By Way of the Rose Read online

  “How are you and your little shadow doing this fine day?” Mr. Hamilton, the store owner, asked as they sat there looking at the books.

  John smiled as he nodded, “Pretty good, sir. Just stopped in to see if you have anything new.”

  “That's fine, John,” Mr. Hamilton looked over the rim of his round spectacles, “just don't dog-ear the pages, folks won't buy them if you do.” He handed Sarah a piece of candy. “Here you are, little miss.” She laid it to the side as she continued to gaze upon the pretty pictures. “I declare, John, if she ain't just like you about the books.” He chuckled. “You know, you should help me with the ordering, I never know what to stock. You can help me by telling me which titles are best and what folks around here might want to read. It sure would be a favor to me if you would.” The store keeper, sympathetic to John's appetite for books, knew that by doing this, he'd be sure to get the titles that John wanted.

  “Do you mean it, sir?” John's eyes widened in excitement. “I would be so happy to help!”

  “Then take this catalog home when you leave today and go over it. You can make out the order. I'll trust you to stock good books for me.”

  “How many do you need?”

  “Right now, just a few. Maybe three or four. But keep an eye out and when the stock goes down order again. It's your job to keep my book shelves stocked. For payment, you can read all you want just so long as you take good care of them.”

  “I will, sir! Oh, I will! Thank you!”

  “No, thank you. You're doing me a great favor.” Mr. Hamilton's gray-blue eyes twinkled.

  That evening when they started home, John handed the book catalog to Sarah and proudly hoisted her upon his back. “Hold on to that, my Princess. Now we're going to have any book we want to look at!” He bounced along the way as Sarah giggled in delight. “We can have anything we want!”

  “We can have anything?” Sarah's voice squeaked in excitement while her large brown eyes sparkled. Sarah was a happy child and an adventurous and bright spirit that intensified at good news such as this.

  “Well, any book and that's like having anything because books have everything in them!”

  “Even a book about fairies?” She peeked around his shoulder.

  “I bet there's books out there about fairies, sure!”

  “I want a book about fairies then,” she exclaimed.

  “All right, sweetie, we'll get one for you.”

  That night John went over the catalog searching for books. He found a book called Fairies of the Fields for Sarah and wrote it down on the order form. “What cha’ got there?” Nathan snatched the form from John.

  “I'm trying to order books for the store. I can order what I want to read.”

  “You want to read about fairies?” He burst out laughing as he threw the order form back down to John. “You are such a girlie, little tit baby!”

  “Shut up and leave me alone! That's for Sarah.”

  “Sarah can't even read, fairy boy! I know who it's for.”

  John jumped up and pushed Nathan. “Shut up and leave me alone!”

  “Momma, John pushed me!”

  “Who's the little tit baby now? Tattle tale!”

  “You two need to settle down!” Agnes scolded. “Momma's busy. Can't you two get along for a few minutes at least? Nathan, you know that book is for Sarah. You're just looking for a fuss!”

  Sarah came into the room. “John, I'm ready for bed now, will you tell me a story?”

  “Sure I will. Come on.” He smiled as he took her small hand and led her to her bed.

  Nathan rolled his eyes as he whispered, “Field pansy.”

  The deeper the bond between John and Sarah grew, the deeper Nathan's resentment seemed to grow. He could not understand why Sarah was so special to John or why he was always taking up for that Indian foundling and ignoring him, his own brother? It just wasn't right!

  John did feel a deep responsibility toward Sarah because of the way he and Daniel had found her mother and everything they had seen that dreadful winter day. He felt that Sarah was sent here for him to protect. She was his very own Little Princess Pocahontas, and he would do anything to protect her.

  John lifted Sarah into bed beside Cora May and told her the usual goodnight story. She drifted to sleep listening to the sound of his voice. John ended the story and kissed her forehead. “Sweet dreams, Princess,” he whispered.

  As he tip-toed out of the room he glanced down at the twins in their trundle bed. Bettie Lynn and Jennie Lee had been born a little over two years ago and Sarah seemed to adore them. John thought it was cute how big she acted with them. She didn't have to sleep in the trundle bed anymore and had moved up to the big bed with Agnes and Cora.

  In the morning, after the chores were all done, John took Sarah and walked into town to give the order for the books to Mr. Hamilton.

  “Good morning, young'uns. How's things?”

  “Fine, Sir. I have the order form ready.” He handed it over the smooth, cypress counter, that was polished to a keen shine. “Now we'd like to finish the book we were looking at yesterday.”

  “Fine, fine. I'll get this order out today.”

  Mr. Hamilton enjoyed watching them as they eagerly devoured book after book. Seeing the desire in John and Sarah, and other children like them, inspired Mr. Hamilton to provide as much opportunity as he could. In fact, he voiced his opinions about building a library at every town meeting. “Children are our future and when we see an eager young mind struggling just to get a single book it should make all of us, as Christians, feel an obligation to them,” he said. “We should build a town library.”

  “I have enough to tend to with my own. I can't pamper the world. My children are my future!” Mr. Eastland fired back. “This has nothing to do with Christianity. I give to worthy causes. If it were for food or clothing I wouldn't hesitate to offer up some help, but books are a luxury, pure and simple!”

