Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20 ABOUT THREE MONTHS LATER SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 1888 PRAIRIE CREEK, DAKOTA TERRITORY AFTERNOON The snow had melted, and the prairie was slowly sprouting back to life. Bright green shoots pushed

up through the brown grass. Enormous flocks of geese and ducks flapped across the blue sky. The winter was over. The birds were back. John and the guys had returned to school at the end of March. And now, on this bright and warm day in April, here they were at the creek. They'd come for King Rattler. John had brought Pa's rifle this time. Rex clutched his ax, and Sven was ready with his stick. Peter had found a dead rabbit, half-eaten by a fox. That was the bait. "King Rattler could attack from any direction," Rex reminded them, his voice strong but still raspy from months of coughing. He'd caught a bad case of pneumonia after the blizzard, and looked too skinny and frail. They were all still healing. Sven lost two toes from frostbite and was walking with a cane. Peter had lost a pinky. "I never liked that finger anyway," he swore.

John's feet had been so badly frostbitten that he nearly lost them — his hands, too. His feet had swelled up like balloons. The skin on his hands and feet turned black, like meat left too long on the fire. The pain was so terrible that he couldn't move. For days he was in bed, soaked in sweat and trying not to cry. But Ma kept telling him that the pain was good news, that it meant blood was starting to flow again, that his hands and feet were coming back to life. She kept dosing John with Brown's Bitters and gently rubbing his skin with some cream that smelled like rotten apples. Slowly the black skin peeled away. Underneath was brand-new skin — soft and pink. "Your feet look like piglets!" Franny had shrieked happily. John stared at his bright pink feet and realized Franny was right. He started to laugh, and Ma and Pa did, too. And after that, some of the gloom cleared from the soddy.

It helped that people from town kept coming to visit them. They brought food, precious jars of berry jam and baskets of eggs from their cellars. Myra visited and gave John a scarf she had knitted herself. Mr. Lowry came, and told them what happened to him after the horse bolted with the sled. He'd made it back into the schoolhouse and had burned the desks to stay warm through the night. Miss Ruell stopped by a few times. Of course John had to tell her about those long poems she'd made them memorize, how they helped John and the guys stay awake in the haystack. Miss Ruell flashed a smile, big and bright. By then, John had heard the big news: Miss Ruell was getting married. She would be leaving Dakota this summer and moving to Montana. John would miss her. He knew the guys would, too. Even Peter. "I hear she's invited the whole town to the wedding," Rex said now. "It's going to be at the

schoolhouse." "What should we get her for a present?" Sven asked. They were stumped. "I know!" Rex said, his eyes lighting up. "King Rattler's rattle!" They all grinned. Rex was a genius! Who wouldn't want a huge snake rattle as a wedding gift? They argued about what food would be best for the wedding: chokeberry pie or molasses cake. They swore they wouldn't wear their itchy church clothes but thought they might have to. They hoped Miss Ruell's man would wear his cowboy hat. And then there was a rustling sound in the bushes. "Shhhh!" Rex said. They all jumped up. John gripped Pa's gun. Rex raised his ax. Sven held up his cane. Peter looked ready to pounce.

It was time to finally kill King Rattler!