Mrs. McCall offered to let the family change their clothing in an empty bedroom. Leann and Katy dressed first, then Ralph and the boys changed their clothes. Excitement over putting a fishhook in the water bubbled in Ralph. It had been quite a spell since he had taken time to fish.
He put the satchel with neatly folded Sunday clothes into the wagon bed, then handed the blankets to Leann and the fishing poles to the boys. He didn't want the worms spilled, so decided to carry them himself. The family walked to the creek that ran behind the boarding house. The creek joined the Meramec River about five miles out of town. It was spring fed, deep and cold, just right for perch, bass, and catfish. He figured they would catch mostly smaller perch with the worms, but he did bring a large bucket.
Leann spread the blanket under a nice shade tree not far from the bank of the creek. She leaned against the tree, then retrieved the book she wanted to read from a basket. The boys didn't waste any time putting worms on their hooks and heading for the water. Katy and Ralph followed.
"Don't get wet," Leann called.
Jim and Jesse wanted close to the water. They pulled their shoes off and left them in the wagon, then rolled up their pants legs. Ralph liked the idea and did the same. Katy pulled her shoes off to wade. She didn't want to fish, just feel the cold water on her feet. The day promised good fishing and enjoyment of being outdoors as a family. The afternoon sun shone warm with a sprinkling of white fluffy clouds in a clear blue sky.
Ralph and the boys fished for about an hour. They caught several small perch, which excited the children. He enjoyed seeing the kids so happy. Katy watched them remove the fish from their lines at a safe distance. She didn't want to touch the fish or the worms. Jim pretended to throw a worm at her and she screamed. Leann jumped up from the quilt.
"What happened?" she called.
"It's okay, the kids are playing," Ralph called back to her. He turned to the children. "You kids settle down. You frightened your mama."
Ralph watched Leann close her book then lie down on the quilt. She seemed drowsy, probably intending to take a nap. The thought of lying beside his wife to take a Sunday afternoon nap enticed him to put away his fishing gear. He had enough good-sized fish for a fish fry.
"You boys stay right here in this area. I'm going to sit with Mama on the quilt, and I don't want you wandering off," Ralph said to his sons. He knew Katy would stay close. He didn't need to remind her.
"Okay, Papa." Jim threw his line back into the water after baiting it with a fat worm.
Ralph headed toward the shade tree and his wife. He propped the fishing pole beside the tree, and eased down on the quilt, trying his best not to disturb her. He lay on his back, pulling his hat over his eyes to block out the bright afternoon sun. Leann turned toward him and snuggled close. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She snuggled deeper into the crook of his shoulder. The soft, sweet scent of her hair and the lilac toilette water he gave her for Christmas, filled his nostrils. He smiled, pulling her closer. Lord, he loved her smell.
"Do you hear the sounds of the earth?" she asked with her eyes closed. "They sound like music. I hear doves cooing, water gurgling over rocks, and a breeze gently brushing against the leaves. The children are talking and laughing. Such sweet peaceful sounds."
He listened for a minute. "Yeah, I hear them," he said before drifting into sleep.
How long he slept, he didn't know, but woke with a start when Leann suddenly sat upright. He pushed the hat to one side.
"Where are the children?" she asked in a panic. "I don't hear them."
Ralph sat up listening. He didn't hear them either. They were not in sight. He started to rise, when a loud scream sounded from around the bend of the creek. Katy. Ralph and Leann jumped from the quilt and ran in the direction of the scream. Ralph outran Leann, meeting Katy when she came from around the bend. He grabbed her with both hands.
"Papa, Jesse fell in the creek!" she cried as he caught her arms.
"Where?"
Katy took his hand. They ran quickly down the creek bank to a place where the creek flowed deeper and swifter due to the recent rains. Ralph saw two small heads bobbing in the swollen creek and being carried along by the swift current.
