The next morning, Toby was woken up by crowing roosters. He sat up in bed and looked out the window at the sunrise.
The lizard that's always hanging around the house should be waking up about now, and he'll be slow from the morning cold.
With that running through his mind, Toby jumped up and quickly got dressed. His mother was busy fixing breakfast in the kitchen and she stopped to watch as Toby ran out the back door.
"Summer makes them crazy," she whispered to herself and shook her head. "He never gets up this early when he has to go to school."
Toby stopped just a few steps from the back door and looked around wildly for the lizard. It wasn't sunning itself on it's favorite rock, so Toby ran around the house towards the barn. There was another rock that the lizard loved to sit on, and since it was on the side of the house where the sun rises, it would be much warmer. But the lizard wasn't there either. Toby looked towards the barn and saw his father come out. They waved at each other and just then, Toby heard his mother calling for them both.
"Go eat breakfast!" Toby's father yelled from the barn. "I'll be there in a minute!"
"I'll save you a seat!" Toby yelled back with a smile. Toby waited until he heard his father laugh before he turned and walked back to the house. He sat down when, through the dining room window, he saw the lizard sitting on top of it's favorite rock. The lizard stared at Toby and tilted it's head to one side, tempting him to run back outside and give chase. Toby jumped to his feet, nearly knocked his chair over, but an angry look from his mother made him sit back down. He looked out the window and saw the lizard still sitting there. It had it's eyes closed now and was looking like it really wanted to be caught.
"One of these days," Toby whispered to it, but the lizard moved it's head from side to side as if it were saying "never." Toby's mother served him a plate of warm sugar cakes with a glass of berry juice. He looked down at his plate and then looked up when he heard his father come in. He turned quickly and looked out the window, but the lizard was gone.
Toby finished his breakfast in a hurry. He was still chewing his last mouthful as he got up from the table, when there was a knock at the door. Since Toby was the first one to finish, he decided to answer it. When he opened the door and saw who it was, he smiled.
"Good morn, Toby!" Ritchie said happily. Ritchie was a little sweaty and a bit out of breath. "My father is taking me to Farvain and said you could come with us if it was okay with your folks."
"You can't go unless you finish your chores!" Toby's mother yelled from the kitchen.
Toby's smile faded away and his shoulders sagged down. "I would like to go, but I have chores to do. I can't do anything until they're done."
"I could help you," Ritchie offered. "Maybe we'll finish by the time my father gets here."
"Sure!" Toby exclaimed, his hopes rising. "Let's go!"
The two boys sped through the house and out the back door. Toby paused to look around for the lizard, but he didn't see it anywhere. They hurried off towards the barn unaware that they were being followed. Toby led Ritchie around the barn to the henhouse where the chickens were already pecking around at anything that might be food. When they saw the boys, they quickly gathered around the two.
"Throw some feed out while I get the eggs," Toby said as he pointed to a covered barrel.
Ritchie removed the lid and reached into the barrel with one hand. There was an open sack of feed inside and Ritchie grabbed a fistful and threw it out to the hungry horde. Inside the henhouse, Toby quickly gathered eggs from under a few unhappy hens and went back outside.
"I'll take the eggs in," Toby told Ritchie. "And bring back the bucket of slop for the pigs."
Toby hurried towards the house with the eggs held gently in his hands. Halfway back to the house, he heard something running along behind him. Thinking that it was Ritchie, Toby slowed and turned his head around to say something. But it wasn't Ritchie, it was the lizard.
Toby stopped and turned around completely. The lizard's head was sticking up over the top of the tall grass and it was looking right at Toby with it's head tilted to one side. Toby wanted to dive at the lizard, but his hands were full of eggs. Toby looked down at his hands helplessly, and almost as if it knew the boy couldn't catch it, the lizard crept closer. Toby trembled with excitement at being this close to the lizard, but the eggs in his hands felt like heavy chains, preventing him from doing anything. The lizard's head tilted to the other side and it's eyes blinked rapidly as it moved closer.
