From Pharaoh's Hand (20 page)

     “
The electricity’s been off, because the clock was flickering.”

             
“Hm.  Wonder if the river’s up,” she muttered as she made her way to the French doors that led to the patio.  She pulled the curtains back.  The sun was just coming up over the hill, promising a gorgeous summer day.  Callie and Sam lived up on a hill that overlooked the Buffalo, but was well above the flood plain.   Sam had brought Callie out to the property the day they became engaged and told her how romantic it would be to watch the sun coming up over the river every morning.  So in the warmer months, Callie and Sam would have their morning coffee out on the deck and plan their day. 

             
“Man, the river is way up,” he remarked.  “What’s that? Looks like Flatwoods Canoe Rentals has lost one of their canoes.  Maybe I better put my boots on and pull it to the house.”  There were a few limbs strewn about the yard, and the garbage cans had been overturned, but other than that, there were no other signs of the havoc that the storm had played in other parts of the county the night before.   A strange sound filled the air, startling Sam into action.  It couldn’t be...but it was.  The sound of a baby crying loudly pierced the foggy morning air. 

             
“Is that --”

             
              “Why, that’s a baby crying.  Where’s it comin’ from, Sam?”

             
Sam’s face registered surprise and a puzzled fear.  There wasn’t a house for at least a mile.  The baby’s cries grew louder and more insistent.  The cries were coming from the river. 
My lands..there’s a baby down there!

             
“Hurry.  Bring me my pants and my boots.  How in the world -- Hurry Callie!”

             
Sam jumped into his pants and boots and headed down the hill toward the river at full speed.  The cries grew louder as he approached the canoe, which was half out of the water.  Sam grabbed the canoe and pulled it completely onto shore.  His eyes widened in shock as reached to scoop up the newborn from the bottom of the canoe.  He looked up and down the river thinking that any minute a woman or man would appear to claim the child, but there was none in sight.  His mind raced with the possibilities, but none of the scenarios he conjured up were logical, not to mention possible. 

             
“Shhhh...it’s ok now.  You’re safe now.  Shhhhh.”  He held the baby against his chest and tried to soothe him, but the baby just kept crying.  Sam reached inside the canoe and grabbed the plastic bag that the baby had been lying on.  Maybe there was a note, a clue, something to tell him where the baby had come from.  He would check the bag after he got the baby safely to the house.  He never saw Catfish’s name spray-painted down the side; he was just too excited.  Callie would know what to do.  She wasn’t going to believe this.

             
Sam made his way back up the steep hill holding the baby snugly against him with one arm and holding the bag with the other.  Callie raced down the deck steps to meet him.

     “
It
is
a baby!  Sam, where did it come from?”

             
“Beats me.  Craziest thing I’ve ever seen.  Can’t be more than a few hours old.  Can’t get him to stop crying.”

     “
Let me have him.”

             
              Callie reached and took the baby from Sam’s arms.  She pulled the t-shirt away from the baby’s body and noticed the umbilical cord still in place.  The baby wailed from being exposed to the cold morning air.  She quickly rewrapped the baby and took him inside.  Sam followed behind her carrying the bag. 

             
“I’m going to get a warm blanket.  He’s cold, and probably hungry.  We need to get him to the hospital where they can check him out and give him some formula.”  She had handed the baby to Sam while she went in search of the blanket.

             
“Who would put a baby in a canoe and float it down the river?  Just doesn’t make sense.”

     “
I know.  Almost seems like a kid.  A runaway, maybe?”

             
“But why the river?  Why wouldn’t they just leave him on our doorstep?”

     “
I don’t know, honey.  Get dressed.  I’m going to call the Sheriff’s office.”

             
              Sam picked up the phone to dial 9-1-1, but got no dial tone. 

             
“The phone’s out.  Storm must’ve gotten water in the lines.  Let’s just get him to the hospital.”

             
While Callie was getting dressed, Sam decided to check out the bag.  The baby had finally gone to sleep, exhausted from his ordeal, so Sam tenderly laid him on the couch beside him.  He reached inside the tattered bag and pulled out a pair of jeans.  He threw them to the floor and reached again.  This time he pulled out a tube of crackers and a can of sausages. 
Food, but no formula for the baby.  This baby’s only a few hours old.  Someone gave birth recently.  Someone that was on the run.

             
The last time he reached into the bag his hand struck something hard wrapped inside more clothing.  He pulled the entire bundle out and unwrapped it revealing the gold trimmed walnut box.  He breathed a low whistle as he opened the box.  There against the silk lining shone the five ancient treasures.  He had no idea what he held in his hands, but he was sure that they were old and like nothing he had ever seen. 
Someone stole these.  The mother...she must have been on the run. She’s stolen these. 

             
“
You about ready? We really need to get to get him to the hospital,” Sam asked.

             
              “I’m ready.  You drive. I’ll hold the baby.”

             
As the couple made their way toward town, they were amazed to see signs of the destruction the storm had left behind.  At first it was just a few twigs and leaves scattered across the road, but a couple of miles farther down the road, they began to see trees with their tops sheared off, sheet metal twisted around their branches, buckets and odd items strewn across the fields.

