飞跃“小埃及”FlightoverLittleEgypt
佚名Anonymous
March18,1925。Thoughonlyfveyearsofage,Iwillrememberthedaythegreattorover“LittleEgypt”,asthesoutherntipofIllinoisiscalled。Thelittleiningtoelivedlaydireitspath。Thehowlingwindsoundedasifadozenlopast。Wehuddlediastherflledourearsaoshakeourverybones。
&wasover。Thequieturalandaneerie,uneasyfeelinggrippedus。Openingthedoor,mymotherstoodtransfxedasshegazedupontheawfulse。Debrislayeverywhere。Thestreeteople,someobviouslyinshock,milledaroule,utodesilencewassuddenlybrokenbyasubdued,pitifulwhiningatMothersfeet。
Tremblily,awetalepoodlelaywedgedbetweenthedoorandthes。
“Mystars,”mymothersaid,bendingover。“Whereverdidyou?”
ThebedraggledlittledogtimidlywaggedhistailandbeganligMothershand。
Jacky,aswenamedhim,acceptedefamilywithoutreservatiournlavishedourloveuponthedisplacedbutluckylittlepoodle。
AlmostimmediatelywerealizedJaexaldog-averysmartone。Surroundedbymassesofcurlyhair,hisdarkinquisitiveeyessparkledwithlife。
&ledoghadbeenapartofourfamilyforabouttwoyearswhenahobokhebadaskedifwecouldgivehimsomethiherequestwasn‘tatallunusual。Inthosedays,manyhobosstoppedatourhtaplateoffoodtotheporchwherehewaited。Ashesatdow,weboysgatheredarouellingusalltheplaceshe’dbeehingshedseen。Wewerespellboundbyhistales。
Allofasuddeopped。Welookediioaring,aoodJacky。Forseveralmomentstheylookedatohenahugesmilecameacrosstheoldhobosface。
“Youlittlerascal,”hesaid,ghimbyse-souareyoudoinghere?”
&ledogbecamehystericalwithjoy。HewasalloverthehandjumpingasifhewouldherewasnodoubthekhehoboandkergandtalkingtoJacky,theoldhoboutteredabriefmediately,Jatrolledhisenthusiasmandlaydowheoldma。
“Boys,wheredidyougetthisdog?”askedthehobo。
“Wefoundhimlodgedbetweenthedoorandthesduriornadoof1925,”saidmybrother。
“Yes,sir。Itaddsup,”saidthehobo,“IwaswithaMissouriinMarchof1925。Thatwassuresomeblow。Thebigtentedtoshreds。Everythingwasdemolished。”
“Thispoodlewastheopshowdog。Hessovaluablehewasinsuredforhundredsofdollars。Luckydog,heis。Blowedallthatdistagettinghurt。”
&hehoboasked,“Doyouhaveabarrelhoop,boys?”
&youone,”saidmybrquioldbarrel,heliftedoffoeelbands。Hedashedbadedittothehobo。
Frombehhisoldbatteredhatthehobosblueeyessparkled。Asmilebrhhisheavygraybeard。
“Watchthis,”hesaid。“Lessyouboysbeentoacircusyouainthihis。”
Hewalkedoutintotheyardaheloopacoupleoffeetabovetheground。
&ready,”hesaidtoJausingthatstrangesourembledwithext。Onandhesprangforedthroughtheloop-forward,thenbackward。Asandsued,hehurledthroughthehendoverend。Hedanhishihens。MybrothersandIstarediheknowledgeableoldhoboputJackythroughhiscircustricks。
&lerustyohesureaiinganyofit,”saidthehreatbeiheragain。Bringsbackmemories,dontitlittlefriend?”hesaidfoedJackshead。
&haforlornlookabouthim,hestraightenedup。“IguessIbestbegoing,”hemumbledandheadedslate。Withouthesitation,Jackyfollowedathisheels。
“Jaeback!”allthreeofuscalled。Butitdidnogood。Tearstriourcheeks。ehadlosthim。
&hehobopaused。LookingdownatJacky,hesaid,“Ourcircusdaysisover,friend。Overahetrampinglifesnolifeforyou。Youbeststayhere。”Jackystood,watgthehobowalkaway,stillpoisedtofollow。