Leann came from behind screaming. Ralph didn't hesitate going into the cold creek. The current steadily pushed the boys downstream. Jim had an arm around Jesse's neck to hold his head above the water. Jim tried to stand, but the swift current knocked him down. Jesse flailed his arms, fighting the water.
"Quit, Jesse. I can't hold on to you," Jim yelled.
The two reached a shallow section on the far side of the creek where Jim could get a footing. He pulled Jesse up and helped the frightened boy stand. Ralph was getting closer to the children, alternating walking in the water and swimming. Jim still held to Jesse's shirt. Jesse struggled to stay erect. Ralph reached them just as Jesse fell again, pulling Jim down with him. Ralph secured the boys, one with each hand.
He picked Jesse up, then caught Jim by the wet shirt collar, and started back across the creek with boys in tow. The water came up to Ralph's neck in some places, so he let Jim swim, and stayed on his downstream side to keep him from going with the current. He took both boys to the shallow water near the steep bank where Leann and Katy waited, then helped Jesse stand upright.
Leann stood above them. Her large eyes blazed in a face ashen with fright. She reached down to pull Jesse up the steep bank while Ralph pushed from behind. Just as she caught Jesse's hand, her footing gave way, and she slid down the slope. Jesse fell backward when Leann let go of his hand, and tumbled back down the bank. Ralph caught Jesse, but the impact made him lose his balance. He fell backward into the water with Jesse sitting on his chest. Leann sat in the shallow water by his feet. Jim and Katy snickered.
Ralph helped Jesse stand then stood up. He felt like laughing, but was too concerned for his family's safety. Leann wasn't laughing. Her eyes were larger than ever. Her mouth opened. He reached down, caught her under the arms, and helped her stand.
"Are you hurt?" He examined her face, arms, and hands.
She had a cut on her hand and a skinned elbow. He splashed water on the bleeding cuts, took the wet handkerchief from his shirt pocket, and rubbed the blood away.
Ralph picked up Jesse. Jim and Leann hung onto his wet shirt as they walked the shallow water to a gently sloping bank. A gusty breeze blew against their wet clothing. All four shook with the cold. Katy ran along the bank to the place not far from their quilt where they came out of the water. She helped Jesse then Leann up to the bank. Ralph helped Jim before climbing out.
Leann rushed to the quilt, snatching it off the ground, shaking it, and then trying to dry Jesse and Jim with the edge. She wrapped it around Jesse. One quilt still lay folded nearby, so she wrapped it around Jim. Then she noticed Ralph dripping and cold. She put Jim in the quilt with Jesse and wrapped his quilt around Ralph. He watched his wife rush around taking care of her family with wet skirts sagging about her ankles and shivering with cold.
"Leann, if you carry that baby to full term it will truly be a miracle." He removed the quilt and handed it back to her. "I'm rounding up the fishing gear. We're going home."
Jim started to speak, but Ralph interrupted, "Jim, I don't want to hear nothing about this 'til we get home. Then I'd better hear a good explanation as to why you two boys disobeyed me."
The family walked back to the wagon. Ralph took the satchel out of the bed.
"We'll put our Sunday clothes back on before we all catch colds. We can use the woods over there." He handed the satchel to Leann.
She gave the boys their dry clothing. They went to one place in the woods to change. He and Leann went to another. Ralph found his hat and rounded up all the fishing poles he could find. Leann collected the wet clothing, folded it in one of her petticoats, and secured it in the wagon bed. She would have a big washing tomorrow. The boys' poles were missing. They were probably in the creek. The family climbed into the wagon. Leann sat beside him and hooked her arm through his. He looked into her ashen face and shook his head.
"Make sure the bucket of fish doesn't turn over," Ralph said to the kids. "Boy, a man can't even take a Sunday afternoon nap in peace."
At least they caught enough fish for a fish fry.
