ATY pages 163-164

Pages 163-164

                It all had to be explained to father when he returned some days later.  That night after supper while Jim was writing to his folks in Iowa.  I finally got the chance to show mother the things I had gotten in the package through the mail.  She was so pleased at my choice of things.  She got out a nice suitcase and said,  “this is yours, pack the things you’ll need on the trip.”  She took me into the upstairs bedroom and said  “this trunk you have always claimed and used, is yours also.  In this you can put your clothes, the nice ones so you can move them to your home when you come back.”  I said, “thanks mother.  I was just wondering what I would use.”  Then we came downstairs and here we sat in the living room visiting.

                Jim had finished his letter.  Sister was reading.  It seemed a bit lonely with father gone.  Whenever we thought of the two months father was gone during the past winter,  it was always with a how did we manage faraway from city life in a new country.  A country we knew little of.

                Finally,  Jim said he was going out to take the feed bags off of the horses and give them hay.  He asked me to go along.  He grabbed my coat and threw it around my shoulders.  The night air was beginning to be a bit chilly.  September was almost gone and October was knocking at the door.  One could detect it through the coolness of the night air.  I was glad he had put my coat around me for it was cool waiting for him.  When finally he came back, we stood there just looking into the darkness of the twilight.

We heard something call our in the distance.  It echoed several times down by the cherry grove.  Jim said, “Listen, Do you know what that is?”  “A hoot owl,”  I said.  “You guessed it.”  He said.  

                As we turned to go into the house we were startled by the sound of horses hoofs squealing and kicking. A bunch of range horses came down from the hills for a drink at Shirley Creek.  They came galloping down the canyon to get acquainted with our horses.  Jim was afraid too they would get cut up in the barb wire with their pawing in the fence, so we went down by the corral to drive them away.  Toby was pulling so hard at his leash.  I turned him loose and did he take off chasing them until their hoof beats were only a faint sound on the night air.

                So we stood listening until we could hear Toby coming back to us.  He was limping badly on the leg the coyote had bitten.  Jim got out some horse liniment and rubbed it good.  Then took him over and put him on his leash again.  And said, “Old boy that’ll help some”. Toby begged for awhile but finally layed down to rest his leg.

                When we went in the playing and singing of Wilhelmina’s sounded so pretty.  We went over and joined in, having quite a song fest.  But Mother though it had been a day for her so she went to bed.

                When I retired awhile later, mother was deep in slumber, uttering that saw-like sound when she snored.  She was tired.  It had been quite a day and soon we were all in the land of dreams.

                It’s so funny how one dreams such silly things.  My dream that night couldn’t have been more real.  I can picture it yet.  Father backed the wagon up to the door saying that we were through with this country and loaded everything in.  We were moving back to Portland.  I could see them loading the things in the box car too, and we tearfully got on the train.  How could this all happen, just when we were beginning to love our home on Shirley Creek.  I was so deep in my dream that I did not hear mother call until she pounded the stairway.  I thought the range horses had come back so I jumped out of bed before I was hardly awake, almost starting downstairs in my night dress.  I looked around, the bed was empty, For once my sister had dressed and gone downstairs ahead of me.

The sun wasn’t coming up over the mountain peak as usual when I got up.  It was at the top of the peak already.  As I looked out the window I saw Jim harnessing the horses.  I dressed quickly and went downstairs.

                Mother was fixing Jim a lunch.  “What happened?” I asked.  “You just took a notion to sleep in this morning.” Mother replied.  I asked who made the sounds like horses hoofs. Jim came in just then and said,  Mother thought she would have to pour water  on you this morning.”  “I told her to leave that to me,”  I asked,  “How did you make that noise>” “Oh!” he said.  “like a bunch of horses coming up the stairs?”  “Yes,” I said. “Oh! that was easy.  I took a piece of wood in each hand and made it sound like horses hoofs.”  “Well you sure did,”  I commented.

                I went to the cupboard for dishes to set the table. I rubbed my eyes to banish the sleep that still seemed to cling to them.  One’s mind is always so intense when dreaming.  You try not to wake up before coming to the end of the imaginary story that occupies your mind while in a subconscious state.  That seemed to have been my trouble.

                I went back upstairs after breakfast to look though my things. I was going to put away what I wouldn’t be using for a while.  One becomes surprised when doing something like that.  You find things you little dreamed were there, things you hadn’t worn or seen for a year or more.  Just put back and forgotten.