My Children Are More Precious Than Gold (19 page)

“
Sure, we kin,” Pap
agreed.

“
I want enough soen Mama
kin make us some persimmon pudding, too,” Dillard said. He licked
his lips as he looked at the fruit laden trees. “Only thing is, I’m
hungry now so kin I have a persimmon to eat on right
now.”

“
Reckon I could get ya one
if I tried,” Lue said. “Sure, ya wouldn’t want to wait until spring
when the fresh ones are ready, Dillard?” He winked at Tom who gave
him a questioning look.

“
Oh no, ya ain’t gonen to
play that trick on me again!” Last spring, Dillard hadn’t realized
that persimmons weren’t good to eat before they turned yellow. Lue
had given him a green one. One bite was enough to pucker the inside
of his mouth for some time. He hadn’t forgotten the trick Lue
played on him.

“
Seems like we have come a
fer piece, Pap. How much further to the tree? I’m getten tired,”
Dillard complained as he took a bite of his persimmon and spit out
the seeds.

“
We’re about there,” said
Jacob.

A muffled hum came from the tree as
Jacob and the boys approached it. From a hole high up, a few bees
flew out, disappearing in the distance as the sun warmed them
up.

“
Give me one end of that
crosscut saw, Sid, and we’ll cut a hunk offen this tree so we can
get at the honey. The rest of ya boys can pile up some leaves and
get a fire goen so we can smoke the tree to slow down the bees.” He
grabbed the end of the saw offered to him by Sid, and they began to
saw rhythmically back and forth in the groove. The saw’s raspy
grating transmitted rhythmically throughout the timber as sawdust
piled up in a heap at the base of the tree.

The tree began to lean, making a loud
creaking sound. “Heads up!” Jacob shouted, giving the tree a shove.
He backed up with the boys to watch it fall in slow motion amid the
limbs of surrounding trees on the way down, crashing to the ground.
A cloud of leaves bellowed up around the fallen tree as it landed.
Then the loud drone of the shaken bees began.

“
Quick, boys, get those
smolderen leaves over around the bee hole so the smoke will settle
them down,” ordered Jacob.

Picking up leafy limbs, they all raked
the leaf pile over to the tree as the white smoke swirled up toward
the tree tops. As soon as the cloud of smoke thickened and covered
the tree, the droning noise lessened.

Jacob and Sid moved into the smoke
with the saw to cut the tree below the hole where they thought the
honey was stored. A few stray bees darted around their heads,
looking for the hole to their hive. They flew away from the smoke
back through the trees. Jacob turned loose of his half of the saw.
Sid backed out of the way. Jacob gave the hunk of tree a swift kick
to roll it away from the smoking bee infested portion. Smoke
bellowed out the fresh cut hole as air circulated through the tree
from where the smoldering leaves were placed on top of the tree. A
few bees crawled to the edge of the fresh cut opening, trying to
get away from the smoke.

Jacob and Sid gave the log another
kick to get away from the smoke. The sweet, thick, amber colored
honey oozed from the wax cones out the opening, matting the sticky
leaves to the tree.

“
Quick, Lue and Don, get
the pails over here so we can dig the honey out. The rest of ya
boys, toss some more leaves on that pile to keep it smoldering so
those bees will stay quiet,” Jacob ordered. He knelt by the fresh
cut hole, tilted a pail over to the opening and reached his hand in
to dig out the wax honey cones. Soon the pail was full. Jacob
stopped to roll up his shirt sleeve, before he laid down on his
stomach and reached further into the log to bring out the cones for
another pail. Finally, he stood up, dangling his sticky honey
covered arm away from his side. “That’s about all I can reach, and
we have three pails full. The rest of the honey we kin leave for
the bees to feed on this winter.”

Lue and Don each picked up a pail. Sid
put out the pine torch. Jacob took the saw and dragged it across
the pile of smoking leaves to scatter them. Then they all stomped
on the leaves to put the fire out. Dillard, ready to move on, tried
to step over the top portion of the trunk only to trip and
disappear down into the leaves and branches on the other
side.

“
Be careful, Dillard,”
scolded Lue.

