A Mist in the Pines: Jesse's Quest (The McCann Family Saga Book 2)

by Jeanie Freeman-Harper

  “Calvin, I told you what was going to happen if I caught you throwing rocks again. Did I not?”

  “Yes ma’am, but I had to....because...Miss Annie...”

  “Oh now you will blame it on someone else? No excuses, do you hear me? Not another word!” Beulah grabbed Calvin by the arms and began to shake him like a rag doll. “I should have turned you over to the State of Texas in the first place. ..a boy like you growing up in that awful Boggy Slough like some …..amphibian!”

  “Now what's this all about?” Mr. Clancy asked. “Why did you break another window? I just now got a new pane in mine down at the shop. Say what you got to say, boy! Explain yourself.”

  A deep, booming voice stopped everyone in their tracks. There at his front door, at last, stood a bleary-eyed Doc Pritchett:

  “Leave the boy alone!”

  Cal wrenched himself free from Beulah's grasp and looked up at the doctor with eyes wide with pleading:

  “Doc... I tried to explain. Annie needs you! I had to drive the car... and I had to throw the rock. Don't let Miss Birdwell take me to the orphans home!”

  “Calm down, son. You're hyperventilating. Take a deep breath. Nobody's doing anything without the facts.”

  Miss Birdwell bowed up like an angry cat:

  “Don’t believe his lies,” she hissed. “Everyone knows the Conners are thieves and liars. The boy took the McCanns' motor car for a joy ride...without permission. He's on another rock throwing expedition it seems!”

  By then, Calvin Conner was on the verge of tears:

  “I had to ...wasn't no one else to do it. Minna can't drive and besides.... she said she might have to be there to deliver the baby... and be there when word comes about Jesse. So I'm it!”

  Doc suppressed a smile. “So Annie's about to have her baby...and you couldn’t reach me by telephone...and you felt you could only wake me up by throwing the rock at my upstairs window. Is that what your telling me?”

  Cal nodded his head .

  Doc looked about for his bag and absentmindedly pulled up his suspenders over his night shirt. “Unfortunately, I had my phone off the hook. I'm...uh...a bit under the weather you might say.” Then he placed a hand on Cal's shoulder. “Lets go my brave boy. But this time...if it's all the same to you... I'll do the driving.”

  As they two drove away, Beulah Birdwell and Clancy the barber stood gape-mouthed on the Main Street of Morgans Bluff, where it was, just as Buck always said, “unpeaceable.”

  XV: Destruction!

  Jesse struggled to regain consciousness in the Pine Crest Hospital. He was malnourished and dehydrated and was in pain from one leg broken . Jerod and his Uncle Adam sat beside his bed. Buck went to the Western Union office to send word to Annie that Jesse had been found and was alive. It was all he intended to say. Its in God's hands, Buck kept repeating to himself. In the same breath, he railed against God for allowing what he saw as evil triumphing over good.

  When he returned to the hospital, Jesse's eyes opened, but he seemed out of touch, as if his starved brain cells could no longer form a reasonable thought :

  “Annie...tell Annie...I’m sorry for always doing the wrong things. Someone tell her for me. ”

  “Shush. You’re talking out of your head now,” Buck replied. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “I have to make it right. You see? Get me out of here. I have to shut down the mill. We'll start over... with decent men . It'll be alright again. Tell Annie it'll be alright.”

  “You didn't create the situation. The foreman hired those hooligans. As far as shutting down the turpentine mill... only Annie can do that, son. You’re not thinking clearly.”

  “No...no... leave her out of this. It's up to me. I've got to make things right...for her sake. Let me out of this bed!” Jesse tried to pull himself up and collapsed back against his pillows.

  “You have a broken leg and you’re half done in, man,” said Jerod. “Forget it.”

  “You ain’t goin' nowhere, Jess. Swig this here nerve tonic down your gullet.” Buck Hennessy pulled a small flask of shine from his shirt pocket.

  “On whose orders do you give my nephew still whiskey?” sputtered Uncle Adam.

  “Doctor Hennessy's orders,” said Buck with a sly grin.

