Me and Mr. Bell (12 page)

Chapter 22

E
veryone in Baddeck was planning to go down to the lake, step out on the ice and watch, even though many people didn't believe the
Silver Dart
would really fly. Miss Lawrence cancelled school for the day so that all the kids could go. I was so excited. I was especially happy that my father would finally meet Mr. Bell. He joked that he was the only man in Baddeck who hadn't met Mr. Bell yet. He had seen him from a distance several times but had never actually met him up close or shaken hands with him. One way or another something had always come up that prevented him from having the opportunity. Well, not
this
time.

The
Silver Dart
was supposed to fly in the afternoon, but people already started gathering on the ice in the late morning. My father went out to the woods early to cut some trees. He said he'd be back by lunchtime and we could all go down to the lake together then. He said that ought to be plenty of time. My father liked to be early but didn't want to stand around all day waiting to see something that might not even happen. Even though he believed Mr. Bell was the smartest man in the world, he said he would have to see a machine carry a man into the air before he would truly believe it. My father remembered when the gigantic kite had smashed. He never saw the flight but went down to the lake the next day and saw the pieces wash up on shore. A lot of people thought that Mr. Bell was trying to do the impossible.

My mother spent the morning making a picnic that we could eat on the ice. We got our warmest clothes out and put blankets and furs in the small sled. We would walk down through the snow and pull the sled behind us. My brother and sister and I would bring our skates.

But by lunchtime, my father hadn't returned. We waited and waited, until my mother got impatient. “Oh, well, isn't that just like your father – he complains he hasn't met Mr. Bell, and then he doesn't show up when he has the chance. Oh, that man!”

We waited a little longer. We were all dressed now and sitting in the kitchen, sweating. Everyone was quiet, and you could hear the clock tick as if there was no one in the house.

“Okay, that's enough!” said my mother. “Let's go. Your father can catch up when he gets back. If we don't go now, we'll miss the whole thing.” It surprised me to see my mother so excited.

So we went outside and started down the hill. My brother and I pulled the sled, and my mother and sister walked in front. I kept looking back to see if my father was coming, but he wasn't. When we got to the bottom of the first hill, a light wind on the top of the hill blew dry snow across the field, and you couldn't see the house anymore. It bothered me that my father was not with us. I felt like we were abandoning him. As much as I wanted to get to the ice and see all the excitement, I didn't want to go without him. So I stopped.

“I'm going to go back and look for Dad,” I said.

My mother stopped and turned around. “He might not come. You know your father.”

“I know, but he's probably just on his way. And then we can catch up with you.”

My mother looked at me sternly. “Eddie. You will miss the first flight of a flying machine in the whole British Empire.”

I knew then that my mother really believed it was going to happen. This was a difference between my mother and father – my father had to see something to believe it. My mother didn't.

“We won't miss it,” I said. “We'll catch up.” And I really believed that.

“Emily. Help Joey pull the sled,” said my mother.

I started back. “I'll follow the horses' tracks into the woods,” I said. “We won't miss it.”

My mother frowned, turned around and kept going. My brother and sister followed her. I went up the hill as quickly as I could. Now I was worried we were going to miss the flight.

The horses' tracks were easy to see. The sky was clear and the shadows in the snow were bright blue. The tracks of the sled made two blue lines that disappeared into the woods. I was glad the snow was crunchy and held my weight. If I were sinking with every step, it would have taken forever to get through the woods, and I would have been exhausted.

As I approached the woods, I saw the stones we had cleared from the unplowed field. They sat like soldiers guarding the entrance to the woods. Their tops were covered with snow. As I passed them, I expected to see my father coming toward me, pulling the horses and the wood sled. But I didn't. I knew he wouldn't have forgotten about the
Silver Dart
, but maybe he had lost track of time. After a while, I thought I might hear the sound of his axe cutting into a tree, but the woods were perfectly quiet. The only sounds I heard were the crunch of my boots and my breath.

