The Bully Boys by Eric Walters

Author:Eric Walters
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Canada

CHAPTER TEN

MY HEART ROSE up into my throat. My Pa?

“He was wounded in battle,” she said. “Is he badly hurt?” I demanded.

“I was told he’s going to be all right. I’m sorry . . . I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“Where is he?”

“In a field hospital near Burlington. At least that was where he was . . . but I was told almost a week ago, and he was wounded ten days before that, so I don’t really know.” Ma shook her head slowly. “I was told by Mr. McGregor and he was told by somebody else. That was all the information he had.”

“But there must be some way to find out how he’s doing and where he is,” I said.

“Lieutenant?” my Ma asked FitzGibbon.

“I can make some inquiries, but it’s very difficult . . . I’ll try, when we get back to our camp tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant. I’d be most grateful and in your debt,” she said.

“No ma’am, if I do a dozen favours for your family I will still remain in your debt. If it hadn’t been for your son, I would have been killed or captured. You should be very proud of Tommy.”

“I am . . . I always have been. He’s a good boy . . . but he really isn’t a boy any more, is he?”

I wasn’t? It was only a few short weeks ago that she had told me that I was too young, just a boy, and there was no way I was going off to fight in any war.

“tommy!”

I recognized my sister Sarah’s shrill call and turned around in time to see her and my brother John racing toward me. Behind them came the twins, moving as fast as their little legs would carry them. Sarah got close and then leaped the last three feet into my arms, nearly knocking me backwards as she wrapped her arms around me tightly.

“Lieutenant FitzGibbon, this is my sister Sarah, my brother John, and these two are nothing but trouble,” I said, as the twins wrapped their arms around my legs.

My brother reached up to take off his hat and extended his free hand to shake FitzGibbon’s.

“Honoured to meet you, sir,” he mumbled, his eyes cast down to the ground.

“Pleased to meet you as well, John. I think I must owe you an apology, too. With me taking away Tommy it must have left you with a lot more work to do.”

“Some,” he answered, shuffling his feet. He looked uneasy.

“Some?” Ma said. “With both their Pa and Tommy gone he’s been the man of the house, and he’s been doing a wonderful job!”

John blushed slightly, but I also noticed him puff out his chest and he brought his eyes up off the ground.

“It was my pleasure to meet you all, but I’d better be off if I’m to have any chance of getting back by nightfall,” FitzGibbon said. “If I’m not back by then you should just settle in for the night and not expect me until midday tomorrow.

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.