  Buck held the bottle to Jesse's lips. After only two sips the fiery liquid worked its magic. The patient was groggy and free of pain.

  Buck leaned in and looked Jesse in the eye. “Trouble with you and Annie is the same dad-gum thing. You’re both a lot alike. You try too hard to save the world, and you end up losing your own way. Know why ? 'Cause neither one of you has a devious mind. You do battle armed with only your sense of right and wrong. The real world ain’t like that. Now you take me as an example...”

  “Listen here, Hennessy,” said Uncle Adam. “You're no example for any one! You’re crude and coarse...an old backwoods East Texas wild cat.”

  “And what are you pray tell...nothin' but a West Texas ground rattler slitherin' out from under a rock...shakin' your rattle at your own shadow!”

  “Hush. Jesse wants to talk again,” Jerod interjected.

  “Uncle Adam...no matter what Mr. Hennessy seems to be to you...he saved my life....single-handed.”

  And those words put an end to all discussion.

  That day, the angry turpworkers burned Pine Crest Mills to the ground: both timber and turpentine. Vats of turpentine were overturned by a mob of workers who then walked out of the distillery and threw torches inside. Then they ran. The resulting explosion could be heard for miles around. It produced a cloud of fire that dulled the midday sun. With untold amounts of flammable material, the entire complex burst into flame. The turpworkers scurried through the woods , running for their lives, as the monster turned on its creators.

  Next the mob, some of whom had suffered burns at the turpentine distillery, arrived at the saw mill ready for more destruction. There a long line of logs were loading toward the giant circular saw. The men lit the timber and caused fire to spread up and down the feeder, burning everything in sight. The mill structure itself was destroyed by a hungry blaze that spread onward to the lumber yard. There it devoured tons of building-ready, drought-dry lumber. Nothing was spared from the fiery tongues of flame that lapped up the entire Pine Crest operation. The stunned fire brigade arrived and could do nothing but stand by helplessly.

  Soon the news of the explosion and fire reached the men who kept vigil at Jesse's bedside; devastating news it was. Buck was quick to point out that at least there was good news finding its way to Annie in the form of his telegram. He was certain it would make up for the loss of any mill any where. “Never you mind, Jesse,” Buck said. Pine Crest can be rebuilt...but Annie's man can not be replaced. It will be a happy day today when she gets the good news.”

  At the same time that day in downtown Morgans Bluff, the Western Union man handed the messenger boy that “good news” in the form of a sealed telegram:

  “Don't dilly dally again now. There's only this one left. Get this delivered within the hour and report back... or you'll be out of a job.”

  Having only one delivery, the boy discarded his bag and simply stuck the telegram under his courier cap and mounted his bicycle. As fate would have it, the August day produced temperatures over one hundred degrees. Added to that, the bicycle tire went flat right before he crossed the road to the swimming hole. Being only ten years old, the courier decided to do what most boys his age would do : take a quick dip —long enough to cool himself in the heat of the day.

  The boy peeled off his clothes and lay them in a pile with his cap on top. As fate would have it, a storm brewed up, and a straight wind blew across the pond. The courier cap flew from the banks of the swimming hole and landed deep in the thickets; with it went the long awaited message to Annie—the one that was meant to ease her troubled mind. The boy determined on that day never to tell a soul.

  XVI: Birth and Rebirth

  The rock house that Jesse had built for his
bride years before was the pride of Morgans Bluff. It was the kind of house that would last forever: solid in design and structure faced with local multi-colored river rock. On that summer day, the big house on the hill was unusually quiet; and the haze that had come that summer crept into its bones.

  After their marriage, Annie had planted the azalea bushes and daffodils and her vegetable patch. Jesse had built coops for her chickens and dug flower beds around the perimeters of the house. Over the years, the place had developed into more than a showplace. It became a safe and comforting sanctuary. The McCann place had been a home filled with music and laughter and old friends. It was a home filled with love.

  But on that one hot August day, the curtains remained closed, and no one sipped lemonade on the veranda or cranked ice cream on the lawn or played rag time on the Victrola. That day all was somber—at least in the beginning.

