My Children Are More Precious Than Gold Read Free Page A

arm. “There's our cart comen now.”
    “ Ya've gone crazy from the
cold. That's Daisy, but we do need to get her to the barn to be
milk,” Don said.
    “ I know that. Stop her,
and we'll put Pap on her,” Lue said in a hopeful voice.
    “ Think we kin?” Don said,
brightening up.
    “ Sure. She lets the
younguns ride her to the barn all the time, don't she?” Lue
reasoned.
    “ Yep, but Pap is heavier
than the younguns, and he cain't sit up,” Don reasoned.
    “ So we'll hold him on. Go
catch her,” Lue ordered.
    Don met the family's tawny milk cow
and walked along side her toward Lue and Pap. Calmly, she watched
him with her large, dark brown eyes while she tromped up the hill.
As soon as the cow and Don were even with Jacob, he put his arms
around her neck to stop her. “Lue, undo what's left of that scarf
around Pap's neck and hand it to me. I'll put it around Daisy's
neck for a halter to hep lead her.
    “ Here it is.” Lue tossed
Don the scarf. “Now hold on to Daisy.”
    Lue put his hands under Jacob's arms,
straining to lift his father's limp body. Don, with his free hand,
grabbed the seat of Jacob's pants to help boost him, but Daisy's
ice covered, broad back was slick. So were Jacob's snow covered
clothes. Add to that the fact their fingers were numb from the
cold. The boys couldn’t keep their grip on the heavy man’s clothes.
Jacob slid head first over the other side of the cow and sank into
the deep snow. Fluffy flakes billowed around him, dusting him with
a new layer of snow. He lay in a motionless, frosted heap with his
brown yarn covered, splinted leg sticking up in the air like a
fence post.
    “ Don, y'all shouldn't have
pushed so hard,” Lue accused running around the cow.
    “ Me push hard! I only had
one hand to use. I'm holden the cow with the other one. Y'all was
supposed to hold onto Pap!” Don argued in his defense, trying to
hold Daisy still. She nervously sidestepped to see what had
happened beside her.
    Once again, Lue lifted Pap. Don
grabbed hold of the seat of his pants. Together, they boosted him
slowly onto Daisy's back.
    With a better grip this time, Lue held
his father in place. “Don, get Daisy moven.”
    “ Come on, Daisy. Head fer
the barn,” Don coaxed, tugging on the scarf around the cow's
neck.
    The dusky, afternoon light rapidly
faded into dusk. Standing in the barn door, Sid and Tom strained to
see through the twilight, watching for Daisy. They spotted their
brothers wading the snow on the pasture hill, leading the milk cow.
When Lue and Don were close enough for Sid and Tom to make out that
Daisy had a burden on her back, the boys burst from the barn door
to meet the cow.
    Don led the cow close to the porch and
held her as Sid helped Lue remove Jacob. Tom held the door open
while the boys carried their father in and laid him by the
fireplace.
    Cass and Bess hurried to the cookstove
to get Lue and Don a cup of coffee while the cold boys dropped down
close to the fire, sticking their numb hands toward the
warmth.
    Alma and Veder scurried off to bring
quilts to cover the boys to stop their shivering. Nannie knelt down
beside Jacob to see what she needed to do for him.
    “ We'll need to set his leg
afore he wakes up, Mama. It's broke,” Lue said as he wrapped his
cold fingers around the steaming cup Bess handed him. “He tripped
on a rock hidden by the snow in the pasture.”
    “ Boys, after I get this
splint cut away, hep me get his pants offen him,” Nannie
said.
    Sid and Tom removed Jacob’s jeans.
Nannie rolled his red long john leg up to inspect the white
indented spot on his right leg shin.
    “ Sid, Tom, Lue and Don
hold him still while I pull on his leg to set it. I got to get this
done afore his leg starts to swell now that he’s in here where its
warm,” Nannie instructed.
    The boys took a tight grip on each
side of Jacob. With a pained expression on their faces, they turned
their heads away so they wouldn’t have to watch. Nannie jerked hard
on the