I was surprised how far my father had gone into the woods. Now I was really worried we were going to miss the flight. I stopped again, held my breath and listened for the sound of his axe. But there was nothing but silence. That was strange; he couldn't have gone
that
far. And then, in a little gully, I saw the horses. They were harnessed to the sled and standing still. But there was no wood on the sled and no sign of my father. Where was he?

“Dad? Dad?” My voice echoed through the woods. Then I thought I heard a muffled voice. It sounded like it was coming from behind a tree that was lying on the ground. I went closer to the tree and saw my father's boots sticking out. He was under the tree!

I raced to the other side of the tree. My father was down in the snow, and the tree was on top of him. “Dad! Are you hurt?”

My father turned his head slowly and looked at me. He spoke, but his voice was weak with shivering. “Eddie. God bless you, my son. I'm stuck. The tree fell the wrong way. I was in too much of a hurry. I didn't cut it right. I was trying to get to the lake….” He winced with pain. I came and knelt beside him. “Dad, are you going to be all right? Can I dig you out?”

“I think I'll be all right. My chest and legs are sore. I'm just pinned. And I'm cold. I think maybe my arm's broke. The tree hit me and knocked me down. But it's not resting on me, thank God, it's resting on that log there.” He pointed with his head. “If it slips off that log…. Heaven forbid.”

“What should I do? Should I go get help?”

My father grinned, then winced with pain. “Everybody's gone down to the lake. And that's too far, Eddie. I'd freeze to death by the time you got back.”

“Can't I dig you out?”

“No, it's all rocky ground underneath me. And it's frozen. You can't dig it.”

“Can I cut the tree?”

“My son, it would take you all day to cut through this tree. And the cutting would probably shake it off that log, and that would finish me.”

“Dad, what should we do? Tell me what to do.” I was really worried now.

“Do you know if McLeary went to the lake, too?”

“I don't know.”

“He could help, I think. He's an awfully strong man.”

As I stared at my father trapped under the tree, I tried to think of the smartest thing to do. I took off my jacket and hat.

“What are you doing, Eddie? Put your hat back on. Put your jacket on.”

I reached down and pulled my hat onto my father's head. “You need it more than me, Dad.” Then I wrapped my jacket around his shoulders and tied the arms in front of his neck to keep his face warm.

“Eddie?”

“I'm going to run home and down to Mr. McLeary as fast as I can. I'll be right back, Dad. I'll get help.”

“Eddie?”

“Just wait, Dad. I'm going as fast as I can.”

My father just dropped his head and nodded. I took off as fast as I could through the snow. I followed the horses' tracks back to the farm. The horses would not have been any faster through the woods with all the snow. It was hard running in the snow, and I was out of breath, but I wasn't cold. I didn't bother going into the house because there was nobody there. I kept going right down the hill toward the McLeary farm. I just hoped and prayed that Mr. McLeary was home.

There was no one at the house, so I ran into the barn. “Mr. McLeary? Mr. McLeary?” There was no answer. I got such a sinking feeling then. My father was trapped in the woods, and I was all alone. Everyone was down at the lake, but if I went all the way down there and back, my father would freeze to death. I had to rescue him by myself
now
. But how? The only thing I could think of was to lift the tree off of him. At least that was something I knew how to do.

I raced into the room where Mr. McLeary kept his rope and pulleys. I pulled them down onto the floor and ran out and searched for a sled. I found one leaning against the outside of the barn. I grabbed the rope and pulleys and threw them onto the sled. Then I pulled the sled up the hill. It was a lot easier than carrying them. Back at our house, I ran in and grabbed my father's heavy winter coat that he wore to church, then grabbed the rope, pulleys and chains from our barn, threw them onto the sled and headed back into the woods. It was the middle of the afternoon now, but you could already feel the twilight coming. I knew that the flight had taken place already or was taking place right now. But I didn't care.

