Summer of the Redeemers by Carolyn Haines Read Free Book Online Page A

door just as we’d found it. Although we didn’t have a bottle opener, Alice was able to force the top off one bottle by using the edge of the step. We filled up Maebelle’s bottle, and she took to it with a greedy sucking sound.
    “If I had a horse, we’d be home in two minutes flat.”
    “If you had a horse, the poor thing would probably be living in your bedroom. Don’t let her have too much too fast.” She motioned for me to pull the bottle out of Maebelle’s mouth. The result, not to my surprise, was a wail of protest. I gave the nipple back to her.
    “She’ll gas up and puke on you,” Alice warned, then shrugged. She was constantly amused by my lack of know-how when it came to babies.
    “She’s starving to death.”
    “Let her digest what she’s had.”
    Alice knew her business when it came to babies, so I removed the bottle and contented myself with listening to Maebelle’s angry frustration. We picked up our gear, leaving the two unopened Cokes behindthe chinaberry tree, and started on our way home. Even though we were rested, our steps were slower. Effie would be fit to be tied, worried about me. Mrs. Waltman didn’t seem to worry much, but she’d be mad at the state Maebelle V. was in. She was dirty, soiled, and now beginning to erp and drool. Upchuck was not far behind.
    “I’m hungry,” Alice finally said. We’d gone all day without anything to eat. It was close to three.
    “Mama Betts will have something good made. Since we’re in trouble, you might as well stop by and have a bite.”
    “Maybe we could clean Maebelle up a little.”
    “Sure.”
    “Maybe we should tell the truth about the bikes.” Alice had no stomach for fibs, or the resulting trouble they always caused.
    “If we don’t say anything, we might get the bikes back.”
    “If we don’t say anything, that’s not really a lie.”
    “Right. And I get a feeling I’ll hear something from that tall skinny boy real soon. Like tonight.”
    We’d just come to a big curve in the road. At the sound of a loud motor, we both automatically moved into the sandy ditch and up the bank to high ground. At the curve some of the boys drove wild. If the road was rutted real bad, like it was today, the cars would sometimes begin to jump and quiver on the washboard ruts and the driver would lose control. Then the car would slam into the ditch. Kali Oka curve was good business for the body shops around Jexville.
    “That ain’t nobody we know,” Alice said, listening to the voice of the motor. “It’s straining, like it’s big.”
    Before I could hypothesize, an old truck pulling a long horse van rounded the curve. I knew what the van was because I’d read about them in my books. The English called them vans or boxes, and Americans called them trailers. When I pretended that I had a horse, I also pretended I was English, like Velvet Brown.
    The sun was bearing down right in our eyes, and I couldn’t see in the truck very well. Most of my attention was focused on the van anyway. I couldn’t see anything through the tiny little windows, but when it passed, I might be able to see the horses’ tails, if it was loaded.
    “Look!” Alice squeezed my arm and pulled me around to look behind us.
    A skinny little arm poked out to left-hand-turn, and the truck andtrailer disappeared down the chinaberry driveway of the old McInnis place.
    “Are they moving in?” I could hardly breathe.
    Before Alice could answer, there was a loud scream from a horse. Not panic or fear, but a call, as if the horse was hoping for another horse to answer.
    Picket’s interest picked up immediately. Her ears stood up and quivered, and I knew I had to get her home. The thick chinaberry trees blocked our view, but we stood for a moment longer listening.
    Several horses called in that wild, anxious manner. I knew just how their nostrils would flare and the forelock would hang wild in their eyes. Then there was the sound of a metal door banging open and a woman’s