Thunder from the Sea (7 page)

“I've been teachin' Nancy Bosworth how to read.”

“Oh, aye! That's right nice of you, boy,” Fiona said. “Does her mother know?”

“Oh, no, Nancy doesn't want me to tell anyone yet. It's goin' to be a surprise for her folks.”

“It's plain to see that Ruby and Bert can't read.”

“Nancy said that her ma pretends she can.” Tom grinned. “Bert makes believe he can too. He spells
fish
COD.”

Fiona laughed, sputtering her tea and muffin. “Too bad Bert doesn't join you for lessons.” She tapped at her mouth with a serviette.

“He's too proud to ask for help, 'specially from me.”

“Pride goeth before a fall,” Fiona quoted.

At that moment Thunder began to bark from the porch.

“Fiona! Fiona! Come quick!”

Fiona opened the door. Ruby stood there, as pale as a ghost, her hair a messy slattery-sling. Nancy was sobbing behind her.

“What's wrong, Ruby?” Fiona asked.

“Its Rowena—she's gone!”

“She just disappeared!” Nancy cried hysterically. “I'm afeard the fairies took her!”

“Rowena's mother is at the cave with Bert and Eddie,” Ruby said. “They're searchin' for her. Come down, Tom. We need all the help we can get!”

“I'll be back in a spurt,” Tom told Fiona as he grabbed his jacket. “No need for you to come and climb over the rocks.” Tom raced outside and down the road with Thunder at his heels. When they approached the boulders, Tom could see Bert and Eddie searching the shoreline. Rowena's mother, Margaret, was near the cave, screaming “Rowena!” She held the little girl's doll in her hand.

“I'll go up to the tuckamore,” Tom told Margaret.

“I don't think she'd climb all the way up there.” She wept.

“I was watchin' her every second,” Nancy insisted, biting her lip. “I'm sure the fairies came and took her!”

“Fairies?” Ruby whacked Nancy on her rump. “Don't blame the fairies. You weren't watchin' her like you were s'posed to!”

“I hope she didn't fall down among the rocks somewhere,” Margaret sobbed. “She may be hurt or bleedin'….”

Tom took the doll from Margaret's hands. “Here, Thunder.” He held it to Thunder's nose. “Find Rowena!” he ordered. The dog sniffed at the doll then looked at Tom. “Go! Get Rowena!” Tom said again. “Go!”

Thunder sniffed around the entrance to the cave. He gave a slight bark and then headed up the rocks and into the spruce forest. Tom followed as Thunder pushed his way through thick trees. Briars and needles stuck to his fur, and to Tom's jacket. “Rowena!” Tom called. But there was no answer.

Thunder stopped. Tom held the doll to his nose again. Thunder sniffed it and then went on.

They had gone a long way—high up on the cliffs of Eastern Head. Tom went to the edge of the cliff and looked down. The sea, hundreds of feet beneath him, broke in waves
against the rocks. If Rowena fell from here …

Tom peered once more at the deep sea and the jagged rocks below. “We've
got
to find her,” he said to Thunder.

Tom recalled Nancy's insistence that the fairies took Rowena. Superstitions from old Scotland and Ireland still had a hold on some people. Tom found himself wondering if the fairies really
had
taken Rowena!

Pishogue!
he told himself.

Thunder continued on through the brush, his nose close to the ground. Then, suddenly they came to a clearing. The sun shone into the opening and cast a glow on a mossy nook. And there was Rowena, curled up on the soft moss, sound asleep. Thunder's tail wagged furiously as he trotted over to the little girl and licked her face. Rowena stirred and woke up, wiping the dried tears from her eyes. “Thunder,” she whimpered, throwing her arms around his neck. “I got lost!”

Tom sighed with relief, then handed her the doll. “You're safe now, my child,” he said. “Thunder found you. He knew exactly where
you were.” He took Rowena's hand and led her out of the thicket. “Let's go back. Everyone's lookin' for you.”

When they arrived at the cave, they saw Margaret and Ruby racing up the rocks. “Oh, thank God!” Margaret screamed when she saw Rowena. She ran to her daughter and clasped her close.

“She wandered off into the woods,” Tom explained. “Thunder went straight to her.”

“Thank you, Thunder,” Margaret said, patting the dog with one hand and clinging to Rowena with the other.

Bert and Eddie climbed up to the cave. “Where was she?”

