greater if something terrible happened to either one of those children when he might have done something to prevent it.
Bringing this ugliness to an end was going to take more than talk, but his own failing health and weakness could no longer be an issue. He would simply have to trust that for the sake of those two children God would give him whatever strength was needed to carry out his plan.
Or else that He would appoint someone in his place, should he not live to go the distance.
Twenty-Five
The Beginning of a Plan
O use me, Lord, use even me,
Just as Thou wilt, and when and where…
Frances Havergal
Jonathan was dreading this evening like nothing else he could remember. But if he were to accomplish anything for Kenny and Maggie, he must first speak with their fathers.
It would be no easy task, however, to meet with both men without their children being present. Obviously, he couldn’t visit their homes. At the time he would find them there, the children would also be at home. And although Judson Tallman had an office, Matthew MacAuley did not; he would be deep in the mine during the day.
He finally decided that his best chance would be to go to the mine at the end of the workday. So on Thursday evening, just before the whistle blew, he stationed himself at the pithead, waiting for the miners to emerge from below.
It was a wretched day, gra
y and raw, with the kind of rainy cold that knifed right through one’s outerwear and bored into the bones. He was almost certain to take cold after standing out in this misery.
He felt more than a little out of sorts, wished he were anywhere but here, and at one point considered leaving. Fatigue was partly to blame for his petulance, no doubt, as was his aversion to what he was about to do. After only a brief time, however, of watching the cages unload their weary miners, he grew ashamed of his bad mood and resolved to stick it out.
He studied the miners as they passed by him a few at a time, stopping only long enough to leave their tools before heading for home or the local tavern. Seeing their fatigue, their faces and hands black with coal dust, many of their backs bent, Jonathan reminded himself that these brave men daily risked their lives working in bitter cold conditions, many standing in water, hunched over and cramped for hours in the dark space in which they worked. In the face of their grueling way of life and sacrifice for their families, surely he could withstand a few minutes of discomfort without complaint.
He nearly missed Matthew MacAuley, crowded as he was among the other blackened faces. As it happened, MacAuley saw him first.
“Mr. Stuart? Whatever are you doing out in this evil weather? Is something wrong? Has something happened to one of the girls?”
Jonathan wasn’t a short man himself, but he still had to look up at Matthew MacAuley. It was a strange sensation, those piercing eyes staring out from the blackened face—a face that scarcely resembled the man Jonathan had seen at the last school board meeting.
He realized then that he had alarmed this man by coming here, that MacAuley was frightened for his children.
“The girls are fine,” Jonathan assured him. “But I need to talk with you.”
“Now?”
MacAuley’s expression was skeptical, as though he thought Jonathan was either not telling the truth about his daughters or was at the very least acting suspiciously.