The Reading Room presents And Jill Came Tumbling After by Sidney McCabe

For a moment Jack and Lou could only stand before the old station, immobile, staring at the building as flames leapt into the sky. They immediately seized one another's hands, bonded in their shared horror, the unspeakable fear of all mothers. The moment passed and adrenaline overtook them. Just as quickly, they separated and joined the assembly line that had begun. There was no time for fear now, there was only time to act.

Buck and Thompkins were the start of the line, dipping buckets into the well, passing them along to the men who had gathered. The townspeople were everywhere, swarming around, helping as best they could, though a few of them were doing more harm than good. Several of the women had joined in, fetching water, passing it along, tossing it onto the fire as it raged. And then suddenly, high above the roar of the flames and the crackling of burning wood, screams could be heard. A child's cries -- loud and sharp and
piercing. Every mother present felt her heart stop, her blood seize with fear; every mother felt an overwhelming sympathy for Lou and Jack. The men heard, and forever after would be haunted by them, by the memory of those screams, by the agony in so many faces.

Jack felt her legs tremble, her knees give way, but she fought against it. She lugged a pail of water up to the steps, where her father and Kid were working with several other men to contain the fire in that area. "Jimmy!" she screamed to them, struggling to be heard over the noise. "Where's Jimmy?"
And then she saw him. He was standing, tying a kerchief around his nose and mouth till his face was obscured, the only things visible his dark, frightened eyes. He slipped his hat low over his forehead, pulled his gloves tightly down over his hands, buttoned his jacket shut, and before she realized just what he was about to do, he began to run. He ran past the townspeople, past Buck and Lou and Kid and Ken, up the stairs, barreling through the door, disappearing into the smoke and fire.

"No!" Jack yelled, the bucket dropping from her hands, water soaking her dress from waist to hem. "Jimmy, no!" She lifted her skirt, prepared to run after him. Strong hands stopped her, grasping her shoulders. Buck had placed his body before her, barricading the way.
"No," he said firmly. His black eyes echoed the instruction.
"Buck," she pleaded. "Buck, Jimmy went in there --"
"He went in there after Ben and Maddy. And you will stay right here."
Buck's tone was unyielding.
"Buck, I have to --"
"It ain't just me tellin' you, Jack. Jimmy made me and Kid promise we'd make you stay." It was hard to stand fast and not relent, the anguish and terror in her face broke his heart. He hated so much to see pain in the faces of any of his friends, these friends who were as much his family as if they'd been related by blood. "Please, Jack, stay here. Don't endanger yourself. You need to stay strong for Maddy."
Jack's chin trembled. She bit hard on her lower lip and nodded. "All right, Buck, I'll stay." As soon as she had, and Buck could see that she would keep her word, he released her and quickly went back to assisting the other men.

For a moment Jack could only stand there, numb and unmoving. Maddy -- Ben -- Jimmy. To lose any of them was unthinkable; it would cause so much pain to so many people. It wasn't just she who would suffer if they lost Maddy; it wasn't only Kid and Lou who would be heartbroken if they lost Ben. Tyler Hodges raced past her, two buckets of water in his hands. The sight jarred her back to reality, and she picked her pail up, running back to the well.
"Jack!" It was Lou. "Did you see Jimmy run in?" She wrung her hands. "I've never been so scared in my life!"
"We have to be strong," replied Jack, in a half-hearted repeat of Buck's earlier instruction.

And then they separated again. The minutes ticked by, and there was no sign of Jimmy or either of the children. The fire had spread down the porch. It seemed that no sooner had they smothered it in one area than it sprung up in another. Murmurs ran through the crowd: "Ain't no hope at this rate", "We can't keep this thing down", "Gonna have to let it burn itself out". Lou heard these words, and her heart screamed. 'No, please', she begged silently, unable to voice the words. "We can't give up! You can't just leave them in there!" Rachel was shouting at Peter Brinkmann, as he and Roger Lensky sat down on the ground, hanging their heads in defeat.