“Thunder found her,” Tom said. “She was asleep up in the tuckamore.”

Ruby turned to Nancy. “How did this happen? You were supposed to be watching her.”

Nancy's eyes filled with tears. “I'm sorry. I was readin' … and she just went off.”

“Readin'?” Ruby raised her eyebrows. “You can't read.”

“Tom is teachin' me,” Nancy told her. “I was goin' to surprise you.”

“And what was Rowena doin' while you were reading, Miss High 'n' Mighty?” Ruby scolded her daughter. “Watchin' Rowena is more important than learnin' to read. And you should know that too, Tom.”

“Tom told me to keep an eye on Rowena,” Nancy blurted out. “It's not his fault.”

“Leave them be,” Margaret said to Ruby. “Tom and Thunder found Rowena, and everything is all right now.”

“It won't happen again,” Nancy promised. “I'm real sorry….”

Ruby crossed her arms and glared at Tom. “I don't want you teachin' Nancy to read. It's already caused enough problems.”

“But, Mama, I'm doin' real good with my readin'. Aren't I, Tom?”

Tom nodded. “She learns real quick.”

Ruby grabbed her daughter by the arm. “There'll be no more talk about readin'! You're gettin' too big for your britches even thinkin' about it.”

“I could teach you and Bert, too, Mrs. Bosworth.” Tom bit his lip, suddenly remembering
that no one was supposed to know Ruby couldn't read.

The woman turned on him, her face flushed. “I don't need
you
to teach me anything, Tom Campbell!”

“And I don't need you either,” Bert added crossly.

“Don't be so hard on Tom,” Margaret objected. “Everything's all right.”

“True. But if it hadn't been for him and his highfalutin ideas, Rowena wouldn't have got lost in the first place!” Ruby stomped off between the boulders, shoving Nancy ahead of her.

“Thank you for bringing Rowena back safely, Tom.” Margaret patted Thunder's smooth head. “You're a right clever dog, Thunder.”

Bert and Eddie were whispering to each other. Before they walked away, Eddie said, “We want to talk to you later, Tom.”

“Yeah,” Bert echoed. “We've got to talk.” They climbed over the boulders and caught up with their mothers.

Tom and Thunder stayed behind as the others made their way back to the road.

“Looks like I'm in trouble with the Bosworths again, Thunder,” Tom said. But when he looked up, he smiled. Little Rowena had turned to wave good-bye and was throwing kisses to them both.

t
hat night Fiona and Tom told Enoch the news about Thunder's great rescue of Rowena.

“The day we found that dog, God was shinin' his blessing on us,” Enoch said.

“Amos still says he brought nothin' but trouble,” Tom reminded them.

“Trouble! He brought you to me when I fell, and now he's saved Rowena,” Fiona declared. “Thunder's a godsend, that's what he is.”

“Bert says his pa's still tryin' to find Thunder's real owner.”

“Just to spite us.” Fiona threw her hands up. “It's not out of the goodness of his heart; you can be sure of that!”

Tom recalled Bert and Eddie's last words to
him.
We want to talk with you
. He wondered what they were up to next.

Out on the porch Thunder began to bark. Margaret Rideout was at the door with Rowena and Eddie. “We've got somethin' for you and Thunder,” she said when Tom opened it.

With a grin, Eddie handed Tom a plate of ginger cookies. “Thanks for findin' my sister.”

“It was Thunder who found her,” Tom said.

Margaret came inside and put a paper-wrapped package on the kitchen table. “This is a nice hard lamb bone for Thunder. I left a good bit o' meat on it too. He deserves it.” She nudged Rowena. “What do you have to say, maid?”

“Thank you for findin' me, Tom.”

“And my Eddie has somethin' to say too,” Margaret said.

Eddie shuffled his feet and his face flushed. “Um, Tom … could you help me with my readin' sometime?”

“We think it's wonderful that you've been helpin' Nancy. Eddie's had a little book learnin',
but not enough,” Margaret said. “We'd find some way to pay you back, Tom.”

“I probably shouldn't tell you this,” Eddie said sheepishly. “Bert says he wants to read too.”

For a moment Tom was speechless. Was that what Bert wanted to talk to him about? “Sure, Eddie. I'll be glad to help both of you.”

Fiona spoke up. “Oh, Tom, how good of you not to hold resentment against Bert after all he's done.”

“We're right proud of you, son,” Enoch added.

