The National Treasure by William P. Wood

Author:William P. Wood [Wood, William P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Endeavour Media
Published: 2019-07-10T22:00:00+00:00

Twenty-One

He trotted back to the forest and the cart, lugging the basket of food because he knew Gabriela was ravenous. He was hungry but he couldn’t eat from excitement. And he fancied that he was regaining his old stamina, even in the midst of the last days’ privations, because he wasn’t winded at all going over the paved road, disappearing into the welcoming dark trees.

He found the cart quickly. He told Gabriela about Lidia, and that she must keep a very vigilant eye out as they approached the house: there were enemy soldiers all around. Gabriela nodded and eagerly began devouring the boiled eggs as they made their way back. He led the mare. He felt quite electric, buzzing with questions, fears and happiness. The flare-up just now between Lidia and him was excellent, superb, because it was the necessary sputtering out of old, obsolete rancour, dead suspicions, useless jealousies. Clean sweep, out with the ashes of the old.

He drew the cart and grumbling cows down the gravel driveway, Gabriela devouring the grand house as eagerly with her awed gaze as she did the eggs. Around to the back, hidden from the road, he brought the cart into the spacious garage, the touring coupé standing outside. Lidia hurriedly came to them and closed the garage doors behind her, diffused acid lemon sunlight falling on them through two dusty windows.

He helped Gabriela off the cart and introduced Lidia to her. There was pride and shyness in his introduction, but Gabriela sighed unabashedly at Lidia. “She’s your princess, Papa.”

“Papa?” Lidia repeated to him, puzzled.

“She needs one,” he said. ”I’ll tell you all about her. Let’s see how poor Karol is doing,” he said hastily. They carefully pushed aside the little straw and blanket over him. Peszek lay on his back, grey-skinned, eyes closed, breathing in irregular snorts. “Come on, faster, faster, faster, bastards. I’ll show you,” he mumbled heavily.

“He saved our lives,” Janusz said to Lidia, covering Peszek with the dirty blanket. “I have to save his. Help me get him to your car.”

It seemed Peszek was more of a dead weight than previously as Janusz and Lidia awkwardly lumbered him out of the cart, half-dragging him with Gabriela’s help to the blue touring coupé, the back door opened, and very tenderly almost, laid him out on the floor, covering him with a fresh blanket Lidia brought from the house. Peszek went on muttering exhortations to invisible friends or foes, trembling too. Lidia locked the garage, concealing the cart.

Gabriela efficiently bustled doing her best to settle the mare and the cows on the expansive lawn, tethered to the fruit trees, water and whatever that could serve as fodder from Lidia’s kitchen.

Lidia closed the car door. “Poor man, Janusz. He’s very badly off. I talked to Daniel and he’s going to see us right away. I warned him it might be dangerous, but he said it didn’t matter if I thought he could help.”

Janusz thought he detected another irritating addition to the situation when Lidia spoke, but Peszek’s urgently needed care came first.

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