age as he, with shining strawberry blond hair that hung just below her shoulders. She wore a plain gray dress in a style David remem-bered seeing once in an old photograph, like what one might find in an antique store. Her feet bare, she held one hand on her hip while the other pointed meanly at Zachariah.
“ That’s so not true and you know it!” she scolded him, her deep green eyes burning in anger. “If we started at the same time, I’d’ve beaten ya draggin’ old man Olsen’s slowest mule behind me!”
The boy stepped back from her and smiled. But he also looked perplexed.
“ Ya expect me to believe you’d do that?” he asked, sounding skeptical. “Allie Mae, yer the biggest exaggerator the world’s ever seen—that’s fer sure!”
David gasped as he learned the little girl’s name.
“ Sh-h-h!” she whispered. “‘Ya hear that just now?”
She looked out toward the ravine until her eyes settled on his hideout.
“ Over there!”
She pointed right at him, just before he slid away from her view. It seemed wisest to stay hidden and covertly observe. The kids weren’t a threat, but an adult could be. He thought of the horrible tales he heard growing up in Chattanooga about what happened to unwanted strangers in the backwoods of Appalachia.
“ Don’t try ‘n change the subject, Allie,” said Zachariah. “Ya know, I’ve a right mind to tell yer daddy about all yer exaggerations, and I’ll bet he’d be more ‘n pleased to give ya one hell of a whippin’!”
“ Ya don’t dare!” she said with playful arrogance. “And if ya did, you’d soon be pullin’ one of the longest reeds from behind ya’ll’s place for yer pa to whip yer butt for swearin’ just now, once I tell ‘em all ‘bout it!”
“ I’s just playin’,” said Zachariah, still smiling, though the seriousness in the boy’s voice let David know he feared his pa’s anger. “So ya think someone’s over yonder?”
“ I surely do!” said Allie. “Let’s go find who’s hidin’ behind them trees!”
David frantically looked around for another hideout. A large moss-covered boulder surrounded by heavy brush sat nearby. He scurried over and crouched behind it, praying the pair didn’t see him as they climbed down into the ravine.
“ What exactly did ya hear, Allie?” asked Zachariah, once they reached the maple.
He peered at the tree’s exposed roots and frowned.
“‘ Looks like someone was here,” he said. “The grass’s all pressed down.”
“ Could be an animal...but I believe I heard a man’s voice,” she said. She bent down and touched the grass. “He was whisperin’ somethin’. The grass’s wet, too.”
They both scanned the area around them to determine where the ravine’s mysterious visitor had moved. David peered at them through the brush, his heart racing.
“ Ah-h! I think I found the critter makin’ all the comm-otion!” Zachariah announced proudly. He stepped toward the stream and picked something up. A large bullfrog squirmed in his grasp. “Here’s yer whisperin’ man!”
The frog croaked deeply while it tried to free itself from his grasp. Zachariah thrust the frog up in her face, but she didn’t flinch. Instead, she took the frightened creature from him and it stopped squirming. It croaked softly in her hands.
“ That’s a present from me to you, Allie Mae,” said Zachariah, his hands fidgeting as he held them together in front of him. His face flushed.
Allie smiled at him while she stroked the frog. She then looked around and let her gaze settle upon the boulder where David hid behind. Squinting her eyes, he thought somehow she could see him through the dense brush surrounding the rock.
“ Come with me!” she said.
Zachariah followed her to a small patch of yellow and purple wildflowers nestled in front of the boulder. Meanwhile, David tried to push himself into a slight crevice in the boulder’s base. Looking up at her, he was amazed by Allie’s striking
“ That’s so not true and you know it!” she scolded him, her deep green eyes burning in anger. “If we started at the same time, I’d’ve beaten ya draggin’ old man Olsen’s slowest mule behind me!”
The boy stepped back from her and smiled. But he also looked perplexed.
“ Ya expect me to believe you’d do that?” he asked, sounding skeptical. “Allie Mae, yer the biggest exaggerator the world’s ever seen—that’s fer sure!”
David gasped as he learned the little girl’s name.
“ Sh-h-h!” she whispered. “‘Ya hear that just now?”
She looked out toward the ravine until her eyes settled on his hideout.
“ Over there!”
She pointed right at him, just before he slid away from her view. It seemed wisest to stay hidden and covertly observe. The kids weren’t a threat, but an adult could be. He thought of the horrible tales he heard growing up in Chattanooga about what happened to unwanted strangers in the backwoods of Appalachia.
“ Don’t try ‘n change the subject, Allie,” said Zachariah. “Ya know, I’ve a right mind to tell yer daddy about all yer exaggerations, and I’ll bet he’d be more ‘n pleased to give ya one hell of a whippin’!”
“ Ya don’t dare!” she said with playful arrogance. “And if ya did, you’d soon be pullin’ one of the longest reeds from behind ya’ll’s place for yer pa to whip yer butt for swearin’ just now, once I tell ‘em all ‘bout it!”
“ I’s just playin’,” said Zachariah, still smiling, though the seriousness in the boy’s voice let David know he feared his pa’s anger. “So ya think someone’s over yonder?”
“ I surely do!” said Allie. “Let’s go find who’s hidin’ behind them trees!”
David frantically looked around for another hideout. A large moss-covered boulder surrounded by heavy brush sat nearby. He scurried over and crouched behind it, praying the pair didn’t see him as they climbed down into the ravine.
“ What exactly did ya hear, Allie?” asked Zachariah, once they reached the maple.
He peered at the tree’s exposed roots and frowned.
“‘ Looks like someone was here,” he said. “The grass’s all pressed down.”
“ Could be an animal...but I believe I heard a man’s voice,” she said. She bent down and touched the grass. “He was whisperin’ somethin’. The grass’s wet, too.”
They both scanned the area around them to determine where the ravine’s mysterious visitor had moved. David peered at them through the brush, his heart racing.
“ Ah-h! I think I found the critter makin’ all the comm-otion!” Zachariah announced proudly. He stepped toward the stream and picked something up. A large bullfrog squirmed in his grasp. “Here’s yer whisperin’ man!”
The frog croaked deeply while it tried to free itself from his grasp. Zachariah thrust the frog up in her face, but she didn’t flinch. Instead, she took the frightened creature from him and it stopped squirming. It croaked softly in her hands.
“ That’s a present from me to you, Allie Mae,” said Zachariah, his hands fidgeting as he held them together in front of him. His face flushed.
Allie smiled at him while she stroked the frog. She then looked around and let her gaze settle upon the boulder where David hid behind. Squinting her eyes, he thought somehow she could see him through the dense brush surrounding the rock.
“ Come with me!” she said.
Zachariah followed her to a small patch of yellow and purple wildflowers nestled in front of the boulder. Meanwhile, David tried to push himself into a slight crevice in the boulder’s base. Looking up at her, he was amazed by Allie’s striking
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