Blossoms on the Roof (15 page)

Soon afterward she put Lisbet to sleep. Jakie didn't want
to sleep. Mother sat and held him until his head began to nod. Finally he could not stay awake any longer.

Mother did not sleep. There was only one thing for her to do. All through that long, long night, she prayed as she kept the fire going.

Morning came, and the storm's fury died down. Through the part of the window that was not covered with snow, Mother could see the shape of the barn. At last the wind stopped. How quiet it seemed!

Jakie popped his head out from under the blanket. “Is Father home?”

“Not yet,” Mother said unsteadily.

Carefully she opened the door. Snow fell inside. The shovel stood right there so she began shoveling.

Now the sun's first rays slanted across the dazzling snow. Mother shaded her eyes to see better.
What's that beside the barn?
she wondered.
Why, it's Jasper!
The horse raised his head and whinnied.

Realizing that the sleigh was nowhere to be seen, Mother felt sick. She hoped Jakie would not notice Jasper right away. She needed time to think before he started to ask questions.

Then Mother saw something else. In the distance were three figures wading through the snow. Watching them draw nearer, the sick feeling went away and happiness took its place.

“Jakie,” she called, “Father and Polly and Ben are walking home.”

Jakie stared at Mother. Her voice had never sounded like that before. He jumped up and shouted, “Are they really coming?”

Mother hugged him tightly. “Yes, Jakie, they are. Father looks funny. I don't know where his hat is. It seems he has a stocking on his head.”

That was the first question Jakie asked when Father struggled through the snow to the door. “What's that on your head, Father?”

Of course, Mother had many other questions, but they could wait until she had helped Polly and Ben out of their stiff, frozen coats. They could wait until she hugged them and made sure no one had frozen fingers or toes. At last she asked. “You must have stayed at school for the night. But why did Jasper come home?”

“You mean he's here?” exclaimed Father.

“Right out there by the side of the barn away from the wind,” replied Mother.

Father shook his head slowly. “So if I had given him his head, Jasper would have brought me home.” He let out a sigh of relief. “I'm so glad he's all right. I didn't know if he'd make it after I abandoned him.” And he began to tell about the hard decision he'd faced there on the railroad track.

Mother clutched his arm. “So you didn't stay at school?”

“No. I suppose I should have. I was so worried about you…” Father's voice broke. “Anyway, I reached the hotel in Mylo. They brushed me off and warmed me up. The minute the storm died down, I headed for the school. Polly and Ben were surprised to see me come walking in.”

Polly nodded. “But we sure were glad. Mother, that seemed like a long night.”

“Yes,” said Mother. “Yes, it surely did.”

“But God was with us all,” said Father. “Let's thank Him for His loving care.”

22

Promised Blessings

P
olly liked to watch Mother sewing her new linsey-woolsey dress. How fast her needle flashed in and out of the rough, brown fabric!

Weaving the fabric on the Kanagys' loom had taken a long time. Winter was nearly past when Mother began sewing the dress. Now, at last, it was nearly finished.

Mother's needle stopped, and she made a knot in the thread. “Polly, please go and get some potatoes. It's time to make supper.”

Polly took the tin bowl and stepped outside. The sun was shining brightly. April had arrived and spring was here. New green grass was growing in the fields.

After lifting the heavy sod trapdoor, Polly climbed down the little ladder. Only a few rays of sunshine managed to slip in to help Polly find the potatoes. She could hardly believe her eyes when she saw that there were only a few potatoes
left! She felt around on the cold, damp floor and found that it was true. Only one little pile of potatoes remained.

Polly filled the bowl and climbed out. After carefully closing the trapdoor, she hurried inside. “Mother, what are we going to do? The potatoes are nearly used up. It will be months before we have new ones from our garden.”

Mother kept on sewing. “I guess we will just have to do without potatoes for a while.”

“But what will we eat? We've had no turnips either since February.”

“We still have plenty of wheat from the McLellans, Polly. Father says we needn't go hungry as long as he can shoot antelope and rabbits. And then there's the fish he and Ben catch in the lake.”

