Stepping on the Cracks by Hahn Mary Downing

Author:Hahn, Mary Downing [Hahn, Mary Downing]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: mystery, Children's Lit
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 2009-03-23T05:00:00+00:00

Elizabeth stumbled on "nipperkin" and giggled. "'Wet right many a nipperkin'? What does that mean?"

"Drink a mug of beer," Stuart said, "a half-pint like in England."

That made us both laugh, but Stuart asked Elizabeth to go on with the poem. "It's not funny," he said.

Trying hard to stop giggling, Elizabeth read the rest. Stuart was right. It was a sad poem about a soldier who killed a man he might have been friends with if he hadn't been his enemy in a war.

"That's what war does to people," Stuart said. "Turns them into killers."

"But if Thomas Hardy hadn't killed that man, the man would've killed him," Elizabeth said. "They both shot at each other. It says so right here." She stabbed at a line of verse with her index finger and frowned.

Stuart leaned toward Elizabeth and me. He looked very earnest. "But suppose they hadn't?" he asked. "Suppose they'd thrown their guns down and said, This war is really dumb. Let's go get a beer.'"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Stuart, I just don't think that would happen."

"You never know till you try," Stuart said.

"Should I read some more poems?" Elizabeth asked.

Stuart coughed and shook his head. "No," he mumbled, "I think I'll take another nap."

He closed his eyes, and Elizabeth and I sat quietly, watching him sleep. Cautiously, Elizabeth leaned over and laid her palm against his forehead. Turning to me she said, "He's just burning up, Margaret. I think he's got a high fever."

From outside, we heard Gordy yelling something at Doug. The door of the hut opened, and Gordy stopped on the threshold with Doug and Toad behind him. At the sight of us huddled beside Stuart, they shut the door quietly, keeping out the snow gusting in behind them.

"Stuart's really sick," Elizabeth whispered.

Gordy bent over the cot, and Stuart opened his eyes. "They're my angels of the battlefield," he said, pointing at Elizabeth and me. "Don't know what I'd do without them."

Stuart's voice was raspy, and his eyes were even more fever bright. When he started coughing, Gordy brushed past Elizabeth and bent over him. "You're worse," he said.

"No, no," Stuart said. "The angels make me better. Their wings are so white and they sing so sweet. Don't worry, don't worry. Stay out of the street, don't make the old man mad, don't let him see you." His voice was barely a whisper. "Just the angels, that's all we need, the angels. You'll see after the war, after the war is over, after they've all gone home."

Stuart closed his eyes, and Gordy looked at Elizabeth. "What's the matter with him? What's he talking about?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "I think he's delirious because of the fever."

My heart sped up again. Delirious—I'd read books where people were delirious from fever. I remembered Little Eva's death in Uncle Tom's Cabin. She'd seen the angels coming down from heaven. Suppose Stuart was about to die? I started crying, I couldn't help it.

"Shut up, Magpie!" Gordy turned on me then. His face was dead white, and his voice was tight from all the anger squeezed into it.

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.