***
Ralph stopped the wagon in the front yard to unload. He helped Leann to the ground while the children jumped out. He told the kids to change clothes so they could help with the afternoon chores. He would come inside when he finished unhitching and feeding the horses, then he wanted an explanation from the boys. Leann looked at the troubled faces of her two sons and shook her head.
Jesse swallowed hard. "Do you want to talk to us in the barn, Papa?"
"No, I want your mother and sister to hear why their Sunday afternoon was spoiled too. We may go to the barn later."
Now they really had long faces. Leann herded the family inside. She sent the children to their rooms to change into everyday clothes, and she went to her room to change. She deposited the wet clothing and quilts beside the back door. The quilts would be hung out to dry and the clothing washed.
Ralph came from the barn with his Sunday shirt a mess. When he removed his clothes to change, she gathered them up and threw them onto the pile beside the door. She and Katy would work really hard next week to launder the Sunday garments.
Leann felt weak. She put on a pot of water for coffee, then sat down at the table, waiting for Ralph and the kids. Ralph soon came out of the bedroom and sat across from her. She got up to pour both of them a cup of coffee.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
"Weak, but okay. No bad pains or anything like that." She filled their cups with hot coffee.
"You need to take it easy for the rest of the day. Let Katy make supper." He searched her face.
"I'll be fine, just a little tired." She sat down at the table. Ralph watched her over the rim of his cup.
Katy came into the kitchen and took a seat at the table with her parents.
"Where are those boys? I think they're trying to avoid me," Ralph said, then called for the boys to come into the kitchen, pronto.
Jim and Jesse emerged from their bedroom. With downcast eyes, they slowly pulled out the table chairs, and sat at their usual places. Jesse looked at his father, but Jim kept his eyes on the table.
"Which one of you boys wants to be first? I want to hear why you disobeyed me and almost drowned in the creek." Ralph sat his cup down with a thud. Coffee splashed out.
Leann reached for a kitchen towel beside the stove and wiped it up. Ralph stared at her then turned his eyes back to the boys. She and Katy sat, waiting for someone to speak. Silence. The boys looked at each other. Jim pointed to Jesse. Jesse pointed to Jim.
Finally Ralph said, "Okay, Jim, you start, because I want an explanation from both of you boys."
Jim sat up straight, cleared his throat, paused for a second, and then said, "Well, Papa, I saw a big fish jump in the creek a little ways from where me and Jesse were fishing. I thought I could throw my worm out to the spot and catch him. So I moved down the bank to where I saw him jump and threw my worm out. The big fish jumped up and bit the worm. He took it under and tried to swim away. Jesse threw down his pole to help me hold onto mine, because I couldn't bring him in. It was too hard.
"We tried and tried. I guess we walked down the bank too far trying to get the fish. We waded out in the water, pulling and pulling, but the fish was too big. I told Jesse to go get you, but he said you were asleep, so we hung on. All of a sudden, Jesse stepped in a hole and went under. The current started pulling him downstream and he couldn't swim. His head bobbed up so I threw my pole down and went for him. I put my arm around his neck to keep his nose out of the water, like you showed me last summer. Katy screamed and you came to rescue us."
Ralph stared at Jim in silence. Jim squirmed. "You did a brave thing, Jim, going after your brother like that."
"Well, I can swim, Papa, but Jesse can't. He didn't know what to do when the water went over his head."
"I was scared." Jesse's eyes opened wide.
"I'll bet you were, Jesse. I'm thankful your brother thought fast and did the right thing." Ralph ran a hand through his hair.
Leann reached across the table to pat Jim's arm. "Thank you, Jim. You're very brave to rescue your brother."
Jim smiled, and then glanced toward Ralph, trying to read his father's expression.
"So you had a big fish?" Ralph asked with a yearning in his voice. "It must have been a bass to jump like that."
"It was real big, Papa. He jumped up and caught my worm before it struck the water."
"Yeah, it was big," Jesse said. "Me and Jim tried and tried, but we couldn't get it in."