Toby knelt down slowly and kept his hands out to his sides. The lizard stopped and watched Toby with it's bright green eyes. Toby's left knee touched the ground first and then his right. He held his breath as he lowered his hands to the ground. The lizard's forked tongue flicked in and out rapidly, but it remained where it was, just an arm's length away. Toby's nose itched suddenly and he wanted to scratch it so bad, but he continued to slowly lower his hands to the ground. His hands finally touched the ground, and at that exact moment, the lizard ducked down into the tall grass.
Toby groaned with disappointment, but he noticed that the grass had not moved. So the lizard must still be there, hiding. As quickly as he could, Toby dove forward with his hands stretched out in front of him, reaching for the spot where the lizard had been, but all he managed to grab was dry grass. Toby searched through the grass with his hands, but the lizard had somehow gotten away. He lay there for another moment, thinking about how close he had come to catching the lizard, when suddenly, the lizard's head popped up out of the grass right in front of his face, and before he could do anything, one of the lizard's claws scratched his nose at the same spot where he had itched.
Toby overcame his moment of surprise and grabbed at the lizard. But the lizard was too fast for him. It jumped up on top his head and ran down his back. Toby sat up, his hands grabbing at anything, but the lizard was already running away through the grass.
"Blast! Double blast!" Toby exclaimed angrily. He leapt to his feet, ready to give chase, but only managed to take several steps before he heard the sound of eggs breaking beneath his right foot. "Curses! Filthy, dirty curses!"
Toby watched the movement of the grass as the lizard ran through it and let out a sigh. He stepped off the broken eggs and wiped the bottom of his shoe on the grass. He picked up the unbroken eggs and jogged to the house. He handed the eggs to his mother who told him that Ritchie's father had arrived and was waiting for Ritchie out on the road.
"I'll go get Ritchie," Toby said sadly. He ran back to the barn as fast as he could where Ritchie waited.
"Your father is here," Toby announced.
"I have to go," Ritchie said, sounding a little disappointed.
"Wait!" Toby exclaimed. He felt nervous, but he looked up at Ritchie, determined to ask his question. Toby was always a little afraid to ask Ritchie things, because he didn't want Ritchie to think he was stupid.
"Do you know what's going on? I heard my father talking to Patrick Philman yesterday and they were talking about battles and the militia."
Ritchie looked at Toby for a moment while he thought of how to answer.
"An army is coming towards us," Ritchie finally said. Toby gasped with surprise and Ritchie paused before he continued. "It's supposed to be four days away, but nobody in Farvain is really sure. It might be closer. The militia has been called and they also want volunteers to fight. Some families in Farvain are packing their stuff and moving away."
Just then the two boys heard their names being yelled out.
The two boys started back towards the house. They were going in through the back door when Toby stopped and asked another question.
"Ritchie, is your father in the militia?"
Toby's mother and father both heard Toby's question and they both turned to look at the two boys. Ritchie felt himself being watched and hesitated to answer.
"Well, no, but I think he wants to volunteer. He wants my brother Kile to volunteer."
Toby's father looked surprised and his mother looked shocked. Toby's father stood up and approached the two boys.
"Ritchie, your father is waiting out on the road. We asked him to come in, but he said he was in a hurry to get to Farvain."
"Thank you, Mr. Erickson."
Toby led Ritchie to the front door and let him out. The boys waved farewell to each other before Toby closed the door.
"Del, do you think Jacob Stedmoore would really volunteer?" Toby heard his mother ask. "He doesn't seem like the fighting type."
"I don't know. I really don't know him that well, but I've heard plenty about that son of his, Kile. It was him that set fire to the woods a couple years ago, and then several months later he set fire to the Morgan home. He set several more fires in Farvain before he was caught and turned in to his father."
Toby walked into the kitchen and found his father staring at him.
"You stay away from that Kile boy, you hear me Toby," Toby's father said. "Ritchie's a good kid, but that Kile has the Bad One burning in him."
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Most recent update: 05 May 03
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