Dropping the saw, Jacob reached a hand
down into the branches, grabbed Dillard by the shirt collar to help
him stand up so he could climb back over the tree. Not one of them
was watching the bees become more active again that the smoke had
died down. All at once there was an army of bees darting at Jacob,
the target closest to their hive. He began to bat the air with his
straw hat, yelling as he ran, “Let’s skedaddle!”

Pails held high to keep from getting
them hung up on the brush, Lou and Don took off. Sid holding onto
Dillard’s hand followed them. Jacob, behind the boys, waved his hat
around his head and shoulders. The angry buzzing stopped after a
while. The only noise was the loud rustling of dried leaves and the
sharp snap of twigs as Jacob and the boys rushed back the way they
came. Soon all of them breathless from running, slowed down when
they sensed they weren’t being chased by the bees any
more.

Jacob spoke between panting. “Whoa,
boys. Let’s stop. Em bees are gone now, and I have to sit down a
minute.”

“
Did they sting ya bad,
Pap?” Sid asked, breathing hard.

“
I think they got me
plenty,” Jacob gasped as he put his back against a tree trunk and
slid to the ground.

“
Plenty is right,” Lue
panted, leaning over to inspect his father. “Yer face and arms have
sting places swelling up bad.”

“
Ah, I’ll be all right,”
Jacob said, trying to make light of his pain. “Did ya boys get
stung, too?”

The boys looked at each other and
shook their heads no.

“
Not us, Pap,” Lue
answered for them.

“
Good. Yer mama would have
my hide if I let ya younguns get hurt.” Jacob sighed as he leaned
his head back against the tree and closed his eyes. “Sudden like,
I’m feelen right poorly,” he gasped as he began to hold his chest.
“I’m haven trouble breathen, and my chest hurts
powerful.”

“
Those bee stings are
getten to ya, Pap. We best keep moven toward home,” said
Sid.

“
I know. I reckon if I’m
goen to be sick I’d rather be home,” Jacob said as he held onto the
tree to get on his feet then staggered down the path.

“
Pap, slow down. We’ll
help ya. Lue, get on one side of Pap and I’ll get on the other,”
Sid ordered. “We’ll support ya til we get ya home.”

Going slow and stopping to rest often,
they finally emerged from the trees and made their way down to the
cabin. Opening the door, Tom backed up to let Don and Lue help
Jacob pass by him.

“
We were wondering how
much longer ya were goen -- ,” Cass stopped when she noticed her
father’s swollen face. “What happened? Bess and Veder come here
quick,” she yelled upstairs.

“
Make a pallet on the
floor fer Pap so he can lay down. He got stung by the honey bees,
and they made him sick,” Lue told the girls.

Nannie heard raised voices, threw back
the covers, and climbed out of bed. She leaned on the door frame,
watching the frantic girls scurry about the kitchen and over to
Jacob.

“
Mercy sakes, what’s goen
on here?” She asked.

“
Pap’s been bee stung.”
Dillard pointed over by the fireplace where the boys were helping
Jacob lay down on a pile of quilts.

“
Let’s see,” Nannie said
as she waddled over to where the children stood around
Jacob.

“
Nannie, ya better get
back in yer bed. I’ll be right as rain directly,” Jacob scolded
between gasps for breath.

“
Uhump! Not likely lessen
some of em stingers and the poison is removed,” Nannie bit back at
him. “Try getten some of em stingers out of him, Lue. We need to
make a paste from that drawen powder Genon Mitt brung us to draw
out some of the poison and take down the swellen. Jacob, ya lay
still while they work on ya. Ya younger children get outside and
play fer a while and give the others room to work. Pap will be good
as new when he gets taken care of. Don’t worry.” She waved her
hands at them then slowly moved back toward the bedroom. Shaking
her head as she rubbed her rounded stomach, she muttered to
herself, “Jacob, we’re getten too old fer such doens.”

“
What’s that ya say,
Nannie?” Asked Jacob.

With a wry smile, Nannie half turned
at the bedroom doorway to look at her husband. “I’m getten too old
to have babies, and yer getten too old and too slow to rob bee
trees,” she said, then she disappeared out of sight on her way back
to bed.

