The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly Page B

logical way to do it. None of them showed any inclination to do this, and in fact they usually avoided him. But what if? Sharing him was more than I could stand. He was mine , mine alone.
    â€œCallie?”
    â€œHuh?”
    â€œAre you okay?” Travis stared at me, his normally open, happy face creased with concern.
    â€œI’m, uh, fine.”
    â€œI asked you why he never talks to us about the Indian Wars and such.”
    I pondered the consequences of my answer and sighed. “He will if you ask him.”
    â€œI dunno. He scares me. Doesn’t he scare you?”
    â€œHe used to, but not anymore.”
    To my relief, Travis immediately lost interest in Granddaddy and moved on to an increasingly more frequent topic of conversation: Lula Gates. He prattled on about her many charms before I couldn’t stand it one minute longer and declared it was time to pack up and go home.
    â€œBut we haven’t seen the otter,” he said.
    â€œIf it doesn’t want to show itself, we can’t make it. Don’t expect me to pull an otter out of a hat. I’m not a magician.”
    We took turns rowing home and made it back by dusk. Just as we were tying up at the dam, something stirred in the bushes on the far side of the abutments. The creature, whatever it was, inspected us, and we—dismayed—inspected it back: a picture of abject misery, one weeping eye with the lid at half-mast; one ear mostly erect, the other mostly drooping; its flank peppered with lumpy scabs amid the matted reddish-brownish fur; the ribs standing out like a washboard.
    Travis whispered, “Is that the otter? You never said it looked like that . I thought they were supposed to be cute. What happened to it?”
    â€œI’m pretty sure that’s not an otter.”
    â€œWhat is it, do you think?”
    â€œIt might be a coyote, or maybe a fox.”
    We stared at this mystery animal. I thought it was probably a fox, normally a shy species and of no threat to us, but you almost never caught sight of one in daylight.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with it?” said Travis.
    â€œIt’s starving, and it looks like it’s been in a fight. Whatever it is.”
    I looked at Travis out of the corner of my eye and waited for the inevitable, but he had finally met his match—the one animal on earth too awful to take home. Even so, I said, “Don’t go near it. It’s probably rabid.”
    â€œBut it’s not foaming at the mouth.”
    I displayed my superior knowledge by saying, “That doesn’t mean anything. In the early stages, they don’t foam.”
    Upon hearing this, the creature melted away into the underbrush. My brother and I walked home in silence, each absorbed in our own thoughts.

 
    CHAPTER 10
    FAMILY REUNION
    If a person asked my advice, before undertaking a long voyage, my answer would depend upon his possessing a decided taste for some branch of knowledge, which could by this means be advanced.… Even in the time of Cook, a man who left his fireside for such expeditions underwent severe privations.
    F ATHER AND H ARRY had been gone for one whole month when Mother, looking more chipper than usual, announced at dinner, “I have some wonderful news. If all goes well, Father and Harry will be home on Thursday evening.”
    We erupted in happy chatter, and Sam Houston, the oldest boy present, led us in three cheers. Beaming, Mother allowed this unusual boisterousness at the table. She said, “I want everyone bathed and pressed and looking their best. Lamar and Sully, you see to the boiler. You’ll need to bring in extra wood. Callie, Aggie will be staying with us for a while until Uncle Gus rebuilds the family home.”
    â€œShe will?” This was interesting news. “For how long?”
    â€œSeveral months, I expect.”
    â€œAnd where will she be staying?”
    â€œIn your room, of course. She will have your bed, and we