THINK FAST

 

 

            If only Oliver hadn't sneezed. Buck and Mill-wheel might never've known that he lay hidden under Jody's bed during their visit with the Baxters. But he had sneezed, and they knew. They had pursued the sound, leaving Penny and Jody with no choice but to helplessly follow after them.

            Instantly deducing the source and its exact location, Buck energetically, single-handedly lifted one end of the little bed, exposing a terrified Oliver cringing on the floor. The sailor's hands flew up protectively, palms up, in self-defense.

            "No! Don't hit me! Don't do this to me!"

            Mill-wheel, who had started to reach down for Oliver, to haul him up to his feet, hesitated in surprise.

            "I'm so turrible frightened! I don't wanta go through this agin!"

            Buck, still effortlessly holding the bed up by one end, remarked, "You was so brave, afore."

            "Now that I know what you're capable of, and how bad it hurts, I cain't bear it!"

            Buck was mildly amused. "I don't know as we're givin' you a choice."

            "I'm afraid o' the pain!! It hurts too much!! Please let me go!!"

            Having straightened back to his full height, Mill-wheel put his hands on his hips. "That ain't up to us."

            "Oh, don't turn me over to Lem!!!" Oliver implored, near tears. "He'll be cruel to me!!!"

            Penny gestured at the helpless man. "Fellers, how kin you even think it??"

            "I don't want you to!!!" the prone victim sobbed, the tears now flowing.

            Tired of holding the awkward bed in the air, Buck gave it a careless shove, and let it clatter to the floor, toward the window, well beyond Oliver. He reached down toward Oliver, who promptly concluded the worst, and fainted.

 

            When Oliver awoke, Buck and Mill-wheel, sitting on either side of him, helped him to sit up between them. Penny and Jody sat on the floor across from the three.

            Oliver begged, "Please don't do that to me agin!! It hurts!!!"

            "I know it do," Buck said soothingly.

            Oliver observed him in confusion at the sound of the sudden kindness.

            Buck clarified, "We'll not hurt you."

            Mill-wheel explained, "We ain't expected this. You was sich a reckless hothead afore. But Buck and me, we don't like to beat a feller, don't stand up to us."

            Buck said, "I admit, we talked like we might, to bluff you and git you on your feet. But when it ain't worked...."

            Oliver looked from one to the other, desperately hopeful.

            Buck concluded, "So we'll spare you. This time. Don't expect it to become a habit."

            Mill-wheel added, "Don't leave us ketch you agin. You understand me?"

            Oliver gulped audibly. He understood very well.

            Then, a familiar voice called from the main room, "Buck? Mill-wheel? Where'd you two git to? You-all comin' home sometime today??"

            Jody's eyes and mouth grew into three wide round Os. Oliver soundlessly mouthed the word, "No!" Mill-wheel uttered three unrepeatable words, followed by a loud, "Comin' Lem!", and also followed by a soft, tense, "Stay here!" to Buck and the others. Mill-wheel rose quickly and left the room. Oliver buried his face in his hands, as if to hide from the dreaded enemy, and whimpered.

            But in the outer room, Lem's sharp ears had heard the panicky whining. "Somebody cryin'?" his voice boomed.

            Thinking quickly, Jody charged out of the room, saying, "Hit was me." He affected a sniffle for Lem's benefit.

            In the bedroom, Buck repeated two of Mill-wheel's three vile words, and whispered tersely in Oliver's ear, "I'm gonna put you back under the bed." So saying, he seized the bed, and briefly suspended it as he'd done before, and ordered, "Now be quiet. Don't cry! Don't sneeze! Hold your nose 'til you blow your brains out, iffen you have to!" Oliver scurried into position, and Buck lowered it down over him.

            Meanwhile, in the main room, Jody was trying frantically to think up a plausible reason why he might be crying. Buck charged on out as well, to see if he could help. Lem looked up automatically as Buck arrived. Penny followed more slowly behind him.