My father was shivering even more when I returned. His lips were blue. He looked sleepy, and his voice was very weak.

“Dad! Dad!” I shoved his jacket in behind him as far as I could get it and pulled it around his shoulders and down over his head. He looked up at me almost as if he didn't recognize me.

“Eddie….”

“I'm going to raise the tree, Dad, and pull you out. Just hold on, Dad. Just hold on.”

I threw the chains around one end of the tree. Then I climbed up the strongest tree that was close to the fallen tree and tied two pulleys around it. I tied them about fifteen feet off the ground. Then I chose four more trees and tied a pulley around each, as fast as I could, so that each of the two ropes would run through three pulleys. The distance wasn't as far as when we were pulling stones from the field, so I was able to use just two ropes. I climbed the tree again and fitted the ropes through the first two pulleys. Then I climbed down, tied the ropes to the chains and fitted the other ends through the rest of the pulleys. I unhooked the horses from the wood sled, brought them around and tied the ropes to their harnesses. We were ready. I checked on my father one last time. He was trying to tell me something, but was shivering so badly I couldn't make out what he was saying.

“Eddie….”

“I'm going to raise the tree now, Dad.”

I ran around and made one last check before picking up the horses' leads and pulling on them. The horses came forward, and the tree rose into the air like a toothpick. I quickly tied the leads together around a tree so the horses couldn't back up and drop the fallen tree. Then I ran back to my father.

The hardest thing was pulling him out and getting him onto the sled. He was so weak he couldn't even stand. And he was so cold that he was confused, and I had to tell him what to do, which was the strangest feeling in the world. I had to tell him when to move his feet and where to put his arms. Once he was on the sled, I untied the horses' leads and backed them up until the fallen tree was down again. Then I harnessed the horses to the sled and led them out of the woods. I left the pulleys and rope behind. We could get them later.

My mother came running when she saw me pulling the horses across the field. When she saw my father lying on the sled and not moving, she screamed and started crying. That brought my sister and brother running. Together, the four of us helped my father into the house. Then my mother sent my sister and me for the doctor. It was long past dark when we finally returned, and my father was fast asleep. While the doctor examined him, my mother gave me some supper. I sat down at the table exhausted and hungry.

“He's going to be all right,” said my mother. “The doctor said so.”

My brother and sister sat at the table, too, even though they had already eaten.

“I'm sorry you didn't get to see the
Silver Dart
fly,” said my brother.

“Yeah, me too,” I said.

“It was amazing. I'm going to be a pilot like Douglas McCurdy when I grow up.”

“We met Mr. Bell,” said my sister. “He's really nice, just like you said.”

“I know.”

“It's too bad you didn't get to see the
Silver Dart
fly,” said my brother again.

“Well, you can't have everything,” I said as I ate my supper. “Anyway, I'm celebrating my successes.”

“What?” My brother looked confused.

“Never mind,” I said. “I will explain it to you when you're older.”

Chapter 23

M
y father suffered a broken arm, three broken ribs, a bruised stomach and badly bruised legs. Doctor Chisholm said that he would be fine after he rested for a couple of weeks, but he had to stay in bed and eat lots of chicken soup. It was lucky I had found him when I did, the doctor said, because my father was also suffering from hypothermia and would not have survived if he had been in the woods much longer. If I had gone down to the lake to watch the flight of the
Silver Dart
, my father would have died.

My mother took good care of my father. She ran around the house finding things to make him more comfortable. And she said to me, “Thank the Lord above he gave you the brain that he did, or your father…” and then she almost started crying again.

I sat with my father the next day. He smiled and said that he was feeling a lot warmer but was mighty sore. He said he should have listened to his own best judgement and not hurried when he was cutting such a large tree. He told me I had acted like a man. I had made wise decisions and acted with courage and intelligence. He said he was proud of me. That felt really good. He said he was sorry that we didn't get to see the
Silver Dart
fly. Then he laughed and said that he couldn't believe he missed yet another chance to meet Mr. Bell. I said I was sorry, too.