  “I don't expect you to understand, Eastland. But I believe everyone should have the same opportunities for learning. A public library is what this town needs. It would help bridge the gap between the wealthy and the poor. If anyone has a desire to learn it should be encouraged. It should be nourished, allowed to grow! I know some of you rich folks don't believe in bridging that gap. That's why you won't allow your slaves to read.”

  Mr. Eastland laughed. “I can just see us all sitting our slaves under a shade tree with a book and pitcher of iced tea! What will your mind concoct next, Mr. Hamilton? How much of my crops would get sown or reaped?”

  “Very well then, if that's how you feel, you don't have to help. There are more people in this town with money besides just you and I will put up fifty of my own dollars! Anyone else want to help me?”

  Mr. Hamilton's generosity was just the spur everyone needed. The outpouring of support was overwhelming and in just a few months a small building had been completed and fully stocked with donated books, magazines, almanacs, recipes and even dress patterns. There were so many donations that they thought there might have to be an addition to their little building. Now everyone had a wide selection of free books right at their fingertips!

  What a truly wonderful thing a library was! John and Sarah spent hours there. The library was like their own fantasy world. It held stories about brave knights and dragons; beautiful princesses and noble young heroes; just about anything to feed the imagination or build their scholastic desires could be found here.

  John and Sarah's trips into town were now even more frequent and much longer. Nathan was all but forgotten by John. It wasn't like they were ever friendly toward one another anyway and for Nathan, it seemed to be an even bigger kick in the face. He acted out in anger toward everything and everyone. John and he were just too different. Nathan loved to hunt and fish, run, jump and climb trees. If he and John had not been brothers they would have never known the other existed.

  As a result, Nathan tried to make Cora as much like a boy as his parents would allow. At
only seven years old she had become quite the tomboy and didn't even mind baiting her own hook when they went fishing. She liked making sling shots, shooting at targets, climbing trees and tagging along after Nathan. But Daniel and Marion would not let her go hunting no matter how much she and Nathan both begged. She was too young, beside the fact that hunting was too dangerous and was strictly forbidden for any daughter of the DuVals. Nathan hated that Cora wasn't a boy, she would have been a perfect brother. He thought it terribly unfair that even when they took in an outsider it was not only a girl, but an Indian girl! If they were going to take in foundlings, why couldn't it have been a boy? A real brother for him?

  John and Sarah were in the library as usual. “What book do you want to hear today?” he asked.

  She pointed to a book and said. “I want to hear that one, Mr. Elf Goes to Town.” She pointed eagerly.

  “Did you read that? Or did I already tell you about it?” John was surprised.

  “I read it.”

  “Can you read this one?” He pulled a book from the shelf.

  “Yes... To Town We Go.”

  John was laughing as he picked her up and swung her around. “That's my smart little Princess! I didn't even know you could read! It just snuck up on me! How long have you been able to read, Sweetie?”

  “I don't know when I knew... I just know.”

  “My goodness! There's no holding you back, is there?” John was bursting with pride; his little princess knew how to read!

  On their way home John took Sarah by Mr. Hamilton's. He wanted her to show what she could do. He swung her from his back to the store porch and walked in holding her hand. “Mr. Hamilton, you've got to hear this. She's only five but she can read.” He proudly boasted. He picked a book from the store shelf. “Read this for Mr. Hamilton.”

  Sarah nervously twisted then softly spoke. “I don't know big words.” She paused and her eyes lit up brightly, “but I can read that!” She pointed to a sign. “Apples four for two cents,” she proudly stated.

  “Well, if that don't beat all. She's a sharp one, just like you, John. Looks like you're rubbing off on her good. But then, I guess you'd expect that, the way she's always glued to you.”

  John was brimming over. He rushed home to show everyone Sarah's new skill.

  “Well, John, if that ain't just the nut in the praline of your life.” Nathan scowled in a sarcastic sneer. “We've been out working all day while you've been off playing with Sarah in the library.”

  “Hey now, I do my share around here.”

  “Your share? Oh, I forgot, you and Sarah did go out picking flowers to make the cabin all pretty. You'll never be a man, you little field pansy.”

  “Hey now, that's enough. You two are upsetting the whole house!” Agnes spoke to them sharply. “Stop your arguing!”

  But John ignored her as he looked at Nathan and smarted back. “I also chopped wood and set the traps. You're just mad because I do other things. If I get all my work done it's none of your business what else I do.”

  “Yeah, and the rest of us get our work done and then help out wherever we can. We all do more than what is expected of us but you go play.”

  “I don't call your fishing and hunting work exactly. You and Cora just sitting on the river bank isn't work at all and neither is toting a gun through the woods looking for animals to kill.”

  “At least something comes from my time off. Didn't you eat the fish I caught and the rabbit I shot? My ‘playing', as you call it, produces something around here. You know, something useful!”

  “Well, something comes from reading too. Education isn't something to take lightly. Without education we're no better than the animals you like to shoot. Why do you think Momma tried to make you learn to read?”

