Page 28 of Wagon Train Melody
“I don’t know.”
The tornado growled like some angry beast. Sam snorted but didn’t bolt.
Behind him, Bo alternately moaned and squealed, and the two girls cried.
The black twisting formation grew larger and moved in their direction.
Rudy stopped the wagon and jumped down. “Everyone out.” He helped Alice and lifted the girls as Bo hurried out. He quickly unhitched the horses and tethered them, hoping they wouldn’t end up miles away. “We’ll huddle under the wagon.”
Rain fell in a cold, driving blast as they crawled under the only shelter available. It did little to protect them from the wind and rain. The horses snorted and pawed but didn’t bolt. Not yet at any rate. King whinnied his protest. Rudy had snagged a quilt as he took the girls down and draped it over Alice’s shoulders as the girls huddled in her lap.
Bo pressed close to Alice on one side and Rudy sat close on the opposite side. They were in this together. Come what may.
The roar of the wind increased. Sissy covered her ears, closed her eyes, and moaned though, in the deafening sounds around them, he felt it as much as heard it. Kitty stared beyond the wagon, her eyes big. The wagon rocked and creaked. At times, the wheels on the windward side lifted from the ground.
Dust blasted at them, peppered with bits of grass and gravel.
“Lord God, keep us safe.” He practically shouted the words. Then, remembering a song, he sang at the top of his voice, hoping to provide courage for the others. And himself.
“‘Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.’”
Unless God covered them with His strong hand, they would be swept away in the wind. Perhaps to their death.
He continued singing, though his words were snatched away by the wind.
A white sheet skittered across their view.
“The canvas!” Bo half scrambled from their protection until Alice caught his sleeve.
“Leave it be.”
Bo settled back, his eyes wide.
Rudy put his arm around Alice and squeezed Bo’s shoulder. He could feel the tension cording the boy’s muscles. Rudy wished there was more he could do to protect this family.
The wagon tilted as if the wind had it in its grip, then it dropped with a crash that echoed through both Bo and Alice’s bodies.
The little girls buried their faces against their aunt. He couldn’t hear their crying, but from the way their shoulders shook, he knew they were.
A swirl of grass and dust passed, accompanied by shrieking wind that made the skin on his arms twitch. And then the rain came down in buckets. Water ran past them in rivulets, creeping very close to where they were sitting. He should have sought higher ground. But then wouldn’t that have made them a better target for the tornado?
Then the rain settled to a gentle patter. A few minutes later it stopped, and the sun broke through, illuminating sparkling diamonds on every blade of grass. The water that had threatened them a few minutes ago, soaked into the ground.
The world around them grew quiet until birdsong broke into the silence.
The girls sat up and looked at the scene.
“Pretty drops.” Kitty beamed with pleasure.
Alice shrugged from the quilt and away from Rudy’s arm. She eased the girls back and crawled from under the wagon.
“The rest of you stay here until we’re sure it’s safe.” Rudy hurried after Alice.
He turned full circle, taking in the damage. The storm had passed over them. It rained to the east.
Alice looked into the wagon. “Everything is soaked.”
“You packed in crates and trunks. Most things will be all right.” They needed the canvas though.
