REDEMPTION

Penny was glad, as always, to see Oliver, but he regarded him worriedly, and asked, "Was you keerful?"

Oliver nodded grimly and said, "I had to be. I figger fellers who'll burn down a house won't stop at nothin'!"

Penny was thunderstruck. Oliver wasn't supposed to know that the Forresters had been responsible for the Huttos' fire.

Oliver wore a weak, wry smile in response to Penny's expression. "Ma never could fool me. She gits a twitch when she lies. But I figgered iffen she was that desperate to save me, I was scared 'nough to let her. I wa'n't really fool 'nough to b'lieve I could go after the Forresters and live through it. I was jest talkin' big."

Penny looked as sheepish as if he'd been caught with his drawers down.

Oliver knew why and said shrewdly, "Yeah, you lied, too. Your first lie, wa'n't it?"

"Near 'bout," Penny confessed.

"Well..., thanks. You two saved me..., and let me save face." He grimaced. "In more ways 'n one!"

The two had had no idea that Buck and Mill-wheel were outside listening. When the two Forresters burst in, grinning, Oliver was at first white-faced with fright, but rapidly turned red-faced with humiliation.

"My, my!" Buck smirked. "You kin turn purty colors without gittin' hit!"

Oliver reddened almost to purple.

Mill-wheel chuckled. "Lord! Don't go no further, or you'll turn blue!"

Oliver stammered, "How'd you know I was here??"

"Most folks in Volusia like you or feel sorry for you. But there's jest a few that like us better, and are willin' to tell us when you sneak back."

The tall blond gulped in fright. "Now you've done caught me. What you aim to do with me?"

"Well, we was aimin' to drag you back to Lem and th'others. But now that we've heered you say that you was relieved to back out on chasin' after us the night o' the fire, we might jest leave you go."

"Oh would you??" he implored. "I'm 'shamed to admit to bein' scared o' you-all, but now as you've done overheered it anyways, I'd be mighty grateful iffen you'd spare me!"

"Well, we ain't much for beatin' on a feller, ain't up to it," Buck told him.

"Yeah, forcin' a fight jest ain't our way," Mill-wheel admitted.

Penny looked nearly as relieved as Oliver.

"But we jest gotta ask: you and Twink married?"

Oliver sagged. "We was."

"What you mean, was?"

Penny was just as surprised as the Forresters.

With a apologetic look toward his friend, Oliver replied somberly, "I ain't got 'round to tellin' you. Twink was kilt in a train wreck, whilst I was out at sea."

"Oh, Oliver!" Penny reached for his hand.

Buck and Mill-wheel exchanged somber glances. Buck said, "Now I know we'll not hurtcha. And we'll not even leave Lem do it."

Mill-wheel added, "And I got no doubt Arch, Pack, and Gabby'll agree with us."

"I truly thank you," Oliver responded sincerely.

Buck scuffled his feet self-consciously. "Do you and your ma like livin' in Boston?"

Oliver shook his head. "Ma hates the damned Yankees. And the dratted cold. I hate the sad memories."

Buck gave his brother a significant look. "Mebbe we kin...make up a mite, for what we done."

After a long conversation with their brothers, Buck and Mill-wheel persuaded all but Lem to help with a major project. As per Oliver's careful drawing, the Forresters rebuilt the Hutto house that they had destroyed, on the Huttos' property, just as it had been. A very grateful mother and son moved back where they belonged.