Green Fever (8 page)

“Sure am glad it’s not raining,” Mattie hollered to Mark as they rode their bicycle-built-for-two toward the schoolhouse on Monday morning. She caught a glimpse of Russell and Calvin riding their bikes up ahead. They’d no doubt get to school before Mark and Mattie made it there.

“I agree,” Mark called, steering the bike to the right a bit. “But there are a lot of puddles we have to avoid.”

“That’s for sure,” Mattie agreed. “We don’t want our clothes to get splashed, or we could end up wet and muddy. If the weather was still stormy like it was on Saturday night, either Dad or Ike might have given us a ride to school with the horse and buggy.”

“Jah, but I’m glad it’s not,” Mark said, glancing over his shoulder at Mattie. “I like ridin’ our bike to school so we can enjoy the clean, fresh air. And at least we got a good night’s sleep; otherwise I’d be too tired to pedal.”

Mattie couldn’t argue with that. She felt rested and raring to go, especially since it was so pretty out this morning. The air smelled nice after it had rained, and everything looked vivid and clean.

“Watch out, Mattie, there’s a big puddle straight ahead,” Mark hollered. “Pay attention and help me steer. I think there’s just enough room for us to squeeze our bike around the edge.”

Mattie held tightly to her handlebars and pedaled in unison with her brother. Luckily, working together, they managed to get past the mud puddle with the wheels of their bike hugging the border of the water.

“Whew, that was close!” Mark said, expelling a noisy breath of air. “Sure didn’t want to get my new sneakers all wet and dirty.”

“Me neither,” Mattie agreed. “I want to keep my shoes looking new for as long as possible.”

“Hey, look over there!” Mark pointed as a frog hopped into the grass along the side of the road. “Wish I would have seen him sooner. I could’ve caught the critter and took it home to put with the other frosch that lives in your garden.”

“Oh, there’s another one!” Mattie laughed as a second frog jumped into a small puddle, splashing water everywhere. “There goes one more!” she shouted as yet another frog hopped across the road.

“They seem to be everywhere!” Mark said with excitement. “If I had somethin’ to put ’em in, I’d try to catch a few.”

“We don’t have time for that,” Mattie reminded her brother. “We need to keep going or we’ll be late for school.”

“Must be all that rain we had Saturday night that brought out all those hoppin’ frogs,” Mark said as they continued to pedal their bike. “Maybe we’ll find some more frogs at school when we go outside for recess.”

As the twins neared one of their English neighbor’s homes, Mark suddenly put on the brakes.

“Whoa! What are we stoppin’ for?” Mattie asked, grasping the handlebars tighter, trying to keep her balance.
I hope he didn’t see another frog
. “Don’t you realize we shouldn’t be fooling around?” Mattie looked down, right below her feet, not waiting for an answer. “Mark, I can’t put my feet down here ’cause you stopped our bike right over the top of a puddle. And if we’re not careful, we really will be late for school.”

“Would ya look at that?” Mark hollered, pointing to an old bicycle lying on its side next to a garbage can. “I think the Johnsons must have thrown that out. I’ll bet it’s their son Andy’s old bike. I saw him ridin’ a shiny new one the other day.”

As her twin brother scooted the bike forward for her with his feet, Mattie’s forehead wrinkled. “I can see why they’d toss the old bike out. It’s really a mess!”

“It’s not that bad,” Mark said, climbing off their bike and putting up the kickstand. He walked over to the older bike, squatted down, and looked it over real good.

Mattie joined Mark in front of the bike. “It looks terrible,” she said. “The paint’s wearing off, the tires are flat, there are several dents in the fenders, and the chain’s even broken. Oh, and the handlebars look rusty, and the seat is torn. The only part of the bike that looks any good is the bell.” She reached out and rang the bell.
Ching! Ching!

Just then an idea popped into Mattie’s head. “Say, maybe we could take the bell off this old bike and put it on ours. We still need one, you know, and since we have no money to buy a new bell, this one could work out just fine.”

“Hmm…” With his arms folded and head tipped to one side, Mark continued to stare at the bicycle. “Think I’m gonna knock on the Johnsons’ door and ask if they mind if I take this old bike.”