A little while later we heard voices downstairs. My mother was greeting someone. Somebody had come to visit my father. From the sound of the voices, I was guessing it was Mr. McLeary. From the sound of the heavy feet on the stairs, I was certain it was Mr. McLeary. But when the door opened, there, standing tall and smiling like the friendliest person in the world, was Mr. Bell.

“Eddie!” said Mr. Bell, and he stuck out his hand.

I jumped up, crossed the room and shook his hand. “Hello, Mr. Bell.”

Mr. Bell looked at my father on the bed, and his face grew grim. He came closer. “I heard there had been an accident. I hope everything is going to be all right.”

My father tried to sit up on the bed, but it was too painful for him.

“Please, please…” said Mr. Bell, and he came to the edge of the bed.

“Mr. Bell,” I said, “This is my father.”

My father raised his hand, and Mr. Bell gripped it and shook it. “Pleased to meet you, Mr. MacDonald. You've got a terrific son here. A brilliant young man. I wish I could hire him.” Mr. Bell looked at me and winked. My father smiled, and his eyes were shiny. “I'm pleased to meet you too, Sir. We are honoured to have you in our home.”

This was the first and only time I ever heard my father call another man “Sir.”

“Well, when I didn't see Eddie down at the lake yesterday, I knew something was amiss. I had to come and see for myself that everything was okay.”

“I'm sorry we missed the flight of your flying machine,” said my father.

“Me too,” I said.

“Ah, it was a great flight,” said Mr. Bell. “The
Silver Dart
flew just like an eagle over the lake. But don't you worry in the least; she's flying again this afternoon, and tomorrow, and a good number of times after that if Douglas has his way, which I have no doubt he will. And that reminds me, I'd better get myself back down to the lake or he'll fly it without me.”

“Will you go up in the aeroplane, Mr. Bell?” I asked.

Mr. Bell turned toward me with a look of horror. Then he burst out laughing. “What? Me? Hah, hah, hah! Heavens, no! The machine would never get off the ground with me on board!” Then he slapped his belly. I couldn't help smiling. Mr. Bell was so funny when he wanted to be. Then he leaned closer to my father and grew serious again. “Rest well, my dear man.”

My father nodded his head and smiled back. “I will do that, Sir. And thank you for doing us the honour of visiting us in our home.”

“No trouble at all,” said Mr. Bell. He pulled out his watch, squinted at it and said that he had to go. He raised his hand and waved as if we were standing across a field. Then he went out the door. I followed him down the stairs. My mother was standing in the kitchen with a warm smile on her face. “Can I offer you a cup of tea, Mr. Bell?”

“I would love a cup of tea, indeed, Mrs. MacDonald, but I'm afraid I've got to get myself down to the lake or I'll miss the second flight of the
Silver Dart
, and I wouldn't want to do that.”

“No, Sir,” said my mother. “It was kind of you to visit.”

“A pleasure,” said Mr. Bell, and he tipped his head to my mother, picked up his coat and cap and went out the door. I followed him.

There was a man waiting with a team of horses and a sleigh. Mr. Bell slapped my shoulder and climbed onto the sleigh. “You did a great job reading the book, my boy.”

I took a deep breath. “I wasn't really reading it. I just memorized it. I still can't read much yet.”

Mr. Bell took out his pipe and lit it. I could tell that he was thinking. After he took the first puff, he squinted at me through the smoke. “You and I are a pair, Eddie. Reading and inventing. When the world tells us we can't do something, it only makes us work harder! Success might come slowly, and it might feel at times as though it will never come. But sure as day follows night, it will. And that's because we never give up. You wrote me a darn good letter. And you made a terrific presentation to your class. Don't forget to celebrate those successes.”

The sleigh started to pull away. Mr. Bell waved. “Celebrate your successes, my boy!”

“I will! Goodbye, Mr. Bell!”