Mississippi Bridge Read Online Free PDF Page A

railing. Josias, he come through the fog, back from the other way. Josias, he done caught me as I run up ’cause I was flying now and he hadn’t’ve caught me, I’d’ve gone over into that water too. Josias held me and we stood there staring off that broken rail with the rain pounding down on us. The bus was all bellied up like a dead catfish and was sinking fast. Then I thought of Miz Hattie and Grace-Anne, and I screamed. “Josias! All them folks! Josias! They gonna die!”
    Josias, he put his hands on my shoulders and calmed me down, made me remember I was a man. “Now, Jeremy, you go on back t’ that store,” he said. “You go right now, ya hear? Get your pa, your brothers, ever’body else ya can! Tell ’em the bus done gone off the bridge!”
    “But Miz Hattie and Grace-Anne, Josias—”
    “I see to ’em. I’m gon’ go right on down t’ see ’bout ’em all. Now you run, boy! You run fast now!”
    I wasn’t hardly in my right mind when I nodded that I would, but somehow my legs done straightened out and Josias done pushed me away from him, and I gone sprinting back across that bridge and over that slop of a road. I weren’t tired no more, but I was plenty scairt. ’Fore I run all the way down to the store, I looked back to the bridge. There was a break in the fog, but I couldn’t see Josias. He had already slipped into the water. I run on and gone to hollering, “Pa! The bus done gone off the bridge! Pa! Pa! Come quick, Pa! The bus done gone off the bridge!”
    What with all the rain beating down, ain’t nobody heard me till I got on the porch and stormed inside, and Pa, he ain’t looked too pleased with me. He squinted his eyesand barked: “Boy, what kinda ruckus you carryin’ on?”
    Another time, I’d’ve gone to stammering, but wasn’t no time for stammering now. “Pa, come quick!” I shouted loud and I shouted hard. “The bus, it done gone off the bridge! I seen it, Pa! Jus’ now! I seen it!”
    “Oh, Lord!” exclaimed Mr. John Wallace. “Ya sure? Ya ain’t funnin’ now, boy, is ya?”
    “I seen it, Mr. John!” I screamed back. “Me and Josias, we both done seen it!”
    The men ain’t waited no longer. They all jumped up and run outside for the bridge. I was near to out of breath, but I ain’t took me no time to rest. I shot down that road right with them and I ain’t slowed down. We come to the bridge, and Pa and Mr. Wallace, R.W. and Melvin and the other grown-up folks, they run straight for where the bus gone off. The railing, course it was gone and all there was left was a big open space. The men, they gone for that hole and stopped just short of going off theyselves into the water. They all stood there like they ain’t ’spected to see that bus, but it was right there. I ain’t lied. Then Pa, he took charge. “Melvin, R.W.! Y’all go the west bank! Rest of us, we take the east!”
    My brothers and all the other men, they done obeyed his words quick! And quick as spit, they gone to running. But ’fore Pa gone into the waters, he looked back at me. “Jeremy, boy!” he yelled. “You go on up t’ the church there and ring that bell! Ring it loud, ya hear me? Ring it so’s everybody round’ll hear! Ring it so’s folks’ll come!”
    “Yes, suh, Pa!” I promised, and he gone into the water.
    I started to do like Pa said, but then I seen Stacey and them come running onto the bridge, back from delivering their milk. They ran right to that busted rail, and they was hollering, “What happened? What done happened?” Then they seen the bus and they screamed.
“Big Maaaa!”
    I run right over. “She all right!” I cried. “Your grandmama, she fine! She gone on home!”
    They looked like they ain’t believed me.
    “But . . . but she was on that bus,” said Stacey.
    I shook my head. “Naw . . . naw, Stacey, she wasn’t.”
    “She was so too on that bus!” Cassie, she screamed back.
    “Naw . . .” I looked at them feeling right ashamed to tell