Jaybird had no idea what it meant to be married, but when Jennie Wren told her father she was going to marry him he did not have the slightest doubt that it was true. A torrent of thoughts raced through his head as he stared at the beautiful Jennie Wren who stood holding his hands and smiling at him. In his confusion trying to understand what was happening, one thought rose above all the rest: he would never leave her. Jaybird was vaguely aware that Jennie Wren's father was speaking, but in his dazed condition the words came to him as if through a thick fog.
Abraham Stoltzfus loved his daughter Ruth about as much as it is possible for a father to love a daughter, but he was troubled by what he perceived as her sometimes rebellious and frivolous nature. This was not the first time she had made an outrageous declaration, but he had to admit that introducing a bedraggled, owlish looking young boy he had never seen as her future husband topped the list. Ruth knew very well that their religious convictions did not allow marriage outside the faith. Abraham Stoltzfus was a man of little humor, but because he could not take this sudden announcement seriously he could not resist a small chuckle. "So you've decided to get married," he said, " ... well before you do that would you mind finishing your chores? Your mother is waiting for some fresh eggs."
"Come on Jaybird," said Jennie Wren "we have to finish my chores before we run away." She took Jaybird's hand and began a fast walk toward the house on the hill.
Her Father stopped her. "Wait, daughter," he said, "before you run away, please answer a question: where did Jaybird come from?"
Jennie Wren stopped walking and turned to face her father. "From up there," she said, gesturing in the general direction of the high bluffs beyond the river, "God has answered my prayers." Both Jaybird and Abraham Stoltzfus stared at the young girl in stunned disbelief. Jaybird was pretty sure that none of his prayers had ever been answered; he had never imagined that a vision of loveliness such as Jennie Wren even existed, though if he had imagined her he was pretty sure he would have limited his prayer to God. He would have prayed only that she would come into his life, it would have been asking more than he thought even God capable of to pray that she would marry him. As for Abraham Stoltzfus, he was too old to remember the impassioned prayers of his youth, he couldn't remember the last time he had asked God for anything. His prayers recently had been limited to thanks to God for bountiful harvests and healthy family, as well as for forgiveness of sins (he suffered endlessly from coveting his neighbor's fine wife) but it now occurred to him that it might be time to pray for the sanity of his daughter Ruth.
Stoltzfus nodded. "Praise God," he said. He looked at Jaybird, then back at Ruth. "Does Jaybird know about this?" Turning back to Jaybird, he asked, "What do you think about this, Jaybird?"
Jaybird looked at Jennie Wren and felt another wave of excitement pass down up his neck and over his ears; she was so pretty. "I ..." he hesitated, "... I think I have to finish sixth grade first."
Jennie Wren's father smiled. "Of course you do," he said. "And so does Ruth." He noticed the bandage on Jaybird's hand. "What happened to your hand?" he asked.
Jaybird blushed again, this time from embarrassment. Though he had been quick to tell Jennie the truth, he did want to appear foolish in the eyes of her father. "I hurt it," he said.
"He hurt it with a firecracker," said Jennie, making it sound like a grand achievement.
Jennie's father did not approve of firecrackers. He frowned. "Inventions of the devil," he said.
Jennie took Jaybird's good hand and started walking up the hill. "Come on," she said, "let's get those eggs." Rin ran along beside.
They had gone only a few steps when Jaybird thought of Phil. What about Phil? Phil had been trying to get him to a doctor. Judging from how his hand felt, Jaybird thought that was still a good idea. He turned to look at Jennie's father who was walking in the opposite direction. Jennie's father was a big man, much bigger than Phil. Jaybird remembered Phil's desperate cry of the night before and realized that Phil would be no physical match for this man if indeed this was the man who had captured Phil.. He started to call to him but realized he didn't know his name. "Uh, ... mister ... uh ... sir ..." Rin barked.
Jennie saw that Jaybird wanted to speak to her father. "Father," she called.
Stoltzfus turned. "Yes?"
"Did you capture Phil?" asked Jaybird.
