Shiloh Season by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Page A
Authors: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Tags: Fiction, General, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure - General, Children: Grades 4-6, Dogs, Animals - Dogs, Children's Audio - 9-12, Children's audiobooks, Social Issues - General, Audio: Juvenile, Kindness
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truck?" "It fell through?"
"No, David, let me tell it! Judd was driving drunk again last night, and his truck must of hit the pothole and gone out of control."
Then I tell him how the sheriff figures it hit the bridge first, then rolled on down the bank, Judd with it.
103
"Wooooow!" says David Howard, and the way he says it, dragging it out, sounds like air coming slow out of a bag.
We go in and tell his folks, and Mr. Howard calls his newspaper to be sure they've got the story.
David and I work at putting together his puzzle of the floor of the Pacific Ocean. Takes about two hours, with Mrs. Howard helping sometimes, and when we're all done, all we've got is a lot of light and dark lines; looks like blue burlap up close, with names printed on it: Galapagos Fracture Zone, Continental Shelf, Bounty Trough, Bonin Trench. Heck, I figured there would be fish and pirates' treasure chests and sunken ships on the bottom, not just lines.
Mrs. Howard, though, she's pointing out the Marianas Trench on the map.
"That's the world's greatest ocean depth," she says. "Almost seven miles deep."
I'm thinking what it would be like to go seven miles straight down in the ocean. Ma's granddaddy worked in a coal mine, but he didn't go down any seven miles. Quarter mile, maybe, and that's scary enough.
Dad was supposed to pick me up at four but it's almost four thirty when he shows up. I don't mind, 'cause Mrs. Howard gets out some pumpkin pie, and this gives me time for a second piece.
When I get in the Jeep, Dad says, "Didn't mean to be late, but I drove down to the hospital to look in on Judd. Took longer than I thought. Doctor wanted to talk to me." "What'd he say?"
"Wanted to know if Judd had any relatives around here, and I couldn't think of a one."
"How is he?"
104
"They operated on him last night. Had some internal injuries, like Doc Murphy said. Ruptured spleen, couple broken ribs, left leg broken in two places, fractured collarbone, skull fracture.... Still, his condition is stable."
"He's going to live, then?" I sure didn't sound very pleased. "I think so. But it's going to be a while before he can go back to work."
"How about hunting?" I ask. "That I don't know, son." Then I know I have to do it.
"Dad," I say. "I got something to tell you." I swallow. Dad looks over at me, and then he pulls the jeep off the road and turns off the engine. Don't say nothing. Just sits there studying me.
I take a big breath and tell him everything. Tell him how I'd blackmailed Judd into giving me Shiloh by promising not to report him to the game warden. And when I get all that out of my system, I tell him about Shiloh and me out on the road by Doc Murphy's, and how I'm pretty sure it was Judd who took a shot at us.
Didn't exactly plan it this way, but when you got two things to tell, one of 'em scarier than the other, it's the scary one your dad will fix on every time.
"He shot at you, Marty?" he says. "He shot at you and you never told me?" He's so worked up he forgets all about the blackmail. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Cause I didn't see it would help. Just make you mad and Judd madder. I figured I'd stay clear off the road till we got this thing settled."
Dad tips back his head and closes his eyes.
"Marty," he says finally. "Sometimes I'm stubborn and sometimes I'm cross, but don't you ever keep something
105
like this from me again. Somebody takes a shot at one of my children, I want to hear about it. I want you to promise ..." "I promise," I say, quicker than he can blink.
And when Dad starts up the engine again and don't say one word about the blackmail, I'm so happy and relieved to have it out and over with I almost start to whistle. Then I figure that with a man in the hospital, half his bones broke, it's no time to be whistling, no matter what I think of him.
It's the talk of the school on Monday. Everybody's heard by then, and everyone's added a little something extra to the story.
"You hear about Judd?" says Michael
"No, David, let me tell it! Judd was driving drunk again last night, and his truck must of hit the pothole and gone out of control."
Then I tell him how the sheriff figures it hit the bridge first, then rolled on down the bank, Judd with it.
103
"Wooooow!" says David Howard, and the way he says it, dragging it out, sounds like air coming slow out of a bag.
We go in and tell his folks, and Mr. Howard calls his newspaper to be sure they've got the story.
David and I work at putting together his puzzle of the floor of the Pacific Ocean. Takes about two hours, with Mrs. Howard helping sometimes, and when we're all done, all we've got is a lot of light and dark lines; looks like blue burlap up close, with names printed on it: Galapagos Fracture Zone, Continental Shelf, Bounty Trough, Bonin Trench. Heck, I figured there would be fish and pirates' treasure chests and sunken ships on the bottom, not just lines.
Mrs. Howard, though, she's pointing out the Marianas Trench on the map.
"That's the world's greatest ocean depth," she says. "Almost seven miles deep."
I'm thinking what it would be like to go seven miles straight down in the ocean. Ma's granddaddy worked in a coal mine, but he didn't go down any seven miles. Quarter mile, maybe, and that's scary enough.
Dad was supposed to pick me up at four but it's almost four thirty when he shows up. I don't mind, 'cause Mrs. Howard gets out some pumpkin pie, and this gives me time for a second piece.
When I get in the Jeep, Dad says, "Didn't mean to be late, but I drove down to the hospital to look in on Judd. Took longer than I thought. Doctor wanted to talk to me." "What'd he say?"
"Wanted to know if Judd had any relatives around here, and I couldn't think of a one."
"How is he?"
104
"They operated on him last night. Had some internal injuries, like Doc Murphy said. Ruptured spleen, couple broken ribs, left leg broken in two places, fractured collarbone, skull fracture.... Still, his condition is stable."
"He's going to live, then?" I sure didn't sound very pleased. "I think so. But it's going to be a while before he can go back to work."
"How about hunting?" I ask. "That I don't know, son." Then I know I have to do it.
"Dad," I say. "I got something to tell you." I swallow. Dad looks over at me, and then he pulls the jeep off the road and turns off the engine. Don't say nothing. Just sits there studying me.
I take a big breath and tell him everything. Tell him how I'd blackmailed Judd into giving me Shiloh by promising not to report him to the game warden. And when I get all that out of my system, I tell him about Shiloh and me out on the road by Doc Murphy's, and how I'm pretty sure it was Judd who took a shot at us.
Didn't exactly plan it this way, but when you got two things to tell, one of 'em scarier than the other, it's the scary one your dad will fix on every time.
"He shot at you, Marty?" he says. "He shot at you and you never told me?" He's so worked up he forgets all about the blackmail. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Cause I didn't see it would help. Just make you mad and Judd madder. I figured I'd stay clear off the road till we got this thing settled."
Dad tips back his head and closes his eyes.
"Marty," he says finally. "Sometimes I'm stubborn and sometimes I'm cross, but don't you ever keep something
105
like this from me again. Somebody takes a shot at one of my children, I want to hear about it. I want you to promise ..." "I promise," I say, quicker than he can blink.
And when Dad starts up the engine again and don't say one word about the blackmail, I'm so happy and relieved to have it out and over with I almost start to whistle. Then I figure that with a man in the hospital, half his bones broke, it's no time to be whistling, no matter what I think of him.
It's the talk of the school on Monday. Everybody's heard by then, and everyone's added a little something extra to the story.
"You hear about Judd?" says Michael
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