Finally Lou found her voice. "Why hasn't someone gone in there to help Jimmy?!" she shouted.
"Cappie went in," answered Buck, materializing at her side. "Cappie and Jon Robbins."
"But it's been forever!" wailed Lou.
"It's been ten minutes." Buck knew he had to maintain calm as long as he could manage. He had to be strong for Lou and Jack and Rachel, for Jimmy and Ben and Maddy and Cappie. Not to mention his own wife and child. The crowd was so loud a person could hardly hear their own thoughts. There were shouts and cries of terror, wails and sobs, and the growing roar of the fire as it engulfed the station. Only ten minutes, filled with activity and constant movement, but nonetheless dragging by on slow heels for Lou and Jack.

There were sharp cries from several in the crowd as Cappie rushed out with Ben in his arms. The legs of Cappie's pants were on fire and Ben's clothes were sullied with burns. He dashed down the crumbling steps, his long legs carrying them as quickly as possible. Kid met him halfway, dropping his bucket at his feet with a clatter, gathering his small son into his arms with loud, choking sobs. Ben's little arm crept around his father's neck as he rested his head on the broad shoulder against him. Lou rushed to her
husband's side, and for a moment they were one unit, difficult to distinguish as separate beings.

Cappie had dropped to the ground. Rachel was at his feet, tossing a heavy, wet blanket over his burning breeches. Tears in her eyes, she beat mercilessly at the flames and at last they died away, leaving Cappie on the ground, trembling, panting for breath, a mess of fear and nerves. Rachel knelt and cradled his brown head in her arms. "Oh, my darling. Oh, thank God, thank God." Lou and Kid's elation was short-lived: not only were Jimmy and Maddy not out yet, but Ben had begun coughing and choking, his little body wracked with shivers. Kid carefully pounded his son's frail back and for a moment Ben seemed to be breathing freer. But as his mother and father watched in horror, his brown eyes -- Lou's eyes -- Rolled back in his head, his lids dropping closed over them. His head fell back over his father's arm and not even his mother's hysterical cries woke him.

"He's breathin', Lou. He's breathin'!" Kid shouted at Lou, trying to calm her, trying to be heard over her shrieks.
"I think I see somethin'!" shouted an unknown voice.
It was Jon Robbins, a wealthy, reclusive writer from New York who had been in town only a short while and barely knew the people whose lives he was now trying to save. He emerged with Maddy, the little girl hanging limply in his arms. The moment his foot connected with the bottom step it gave way and both he and Maddy went flying into the air.

Jack hadn't even seen Teaspoon arrive, but it was his arms that reached for Maddy's body. He caught her just before she fell to the ground. Her big blue eyes opened at the sudden movement. She looked up in wonder. "Grandpa Teaspoon?" she whispered, her voice raspy with smoke. "It's me, sugar," answered Teaspoon, fighting a losing battle to keep the tears back. Maddy smiled slowly. "Hey, Grandpa Teaspoon," she said, and then closed her eyes with a soft smile. It was then that Teaspoon noticed Maddy's arms. And Maddy's legs. The tiny body was covered in a mass of angry red burns. Fire had scorched through her cotton shirt and overalls. Her little boots had melted onto her feet. Her
feet were almost unrecognizable. Jack tore through the crowd to Maddy and Teaspoon. He could hardly bear to meet Jack's eyes. "Oh, my baby! My baby, my baby! Oh, Maddy!" Jack seized hold of Maddy, drawing her from Teaspoon's arms, clutching her to her chest. "Oh, my baby, my little girl." She kissed her cheek and head again and again. Her mother's eyes did not see the burns, only the child.
"Mama," whispered Maddy sleepily, burying her face against her mother's water-soaked dress.
A loud pop, and the top beam of the station's roof went crashing down to the grass below. "I have to go in there!" Jack recognized Kid's voice. "I have to go in there, Lou! Jimmy's in there!"

There was hardly a building left to go in to. The station was nearly gone already. Jon Robbins was on the ground next to Jack, coughing up black phlegm, wincing at the pain in the back of his head. His hair had been burned nearly completely off. Jack couldn't release Maddy, but she touched Jon's shoulder. "I can never thank you enough, Mr Robbins. Words...words will never be enough."

