Thunder from the Sea (8 page)

Tom sat alone, filled with awe and wonder. Imagine! The baby isn't even born and they're listening to its heartbeat. Somehow it didn't seem
like a real baby—after all, there wasn't anything to see—'cept for Fiona's belly getting rounder.

His thoughts were interrupted when Enoch opened the door. “Tom, Fiona wants you to come in too—if you'd like, that is.” He turned to the doctor. “I'm not sure…. After all, he's just a boy.”

“Let Tom come,” Fiona called. “It's a wondrous thing to share with him.”

Tom stood up, dropping the newspaper from his lap.

“Are you all right with this, Tom?” Enoch asked.

“Oh, yes,” Tom stammered. “I'm all right.” He followed Enoch timidly, and blushed when he saw Fiona lying on a table, a white sheet over her pudgy stomach.

“Don't be shy, Tom. It's a beautiful thing to know there's a real live baby growin' inside,” Fiona assured him.

“Maybe you'll be a doctor someday,” Dr. Sullivan said to Tom as he moved the stethoscope over the sheet that covered Fionas belly. “Right here,” he said, holding the scope steady. “You'll hear Fiona's heart the loudest. But if you listen carefully, you'll
hear the baby's heart. It's much faster than Fiona's and very faint.” He put the instrument into Tom's ears.

Tom closed his eyes, concentrating. As the doctor said, he could hear Fiona's heart thumping, but there were other sounds too, like gurgling water and the whishing sound of Fiona's breath. Then he heard a faint pitter-patter, like the flutter of a hummingbird's wings.

“I hear it!” Tom said. “I can hear our baby's heartbeat!”

t
om's face flushed. It had been bigheaded for him to say “our baby.” This wasn't really
his
family. He was still only a visitor, a guest. He stepped back from Fiona and turned away.

“Enoch, you and Tom go back to the waiting room while Fiona gets dressed,” Dr. Sullivan told them. “Everything is coming along just fine. And you've got Margaret Rideout out there on the island who's an excellent granny, in case you can't get back to me in April when the baby's due.”

Fiona nodded. “Margaret's delivered a lot of babies. I'm sure I'll be in capable hands.”

After Enoch did some errands, the family ate lunch at the Copper Kettle, a charming restaurant near the docks. Tom tied Thunder to a pile by the
window so he could watch the dog while they ate. Tom had never been to a real restaurant. He tried to remember his best manners. “It's right pretty in here,” he said, looking around at the shiny brass lanterns on each table, and the red valances on the windows.

There were so many choices on the menu that Tom couldn't make up his mind. He finally decided on a beef and vegetable pie and fresh milk to drink. Back on the island they only had canned milk.

After lunch Tom took Thunder for a walk through the town of Chance-Along while Enoch and Fiona did errands. Some people who had heard about Thunder's good deeds stopped to pet him. “Oh, this is the dog that found the little Rideout girl,” one woman said. “You're a hero, aren't you, boy? A real hero.” She scratched Thunders neck. The dog enjoyed the attention and wagged his tail vigorously.

It was late afternoon when they returned to Back o' the Moon. They crossed the wooden bridge to the island. The old church was just ahead. At this moment Thunder leaped out of the
wagon, raced ahead, then stopped directly in front of Prince. Prince halted and pawed the ground uneasily while the dog barked.

“What's wrong?” Fiona asked.

“Get outta the way, Thunder!” Enoch clicked the reins. “Giddap, Prince!”

Prince's ears flattened and his nostrils flared. Skittish, he thumped his feet and neighed. But Thunder stayed in the horse's path and howled.

Tom climbed out of the wagon. “What's wrong, Thunder?” he asked, trying to pull the dog out of the horses way. But Thunder resisted, his paws firmly planted on the road. “Get out of the way, Thunder!” Tom ordered. He pulled Thunder's collar again, but this time Thunder sat down.

“He'll move when Prince gets closer. Giddap!” Enoch commanded, snapping the reins. Tom jumped aside as Prince started forward with a jolt. Suddenly the ground rumbled and shook violently. The horse reared and tried to run, but Thunder still barred his way, barking and circling.

“It's an earthquake!” Enoch yelled.

“Oh, Blessed Savior!” Fiona screamed. “What'll we do?”

