Read Morning in Nicodemus for Free Online Page B

work the ground by this afternoon.”
    Â Â  Liberty glanced at Virgil and shook her head slightly to warn him not to interrupt Marcus.
    Â Â  “I already checked the field this morning,” Marcus continued. 
    Â Â  “Most of the loose soil on top that we disked up yesterday was blown away, but that was a thin layer. 
    Â Â  “What’s left where we turned it over with the plow can be harrowed again. With Lady pulling the harrow, I can do that in small sections. Then while I’m working on another section, Liberty can plant the seed.” 
    Â Â  Virgil had to admit that was a good plan. The only plan he thought through was that he and Lady would comb the area for the missing animals. Though it galled him to admit it, Marcus did see the whole picture better and was good at organizing. He swallowed a sip of his coffee, looked first at his sister, then his brother. They seemed to be holding their breaths as he paused before responding. 
    Â Â  Virgil nodded. “Fix me some food, Lib. I may not be back until night.” He thrust his arms into his jacket sleeves, grabbed his rifle, ammunition bag, and back pack. He jammed his battered felt hat on his head. “I’ll get some rope and extra halters. Marcus, can we spare a few grains of corn to entice the hogs when I find them?”
    Â Â  Liberty sent Marcus a grateful smile for his understanding as she wrapped up some food. Marcus handed Virgil a bundle of corn kernels. “You’ll find them, Virge,” he said. “If anyone can find them, you can. Go. I’ll see to things here.”
    Â Â  Virgil nodded. “The hogs still may come home, but I’ll get them if they don’t. I’ll look for the horses first.” He hurried out the soddy. Just before leaving, he stuck his head back in again. “Loved the pillow, Lib,” he said. Liberty smiled.
    Â Â  Equipped with his supplies, he hurried to the spot north of the soddy where Beauty and Buck bolted free. 
    Â Â  Their tracks where they bucked and swung about were clearly marked in the wet soil. They headed north. He hadn’t traveled a half mile until the ground was no longer wet. 
    Â Â  Not having any prior experience with cyclones, he was surprised at how narrow its path was. Could the horses have known that and run out of it quickly? No, they couldn’t be that smart, though they might have experienced twisters before. Maybe they did know. Anyway, he spotted evidences that they had come this way and were no longer running. In fact, in places he saw where they had stopped to graze briefly. He followed their tracks.
    Â Â  “Hey, there, Lander,” a voice startled him. “You’re on my land. I’ve told you before that you can’t hunt here.”
    Â Â  His neighbor Gene Martin blocked his path, his face in a scowl. Beside him was Bruce Wallace, one of the men in town the storekeeper sometimes hired. Virgil had been looking at the ground so intently for horse signs that he didn’t realize he was in front of Martin’s soddy.
    Â Â  “Oh,” he exclaimed in surprise. “I didn’t realize where I was. A twister hit us last evening and two of my horses got away.”
    Â Â  “I seen the funnel cloud over your way and heard the storm. It never touched me,” Martin said. “And we didn’t have no rain to speak of. How about you?”
    Â Â  “It rained hard at our place.”
    Â Â  “Did it wash out your ford?” the man next to Martin asked. He gave Virgil a hostile look.

    â€œNo, Bruce, the river didn’t rise at all.” Virgil wondered why he was concerned about his river ford. 
    Â Â  Neither man asked if anyone was hurt or if his house was damaged. Bruce’s animosity was strange in this new community where everyone helped each other. 
    Â Â  Ever since Bruce arrived last fall, he’d been