Under the Haystack by Engebrecht P. A

Author:Engebrecht, P. A. [Engebrecht, P. A.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781623461485
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2012-09-18T04:00:00+00:00

chapter 9

“Did you strip Julie good?” asked Sandy, accusingly.

“Yes, if you don’t believe me, go out and milk her yourself!” Marie set the bucket down in disgust.

“Have you been feeding her the bran?”

“Yes. I don’t see what you’re so upset about. The milk always drops this time of year. The grass is all dried up, and there’s nothing for them to eat.”

“I guess we’ll have to start feeding them hay.” Sandy squinted as she concentrated on fitting the filters into the strainer.

“We can’t. We don’t have any left,” June said matter-of-factly as she set the empty pans on the drainboard.

“What do you mean, we don’t have any left?”

“Just our fort is left. All the rest is gone.”

Sandy busied herself straining the milk, then she turned to Marie. “We’ll just have to use our fort then.” She turned back and watched the milk pass through the filters.

“We can’t do that!” protested Marie hotly. “Where’ll we hide when he comes back?”

“He’ll have to buy some more; we’ll build another.”

The girls moved about the kitchen, each working independently. Shep had been lying curled up beneath the table, his snout tucked beneath his tail. Now he raised his head, his ears twitched, and he rose to his feet, growling softly. There was a knock on the door.

June pushed away the pan she held and rushed to the door, hope and anticipation speeding her step. She flung it open. Immediately, the hope that had filled the air of the kitchen and had filled their lungs to capacity escaped with a soft hissing sound, like air from a wayward balloon, leaving them deflated and silent.

“Hello. May I come in?”

June backed away from the door and moved to Sandy’s side. Mrs. Baxter stepped hesitantly into the house.

“What can we do for you, Mrs. Baxter?” Sandy asked, her skin prickling with foreboding.

Anyone could see that Joe’s freckles came naturally; his mother had enough to spare. She was a pleasant woman with sandy hair streaked with gray and hazel eyes that were soft like her voice. She glanced around the kitchen, taking in the milk pans and buckets. “You girls seem to be getting along pretty well without your mother.”

The girls stood together in silence. Shep rumbled one more growl and then settled at their feet.

“What do you hear from her? When do you expect her back?”

June and Marie turned to their older sister out of discipline from their previous encounters. Sandy hesitated. Her tongue darted out and licked her dry lips. “It’s like I told you, Mrs. Baxter. Our aunt got sick, and Mother had to go look after her.”

“That was six weeks ago. When does she plan to return?”

“We got a letter yesterday saying she’d be back in a week,” Sandy lied, squeezing June’s hand.

“I hate to be so nosy, but Walter and I are worried about you girls here all alone for so long.” Mrs. Baxter stopped helplessly. Sandy looked up and saw the pity in her eyes. Her gaze followed the older woman’s as it moved from June to Marie to herself, and she knew Mrs.

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.