Margaret smiled in agreement. “Why don't you come to our house to do schoolwork?” Margaret suggested. “It's gettin' too cold out at the caves. Or you can use the old church down by the bridge. Might as well put it to some good use.”

Rowena tugged at her mother's arm. “I know my ABCs.” And she began singing.

Everyone laughed. “Bring Thunder inside, Tom, and give him his bone,” Fiona said. “Then we'll all have a cup of hot tea.”

The following morning Fiona asked, “Tom, want to come to Chance-Along with us? I'm goin' to
see the doctor this morning. We're takin' the wagon.”

“Can we bring Thunder?”

“'Course we can!”

After breakfast Enoch harnessed Prince to the wagon, and they piled in. Thunder and Tom sat in the back as the carriage bounced over the rutty roads. It was November now. The trees were bare except for the firs. The air was cold, and Tom huddled in the woolen jacket and hat that had been handmade at the mission.

They passed the neglected church with its old steeple stretching up into the blue sky. The wooden bridge rattled as they crossed over, and then the road became wider and busier. Thunder sat tall, sniffing the crisp air. He seemed to smile as he gazed about, watching the sights of the town.

“Look over there!” Enoch called, and pointed out an automobile. “I heard one of those motor cars was brought over from Nova Scotia … and there it is!”

“It's a beauty!” Tom exclaimed. The maroon auto, with its polished nickel trim, made its way
through the pedestrians and horses. The driver waved and honked the horn to onlookers. Thunder stood up and barked.

“There's the lawyer, Mr. Robinson, at the helm,” Enoch said. “He's the only one in town with money enough to own an automobile.”

The car stopped by the Murrays' wagon. “Say, Enoch!” Mr. Robinson called.

Enoch pulled on Prince's reins. “Good morrow to you, Mr. Robinson. Come over and meet our boy, Tom Campbell here, and his dog, Thunder.”

The man got out of his motor car and approached the wagon. “Hello, Tom,” he said genially. “How do you like livin' with the Murrays? They'll be good to you, you can bet your britches.”

“They are good to me, sir,” Tom said. “They've made me feel right welcome.”

“And this is the wonder dog,” the man said, scratching Thunder's head. “Found ‘im out on the sea, I hear tell.”

“Besides himself, he saved me, and Rowena Rideout as well,” Fiona told him.

“Aye! Ken Rideout told me all about it when he came in town this mornin',” said Mr. Robinson.
“I heard Amos Bosworth's been tryin' to find the real owner of this dog.”

“Have you heard anything about an owner?” Enoch asked. Tom held his breath.

“No. N'arn a word,” Mr. Robinson answered.

“It'd be a shame if we lost him,” Fiona said.

“Now, Enoch,” Mr. Robinson said as he headed back to his automobile, “you've got a boy and a dog, and a baby comin' soon. Pretty good for a man who had no family for so long!”

“Good things come to him who waits,” Enoch quoted with a laugh. “We'll be seein' you soon!” He clicked the reins and they moved on, turning onto a road to the left that led down to the waters of Rumble Reach. After about a mile, they came to a tan-colored house set on a hillside. Prince stopped by the fence, and Enoch helped Fiona out of the wagon. “Come with us and meet Dr. Sullivan,” Fiona said to Tom. “He probably won't deliver our baby. But while we can get here easily, before the snows come, it's a good idea to see the doctor—just to make sure everything's goin' right.”

Tom climbed out of the back of the wagon. “Stay here, Thunder. Stay!” The dog, who had been
about to follow Tom, settled down obediently.

Dr. Sullivan came to the door and shook hands with everyone. “Come in, Fiona,” he said, “and let's see how this baby is doin'.”

Tom and Enoch sat on chairs in the waiting room while Fiona went inside. Enoch handed Tom a month-old copy of the St. John's newspaper, but Tom couldn't concentrate on it. He wondered about Fiona and the baby. He could hear the doctor's deep voice, and Fiona's soft answers, but he couldn't make out what they were saying.

After a while the office door opened and Dr. Sullivan peered out. “Enoch, my boy. How would you like to hear the baby's heartbeat?” The doctor laughed at Enoch's dumbfounded expression. “I've recently purchased the very latest, most powerful stethoscope. Got it straight from McGill University in Montreal. If you aren't scared or embarrassed, you can come in and listen. After all, it's your baby too.” Enoch nodded and followed the doctor into the examining room.