Shoeshine Girl (6 page)

She opened the little package Al had given her. Inside was something that looked like an old, dull coin. It was Al's medal.

She closed her eyes. For a long time she sat there, while the train carried her along. She seemed to hear Al saying, “The thing to do is try to be ready—”

She said to herself,
I'm ready. I think I'm ready
, and she felt the star on the medal she held in her hand.

On a February morning in the year 1609, a small, thin-faced man made his way over London Bridge. He wore a leather jacket and a blue wool stocking cap. His clothes were splashed with mud, and mud sucked at his shoes. He could hardly see for the cold rain in his face.

He had been looking for Fish Street, and here it was, at the end of London Bridge. Now he was looking for a house on Fish Street—a great stone house not far from the bridge.

Here was one with tall chimneys and many windows. It must be the house, he thought. He went around to the back.

A plump, pretty maid opened the door.

“Would this be the Trippett house?” he asked.

She looked at his muddy clothes. “What do you want?”

“A word with Mistress Freebold, if she's about.”

“Mistress Freebold? Oh, you mean Annie. You can't see her,” said the maid. “She's sick abed.”

“Could you just let her know there's someone here from America—?”

“America?” The maid stared into his face. “Then you must be—” She was gone. He heard her crying out, “Amanda, Amanda!”

Someone came running. Someone cried, “Father!” and a girl was there. She looked no more than ten or eleven—a pale little thing with great, dark eyes.

She stopped. She said in bitter disappointment, “You're not my father.”

“I shouldn't think so,” said the man.

“Ellie said you were from America, and she thought—I thought—”

“So you're James Freebold's girl,” he said.

“One of them. I'm Amanda.” She asked quickly, “Do you know my father?”

“I do, and I saw him not many weeks ago. We were together in America, in the colony of Virginia. I'm a sailor, you see, and my ship was there—”

“And you saw him.” Her eyes were bright again. “Was he well? What did he say?”

“He was well enough, for all I could see. He'd built a house in Jamestown. That's the only town there. When my ship sailed, he asked if I'd stop for a word with his family in London. He thinks of you each day. He prays you will all be together before another year is out.”

Tears came to her eyes. “When you see him, will you tell him—?”

“I'll not be seeing him again,” the man broke in. “It's a long, hard voyage to Virginia. I'll not be going back.”

“Oh,” she said.

Someone was calling, “Amanda!”

“You're wanted,” he said. “I'll take my leave.”

“But you'll come again?”

He shook his head. “I've told my tale. Good-day to you.”

He left her. He was gone, and she didn't know his name or where to find him again, and there were a hundred things she hadn't asked. She hadn't even said thank you.

She took a step after him, but Cook's voice called her back. “A-
man
-da!”

She closed the door. She went down the long, cold hall and into the kitchen.

Cook was at the table, beating eggs. Her face was red. Her cap was over one eye.

“Who gave you leave to stand in the door and talk all day?” she said. “Who was that man?”

Ellie the maid came out of the pantry. “Oh, Amanda, was it your father?”

The door to the back stairs opened. A small boy put his head out. “Was it Father?” he asked.

“Jemmy!” cried Amanda. “You know you're not to come in here. No, it wasn't Father.”

His head disappeared, and the door closed.

Amanda told Cook and Ellie, “It was a sailor man back from Virginia. He saw my father there. He
talked
to him. Father is well—and he's built a house— and he thinks of us—”

Cook gave a snort. “He does, does he? He thinks of you so much that he sails off and leaves you for three whole years.”

“Oh, that's cruel!” said Ellie.

“Hold your tongue, miss,” said Cook, “and Amanda, you get back to your work.”

She went off into the pantry.

As soon as Cook was gone, Amanda opened the door to the back stairs. The small boy was sitting on the steps. A smaller girl sat beside him.

“It wasn't Father. It was a sailor man,” Amanda said. “But he
saw
Father. Just think of that. I'll tell you about it tonight.”

“Will it be a story?” asked the boy.

“It will be
like
a story,” said Amanda, and she shut the door.

CLYDE ROBERT BULLA
is one of America's best-known writers for young people. The broad scope of his interests led him to write more than fifty distinguished books on a variety of subjects, including travel, history, science, and music. He received a number of awards for his contributions to the field of children's books, including, for
Shoeshine Girl
, awards in three states—Oklahoma, Arkansas, and South Carolina—the winners of which were voted upon by school children.

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By Clyde Robert Bulla

THE BEAST OF LOR
•
BENITO

CONQUISTA! (WITH MICHAEL ROBERT SYSON)

DEXTER
•
THE DONKEY CART

DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI
•
EAGLE FEATHER

THE GHOST OF WINDY HILL
•
GHOST TOWN TREASURE

INDIAN HILL
•
JOHN BILLINGTON, FRIEND OF SQUANTO

JOHNNY HONG OF CHINATOWN
•
LAST LOOK
•
MARCO MOONLIGHT

THE MOON SINGER
•
MY FRIEND THE MONSTER

OLD CHARLIE
•
OPEN THE DOOR AND SEE ALL THE PEOPLE

PIRATE'S PROMISE
•
POCAHONTAS AND THE STRANGERS

RIDING THE PONY EXPRESS
•
THE SECRET VALLEY

SHOESHINE GIRL
•
SONG OF ST. FRANCIS

SQUANTO, FRIEND OF THE PILGRIMS
•
STAR OF WILD HORSE CANYON

THE SUGAR PEAR TREE
•
SURPRISE FOR A COWBOY

THE SWORD IN THE TREE
•
VIKING ADVENTURE

WHITE BIRD
•
WHITE SAILS TO CHINA
•
THE WISH AT THE TOP

A LION TO GUARD US

S
HOESHINE GIRL
. Copyright © 1975 by Clyde Robert Bulla. Illustrations copyright © 2000 by Jim Burke. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bulla, Clyde Robert.

Shoeshine Girl / Clyde Robert Bulla ; illustrated by Jim Burke.

    p. cm.

Newly illustrated ed.

Summary: Determined to earn some money, ten-year-old Sarah Ida gets a job at a shoeshine stand and learns a great many things besides shining shoes.

ISBN 0-06-440228-2 (pbk.)

EPub Edition May 2013 ISBN 9780062290649

[1. Friendship—Fiction. 2. Behavior—Fiction. 3. Shoe shiners—Fiction.] I. Burke, Jim, ill. II. Title.

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