     “
Looks like a tornado came through.  I had no idea it got that bad.”

             
“No wonder the phone’s out.”

     “
Look over there,” Sam pointed to his left where a couple was out in their front yard cutting up a huge tree that had been uprooted.  A mile farther down the road Callie exclaimed.

             
“Oh...Sam!  Someone’s been off the road.  Look at the muddy tracks.  Look at the ruts!”

     “
We’re not the only ones with a story to tell, evidently.  I hope they’re all right.”

             
When they finally pulled into Perry County Medical Center, the throng of patients in the Emergency Room overwhelmed them.  An ambulance was parked by the entrance doors, and the paramedics were preparing to unload a patient. This much activity for the small town facility was rare.  Something horrific had happened overnight.  And Sam and Callie had slept through it without a thought.

     “
Excuse me, ma’am,” Sam began as he approached the desk. “ Ma’am, we have a newborn here that needs attention.”

             
“A newborn?  Where’s the mother?”

     “
We don’t know.  It’s quite a mystery.  We found the baby floating in the river this morning in a canoe.”

             
“What, you’re kidding, right?”

     “
It’s the truth with my hand up, miss.  He appears to be okay, just hungry.”

             
              Sam and Callie did not notice the camera crew closing in on them.  WBBJ had been following the story since they had arrived in Linden soon after midnight.  They had come to interview the hospital officials about the number of injuries that had been reported.  Sensing a sensational story afoot, the reporter stuck his microphone in front of Sam’s face and started firing questions.  Sam was still holding the baby to his chest, trying to protect him from the media’s onslaught.

             
“Excuse me, did you say you found a newborn in the river this morning?”

             
              “Yes ma’am.”

             
“In a canoe?  How did all this come about?”

             
              “Well, the missus and me, we drink out coffee out on the porch every morning and watch the sun come up.  Had no idea a tornado had been through.  Noticed the canoe down at the water’s edge.  That was when we heard Moses cryin’.”

             
“Moses?  His name is Moses?”

             
              “Well, ma’am we don’t know what his name is.  We been callin’ him Moses ‘cause we drew him out of the river.  Seemed fittin’.”

             
“And you say he was in a canoe?  Where do you think he came from, sir?  Were there any clues that might indicate who the baby belongs to?”

             
              “He was lying in the bottom of a canoe wrapped up in a blue long-sleeved t-shirt.  I have it here in this bag that was with him, along with some other things.”  Sam fumbled with the bag for a minute, then pulled the dirty shirt out and held it up. “Only thing I could tell was, it was probably a kid.  Shirt’s got an Indian chief logo on it with the initials, NSHS above it.  Figured it was a high school mascot.  The shirt was dirty and wet, so the wife wrapped the baby up in a proper blanket.”

             
Just then the nurse came around from the counter and shooed away the press.  She took the baby into her arms and disappeared through the double doors that led to the ER within.

             
The automatic entrance doors opened and a group of men ushered Catfish Jones in on a gurney.  The reporter turned his attention to this new development, leaving Sam with instructions to wait there for a further in-depth interview.  Sam and Callie craned their necks with great interest as they made their way to the lobby seating area.  The media had completely surrounded the group of men.

             
“Stand back please.  Not now.  This man is in bad shape.  Please,” said the sheriff.

             
              “Just a quick comment, if you will, tell us who this is and what’s happened.”

             
“I said, not now.  I’ll give you a press conference with full details later in the day.  Right now we’re still working on the rescue efforts.  And this man needs treatment.”

             
The paramedics pushed their way through the group and swept Catfish away to triage.  The reporter shoved his microphone into the sheriff’s face and continued.

             
“Have you been notified about the newborn that was just admitted that was found floating in the river?”

             
              “Newborn?  What?  Um...no I haven’t.  As you can see, we’ve been quite busy.”

             
“Mr. Sam Mathis and his wife, Callie brought the baby in a few moments ago.  Mr. Mathis found the infant floating in a canoe at the river’s edge in their back yard earlier this morning.   No one knows how the baby got there and how the baby could have possibly survived the tornado.  Any ideas on who this miracle baby they call “Moses” belongs to, Sheriff?”

             
“I will have to get back to you on that.  In the meantime, I would ask that you please refrain from reporting until you get the complete set of facts.”

             
The reporter did not answer the sheriff, but he promptly turned towards the camera and said,

          “
This is Hal Jacobs, for WBBJ-TV, reporting live from Perry County, Tennessee.  Stay tuned in as we will be bringing you details from these stories as they become available.”

Chapter 25

New Hope

              In Jackson, John was sitting on the bed waiting for Carolyn to finish pressing his dress shirt.  He had an important meeting this morning and wanted to impress his boss.  He reached for the television remote and turned on CNN. 

             
“Bad storm we had last night wasn’t it,” Carolyn said.

             
              “Yep.  But not near as bad as it got once it crossed the river.  Usually those storms lose a little speed once they move out of our area.  This one doubled in strength.  They’re calling it an F-4.”

             
“Anyone hurt?”

             
              “It hasn’t said yet.  Right now it’s showing a lot of the damage.  Perry County took a big hit.  Lost several structures.  The Middle School was flattened.”