            On impulse, Buck said, "I was spankin' Jody, and Mill-wheel was about to. That's why the boy was cryin'."

            Jody had to struggle to suppress his astonishment at that choice of fabrication.

            "Why?" demanded Lem, eyeing the boy intently.

            Buck thought furiously. "I told Jody he should be more he'p to his pa. When I was stayin' here, Jody spent too much time with that fawn. Plus, he was wrong to run away after it had to be kilt. Jody back-talked me, and said 'twas none o' my business. So, we was punishin' him." Mentally, Buck congratulated himself on his ingenuity, He tried to ignore the fact that now, Jody's tears looked genuine, due to the hurtful, critical, unkind things that Buck had said, all with more than a grain of truth.

            Lem glared at Jody. But then, he asked, "But why was you in his bedroom, 'stead of out here, doin' it?"

            Buck hesitated, drawing a blank.

            Mill-wheel jumped in, and explained, "When Jody realized we was gonna turn him over our knees, he begged us not to hang his head down, 'cause 'twould make him light-headed, so we takened him in on his bed so's he could lay his head out on the bed."

            Lem nodded slowly, accepting it. Buck tried not to look relieved. But then, Lem turned back to Buck and remarked, "You said Mill-wheel was about to spank him. Well, don't leave me interrupt. In fact, I'll go 'long and watch. I'd like to see Jody git it."

            Jody gasped delicately. Penny's face grew gray with worry. Buck and Mill-wheel exchanged nonplussed looks. Fortunately, Lem didn't see his brothers' exchange, because his attention was drawn by Jody's gasp. He grinned. "Whatsa matter, boy? Was you hopin' we'd all forgit Mill-wheel ain't had his turn yit?"

            At a loss, Jody simply nodded wordlessly.

            "Well, we ain't," Lem said with relish, and gestured to usher everyone into Jody's room.

            Jody had no choice but to obey. He moved mechanically, but with his back to Lem, he gave Buck and Mill-wheel such stricken looks that it nearly broke their hearts. But as he entered his room, he told himself that, no matter how bad it hurt, his first priority had to be protecting Oliver. The greatest dangers were that Oliver would panic at their entry and proximity and not keep still, or that Oliver would become recklessly heroic and try to rescue Jody and get himself killed. So, for Oliver's benefit, Jody said loudly, "Pa, don't try to rescue me; I'm 'fraid they'll beat you up!" Mentally, he added, 'I'm talkin' to you, Oliver!' Though, he did try what he could to ease his own danger. As Mill-wheel sat down on the bed and reluctantly drew Jody to him, Jody pleaded eloquently, "I didn't mean to say it! Please don't spank me too hard!"

            Mill-wheel struggled not to look too sympathetic. But he helped all he could. "That's sweet, Jody. I'll take it a leetle mite easy on you. I figger Buck a'ready done plenty to you."

            Buck rolled his eyes slightly at the double-entendre over the predicament that Buck had inadvertently gotten Jody into with his poorly-chosen explanation to Lem.

            As Mill-wheel pulled Jody down over his lap, his last sight of the boy's face was of closed eyes, running tears, and a trembling lip. Mill-wheel suppressed a groan. Reluctantly, he raised his hand at Jody's bottom, and tried to calculate how lightly he could get away with hitting the boy. On the one hand, he had already announced to everyone that he intended to take it easy on Jody. On the other hand, the blows could not be feather-light, or Lem could become suspicious, and Oliver's life could be forfeit. Mill-wheel knew that Jody would endure whatever pain he had to, to spare his friend's life; he'd done so before, in the fight. Mill-wheel hesitated a little too long. Jody squirmed fitfully on his lap, in suspense. And Lem demanded, "Git on with it."

