Threshing Time
by
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Tim was crowded so close behind me I could feel his heart beating. That’s when I heard it. From somewhere close came the high-pitched cry of the bobcat. Tag let loose with three sharp barks, and by their sound, I knew he went for the bobcat. I started to run forward, "come on Tim," I shouted, "Tag’s after the bobcat." We ran through the fog, guided only by Tag’s steady, barking. All at once the barking became muffled and the bobcat’s snarling seemed distant. "The trapper’s shack," I said to myself. I stopped running, and Tim stopped beside me. "What’s going on?" he asked. "It’s the Trapper’s shack," I choked out, gasping for breath. "Tag has the bobcat cornered in the old Trapper’s shack!" "I don’t see it," said Tim tensely. "I can’t see it either," I replied, "but it must be somewhere close in front of us. I’ll go this way. You go to you’re right. Try and find the door." Tim started to protest, but I was gone through the fog. Shortly I was alongside the old building. I could hear Tag clearer now, and knew for sure he had the bobcat cornered inside. Following the wall, I ran toward the front. Turning the corner I heard two loud screams. Before I knew what happened, I collided with someone, who let out another scream. From the impact we both fell to the ground. Tim came running from the opposite direction, tripped over my leg and went sprawling in the weeds. At the same instant I was startled by a high pitched voice. "TJ, is that you?" "Linda! What are you doing out here?" I exclaimed sucking in a mouth full of wet air. "You just scared the day lights out of me," said Linda with a gasp. "What are you doing out hear?" Just then we heard a series of snarls, and loud rustling sounds from inside the shack. I knew then that Tag had gotten a hold of the bobcat. In the next instant, the cat came flying through a hole that had been broken in the bottom of the old wooden door. No more then five seconds later I heard a loud crash, and then the door flew off its hinges and landed on top of Linda and me. After catching my breath, I shoved the door aside, and jumped to my feet. I was dazed and my legs felt like rubber. Fighting to stay up right, I held on to the building for support. In a few seconds my head cleared and I looked around. The fog had thinned directly above us, allowing the moonlight to show through, lighting a small area in front of the shack in a blue ghostly haze. Again I felt faint, and fell back supporting myself against the shack. The whole scene appeared to be happening in slow motion. Linda was sitting at my feet; Tim was off to our right, struggling to get up, and then I noticed something move about twenty feet in front of us. Straining to see clearer I moved out from the building. At first I couldn’t believe my eyes, but sure enough, it was Brenda. The moonlight shining through the fog, made her appear transparent. She was holding a sack out in front of her, and was dancing on her toes, screaming at the top of her lungs. Just then, Tag caught up to the bobcat and they went rolling and snarling directly at Brenda. As they rolled past, she let out another shrill scream, and threw the sack high over her head. As she jumped backward, she fell and landed on her back in the dew-covered grass. When the sack reached its upward height, the top opened and out tumbled a mass of snakes. Untangling as they fell, the snakes rained slowly down on Brenda, as she lay frozen on the ground. When the snakes landed, Brenda jumped to her feet and let out a bloodcurdling scream. For a few seconds, she just stood there with her arms stretched out. Still screaming, she started dancing in a circle, throwing snakes in all direction. Seeing me, she screamed even louder, "TJ, I’m going to get you for this," and then with her head lowered, she came running in my direction. Quickly, I backed through the open door into the dark interior of the stale smelling shack. Like a shot, Brenda burst in after me followed by Tim and Linda. Brenda and I stood scuffling in the darkness, but stopped suddenly when we heard a scraping sound from above us. At that instant the shack, was illuminated by the light from a lantern. Startled we all looked up. In the rafters, in the back of the shack we saw the shadow of a man crouching on a two-by-four. In panic all four of us scrambled to get out the door. We ran in to each other, stumbled, fell, and ended up crawling over the top of one another, in a mad dash out the door. As we scattered to get away from the ghostly old shack, we heard a series of bumps and bangs. Soon the shadowy figure appeared in the doorway holding the lantern high in front of him.
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About the Book
Two years before the story begins. In the spring of 1945, TJ’s father returned from world war two, to join his wife, Ruth and son, TJ on their small dairy farm. TJ had turned twelve that summer and was anxious to join his father during the fall threshing season. TJ’s father however felt TJ was too young and wouldn’t allow him to go. The following year TJ was allowed to work with his father when they threshed their oats at home, but still wouldn’t let TJ accompany him when he went with the other crews to the neighboring farms. This year however TJ would turn fourteen the week before threshing time and his father assured him that he was now old enough to go threshing. But, he was cautioned that the work would be hard and dangerous and no tomfoolery would be allowed. TJ accepted his father’s conditions and had worked hard all summer, patiently looking forward to threshing time, and the closer it got to the harvest season the more anxious he became. But as TJ was soon to learn, even the best intentions can sometimes go awry. Threshing time had barely gotten started when TJ, and his friend Tim found them in trouble over a bull that TJ had been warned to stay clear of. From the bull fiasco TJ’s problems only escalated. He is involved in an automobile accident, a night of prowling in a fog filled swamp that climaxed in a criminal investigation, and many episodes of shenanigans involving knives, guns and snakes. Before the harvest is over TJ finds himself involved in mischief, mystery, heroism and unexpected romance.
About the Author
Dan Parker was born at Moliter’s Maternity Home in Menomonie, Wisconsin. At the time he was born his family lived in a cabin on the edge of Lambs Creek, about two hundred feet from where the creek empties into the Red Cedar River. A few years later the family moved to a small farm five miles west of Lambs Creek. Dan and his siblings attended a one-room school that was heated by a wood stove and lit by kerosene lamps. He served twenty years in the U. S. Military and ten years as a civilian with the Department of Defense. He was always interested in writing and after retiring he wrote many poems, songs and short fiction stories, of which five songs have been recorded and six poems published. All of his writings are taken from memories of his life experiences, with always a touch of fiction to spruce up the dull spots.