Stoltzfus looked puzzled. Jennie explained. "Jaybird came down the river with this guy he calls Phil. Jaybird thinks ..."
Stoltzfus interrupted, " Crazy Dan," he said.
Jaybird stared. He knew Phil was odd, but ... crazy Dan? Jaybird had told Jennie Wren that he was running away with a crazy guy, but he did not really think Phil was crazy. Phil was the first grown up who didn't treat him like a kid, how could he think Phil was crazy? "Phil's not crazy," he said.
Jennie's father turned and came back to stand over Jaybird. The top of Jaybird's head only reached the top of the bib on Abraham Stoltzfus's overalls. "Let me tell you about crazy Dan," he said.
Jaybird squirmed uncomfortably under Stoltzfus's gaze. He was not sure he wanted to hear this story. "I don't think he wanted to hurt you," Jaybird said, "he was just playing a game."
Stoltzfus nodded. "This is true," he said, "but sadly, it is not the first time his game has gotten him into trouble. He has been a burden to the farming community in this area for 20 years, ever since his father went to war and didn't come back, and his mother deserted him. Only evil results from war, it is against all God's teaching. Crazy Dan is cursed by the sin of his father who took up the sword in spite of all our warnings."
"The guy who came with me is named Phil," said Jaybird, "you must be talking about somebody else."
Stoltzfus shook his head. "His name is Daniel. His father's name was Phil ... it's part of his craziness, he thinks he is his father."
Jaybird scratched his head. "That's crazy," he said.
Stoltzfus agreed. "It's why we call him crazy Dan."
"Did he try to kill you last night?" Jaybird asked.
Stoltzfus shrugged. " He thought he did. It has happened before. Fortunately he has never seriously hurt anyone; God has made him crazy, but not dangerous."
"So where is he now?" Asked Jaybird.
Stoltzfus gestured toward the house and barn. "He's feeding the pigs."
"Come on Jaybird," said Jennie Wren, "we have eggs to gather ." She took Jaybird's hand and once more started up the hill.
When they reached the barnyard Jaybird saw Phil; he was pouring a bucket of slops into a trough next to the pig sty. For some reason he did not even try to understand, Jaybird was glad to see him. "Phil," he called out. "Phil!"
Phil turned to see Jaybird and Jennie Wren walking toward him. He also saw Rin nosing up to a pair of hounds that had jumped up from an early morning snooze when Rin entered the barnyard. The hounds seemed to reflect the atmosphere of the Stoltzfus farm: friendly and welcoming. Jaybird saw a curious expression on Phil's face, as though he was trying to remember something. Phil dropped his bucket and took a step toward them, then stopped. "Good morning Miss Ruth," he said, then looked at Jaybird, "ah think ah know this young fella, too."
"It's Jaybird," said Ruth.
Phil's face broke into a wide grin. "It sure is," he said. "Where you been Jaybird?" He reached to shake Jaybird's hand and noticed the bandage. "We got to get you to a doctor," he said.
Ruth looked surprised. "A doctor?" she questioned.
Phil nodded. "That hand is hurt bad, Miss Ruth," he said, "Jaybird could die if it don't get fixed soon."
Jaybird was stunned. His hand continued to throb and ache, but it had not occurred to him that he might die. How could he die from a damaged hand?
The same thought came to Ruth. Crazy Dan was being crazy again, nobody could die from a damaged hand. She looked at Jaybird's hand. The bandage was soiled and tattered. She didn't want him to die. "Does it hurt?" she asked.
As much as he wanted to appear strong and brave in Jennie Wren's eyes, Jaybird had to admit that it did.
The closest thing they had to a doctor here on the farm was Ruth's mother. Ruth took Jaybird by his good hand and began to lead him toward the house. "Come on, Jaybird," she said, "we're going to have mother look at it."
Mother Stoltzfuss looked up in surprise from the steaming cauldron of bean soup she was stirring over her wood-burning stove when Ruth and Jaybird, followed by Phil, entered her sunny kitchen. "Well," she said, wiping her hands on her apron, "what's all this?"