  It should have been a day of great joy and excitement, as is usually the case when babies come. But the birth was six weeks too soon, and the labor difficult. And no one in that house knew if the father was still alive.

  Such was the scene when Cal and a very queasy Doc came roaring through the gateway and down the drive. The sounds of a woman in deep labor filled the muggy air, so that the birds stopped singing, and the squirrels stayed up in the trees.

  Doc Pritchett , still groggy from a rough Saturday night, ordered Cal to sit in the parlor and wait: “ A birthin's no place for a boy,” he said. Then he checked his bag for his chloroform and wobbled up the stairs.

  Granny and Doc were in the room for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Granny flung open the bedroom door and shouted from the top of the stairs:

  “Calvin, walk out back to the river bank. I see Katie in the row boat with the Yancy boy . Tell her I need her. Doc 's as sick as a dog. I need her to keep her mama calm...because very soon...I'll need to deliver this baby myself!”

  Cal learned to obey orders that day. He ran to the water's edge, where Katie and her friend languished in a boat on the placid water—two youths content to be in each other's company. Somehow, Cal knew he was invading that privacy, but he waved them toward shore and shouted that Katie was needed inside. With a startled expression, Katie and Tom rowed the boat to shore. From the river bank, Cal watched the main road that ran in front of the house. Sure enough. Just as he expected: Miss Birdwell's big black touring car was rounding the bend.

  The adrenaline coursed through the boy's body. He had done what was asked for Annie and the baby, so it was time to save himself. He ran down the pier and took the now empty john boat and paddled across the narrow Big Muddy—all the way to the other side and into the dense forest. He ran faster than he had ever run in his life to his own secret hideaway. He climbed up into the giant sweet gum tree—up through its strong and welcoming arms.

  At last he rested in the private little home he had fashioned from old rusty nails and random pieces of lumber. In his youthful naivete, he figured he could live there until late fall when the leaves fell away. He was safe for awhile.

  Cal pictured himself living off the land―pulling catfish from the Big Muddy and vegetables from the field at night. Or better yet, he could build a raft like Huckleberry Finn and wind his way downstream and live in a cave somewhere! What a glorious life he would have. If only he could still see the family he had grown to love. But, just maybe, they were better off without him. Maybe they only felt sorry for him or were fulfilling their idea of Christian charity. How was a boy to know?

  He who had never formed a real bond with any human being before, knew in a sudden flash that he would miss the people who had shown him the only kindness he had ever known. Added to that, he wouldn't be there for his own mama's funeral. Tears stung his eyes when he thought of leaving it all behind.

  Yet the worst thing that could happen would be to live in an orphans' home— or if Beulah Birdwell had her way—a home for wayward boys. Calvin Conner, with the inexperience of childhood, convinced himself he was doing the right thing. He took comfort in knowing he had at least done something for someone deserving.

  Meanwhile, Katie and Tom Yancy came back in to find Minna in a huff:

  “A little hot toddy is one thing, but I have no use for a drunkard. I should have known better than to send for Doc on a Sunday. Katie come along and hold your mama's hand. Today you'll find out what it's like to be a woman...and it may give you pause for thought.”

  Minna shot a meaningful look in Tom Yancy's direction, and he blushed bright red.

  By early evening, birth was imminent. Having no trust in Doc's chloroform, Minna went down to the cellar for brandy to ease Annie's continuous labor pains. She had hidden the bottle and was frantically trying to remember just where. That's the trouble with old age, she thought. You hide things so no one will know where they are...and then you forget where they're hidden.

  She knew time was running out and she was needed upstairs—desperately. . Just before she made it back, she stopped dead in her tracks. There was the unmistakable sound of a baby crying— weak at first and then stronger. Minna rushed in and swung open the bedroom door to find Katie wrapping the newborn in a clean towel and shaking head to toe.

  “Here Granny...you take him so I don't drop him.” Katie went pale and fell into a chair.

  The baby was smaller than average but perfectly formed and sturdy. Speechless, Minna checked him over, swaddled him and put him in his cradle, all the while feeling both stunned and relieved.