"I hate you lost the fish, but I told you to stay in the area where I left you."
"We were in the area, Papa. We weren't too far away at first," Jim explained.
"You were out of my sight." Ralph didn't like excuses from the children for not minding.
"But you said area, Papa. You didn't say in my sight."
"Jim, you're old enough to know what I meant. You did a brave thing in saving your brother's life. I'm not going to punish you. Swimming around in that cold creek water was punishment enough." He turned to Jesse. "Jesse, I'm teaching you to swim come summer."
"Are you going to throw me in the river and make me swim for it, Papa? Like Arnold's papa did him?" Jesse asked with big round eyes.
"I might." Ralph smiled. "Then I might teach you the proper way, like I did Katy and Jim. If I'm going to take you kids fishing, I want you to know how to swim, so I can take a Sunday afternoon nap in peace."
The family laughed, and the tension eased. Ralph got up, rumpled both boys' hair, and told them chores waited and fish needed cleaning.
Jesse rose from his chair to stand beside Jim. "Thank you for saving me, Jim."
"You're welcome, Jesse." Jim hugged his little brother. Leann wiped tears from her eyes.
Jesse asked as the three headed to the back door, "Are we going to church next Sunday to praise God for saving us?"
"You bet we are." Ralph opened the back door for the boys. "Leann and Katy, have those Sunday clothes ready for next week," he added with a pat to Jesse's head. "We won't fish, though. I don't think Mama can stand another one of those fishing trips, but I'm sure thinking about the big fish Jim caught."
After Ralph and the boys went outside, the shock of the afternoon events wore off and reality set in. Leann began to think about what could have happened to the two boys. Quietly sobbing, she put her head in her hands.
Katy came to her and put an arm around her shoulder. "Don't cry, Mama. The boys are okay."
Leann placed her arm around Katy's waist, hugging her lovingly. "I'm so thankful."
Katy gave her a pat. "I am too. Go sit in your chair, Mama. I'll get supper. I know you're tired."
Leann wiped her eyes with her apron and rose to help Katy. "Thank you, Katy. You're a sweet girl to offer, but I can manage supper with your help."
The family sat down to a small supper of cheese, sliced ham, bread, and pickles. They had a large dinner at the boarding house, and no one felt much like eating. They bowed their heads for Ralph to say grace.
"Lord," he said, "bless this food. Thank You for giving Jim the presence of mind and strength to keep Jesse from drowning. Thank You for helping me get both boys out of the water. Thank You for Katy's scream that woke us up. Thank You that Leann didn't get hurt any worse from the fall down the creek bank, and thank You for keeping the new baby safe. Amen."
Leann looked at her husband. He met her gaze and winked. She smiled.
After the evening meal, Ralph told the children they must go to bed early, but could read for awhile before going to sleep. They were all tired from the events of the afternoon and needed to rest. The children didn't seem to mind. Leann looked forward to stretching out between the cool sheets and relaxing, if she had enough strength to change clothes and get ready for bed.
Ralph and the boys helped Katy clean the kitchen, and Leann went to her bedroom. She managed to brush her hair, wash her face and hands, then put on a nightgown before collapsing. She dozed, but Ralph woke her when he climbed into bed. She rested her head on his shoulder. He pulled her close.
"When I think about what could have happened this afternoon, if Jim had not gone after Jesse, and you had not taught Jim how to save a life in the water, I could die."
Ralph kissed her forehead. "Don't worry about what could have happened, Leann. The boys are okay. Like Jesse said, the Lord was good to save them."
"The Bible says the Lord gives His angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways." She snuggled closer.
"He needs to send three or four for each of our boys and a couple for you." Ralph yawned widely.
"You're my guardian angel," she said wrapping an arm over his broad chest.
"Think I'll start praying for a girl this time." He gave her shoulder a big squeeze, and then drifted off to sleep. He was very tired.