Tom ran to Thunder and threw his arms around him. An earthquake! He'd heard of terrible earthquakes in other parts of the world, but never heard of one in Newfoundland.

The land around them rolled, like the waves of the sea, uprooting trees and fences.

“Look at the church!” Enoch yelled.

The family watched in terror as the church shook violently. The steeple tottered, and then crumbled to the ground with a crash and the somber clangs of the church bell. Just ahead a rut deepened, then opened into a large furrow, spanning the entire roadway. The rumbling slowed, rattled again, then stopped.

“Our house!” Fiona wailed. “Is it still standing?”

“We'll go on home and find out, my girl,” Enoch's voice was comforting as he put his arms around her. “We'll be all right.” He got down off the wagon, took hold of Prince's bridle, and led him around the hole in the road. The horse pulled back, but Enoch's calm voice quieted the animal, and before long the
family was trekking back to their house.

With Thunder sniffing by their side, Enoch and Tom inspected the structure. At first they were unable to open the front door. “The house is unsettled. The earthquake shook it askew a bit,” Enoch said, using a lever to lift the door into place. Thunder went to his rug on the porch, circled a few times, then plunked himself down on it.

Once inside Enoch and Tom found only minor damage. Furniture had shifted and a few dishes had fallen from a shelf and broken.

When they felt it was safe, Fiona went inside. She pointed to the shards of a mirror scattered on the floor. “A broken mirror!” She moaned. “Seven years of bad luck!”

“Of all people, you know that's foolish talk, Fiona,” Enoch admonished her.

“Besides, we've had good luck,” said Tom. “We're safe and there's not much damage and …”

“And we're alive—and together,” Fiona added with a grateful smile.

“We'll be safe here,” Enoch said to Fiona. “Why don't you lie down for a while? Tom and I
will go down the hill to the flakes and find out how bad the damage is, and see if anyone needs help.”

“I'll just clean up a bit first, then I'll lie down.” Fiona pointed to the broken mirror. “Don't let Thunder in until I've swept up all the splinters.”

Suddenly the earth shuddered again and Fiona raced into Enoch's arms. “Oh, God, please be with us,” she cried, burying her face in Enoch's chest.

“He is with us, my girl,” Enoch said tenderly. “He is with us.”

Tom ran to the porch and threw his arms around Thunder, who was trembling. “It'll be all right, boy,” he whispered.

Enoch came to the door with Fiona. “That was just a small aftershock, see? Things will quiet down soon. I think each one will be less than the one before.” He put his arm around Fiona. “Do you want us to stay until they're over?”

“No, you need to see how the others have fared.” She kissed her husband. “See? I'm fine now. You go.”

Tom, Thunder, and Enoch headed down to the
lower road and stages. As they descended they could see the flakes were shattered, and half of the shack where the women cleaned the fish had fallen clear down onto the beach.

Tom gasped when he saw the harbor. “The water … It's gone!”

The entire seabed of Rumble Reach was visible. Fish flailed against the rocky bottom. Water rats scampered into holes, and birds that had surged into the sky when the land shook now dropped onto the branches of uprooted trees.

“The earthquake shook the water out of the harbor,” Enoch explained. “It's like tipping a bowl of soup and spilling it out of the dish.”

“But where did it all go?” Tom wondered.

“Be careful, Tom,” Enoch said as they cautiously climbed over the tangled cod nets and the broken limbs and branches that had been the stages, to get to the dry seabed.

Bert, Eddie, Nancy, and Ruby were already there, along with other folks from the island, carrying pails and filling them with the floundering fish. “Come on!” Bert yelled. “Come and get 'em while the takin's good!”

“We've got enough fish here for a big chowder!” Ruby called.

“Ten big chowders!” Nancy giggled as a slippery cod flipped out of her hands.

Thunder suddenly barked and leaped down the steep bank to the shore. He raced to Ruby and pulled at her apron with his teeth.

“Get away!” she screamed. “Tom! Get this animal away from me!”

Thunder let go, then turned to the children, barking, circling, and nudging at their arms and clothes.

Tom and Enoch ran over the mucky sand and rocks. “Come, Thunder,” Enoch yelled. Thunder raced to Enoch and Tom, barking at them frantically. Then back again he flew to Ruby and the children.

