The Children of Fear Read Online Free PDF Page A

of their herd yesterday. We had to kill three of ours today.”
    â€œWe’ve had no trouble so far,” Luke replied slowly. He stepped off the porch. “Is there a way to tell if they’re sick?”
    Jack dismounted. “I’ll show you what to look for.”
    He led Jack around the back of the house. Luke heard the rapid patter of small feet. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled at Corey as he raced after them.
    â€œWe have so few cows now, we just let them graze back here,” Luke told Jack. “It’s not worth taking them out to pasture.”
    Jack crouched down. He grabbed a cow’s head. The cow shook its head and mooed. Jack tightened his hold and held the cow’s head still. He angled its face one way and then the other.
    â€œWhat are you looking for?” Luke asked as he squatted for a closer look. Corey squatted beside him, his face serious.
    â€œWhen they’re sick, they have this thick green stuff dripping out of their noses. Then it turns red. That’s when they start going crazy.”
    â€œI’ve never heard of anything like that,” Luke remarked. He thought back over the various sicknesses in the animals he’d seen his father treat.
    â€œNo one has,” Jack replied. “It has people around here a little spooked. But your cows seem fine.”
    â€œStill, I’ll watch them closely. We can’t afford to lose any cows.”
    As Jack turned to go, he froze, his eyes widening with fear.
    Luke followed the direction of Jack’s gaze. Near the back porch, Leah fed a wolf little scraps of meat by hand.
    Jack gasped and stumbled backward a few steps. “A wolf!” he called out, pointing at Leah. “Get a gun! Get the little boy back—”
    â€œIt’s all right,” Luke said calmly. He took Corey’s hand to reassure him. “Leah has a way with animals.”
    Jack jerked his head up and down. “But it’s a wolf. Last winter a wolf killed some of our cattle. I … I … I must go,” he rasped.
    He raced out of the yard. Less than a minute later, Luke heard a horse galloping away. The cow bawled again and snorted.
    Leah wandered over and placed her hand on the cow’s forehead. Its large tongue slipped out to lick her elbow.
    â€œWhat did Jack want?” Leah asked.
    â€œHe said people’s cows are getting sick,” Luke told her.
    Gently Leah held the cow’s head and tilted it up. The cow didn’t balk or protest as it had when Jack held it.
    â€œShe looks healthy,” Leah announced.
    Luke heard the relief in her voice. She loved animals. He knew it hurt her when they were sick. Sometimes he thought Leah could actually feel what they were feeling.
    â€œI thought she looked all right, but I’m glad to hear you say that,” Luke replied. “You know a lot more about animals than I do.”
    â€œShe’ll be fine,” Leah said with confidence. “All our cows will be fine.”
    â€œI hope so. We can’t afford to lose any. I know it must be hard on our neighbors to watch their cows get sick and to have to shoot them.”
    â€œI’m glad their cows are all sick.”
    â€œYou don’t mean that,” Luke said.
    â€œYes, I do,” Leah said. “Those people deserve it. They act like I’m some kind of monster!”
    â™¦Â â™¦Â â™¦
    The following Saturday, Luke took Leah and Corey into Stormy Ridge for supplies. Usually the town bustled with activity on Saturday because all the area farmers came into town for their weekly supplies.
    But today Luke saw only a few people walking along the wooden sidewalks. Everything seemed eerily hushed, as though the entire town had fallen into mourning.
    Luke opened the door to Hammond’s General Store. The bell above the door jangled, sounding even louder than usual to Luke because the store stoodempty of customers. Luke’s footsteps echoed over the hardwood