`This is Jaybird, Mother," said Ruth, "he hurt his hand with a firecracker. Crazy Dan says if we don't fix his hand, Jaybird will die. Can you fix his hand?"
Mother Stoltzfus had a full cabinet of remedies for everything from bee stings to croup and snake-bite; she had bandaged and treated more cuts, scrapes and bruises than she could ever remember, but in a house where firearms and explosive devices of any kind were strictly taboo, she had never been asked to treat a firecracker wound. Still, there was an urgency in her daughter's request that touched her. There would be time later to learn where Ruth had found this frail-looking boy; Mother Stoltzfus thought a bowl of her good bean soup might be a good place to start putting some meat on his bones. "Sit down here, Jaybird," she said, indicating a chair at the long table in the middle of her spacious kitchen, "let me have a look at it."
It was not a pretty sight. When Mother Stoltzfus at last was able to peel the damp, malodorous bandage away from Jaybird's injured fingers, and remove the small hickory stick Phil had used for a splint, it was clear that Jaybird was in serious trouble. Pockets of yellow pus banded the large knuckle on his middle finger. Red streaks snaked along his wrist. "His blood is poisoned," said Phil.
Mother Stoltzfus saw the same thing Phil saw and she knew he was right. She had treated blood poisoning before using a remedy that had been handed down to her through countless generations. She did not need to consult any books, it was all in her head. "Now pay attention here Ruth," she said just as her mother had said to her many years ago, "first we have to drain the pus."
Mother Stoltzfus fetched a large needle from her sewing basket and dipped it in some boiling vinegar before lancing the pus pockets on Jaybird's fingers. Jaybird was brave and did not complain; the lancing hurt much less than he had expected. He was grateful to Mother Stoltzfus for her gentle manner and skillful treatment. After she had debrided the wound she carefully wrapped the fingers in a clean cotton cloth soaked in a mixture of cow's milk and linseed meal..
"Medicine helps, but God heals," said Mother Stoltzfus, "let us pray." She stood with her palms together, her head tilted back, and her eyes closed. "Heavenly Father, creator of all things, we thank thee for thy blessings, and humbly ask now for your divine healing powers to shine on this young sinner's mangled hand. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ, your son, who taught us to pray ... Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven, give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen."
Jaybird felt better already. He looked at Mother Stoltzfus gratefully, it was another first for him ... the first time anybody had ever prayed to God on his behalf. "Thank you Ma'am," he said.
Mother Stoltzfus beamed. She always felt good after practicing her healing arts, and there was something about this skinny kid that charmed her. "It's time you had some of my bean soup, Jaybird," she said, "when's the last time you had a decent meal?" Before he could answer, her eyes fell on Phil who stood looking at her hopefully. "Crazy Dan," she said, "you sit right down there too."
Jaybird and Phil ate heartily and appreciatively. "Ah do believe Mother Stoltzfus," said Phil, "that God has blessed you and this here house ... this here bean soup come from heaven or mah name ain't Crazy Dan."
Jaybird looked up. "You told me your name was Phil," he said.
Phil nodded. "Mah name is Phil," he said.
"But ..." Jaybird began.
Phil interrupted. "If yer crazy," he said, "you can have more than one name."
"I have more than one name," said Ruth, "Jaybird calls me Jennie Wren."
Mother Stoltzfus frowned. "Maybe it's time you told me where Jaybird comes from," she said.
"He comes from up the river somewhere," said Ruth.
"I come from Giessow's Cottage Farm," said Jaybird. Instinctively Jaybird didn't think it would be a good idea to tell Mother Stoltzfus that he was running away from home, but he could tell by the look on her face that he was going to have to tell her something.
Mother Stoltzfus, like Ruth, had never heard of Giessow's Cottage Farm. She had looked at the high bluffs across the river every day of her life, but had never thought to ask herself or anybody else what was up there. It was another world, it might even be heaven; she never asked. But she had a question now. "And why are you here?" she asked, not unpleasantly.