  “My goodness, Katie. I didn't know you knew how to deliver babies.”

  “I don't! Mama sent me for hot water. Isn't that what they send other people after when they want them out of the way? I didn't deliver the baby!”

  “Then who did?”

  “I did,” Annie said. “No one else seemed to be available.”

  Granny laughed out loud for the first time in weeks. Annie had come back full force, while everyone else was spinning in circles. If that didn't just take the cake.

  “Since it's a boy,” Annie continued. “I'll call him Tobias which means 'God is good'. You know, Granny...he's small...but he's perfect. He just needs extra nourishment to grow. Katie, run fetch Cal, and let him see our new arrival. He's the one who got us home safe and sound. I might just give him a hug.”

  “He's hiding, Mama. Beulah Birdwell's downstairs saying she's come to take him away.”

  “Doc will set it straight... if he's able...and Granny, we'll just save our little surprise for Jesse until he comes home. If he's unable to travel...but finds out about the baby arriving early, he'll panic and try to make it home. Now's not the time to tell him about little Tobi.”

  While the women were upstairs, Doc had recuperated just enough to be cranky, and Beulah was getting on his nerves:

  “Stop your meddling, woman. Annie has just given birth. Speak to Jesse when he comes home...or remain silent.”

  “You mean if he comes home. Haven’t y'all been notified? Haven't you seen today’s paper? Why several men were injured in the fire at Pine Crest Mills. Annie's mills south of here are gone.”

  Before Beulah could continue as the happy bearer of bad news, she was beaten to the punch: the Western Union manager, a twitchy little man, knocked on the front door, and Minna came downstairs to greet him.

  “Evenin', ma'am. My messenger boy high-tailed it for some reason, so its left up to me to deliver this.” The man handed her a telegram. She opened it with trembling fingers.

  Minna read the terse message about the explosion and fire, and her hand flew to her mouth. The one telegram that did arrive was bad news. It was sent by a former turpworker to inform Annie that her mills were destroyed.

  “Yes'm...my messenger quit on me,” the Western Union man continued. “ Just flat didn’t show back up. Guess it was right after he delivered your first telegram from Mr. Hennessy...the one about Mr. McCann being found alive. ”

  “We never got the message that Jesse is alive! We're thankful to hear of it now! ”

 
“He didn't deliver the telegram? I'll tan that boy's backside with a razor strap...if I ever catch him. And to think he comes from one of the best families in Morgans Bluff.”

  Minna thought of another boy who was a year younger than the courier : Calvin Conner, who had done much to help Annie and her baby—a boy who had been brave beyond his years. She had been too harsh in regards to him, and she knew it now:

  “Sometimes it's not the boys from good families, who step up,” she replied. “Sometimes it's those from the wrong side of the tracks who'll move Heaven and Earth for a word of praise. Sometimes they just lose their way if they feel unneeded at home. Now If you'll excuse me, I want to go up and give my granddaughter the good news before she reads the bad. She's just given birth to my great grandson.”

  Granny looked up to see a bright– eyed Annie standing at the top of the stairs:

  “I already know, Granny. I felt it! There's been news...and I dreamed it was good news. I felt peace wash over me. They've found Jesse, and he's alive. What other news did the man bring?”

  “You can read it later, Annie. Today's a day of celebration... a day of birth and rebirth. Back in bed with you. I'll have Katie bring your supper up when it's ready.” Minna clutched the telegram announcing the burning of Pine Crest and crammed it into her apron pocket:

  Cal was nowhere to be seen. Katie and Tom Yancy walked the banks of the river and the back fields of the McCann property all the way to where it met the great National Forest. They called Cal's name over and over, but there was no response. So they trudged back home where they were met by a tight-lipped Miss Birdwell: “Where is the boy?” she asked Katie.

  “Cal was afraid you were sending him to the house where they keep orphans and delinquents. He's either hiding out or he's run away!”

  “So like him to do that. I do realize he helped your mother...but that's beside the point. The boy already broken the law when he threw the fist rock through the barber shop window. He was told not to do so again,” said Miss Birdwell. “He'll come home, and I'll be waiting.”