Racing Home Read Online Free PDF

metre-long lengths, then laid the heavy, awkward blocks in a double row to start the walls. He overlapped the second row like bricks. The roots of the grass held most of the soil in place, but small pieces fell out as Erik carried them.
    They stopped at noon to set up the tent. Rolf unloaded what they needed from the wagon while Erik boiled water from the slough for coffee. When they finally sat down to flatbread and gjetost, Erik was so hungry that he forgot he was sick of the goat cheese.
    After lunch, Erik laid the sods for the third layer at right angles to the first two rows. Mr. Johnson had said that was the key to strong walls.
    The work got suddenly harder when Erik laid the last sod cut from the floor of the house and began carrying them from the firebreak. A metre long by half a metre wide and ten centimetres thick. Who knew dirt was so heavy?

CHAPTER FIVE
    Cousins?
    The next morning Erik woke to birdsong. The sun was already hot on the walls of the tent, filling it with the odour of warm canvas. He stretched cautiously, his arms and back aching from carrying sod.
    The rooster crowed and one of the oxen bellowed. Rolf was still asleep.
    The rooster crowed again as Erik crawled out of the tent.
    “Ja, Ja!” said Erik. “I’ll let you out.” As soon as he opened the crate door, the chickens crowded through the opening.
    He jumped out of reach of a hen trying to peck his bare toes, then checked the cattle. Black was eating the short grass by the slough. Socks lay nearby, chewing his cud, but Tess’s rope lay useless on the ground, the end frayed and broken.
    Forgetting his tired muscles, Erik ran and pulled the tether stake out of the ground. He wrapped the rope around his arm and looked around. He should be able to see the cow, since there was nothing to block the view. Shading his eyes against the morning sun, he saw something move far off in the east. He started running, keeping his eyes on the brown shape in the distance.
    Yes, it was definitely a cow. A little closer and he saw Tess was not alone. At her side was a brown-and-white calf.
    Erik stood still, watching Tess lick the calf’s head. The calf wobbled a bit and fell down. Tess nudged it with her nose. It scrambled back to its feet, hind end first, while Tess licked along its back.
    It was a miracle. They’d bought one animal and now there were two.
    Erik grinned as the gangly legged calf head-butted its mother in the side, then, tail wagging, started to suck.
    Erik’s stomach growled, urging him to get back for breakfast. Moving slowly, he circled around till the cow and calf were between him and the yard site. He put one cautious foot forward, then the other.
    Tess took a couple of steps away from Erik. The calf bleated in protest.
    Erik moved closer to the cow. Tess kept walking, but the calf didn’t move.
    A sudden pain knifed through Erik’s foot. He yelped in surprise, hopping on one leg. The calf turned at the sound, saw Erik, and ran to its mother.
    Drops of blood dripped from the Erik’s bare foot. Looking at the ground, he saw a plant with a yellow flower and pointed spines all over its fat green leaves. Touching a spine carefully with the tip of a finger, he found it sharp as a needle.
    Erik rubbed the sole of his foot for a moment, then gingerly set it down. Tess was licking her calf again. Speaking softly, he limped over to the cow, slipped the rope around her neck, and tied it quickly. The calf dropped to the ground, closing its eyes.
    “You can’t stop now!” Erik nudged the calf with his foot. “If you stay out here, a wolf will get you.”
    Getting no response from the calf, he grabbed it with his free arm and pulled it to its feet. The calf bleated in protest and flopped back on the ground.
    Erik pulled it up again. It took a few steps, then stopped. Erik let it suck for another moment, then gave Tess’s rope a tug.
    By the time they straggled back to the yard, Rolf had eaten breakfast and hitched the oxen to the plough. He