Ruby screamed. “Amos! The dog's gone mad!”

Amos appeared on the edge of the shattered, teetering dock. “Get that animal away from my children!” He disappeared into what remained of the fish hut.

But Thunder kept circling, herding the group closer to the shoreline.

Amos emerged from the hut carrying a rifle. “Get out of the way, Ruby,” he yelled as he took aim.

Crack!
With a yelp Thunder fell to the ground!

“
N
o!” Tom screamed, leaping over the rubble and racing to Thunder.

“The dog is mad!” Amos growled, still aiming the rifle at the dog.

“Amos, you fool! Put that gun down!” Enoch yelled. “You could kill the children!”

Amos dropped the gun to his side. “I killed that evil hound, anyway.”

“
You're
the evil hound, you … you pelt of tripe!” Tom screamed at Amos as he dashed to his dog.

Thunder, who was bleeding from the shoulder, struggled to stand. Tom tried to lift him, but he was too heavy. “Help me, Enoch!” Tom, looking back over his shoulder, gasped. Oh-me-cod-oh-me-cod! Thunder was warnin' us!
Look!” He pointed to the ocean beyond Eastern Head. A wall of water as high as the cliffs was roaring toward Rumble Reach. The monstrous wave soared so high it blocked out the late afternoon sun.

“Tidal wave!” Fiona screamed from the edge of the upper road. “Get out! Quick!”

Amos dropped the rifle and scrambled to Ruby and the children. They ran over the wet stones, slipping and falling. “Hurry!” Ruby shrieked as they raced for the hillside. Other men, women, and children on the beach stumbled in panic toward the shore. “The hill! Get up the hill!” came the call. Women tugged little ones from off the slimy beach rocks and the children screamed and bawled in fright.

“Oh, God in Heaven, protect us. Save us, save us!” The sounds of praying voices faded in the roar of the oncoming wave.

Tom tried again to drag Thunder, but the dog yelped in pain. “I won't leave you, Thunder,” Tom said, tears streaming down his cheeks.

The sound of the rushing water was overpowering as the mountainous wave came closer,
rising higher and higher as it squeezed between the narrows.

“Run, Tom!” Fiona called hysterically. “Leave the dog and get out!”

Enoch suddenly appeared at Tom's side. “I've got him, son.” He boosted the heavy dog over his shoulders. “Now run, boy! Run for your life!”

Tom ran with Enoch, not wanting to desert him, as they slipped over the rocky terrain and up the hillside. When Tom looked behind him, the water was gushing like a colossal waterfall into the seabed of Rumble Reach. The tidal wave created great winds that knocked them to their knees and blew dirt into their eyes.

“We've got to get up higher,” Enoch yelled, gasping for breath.

Ken Rideout raced toward them and shouted over the roar of the sea. “I'll take 'im for a spell!” He pulled Thunder from Enoch and hoisted him onto his own back. “Keep movin'! Don't look back!”

Just as they reached the top of the hill, the tidal wave swept in with all its fury, crashing over the beach, the houses, the trees. The crest of the giant wave lifted houses and boats from the shore
and smashed them onto the sides of the hill where the flakes had been.

The sounds of shattering wood and the roaring wave were deafening as people raced to the front of Enoch's house, watching the scene in horror. Ruby, holding Nancy's hand, stood sobbing at the sight below. Amos and Bert stared as if in a trance. Ken put Thunder down gently, then flung his arm around Eddie. He patted his son's back comfortingly while Rowena, in her mother's arms, buried her face against the wind and the thunderous sound of water.

As fast as it had come, the water subsided and rolled back to the narrows once more, gathering itself together and squeezing out to the sea. For a second time the harbor was empty except for the stages, the shacks, and the bridge to the mainland, all of which were broken like broom straws on the dry seabed.

Suddenly the ground shivered and rocks and gravel skittered down the hillside. “It's the end of the world!” Ruby screamed.

“Stop it, Ruby,” Margaret scolded. “The children are frightened enough!” She kissed Rowena,
who was crying uncontrollably. “Hush, it's not the end of the world, my child,” she said soothingly. “It's an earthquake and it will stop soon.”

“That was just an aftershock, my girl,” Enoch explained. “We may well have more.”

“Where's Thunder?” Rowena blubbered. “Is he dead?”