Jaybird glanced at Jennie Wren ... she tried to shield her face from her mother and send Jaybird a signal at the same time. Jaybird saw anxiety in her eyes, he saw her brows knit in a slight frown, and he saw her jaw tighten. He also saw an almost imperceptible shake of her head. He was still not accustomed to how pretty she was, and found his glance changing to a stare. Mother Stoltzfus noticed. "Do you know why he's here, Ruth?" She asked.
Phil came to the rescue, "We was on the way down river to Morse Mill, lookin' for a doctor, and it got dark about the time we hit the Stoltzfus rapids," he said.
Mother Stoltzfus, seemed uninterested in what Phil had to say; she continued to look at her daughter Ruth.
"I found Jaybird under a boat down by the river," said Ruth, neglecting to say that she planned to marry him. Ruth knew she could say things to her father that she would never dare say to her mother.
"I see," said Mother Stoltzfus, " ... under a boat you say. Well, isn't that interesting?"
"I was tryin' to get in out of the rain," said Jaybird.
"I see," said Mother Stoltzfus, "well now I guess you can go back to where you came from ... where was that?"
"Cottage Farm," said Jaybird, "I came from Cottage Farm, but ..." He looked at Jennie Wren one more time; he was not ready to go back to Cottage Farm just yet. "... Can I stay here for a while?"
Mother Stoltzfus knew what it was like to lose a child to death. She also had experienced the anguish of a missing child, which because of the uncertainty she found more difficult to endure than death since the dead child had most certainly gone to a better place. Even though she accepted whatever life handed her as God's will, in her darkest moments she asked her self how God could be so cruel as to make her suffer so in imagining the terrible circumstances a missing child might have encountered. She thought of Jaybird's parents, and how they might be suffering. "Do you have a mother and father, Jaybird?" she asked.
"Yes ma'am."
"Do they know where you are?"
"No ma'am, I don't think so."
Mother Stoltzfus sighed. She looked at Jaybird, then at her daughter Ruth. Was there any way to make these children understand what it was like to be a parent? "Jaybird," she said, "your mother is in pain."
"Do you know my mom?" he asked.
Mother Stoltzfus nodded. "If she is a mother, I know her. She is in pain because she does not know where you are."
Jaybird did not understand. The only pain he knew about was the kind he felt in his fingers. He looked at his hand, then he looked at Mother Stoltzfus. "I don't think she's in pain," he said.
"You must go back home," said Mother Stoltzfus, "your mother needs you."
Jaybird shook his head. "No ma'am," he said, "I don't think she needs me, she's got my baby sister, it's better if I'm not there."
Just then Father Stoltzfus appeared at the kitchen door. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Have you met Jaybird?" Mother Stoltzfus asked.
Father Stoltzfus nodded. "Yes I have," he said. He looked at Ruth who grimaced in a way that told him she had not shared her marriage plans with her mother.
"Jaybird wants to stay here," said Mother Stoltzfus, "but I told him he needs to go back to his own home. His mother doesn't know where he is."
Jaybird could see that he was outnumbered. He wanted to stay because of Jennie Wren, but there wasn't much he could do in the face of the towering authority of Jennie's father and the universal mother hood of Jennie's mom. He stood up and started for the door. "Okay," he said, "I'll go back." He took two steps then stopped. His mom had trained him well. "Thank you for fixin' my hand," he said, "and thanks for the bean soup, it was really good."
Father Stoltzfus blocked the door. "Were are you going?" he asked.
"Back," said Jaybird.
Father Stoltzfus did not share his wife's tender feelings for the concern of Jaybird's mom over her missing son, but he instinctively knew that it would not be right to allow a 10 year-old barefooted boy to go off by himself. "Why don't you just stay here awhile until we can get things straightened out," he said.
Jaybird was not sure what Father Stoltzfus meant by straightening things out, but he welcomed the idea of staying awhile. Jennie Wren ran up with a grateful look at her father and seized Jaybird's good hand. "Come on Jaybird," she said," let's go gather some eggs."