Mattie plopped her hands against her hips. “Take it where, Mark? With the tires flat and the chain broken, there’s no way you can ride that old bike. Besides, we’re supposed to be heading to school. If we don’t go now, I’ll bet we won’t get there on time.”

“Just relax, Mattie. If the Johnsons say I can have the bike, then I’ll leave it parked at their house and pick it up after school.”

“How are you gonna do that?” she asked. “If you think I’m gonna ride our bicycle all by myself while you try to push that pile of junk home, then you’ve got another think comin’.”

“Don’t get so worked up,” Mark said calmly. “I don’t expect you to ride our bike by yourself. We’ll go home after school, and I’ll ask Dad or Ike to bring our open market wagon over here so we can haul the old bicycle home.”

“You don’t need this bike, Mark. We already have one, remember?” Mattie motioned to their bicycle-built-for-two.

“It’s hard for us to ride our bike when we’re by ourselves,” Mark said. “If I fix this old bike up, I can ride it whenever I want to go somewhere alone.”

“That’s fine for you, but where does that leave me?” Mattie questioned.

“Maybe I’ll let you borrow it sometimes,” he said, smiling widely.

Mattie folded her arms. “Humph! I think it’s a dumm idea, and if we don’t get going right now, we’re gonna be late for school!”

“We won’t be late,” Mark argued. “It’ll only take me a few minutes to run up to the Johnsons’ house and ask if they mind if I take the bike.” Before Mattie could say anything more, he sprinted across the yard and stepped onto the Johnsons’ porch.

Mattie groaned. It wouldn’t be fair if Mark ended up with a bike of his own. She’d probably never get to ride it, either. Secretly, she hoped the Johnsons would tell Mark that he couldn’t have the beat-up-looking bike.

Mark’s heart started to pound as he rapped on the door. What if the Johnsons weren’t home? It wouldn’t be right for him to take the bike without asking, even though it had been sitting out by the trash. What if the Johnsons were home, but said Mark couldn’t have the old bike?

As Mark waited by the door, he glanced around and spotted Andy’s new bicycle parked on one end of the porch.
It would sure be nice to have a brand-new shiny bike like that
, Mark thought. Andy was an only child and both of his parents worked, so Mark figured they had more money to spend on nice things than his folks did. A twinge of envy shot through him as he thought about all the other toys Andy had to play with, in addition to the new bike. Since Andy’s folks weren’t Amish, they had electricity running into their house. One time, when Mark went to visit Andy, he’d discovered that the boy even had a TV in his bedroom. He also had a computer as well as a couple of electronic toys. Mark couldn’t help feeling a bit envious about that, but even if he were allowed to have such things, he wasn’t sure what he would do with them. He was used to playing with simple things, like the old rope swing in the barn, flying his kite, blowing bubbles, and all sorts of games. Mark was okay with that because all those things were fun to do.

“May I help you?” Mrs. Johnson asked after opening the front door, halting Mark’s thoughts.

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and cleared his throat. “Uh—yes, I was wondering about that bike you put out by the trash.”

Mrs. Johnson wrinkled her nose. “That old thing has seen better days, and it really isn’t worth much anymore. That’s why my husband and I bought our son a new bike.”

Mark reached up to wipe the trickle of sweat running down his forehead. He didn’t know why he felt so nervous.

“Is there something I can do for you?” Mrs. Johnson asked.

“Well, I was wondering…since you’re tossin’ the bike, would it be okay if I take it?”

Her eyebrows lifted. “Why would you want that old thing?”

“I’m hopin’ to fix the bike so I can ride it,” Mark explained.

Mrs. Johnson glanced toward the road where Mattie stood next to the old bike Mark wanted. “I’m not sure it’s worth fixing,” she said, “but if you want the bicycle, then it’s yours.”

Mark smiled. “Thanks, I appreciate that.” He started to go but turned back around. “My sister and I are on our way to school, so I can’t take the bike with me right now. Would it be all right if I park it here in your yard till my dad or older brother comes over to get it?”

