Across a War-Tossed Sea

Across a War-Tossed Sea Read Online Free PDF Page A

Book: Across a War-Tossed Sea Read Online Free PDF
Author: L.M. Elliott
Tags: Fiction - Young Adult
our fence line—a dollar’s worth for sure, maybe even five!”
    Wesley sure didn’t like the idea of spending the afternoon with Ron. But he did like the idea of contributing some money to the mason jar of change in the kitchen. The Depression had sucked away most all Mr. Ratcliff’s savings, and Wesley and Charles were painfully aware that the money their parents sent didn’t equal what it cost the Ratcliffs to feed and clothe them.
    Wesley knew Charles would go pick pods even if faced with a dozen bullies. He looked up at the photo of Churchill and steeled himself. “All righty, then,” he said, and picked up the straw hat he wore to shade his fair-skinned face while picking vegetables.
    â€œWatch your back,” Charles warned as Wesley passed him.

Chapter Four
    R on and Wesley walked the edge of the Ratcliff farm, picking pods off the chest-high milkweeds. In June, the plants’ fragrant purple flowers hummed with bees. In August, their lush leaves crawled with black-and-gold-striped caterpillars that morphed into monarch butterflies. Now, in September, the stalks were dried and fragile, seemingly lifeless. But each held up pods as big as chicken drumsticks, crammed full with life to come—wispy dandelion-like tufts that would carry seeds on the winds once the pods cracked open enough to release them.
    During Wesley’s first autumn in Virginia, milkweed had been a terrific game with Patsy. “Never say there’s no fun to be had on a farm,” she’d told the two Londoners. She took all the boys out into the fields and pulled the pods apart to send the seeds floating. The brothers ran underneath blowing in puffs to see who could keep their seed off the ground the longest. Jamie and Johnny had tumbled all over each other as they followed the drifting seeds.
    Wesley stopped snapping off pods for a moment and watched the twins, who had come along with him and Ron. Instead of helping to pick pods they were playing “red light, green light.” Wesley couldn’t help feeling jealous of their being able to play while he labored. He straightened the shoulder strap of his cotton-picking sack with some irritation. His bag was getting full and clumsy to drag. But it wasn’t heavy. The milkweed fluff was that lightweight.
    â€œGreen light!”
    The twins dashed past him, their strawberry blond hair dancing. Jamie pulled ahead of Johnny and ran up behind Ron, slapping his butt to claim his big brother as home base. “Safe!” Jamie shouted.
    â€œHey! Watch it!” Ron pushed Jamie off him. “Take a hike!” He turned back to his picking.
    â€œI won! I won!” Jamie crowed.
    â€œYou cheated!” Johnny cried, panting as he caught up. “You took off before we said ‘green light!’”
    â€œDid not!”
    â€œDid too!”
    â€œYou’re just a sore loser,” Jamie shouted.
    â€œAm not!”
    â€œAre too!”
    Wesley knew it was a matter of seconds before the first shove. As predictable as the twins’ tussles were, there was still something entertaining about them. They never truly hurt each other. When they really got into it, rolling around and swatting at each other, they looked like one of those blurred images in Looney Tunes cartoon fights, where there was a whirling ball of fists with X s and oof s flying out of it.
    There it was—Johnny pushed Jamie hard. Jamie staggered, then shoved back. Reeling, Johnny took a few forward steps for momentum and really shouldered Jamie. Johnny’s counterattack sent Jamie flying—right into Ron. All three of them landed on the ground with a loud thump and squeals of pain.
    Johnny and Jamie lay there, gasping and whining and giggling all at the same time, still slapping at each other good-naturedly.
    It was clear, however, that Ron was not amused. The weight of the three of them had smashed his sack of milkweed. Just like a pillow might split
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