“Well, yes,” Polly said slowly. She knew Mother could make good soup with antelope and rabbits, but Polly liked potatoes.

“God's goodness is never failing.” Mother worked her needle as quickly and efficiently as ever.

“Shall I peel the potatoes for supper? Then maybe you can get my dress finished in time for tomorrow.”

It was a special Sunday—and not just because of Polly's new, brown dress. Preacher Henry had come on the train from Indiana! Since Samuel Miller had the biggest house, the families were to all gather there.

Polly sighed happily as she sat on a little stool in the corner beside Lizzie Miller. Listening to Henry preach and seeing his eyes glow like black coals seemed right, like she was back in Indiana. He talked of many things. He told about the world's first rainbow that God put into the clouds after Noah left the ark. “The rainbow is a sign of God's promised blessings,” said Henry. “If we obey Him, those blessings are as sure today as they ever were.”

And then Henry quoted the verse Polly had heard him repeat many times. By the way he said it in his powerful, ringing voice, she knew it was important and true: “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”

That Monday Mrs. Whiteside had a surprise for her pupils. “We need practice in letter writing and penmanship so I wrote to the teacher of the Umbleton School and asked her to send me the names of her pupils. We are going to do a letter exchange!”

Mrs. Whiteside paused and looked at the children. Polly waited eagerly. This sounded like an interesting project.

“On the chalkboard I have a list of the Umbleton pupils' names.” Mrs. Whiteside snapped up the map of the world that had been covering the list. “I will help you choose a partner who is your own age. Then you will write a letter to him or her, and later they will write back.”

Polly scanned the list of names. Suddenly her heart beat faster. Keturah Magidoff! Matilda Magidoff! At last, almost a year after losing them, Polly had found her friends. Now she knew the name of their school and could write to them!

Timidly she put up her hand. “Please, may I write to Keturah or Matilda?”

Mrs. Whiteside looked questioningly at her. “Why, yes, you may. Do you know them?”

“I met them on the train when we moved here.” Polly could easily picture both girls in her mind—Kettie with her brown hair and Mattie with her yellow hair. She still remembered the soft feel of the little pink, homemade ball that had been there at the beginning of their friendship.

Taking the time to use her best penmanship, Polly eagerly began writing her letter to Keturah. There was so much to write that she was afraid it wouldn't all fit onto the paper the teacher had given her.

“I can hardly believe that I've found Kettie and Mattie,” Polly said to Ben as they walked home from school. “Think of it. For a whole year, I didn't know where they were.”

Ben shrugged. He wasn't sure why Polly was making such a fuss about those two girls. He pointed and said, “Look! Father has started plowing.”

Polly turned to see Father with Bill's oxen, one red and one black, steadily plowing the field. “That means spring is really here! Soon we can plant the garden, and maybe this year we'll get lots of rain so the vegetables will grow well.”

Ben nodded. “And maybe this year we'll have a good crop of wheat. We'll make lots of money, and—”

“We'll buy a cow and new shoes and sugar and fabric for Mother's dress,” Polly cut in.

“And a new axe and lumber to make a nice table and chairs. Maybe we'll even have enough money to build a real house!”

Polly clasped her hands together. “Oh, I just have a feeling that things will be different this year.”

Ben couldn't wait to talk with Father, so he went right out to the field while Polly hurried to the house. Mother greeted her with a smile. “You're home in good time. Do you know what? There's something on the roof that you should see. Father found it when he went up to make a few repairs.”

“I'll go up right now!” It wasn't hard to reach the roof of their low sod house. All Polly had to do was drag a box over to the side of the house and climb up.

What a pretty sight met her eyes. Beautiful little pink flowers were blooming among the new green grass on the roof. Polly picked a handful of the blossoms and carried them down. “Aren't they nice?” she said to Mother.

“Yes, they are! Remember how disappointed you were
when we couldn't have a wooden roof? Well, such pretty flowers couldn't grow on shingles.”

Beautiful pink flowers bloomed on the roof.