“Certainly,” she said with a smile. “Just bring it up and leave it on the side of the house.”

“Thanks again.” Mark grinned with gratitude and bounded off the porch with a spring in his step. He could hardly believe he was finally going to have a bike of his own, and he couldn’t wait until it was fixed and he could ride it. Mark was anxious to tell his friend John about what he’d discovered today.

Every day after school that week, Mark worked on the bicycle he’d found
. He’d sanded the old paint off the fenders, scrubbed the rust off the handlebars, and removed the bell so he could put it on his and Mattie’s bike. He’d asked Dad to help him with the tires and bike chain, but he was too busy in the wood shop right now. Dad had suggested that Mark ask Grandpa Miller to help him, but Grandpa and Grandma had gone to Illinois to see Grandma’s cousin and wouldn’t be back for ten days. It was disappointing that he’d have to wait awhile and wouldn’t be able to get the old bike fixed right away.

Well, one good thing
, Mark thought as he headed for the barn to do his chores on Saturday morning,
we’ll be leaving soon for The Farm at Walnut Creek to see the animals
.

When Mark entered the barn, he fed and watered his cats. Thankfully, the food was kept on a low shelf, and he was able to reach it. He smiled as he watched Boots and Lucky eagerly lap up the water and munch the cat food he’d poured in their dishes. He liked having cats; they were easy to care for and earned their keep by catching mice.

“Not like Mattie’s yappy
hund,”
Mark muttered. “She’s not worth—”

“What about my dog?”

Mark whirled around. “Mattie, I didn’t know you were here. Were you spying on me?”

She shook her head vigorously. “ ’Course not. I came to the barn so I could get Twinkles’s leash. I’m gonna take her for a walk.”

“Where are you headed?” Mark asked.

“Thought we might go over to see my friend Stella Schrock. I want to tell her about the new bell we got for our bike.”

Mark’s forehead wrinkled. “That bell is really mine, Mattie. It goes on the bike I found.”

“I know that, but I thought you said we could put the bell on our bicycle-built-for-two.”

“I said I’d put it there for now,” Mark replied. “After the old bike is fixed up, then the bell will need to go back on it again.”

Mattie put her hands on her hips. “That’s not fair, Mark. We need a bell on our bike, and we would’ve spent our money on one if we hadn’t ended up buying the light you wanted.”

“I wish you’d quit bringin’ that up,” Mark said. “We needed a light, too, and you agreed to it, so there’s no point in complaining about it now. We can buy a new bell for our bike as soon as we save up the money.”

“But that could take a long time.”

“Maybe.” Mark turned his hands palm up. “Maybe not. We just need to find a way to earn some cash.”

“We can’t sell anything from the garden at our road stand until sometime this summer,” Mattie said. “Besides, I don’t even have any flowers growing yet.”

“When Grandma and Grandpa get back from Illinois, we can ask if they have any chores for us to do.” Mark gave Mattie’s arm a little tap. “In the meantime, we can keep using the bell from the old bike ’cause I can’t fix it up all by myself, and it’ll be awhile before I can ask for Grandpa’s help.”

“You’re gonna let me ride the bike once you get it fixed, though, right?” Mattie questioned.

“Probably. But only when I don’t want to ride it.”

Mattie sighed. “I wish you’d never found that old bike. It’s not fair that you have a bike of your own and I don’t.”

“Are you jealous?” Mark asked.

“A little,” Mattie admitted.

“Well, don’t be,” Mark said. “The bike’s not even fixed up yet, and someday I’ll bet you’ll have a bike of your own, too.”

“I doubt it. A new bike would be expensive, and Mom and Dad can’t afford to buy anything like that right now.” Mattie took Twinkles’s leash down from the wall peg where it hung, then she turned toward the door.

“You can’t go to Stella’s right now,” Mark called.

She halted and turned back around. “Why not?”

“ ’Cause we’ll be leaving for The Farm at Walnut Creek to see all the animals soon,” he said.

Mattie thumped her head. “Oh, that’s right. Well, guess I’ll just walk Twinkles around the yard till we’re ready to go.” She turned and hurried out of the barn.