Dirty Faces- Book 1

Chapter 3: Trespassing

Chapter 3: Trespassing

The telltale sign that Tommy's father had returned from his most recent hiatus less than pleased was written on his face in the form of a red, swollen left cheek. With only five present, Tommy had suggested batting practice this day- "bat 'til ya strike out," he had said. He'd had no problem striking the rest of them out, aside from the grounder Danny had managed, but now Ginny was pitching to Tommy and he was on a roll. There was no variety in his hits; they were all going way out into the outfield, where Danny, Becky Kelly, and J.D. Williams had now permanently stationed themselves.

One strike and eight hits in, he smacked one beyond what would have been the outfield fence, if there had been a fence there at all. It soared all the way to the old foreman's house across from the school house, right through a window. The sound of shattering glass should have been their signal to scatter and go to their respective homes, but seeing as it was their only ball, it wasn't. Tommy dropped the bat and headed toward the abandoned gray house - the one from Ginny's dream - with the broken second story window. The others trailed behind reluctantly.

"Tommy!" J.D. hissed. "The Priest! What if the Priest sees us?"

"So what? I didn't knock out his window. Besides, we have Becky with us."

"And it's a darn good thing it wasn't his window you knocked out, or you better believe you wouldn't have Becky with you!" Becky added.

Becky's uncle, Dr. Riley, and her cousin Rowdy, lived in the boarding house next to the gray house. For reasons unknown to Ginny, though Becky's uncle served as the town's doctor, most folks insisted on referring to him as the Priest. True, he was also a priest, and held Mass in the parlor of the boarding house on Sundays for the Catholic community in Mabry's Ridge (most of which was related to him), but every run-in most of them had had with him was as a doctor. Maybe it was the black garb he was always wearing, or his near-silent, mysterious demeanor, or the usual suspicion of the papists that made him the Priest and not Dr. Riley. No matter what anyone called him, Becky and Rowdy indicated that he was strict and tolerated no nonsense.

No one really knew why the gray house had been abandoned, though there were stories abound; it seemed like a nice enough house. It was certainly bigger and nicer than Ginny's little house and the company houses in which the miners' families lived. On closer examination, they found that it wasn't gray, but white, like the rest of the company houses. The illusion of a gray exterior came from years of coal dust settling on the siding, but unlike the rest of the company housing, it never got cleaned or a fresh coat of paint.

Ginny couldn't quite explain the frightening dream she'd had the other night involving this house, as she had never been leery of it. The mystery surrounding the old gray house had, in fact, always been a source of great curiosity for her and she was a little bit excited about finally having an excuse to trespass; she just hoped it wasn't inhabited by ghosts or vagrants, and, of course, that they didn't get caught by the Priest.

Both doors were padlocked so Danny and J.D. hoisted Ginny up to one of the back windows and, to her surprise, it was unlocked. Years of being tightly shut made it difficult to open, though, and she struggled to slide it up. When she had finally worked it open far enough for her to fit through she slithered through the opening, landing with a thud on the dusty, wood floor. She dusted herself off and looked down at her hand which was suddenly throbbing; her palm was angry and red around the huge splinter she must have picked up from the windowsill. She shook it off and set to work trying to get the window open far enough for Tommy to fit through.

"That looks good," Tommy whispered after she had worked it up another couple inches. She stepped back as Danny and J.D. boosted him up and he stealthily climbed through. Once he had joined her, Ginny finally looked around the intriguing old house. The room they were in contained a dust-covered walnut table with six chairs and a matching china cabinet. Just off of the room was the kitchen, and through an archway she could see the still-furnished front room. It was like the foreman and his family had just up and left one day, not even bothering to take their belongings.