The lights went out all over the barracks. Harry Fisher fainted.
When he came to, he was lying on Jed's bunk with the mountain boy
leaning over him solicitously. "You all right, Harry?" Jed asked
anxiously. "Ma's worried 'bout you."
Harry fainted again.
When he came to the second time, Jed had gone running down the
barracks aisle to Corporal Weisbaum's room. Harry sat up and swung his
feet over the edge of the bunk. He was light-headed and his brain was
still whirling.
A minute later Jed came back leading Weisbaum. The corporal peered
down at Fisher. "You sick 'er somethin' Fisher?" he asked. "Get too
much sun today?"
Harry shook his head. "No. I'm O.K. now, corporal. Must have been
something I ate. I'll be all right."
Weisbaum reached down and felt Harry's forehead. "You look kinda
peaked to me. You hit the sack and if you don't feel O.K. in the
morning, I'll put you on sick call."
Harry shook his head again. "No need for that. I'll be all right. I'm
going outside and get some fresh air. Jed, will you give me a hand,
please?"
He stood up shakily and Jed took his arm. "O.K.," Weisbaum said, "but
if you don't feel so good, you're going to the dispensary, you hear."
He went back to his room.
* * * * *
Harry and Jed walked out of the barracks into the night air. Fisher
paused and breathed deeply, then turned to face Jed. "You always been
able to mind-talk with you mother?" he asked.
"Why, shore," Jed replied. "Most folks back home kin. Shore saves a
heap o' walkin' over them hills."
"And did the lights go out when you talked that way?" Harry inquired.
"Well now, I don't rightly know," Jed said. "Only place what has them
lights close by is Paulsburg and that's thutty miles from Owl Creek
and us folks ain't got much truck fer them big cities. Don't reckon
any of us ever been there more 'n three-four times in our whole lives.
But it shore happens in Paulsburg whenever we gossip thataway. Never
thought nothin' of it afore, though. Reckon, now that I study on it a
mite, it's 'cause we got to use more of the power to reach across them
hills. Ma once said she reckoned us Cromwells could mind-talk with the
Empereer of all Roosha if'n we had to. 'Course, we'd be straining our
heads a mite fer all that distance 'cause Ma says Roosha and England
is a heap further from Bluebird Gulch 'n even Madison. Or Fore
McGruder, I reckon."
Harry though quietly for a moment.
"When was the last time you talked with your mother that way?" he
asked.
"Don't rightly know or remember jest when it wuz," Jed replied. "Seems
like it wuz 'bout the fust week we wuz here. One night, in the
barracks, I kinda got homesick I reckon, 'cause that wuz the day I got
cussed out for the first time in my whole, entire life."
Harry smacked his clenched fist into his hand. "That's it," he cried.
"That's it. That was the night the lights went out three time in the
barracks. The night Weisbaum made us take the five-mile moonlight hike
because he thought someone was fooling with the lights."