Me and My Little Brain by John D. Fitzgerald

Author:John D. Fitzgerald
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2016-08-16T17:38:34+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

The Escape of Cal Roberts

I NEVER REALIZED UNTIL Frankie became my adopted brother how nice it was having a younger brother. I enjoyed teaching him how to play dominoes and checkers and other games. I liked reading to him. It was fun just to read aloud books like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. I got a nice warm feeling inside making a slingshot, whistles from tree branches, and other things for him. And the way he looked up to me made me feel important. It was terrific knowing he would be waiting at the front gate for me when I came home from school, and would run to meet me as if I was the greatest fellow in the world. I think the bond between us was even greater than if he had been my real brother.

In the middle of November I got Tom’s bike back from Sammy. It was a mess. The tires were worn down to where you could hardly see the treads. Both of them had been punctured several times. Sammy had fixed the punctures himself. We didn’t have a bicycle shop in Adenville. There was a special needle that came with the tool case. Elastic bands were stretched on it and then dipped in a special glue. The needle and elastic bands were inserted in the hole in the tire. Then the needle was withdrawn, leaving the elastic bands with glue in the hole. Finally, matches were used to burn off the elastic bands and vulcanize the hole. The sprocket was in even worse condition. It slipped, and the brake was rusty and didn’t work right. Mr. Harmon at the Z.C.M.I. stored looked it over and said it would be better to order a new sprocket. I was able to clean up the chain and spokes.

It was just a week after I got the bike back that Papa came home one evening looking worried. As usual, he postponed the bad news until after supper when we were all sitting in the parlor. Mamma could always tell when something was bothering Papa just as I could.

“What is the matter, dear?” she asked.

Papa exhaled some smoke from the cigar he was smoking. “Mark received a telegram this afternoon stating that Cal Roberts and five of his gang escaped from the penitentiary,” Papa said solemnly. “They are believed to be heading this way.”

“Oh dear God!” Mamma cried.

I didn’t blame Mamma for being alarmed. Cal Roberts and his gang had terrorized southwestern Utah until they finally had been captured and convicted. They were cattle rustlers who stole cattle from big ranchers and drove them over the Nevada line to sell. Papa had often said the gang had committed enough crimes, including murder, to hang all of them ten times. But the only witnesses they ever left behind were dead witnesses. They wouldn’t have been arrested and convicted this time if the night herder they shot had been dead as they believed him to be.

Mr. James Bowman owned a big ranch about twenty miles from Adenville.

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