            Mill-wheel struck. Jody stifled a scream. He, too, was doing a precarious balancing act. He had to cry out enough to satisfy Lem, but not so much that he would panic Oliver. It would've been easy enough to cut loose and scream his lungs out; Mill-wheel's smacks hurt. But he also didn't want to heap too much guilt on Mill-wheel's shoulders; he knew that his bearded friend didn't want to hurt him. Neither did he wish to torture Buck with guilt; that friend had been trying to help protect Oliver; he hadn't meant to get Jody into trouble. But Jody found that he couldn't stop the tears, nor at least quiet crying. He hoped that that would satisfy all of the conditions.

            At last it was over, and Mill-wheel helped him up off of his lap. Jody felt like his bottom was on fire. His face was red with crying. He saw Mill-wheel close his eyes at the sight. Jody turned his blurred gaze to Buck, and saw the big man avert his eyes. Lem laughed in thorough enjoyment of Jody's obvious state.

            "Which one hits harder?" Lem demanded, with a smirk.

            Jody thought fast. Mill-wheel had said that Buck had already done plenty to him, and that he, Mill-wheel, was going to take it a little easier. "Buck," Jody blurted.

            Lem laughed again. "Sorry I missed that un anyways. But 'specially since 'twas even better'n this un."

            Trying not to show any exasperation, Buck requested evenly, "You go on home, Lem, all right? We two'll not be far behind, but we wanta talk to Jody alone for jest a few minutes. To make him understand how to respect us better in the future," he added plausibly. "And we wanta do it without you laughin' at him and distractin' him."

            Lem evidently thought that it was reasonable. "All right," he agreed. "The good part's over anyways. See you to-home." He left the room. A very pale Penny followed to see him out and to see him off on his horse.

            No one in the bedroom said a word until Penny returned to give the all-clear. Then, everyone wanted to talk at once.

            "I'm so sorry, Jody!" Mill-wheel told him fervently.

            "Ain't your fault." Jody sniffled.

            "No, hit's mine," admitted Buck. "I'm so sorry! I jest wa'n't thinkin' when I said Mill-wheel was about to spank you."

            "S'all right. You ain't had time to think. Not with Lem waitin' for th'answer, and a mite suspicious a'ready. And, better this than you-all kill Oliver."

            Buck jumped at the sudden reminder, as if he'd momentarily forgotten the sailor. "Let's hope that poor feller ain't died o' fright down there." He dropped to his knees and peered under the bed. "You all right in there?"

            "I reckon," Oliver said weakly. "Jody, I'm sorry you got hurted 'cause o' me."

            "I'll be okay," the boy assured him. To the Forresters, he added, "But you-all sure hit hard!"

            "They sure do!" Oliver echoed from beneath the bed.

            Buck and Mill-wheel chuckled. Then, Buck asked, "You gonna stay under there all day?"

            "I cain't git out," Oliver answered miserably.

            Buck frowned and reached in, and admitted, "It do seem to be a mite tighter under there than 'twas."

            Oliver explained, "Happened when Mill-wheel sat down. No offense, but you-all're a mite heavy. Mill-wheel shoved the mattress agin me. Iffen I ain't thought quick and turned my head, I'da smothered. Or got my nose broke."

            Mill-wheel guffawed. "Now wouldn't that be a new way for us to break your nose! By crushin' you under a mattress!"

            Oliver agreed, "Woulda been 'specially ironic, seein' as you ain't broke my nose even in the fight. Iffen you'da done so today, woulda made me yell for sure."

            Mill-wheel added, "And that woulda got you found and kilt. On th'other hand, iffen I'd smothered you, woulda been better iffen you had cried out; no point in savin' your life iffen I kill you, doin' it."

            "I'd rather be smothered than beat to death," Oliver replied soberly.

            "Let's git him outta there," Buck suggested.

            This time, Mill-wheel lifted the bed up, as if repentant for squashing Oliver. Buck reached in, pulled him out, and helped him to sit up beside him.

            "I'm dizzy!" Oliver put a hand to his head.

            "That's from bein' so scared so long," Buck told him sympathetically. "Breathe deep." He rubbed Oliver's back soothingly.

            Oliver looked into his eyes. "You know? You kin be very kind."

            "When I wanta be." Buck smiled.