The Tongues of Angels by Reynolds Price

Author:Reynolds Price
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2017-08-14T14:00:00+00:00

I was going to need every atom of strength. The morning went smoothly. Rafe didn’t turn up for art class. But when I asked if anyone had seen him, one of his cabin mates said “He came to breakfast.” I figured he was tucked in the woods somewhere or back in his cabin, sleeping off the night. I would just not show up for our meeting, and Rafe would get the point— Bridge’s new common-sense point.

When I checked by Kevin’s table at lunch, Rafe still wasn’t there. Kevin said he hadn’t been in his bunk at reveille, but that was fairly normal and Kev wasn’t worried. Late in the hour’s siesta though, one of my boys looked out the window by his lower bunk and said “Hey, Mr. B.” The younger boys were in even more awe of Rafe’s voice than his dancing. And they affectionately called him Mr. B after Billy Eckstein, the popular black baritone.

Rafe said “Hey yourself” and kept going.

I assumed he was making good on our arrangement, though he could have just been going to his cabin. For a while I considered going through with my plan not to show up. But a lifetime’s inability to miss an appointment or to be a minute late eventually won. And when I broke out ten minutes later into the clearing where the boys and I cooked most of our cabin suppers, Rafe was sitting on the big rock. He was wearing a white T-shirt and his usual faded jeans—somehow he didn’t like shorts. His right ankle was laid bare on his left knee, and he was studying the skin.

I could see at once that the ankle was badly swollen. I said “Tell me you haven’t stepped on a snake.”

He grinned and dropped his teeth. “Mr. Boatner, sir, I haven’t stepped on a snake.”

“What happened then?”

“Snake stepped on me, a timber rattler. Didn’t see him till I felt this hot weight hanging on me. He was four foot long.”

“God, Rafe. Where is he now?”

“I let him off easy. He’s back in the woods.”

I asked if he ever really saw him.

“Not only saw him. I was trying to pick him up.”

It was one of those minutes when the world seems stopped. There was no moving time, all clocks were dead. For once I knew not to start a lecture. I went straight to Rafe and inspected the ankle. There in nightmare perfection were two small puncture wounds. No sign of blood. In fact blood seemed to have left the whole ankle. For four or five inches around the punctures, the skin had flushed blue-white. And as I watched it, the swelling continued. Counselors were warned to carry rudimentary snakebite kits at all times. They looked useless but I always had mine—an alcohol wipe, a rubber tourniquet, a razor blade and a suction pump. I told myself He’s trapped in your plan, Bridge. Save this child.

But when Rafe saw the kit, he laughed and said “Whoa, doctor. I don’t want to bleed to death.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.