The Secret of the Stone House (18 page)

All at once, they caught sight of the oxen, plunging forward at a speed Emily had never seen them reach before. Their heaving bodies bulldozed across the pastureland, trampling small bushes, and they bawled loudly as the wave of flames crackled and roared behind them. Prairie chickens and other ground fowl wailed to one another in distress, skirring and flying in bewilderment before the dazzling flames.

Suddenly, Geordie shouted, “Follow the oxen!”

Emily hesitated momentarily. When she glanced back, she saw the fire had already engulfed the clump of bushes they’d just passed.

“They’ll find water!” Geordie shifted Molly’s weight and pulled Emily on.

They sprinted up a hill and lurched over the crest, heading into a small gully. When they rounded a thicket of willows, they saw the oxen aiming for a small slough just beyond. Emily and Geordie, with Molly bouncing on his back, pelted behind them as fast as they could go. Sparks flew around them and they slapped at those landing on their clothes. Emily kept behind Geordie to make sure Molly was safe. The vigorous wind whipped the soaring flames even higher and the sky was dark with smoke.

At last they reached the safety of the slough, plunging into the stagnant water, splashing to make themselves as wet as possible. If there was an odour, Emily could no longer smell it. The inside of her nose felt raw from breathing smoke. They waded as deep and as far into the centre as they could, right next to where the oxen stood. Everywhere, fearful eyes stared at them from other creatures in the pond. Geordie let Molly slide down and get herself fully wet, then he picked her up again and held her in his arms. Tears streaked down her smoke-blackened face, but she didn’t whimper or say a word, just clung to Geordie panda bear-style.

All at once, thick smoke enveloped them, and the tall slough grass caught fire, zooming fifteen metres into the air. Terrified, Emily took a deep breath and sank below the water, feeling Geordie do the same beside her, as he instructed Molly to take a deep breath and plunge below the surface. Emily struggled underwater, holding her breath and keeping the green slime from entering her mouth.

Each time she raised her head to gasp a breath of air, her lungs filled with smoke. She splashed wildly, trying to keep the flames away from herself. A terrible panic engulfed her as she thrashed about to keep herself low enough in the water, without getting her feet stuck in the mud at the bottom of the pond.

“I’m feart,” Molly said, clinging to Geordie.

“We’re all scared, little hen,” he answered, hugging her tighter.

Emily willed herself to be brave and help Geordie keep Molly safe. She scooped water up and over the child, making sure her hair and back stayed wet.

Although it seemed like hours, only minutes had passed when Geordie signalled that it was safe to get out of the water. Debris and white ashes fluttered around them. Emily could hardly speak or breathe. She continued to hold the damp cloth to her mouth, which seemed to ease the pain. She took Molly from Geordie to give him a break.

Emily looked at Geordie. His eyes were red-rimmed and his face blackened by fire and smoke. His eyebrows were missing and his clothes were sopping wet, torn, and caked with mud and green slime. The oxen still bellowed and remained in the middle of the slough, bedraggled with soot and mud. Geordie made no move to retrieve them. He seemed to know that budging them would be like trying to move a stone wall.

The sky was still dark, and the grassland in the fire’s wake was charred black, and desolate. All the ground covering was gone – from the grasses and weeds to the buffalo scrub, silver sage, and autumn flowers – everything was gone in one twist of natural fate. The wind howled around them and they could hear the crackling of the fire sweeping beyond them. The odour of burned grain filled the air.

Emily tried to stop her teeth from chattering. Geordie put his arm around her shoulder and held her close. Molly snuggled into her too, shivering. They held each other tight, trying to warm themselves up.

“We must get you both home,” Geordie said. He trembled too.

“Where are we?” Emily inquired, her voice rasping.

“Not far,” Geordie said. “Can you walk?”

She nodded. “I’ll carry Molly for a bit.”

“I can walk,” Molly insisted, sliding to the ground and holding their hands tightly.