  “Like Poppa says, when your education puts food on the table, then I will consider it worth something. Sarah is old enough to help too. She could watch the twins some times for momma and help her out. But that injun foundling ain't worth nothing!”

  Marion slammed the knife and the potato she was peeling down on the table. “Nathan! You watch yourself, young man. It isn't your place to lay out the rules for everyone around here. Who gave you the right to talk like that? Just suppose someone outside heard you say such? You know what is expected of you when it comes to that matter. You best not let those words cross your lips again! You endanger all of our lives with your hot headed-remarks.”

  Nathan stormed out of the cabin, slamming the door hard behind him. Sarah looked up at John with her big brown eyes and tugged at his shirt sleeve.

  “What's an Injun findling?” She asked.

  “Don't you let it bother you, Sarah honey. Nathan doesn't know what he's talking about. He is a jealous nit-wit. It's best if you just forget about anything he says.”

  “Agnes, finish washing the potatoes.” Marion stood up and went out after Nathan. She didn't like to let bad feelings stir for too long. John felt bad about fussing because he knew how it upset her, but Nathan seemed to thrive on riling him.

  “You two are getting too old for this childish behavior! Y'all upset Momma all the time. You two put nothing but torment on her! You could at least try.”

  “I do try, Aggie. You know I do.”

  “I see who starts it, John. But you should ignore him. Think of Momma. I don't know what she's going to do when I'm not here to help.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Well, Paul O'Leary and I are getting married soon. He's asking Poppa for my hand tomorrow. I want to marry him, but I hate to leave Momma. Especially if I can't count on you to keep the peace. I know I can't count on Nathan. He's hard to reach. All he sees is his own little world. But you, John, you have a deeper understanding of things. You should be able to overcome his stupidity. It is stupidity, you know?”

  “I'll try harder, Aggie. I promise. Go, get married with a clear conscience.” He hugged his sister. “Where will you two live? Doesn't he stay with his folks?”

  “We're moving west right after the wedding. There's free land out there. All we have to do is stake our claim.”

  “So far away? You will visit us, won't you?”

  “Of course I will. And I'll write too.”

  After this, John tried to work harder around the place and spend less time with Sarah. But she was always following him no matter what he was doing. She was like his shadow and even though he never minded her being there, he tried to encourage her to stay in the cabin and play with the twins and Cora.

  Agnes and Paul were to be married on May Day. So, the night before, they did the traditional leap over the broom then went to gather wild flowers for the Maypole. Agnes looked radiant as she and Paul stood before their family on that sunny day. Blossoms were woven through her dark, curly hair and she wore her best dress of green gingham. After they took their vows, the celebrations began.

  Paul's father, Jacob O'Leary, played lively reels and jigs on his little Irish bagpipe as everyone danced around the Maypole, lacing it with the colorful ribbons and unlacing it again.

  Agnes and Paul left early the next morning. Their wagon had been decorated sometime in the night with all the flowers and ribbons from the Maypole.

  Marion had tears in her eyes as she watched them go. “I will miss her. I can't believe my first daughter is already leaving the nest.”

  Daniel put his arm around her. “That's how it's supposed to be, momma bird.” He kissed her. “She will make her own nest now.”

  Chapter Four

  * * * *

  John tried to keep his promise to Agnes, but over time the fighting between the brothers became more and more frequent. Each fight was a little worse than the one before. John steered clear of Nathan as much as possible, but it didn't work. Nathan knew exactly how to provoke him: Sarah was the key and he used it often. John bit his tongue but his temper got the better of him and despite his best intentions there would be an argument.

  About three months later, they received their first letter from
Agnes. She and Paul had settled in Kansas and were very happy, she wrote. They were within walking distance of a small town. She wrote about the cabin they were building and the curtains she was making. They had some friendly neighbors who were helping them raise the walls and they were nearly finished. They couldn't leave the claim until next spring but she said they would come home for a visit then.

  John noticed that his mother carried this first letter around in her apron pocket for days. He supposed that was her way of feeling close to Agnes.

  With Agnes gone, Cora was given more duties around the house. She must start helping Marion more. Watch the twins, set the table, help with the laundry and wash dishes. This left little time for her romps with Nathan and John knew that he must feel that even his improvised ‘brother’ had been taken from him.

  “Why can't Sarah do something around here?” Nathan fumed one day when Cora had been made to stay home when he wanted her to go fishing with him. “Sarah hardly ever does anything around here! It's not fair!”

  “Sarah has her chores, Nathan. They're appropriate for her age. I'm sorry, but I need Cora to stay here today. She can go fishing with you tomorrow. This is baking day and I need her to help with the twins.”

  “It's not fair!”

  “That's not a fair thing for you to say to me! Shame on you! Why don't you go out and chop up some wood and wait to go fishing until Cora can go with you?”

  “While John and Sarah are free to go to the library and do nothing?”

  “Well, you can go to the library too. You can go fishing. You've done your work. But if you keep standing here pestering me, I'm going to find some work for you to do.”

  “It's no fun by myself.”

  “Well, there's two people leaving for the library who would be glad to have you join them.”

  “I'd rather chop wood!” He stomped out.

  “Poor child,” Marion shook her head. “He's never happy.”