Chapter 17

The Quail Hunt

From her bed, Nannie strained to hear
the muffled voices of her children while they chattered in the
other room during breakfast. Listening to their sweet voices and
laughter, she longed to be out of her bed, sitting with her family.
She had been isolated from them for weeks now. Nannie laid the
cornmeal mush encrusted bowl down beside her on the bed and
struggled to straightened up. Smacking the pillow a few times with
her fist, she placed it behind her, trying to get the feathers to
mold into the hollow of her aching back.

It had quieted in the other room so
breakfast was over she surmised. “Younguns, come in here!” shouted
Nannie.

Suddenly what sounded like a herd of
stampeding cattle came to Nannie’s ears just before the children
burst into the bedroom, concern showing on their faces.

“
Mornen younguns. Hold up
there. Don’t look so worried. I jest wanted to talk to ya a
bit.”

“
Mornen, Mama.” The
children chorused as they lined up around the bed.

“
Our breakfast is over,
Mama. I kin take yer bowl to wash with the other dishes,” offered
Cass.

“
Thank ye, Cassie. I have
to say ya girls are getten better at fixen the vitals. There was
hardly any lumps in the mush this mornen,” Nannie complimented,
noting how that statement created a pleased look on the faces of
the three older girls. “Think ya could fix a birthday meal fer Bess
come Sunday next, Cass?”

“
Sure, Mama,” Cass
replied, confidence showing on her long, slim face. Her thin lips
spread into a wide pleased smile at her mother.

“
I don’t know about that,
Mama. That’s goen to take more cooken then eggs and mush.” Lue
feigned a doubtful look as a quiver developed at the corners of his
mouth.

“
We kin do it,” Veder
defended, glaring at Lue. “I’ll hep Cass and Bess.”

“
Good fer ya girls,”
Nannie encouraged, shaking her head at Lue to silence
him.

“
Say, Mama, we seed a
covey of quail in the pasture lately. Suppose we bring home a mess
of quail fer dinner?” Lue offered to get back in his mother’s good
graces.

“
Think ya gals kin figure
out how to fry quail?” Teased Don.

“
Sure we kin! We kin fix
anythen if ya can manage to shoot it,” Veder bristled up at
Don.

“
If ya say so,” Don said
meekly, backing behind Lue for protection from his much smaller
sister.

“’
Well, ya best get to yer
chores now. The day is getten away from ya.” This seemed the time
to separate the children until they cooled down. While she watched
them file out of the bedroom, she scooted down under the
covers.

Sunday arrived with a exhilaratingly
mild temperature and brilliant sunshine that reminded the Bishops
of early fall instead of being on the verge of winter. The boys
were more than willing to miss church to be out of doors on the
quail hunt. They headed up the pasture hill while Jacob and the
girls walked down the lane on their way to church in Mosquito
Hollow.

Lue carried the twenty-two rifle while
the other three brothers spread out on either side of him. They
walked slowly through the first grassy thicket they came to, hoping
to scare up the covey of quail. Once through the thicket with no
sign of the birds, they headed onto the next one. Suddenly, a loud
rushing whir startled the boys. The quail rose up in front of them
and the brown blobs soared away.

“
Shoot, Lue! Shoot!” The
boys shouted together.

Lue raised the rifle to his shoulder,
sighted down the barrel and pulled the trigger. Bang! Bang! Bang!
All the brown blurs glided toward the horizon and disappeared over
the hill.

“
Dog gone! Ya missed em
all,” moaned Don.

“
Em quail sure surprised
me, comen up like that. I didn’t pect to find em this quick. They
flew away too fast to get a bead on em.” Lue made excuses as he
glared at his accusers. “Shooten em birds ain’t easy ya
know.”

“
Maybe we should take
turns, Lue,” Sid suggested, because he thought he was the better
shot of the two of them.

“
Okay, ya try then,” Lue
said, begrudgingly handing Sid the rifle.

The boys trailed the quail. After
covering the whole pasture without seeing a bird, they gave up and
turned back toward home.