They headed to the east, around the other side of the bluff and the slough. This kept them at right angles to the fire. Molly quickly tired, and Geordie carried her in his arms. Soon, they came to the ridge of a hill. Emily could just make out the roof of the stone house in the distance. She smiled with relief and was about to say something to Molly, when she realized the child had fallen asleep.

All at once, the wind shifted. Geordie quickened his pace. The fire had changed direction – straight towards the Elliotts’ home again, only on the other side. They began to run. Emily lagged behind, coughing and struggling for breath, while Geordie pummelled the ground in long frantic strides towards his family.

Emily came to a stop when a coughing fit wouldn’t subside and signalled Geordie to continue without her. She retrieved her bottle of water and took huge gulps before soaking the handkerchief again and wiping at her eyes. Her heart thumped wildly as the fire exploded towards the farm. Her view suddenly became obscured. She could no longer see Geordie and Molly, or the stone house, beyond the wall of smoke. Securing her backpack once again, she hurried after them as fast as she could, but had to slow down when sudden pain stabbed her ankle. She must have twisted it, though she couldn’t remember how or when. Every muscle in her body ached, and she had a pain in her side from running. She blotted at her eyes with the damp cloth and pressed onwards, watching the scene before her, helpless to do anything.

All she could do was pray that Geordie’s family and their home would be all right. If only they’d managed to make a wide enough fireguard around their buildings. If they hadn’t, she didn’t want to think about their fate. The stone shell of the house would still stand, but everything else could be destroyed.

When at last Emily neared the yard with the stone house, and the smoke cleared enough for her to see, she scoured the area for Geordie and Molly and the other family members. The fire had swept all around the buildings, leaving them surrounded by black earth. The yard looked like an oasis in the desert. But the garden was decimated and the corn patch reduced to blackened rubble.

Emily shed tears of joy when she saw the buildings intact, and couldn’t stop a little scream when she saw Geordie emerge from a bluff with Molly in his arms. His parents ran to greet them.

“Not Molly too!” she heard Geordie’s mom wail, fearing she had lost a second child. She sobbed with relief, realizing Molly was only sleeping, when she reached them. As she embraced the pair in one sweep, the little girl woke up and hugged her mother tight around her neck.

“Don’t worry, Mum,” she said, “I’m safe. Geordie and Emily saved me.”

As she held her youngest daughter close, Geordie’s mom looked out across the yard towards Emily and shivered. As she brushed Molly’s tangled hair from her face, she said, “Thank heavens for your brother. And, well, whoever else saved you, I’m so thankful they did.” Then she hugged Geordie tight to her again.

George Sr. patted him on the back. “You’ve done a man’s job today!” he said. “I’m proud of you, lad!”

The others joined them then, coming from the south side of the house, along with Sorcha. They carried brooms, shovels, buckets, and wet sacks, sagging against one another as they stumbled across the yard. Smudged with ashes and smoke, their dishevelled appearance was a sight of beauty to Emily. All the Elliotts were safe.

Creeping closer, she could hear them talking about the frantic time they’d had putting out the sparks that jumped the cultivated circles around their home and ignited the dry grass close to the outbuildings. As their conversation died down, George Sr. and Jack walked the perimeter one last time, making sure all the sparks were out.

“Come Geordie,” said his mom, “We need to get you and Molly into some warm, dry clothes.”

She turned to the girls. “Kate, heat some water,” she instructed. “I think we could all do with some good strong tea down us.”

Emily thought then about the Elliott’s sod house. All their personal belongings were there. She hurried over the burnt prairie towards their original farmyard, halting as she reached the edge of the burn’s path. The soddy was just beyond it. She sighed with relief. The fire had changed direction before reaching their home. She turned back, watching Duncan mount one of the Clydesdales and head out across the land. Another rider, probably a neighbour, was silhouetted on a hillside to the north. Emily watched as they met and stopped to converse. Then a third rider joined them from the direction of the sod house and she knew it was Sandy.

