Emiline dreams of being a fair lady. She longs for drama, fashion, cities and fancy tea parties. But as a twelve-year-old, farm girl in the late 1800's, those things seem to be out of her reach. Meanwhile, a mystery begins to grow as she and her bes...
Peter got to school just in time. Then, feeling merciful toward his brothers, he told the teacher what had happened and why the boys would be late. Mrs. Weed was strict when it came to being on time, but she was an understanding woman. All she did was give a pleasant nod and then she began her lesson.
Back at home, Martha coaxed Benjamin to tell her what was wrong, but he couldn't tell her much. After a while, she could tell that the boy wasn't sick or hurt. Finally, with love and care she told him that he looked well enough to go to school and helped him get ready for his day.
An hour after the other children had begun learning their lessons, Simon and Benjamin finally crept into the schoolhouse, looking like criminals who had come to turn themselves in. Miss Weed glanced up from her book.
"Are you boys alright?" she asked.
"It wasn't my fault!" Simon excused himself quickly. "Benjamin dawdled all morning! And then he kept saying there were rocks in his shoes! I didn't want to be late, Ma'am!" Miss Weed lifted a silencing hand.
"That's alright," she said calmly. "This time we'll overlook it. Take your seats and get started on your arithmetic, Boys." Simon obeyed with a sigh of relief. Benjamin did the same, but his face looked gloomy and his eyes stared blankly at the floor. All during school, he scribbled on his blackboard, hardly even thinking about his lessons.
He didn't look up at the teacher as she spoke. Now and then, Peter glanced over at him, wondering what was wrong. Maybe the boy was just being a brat, but it didn't seem possible for Benjamin to misbehave on purpose.
As soon as lunch time came, Peter got up from his desk and wove through the crowd, determined to have a talk with his brother. The other children swarmed around him, crowding toward the doorway. Finally, he squeezed outside and looked around.
"Benjamin!" he called, searching the crowd for the sad little boy. He didn't hear an answer and no matter how long he looked, he couldn't see his brother. The boy had dashed outside before everyone else and now he was nowhere in sight. Peter looked around the schoolhouse and through the big field, but he couldn't find his brother. Finally, he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "Oh well. He'll be back," he thought. And he was right. As soon as lunch was over and school was beginning again, the boy suddenly appeared and hustled into the the building.
School went well enough for Peter, but by the time Miss Weed shut her book and said they were finished, he couldn't wait to get outside. He would make a long loop back home and do some work on his tool shed. Quickly, he left his slate and some papers with the teacher and went outside. Walking with long strides, he headed for the black stallion who he had left tied up to a fence post.
Suddenly, he heard someone's footsteps running close behind him.
"Wait!" a voice panted. "Wait, Peter!" the voice almost sounded desperate. Peter turned and looked back.
"What's wrong, Benjamin?" he asked. The little boy grabbed his brother's sleeve as if Peter was going to leave him behind.
"I wanna ride with you! Can I, Peter? Please?" The boy's huge, blue eyes stared up into Peter's. They were sad and almost frightened looking.
"You wanna ride with me? I thought you were scared of Storm?" Peter exclaimed in surprise. Benjamin hesitated, looking over at the beautiful, half wild horse. Then, he nodded his head and walked with Peter to the stallion's side.
"Alright, but you'll have to be quiet," Peter said in an instructional tone of voice. "Storm gets scared when he hears loud noises." He ran his hand over his horse's silky hide, giving Storm every possible warning that he was about to be ridden. Then, he lifted Benjamin onto the horse's back. For once, Storm stood still and quiet. It was almost as if he understood that a timid child was riding him and that he needed to stay calm. Peter climbed up behind his brother and then looked around for Simon.
"What about you, Simon?" he called. "Want a ride home?" The boy shook his head and walked on, so Peter and Benjamin set out on their own to check traps and explore the woods.
Peter tried to be as cheerful as he could. He did everything he could think of to make his brother happy. But still, Benjamin was quiet and somber. There was no understanding it, and the next day, the little boy's attitude hadn't changed. After a few days, it began to seem normal that Benjamin's head hung low and that his eyes dropped sadly to the ground. He wasn't the same, happy boy he used to be. This wasn't like him at all.
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