Emily headed back then. She noticed that Molly’s bluff of poplars still stood and she smiled at the little girl’s confidence in knowing she would have been safe at her special place. Emily arrived back in the yard as the others headed for the well to clean themselves off. Geordie had already washed and changed into clothes that looked like his older brothers’. She caught his attention. He ambled over to her and they slipped around the corner of the house.

“I’m so glad you and your family are okay!” Emily felt the tears sliding down her cheeks.

“Aye, lass, they are because of you!”

“I didn’t do anything,” Emily protested. “If only I’d come sooner! Maybe I could have helped save something.”

“You warned me about the fire. And you helped save Molly!”

“And you gave back the stone and made me the carving,” she said. “Without that I wouldn’t be here.”

“If I’d have listened sooner, maybe we could have saved more,” He grimaced and kicked at a stone. “And if I hadn’t been so stupid in the first place, stealing that stone, maybe Emma would be alive too!”

Stunned, Emily reached out to him. “Don’t ever say that!” she said. “You know I couldn’t have saved her. “

Geordie said nothing, as he looked out across the prairie.

“You don’t believe me, do you?” Emily demanded.

He shrugged his shoulders.

“You must promise me you won’t blame yourself. There’s nothing any of us could have done!” Emily spoke softly, for the first time believing in her own heart that what she said was true.

“I miss her so much,” Geordie whispered.

“I know. I do too,” Emily said, pulling Geordie in for a hug.

He clung to her then for a few moments, then his body relaxed and he became calmer, as if his guilt was drifting away. Emily found her heart becoming peaceful too.

“It’s been grand having you here,” he said, stepping away. “Almost as if Emma were here.”

Emily smiled. “Being with you helped me feel close to Emma again,” she said.

“Our lives and our buildings are safe, at least here.”

“Your other place is fine too,” Emily told him what she’d seen.

“The garden’s gone here, but Mum and the girls had most of it picked. We may still be able to dig up the root crops, if we can locate where they are.”

“You’ll do fine, Geordie,” she said.

“That’s right, lass. The main things are safe.”

Just then, the other riders reached the yard. She and Geordie rushed over to hear what they had to say. They were thrilled to see that Sandy was safe.

Before he or Duncan could say a thing, the third young man started reporting his findings. “The Millars lost everything. The Fergusons’ sod house is okay and the family is safe. They’d wet it down well, so the fire swept right over the top, but the sod didn’t burn.”

“Thank goodness they had enough sense to stay inside,” Duncan added. “What about Susannah’s family?”

“The fire didn’t come that far west,” Sandy said. “It missed us all completely, but I couldn’t get through it to get here any sooner.” He bowed his head. “I didn’t know how any of you were faring. It’s missed the soddy, too, thankfully, but so much of the land is destroyed.”

“Yes, the fire was so hot in places, it burned deep into the roots of the prairie,” said the young man. “The Davis’s field of wheat stooks and their flax fields are burned to a crisp.”

“Some of our crops are gone,” Sandy said. “The last of our wheat and some of the oats.”

George Sr. came up then and heard the last of what they said. “It’ll be a tough winter for the animals, but we’ll make it.” His face was grim. “We’ll have to band together to see what we can do for some of the folks who didn’t fare as well as us.”

The young man nodded. “Some are talking about meeting at the Moffat Kirk tomorrow evening.”

“We’ll be there,” Geordie’s dad said.

Duncan, Sandy, and Jack indicated they would be there too. The other rider nodded his assent, then continued on his way. Duncan and Sandy dismounted and the men gathered around them to hear more, but the women headed for the house. Geordie drew Emily to the side of the henhouse.

“I have to go back with Jack to get the oxen before they wander off.”

“I must go too,” she said. “I have no idea what is happening back at home, or what time it is.” She looked down at herself, and chuckled. “Or how I will explain this.”

Her clothes were tattered and grimy and her hair hung in straggly clumps. She imagined that her face was probably dark with soot and maybe even green slime.