Jon managed to meet her eyes. "Ma'am, I was glad to carry the child out and do my part. But it's not me you have to thank. It's that man of yours. That Hickok. He's the one that found both the children, and he's the one that rescued that little girl from the danger she was in." He paused, not wishing to frighten her further, but truth compelled him to say so. "And he's the one you need to be praying for right about now."

Suddenly Jack was tired. So tired. She felt as if she'd been working for days instead of minutes. She began to cry, rocking Maddy in her arms, the tears falling down her pale face. "Dear God, please don't take him. Please don't take my Jimmy. I'll do whatever I have to do, just please don't take him. I love him so much, I just couldn't bear it if I lost him again. Please keep him safe. Please bring him out of there safe and sound. Let me kiss him and hold him and love him again. Let me bring life into this world that is a part of James Hickok." She was speaking aloud, she didn't care who might hear her. "I want to grow old with him and hold him in my arms, and see his smile on my children's faces. I want him for the rest of my life, good or bad. Please let me have that."

The crowd was still, buckets both full and empty rested, forgotten. There was nothing more that could be done. The fire was beyond their control. Two men had gone in after Jimmy, and what more could anyone do? Jack felt a presence at her side. When she turned, it was Lou. Ben was in her arms. Their eyes met. Whatever happened to them in the future, neither would ever forget this day, this moment branded in time forever: first their children, then their men. What woman could stand it? Jack knew that Lou could, and if Lou could, then so could she. But dear God, she didn't want to have to make that choice. Cheers erupted. Buck and Kid were out, only moments later. Jimmy was carried between them. "He's alive and breathin!" Kid shouted to everyone. They cheered again.

Teaspoon cheered along with them, but his heart wasn't in it. He had seen the survivors of this disaster: the three men had been seriously injured, their burns nothing to be treated lightly. The children had suffered the most, and Teaspoon feared their recovery would be painful and slow. If there was a recovery. But he didn't allow himself to stop on that thought. Stretchers were made by the townspeople, wagons loaded carefully with the five victims. Lou, Kid, Jack, and Rachel rode too. Teaspoon looked around at the exhausted crowd: dirty, tear-streaked faces, smoke-clouded eyes. The bitter scent of the fire still hung in the air. All that hard work, and maybe it had all been for nothing. The station was gone, lost to them, and the people, the most important thing of all, were now damaged, maybe beyond repair.
With a heavy heart, Teaspoon stayed until the fire had burned itself out. It was well after dark when he left.

AND JILL CAME TUMBLING AFTER

SIDNEY McCABE

CHAPTER 10


	AND JILL CAME TUMBLING AFTER by SIDNEY McCABE © 2000 CHAPTER 10
For a moment Jack and Lou could only stand before the old station, immobile, staring at the building as flames leapt into the sky. They immediately seized one another's hands, bonded in their shared horror, the unspeakable fear of all mothers. The moment passed and adrenaline overtook them. Just as quickly, they separated and joined the assembly line that had begun. There was no time for fear now, there was only time to act. Buck and Thompkins were the start of the line, dipping buckets into the well, passing them along to the men who had gathered. The townspeople were everywhere, swarming around, helping as best they could, though a few of them were doing more harm than good. Several of the women had joined in, fetching water, passing it along, tossing it onto the fire as it raged. And then suddenly, high above the roar of the flames and the crackling of burning wood, screams could be heard. A child's cries -- loud and sharp and piercing. Every mother present felt her heart stop, her blood seize with fear; every mother felt an overwhelming sympathy for Lou and Jack. The men heard, and forever after would be haunted by them, by the memory of those screams, by the agony in so many faces. Jack felt her legs tremble, her knees give way, but she fought against it. She lugged a pail of water up to the steps, where her father and Kid were working with several other men to contain the fire in that area. "Jimmy!" she screamed to them, struggling to be heard over the noise. "Where's Jimmy?" And then she saw him. He was standing, tying a kerchief around his nose and mouth till his face was obscured, the only things visible his dark, frightened eyes. He slipped his hat low over his forehead, pulled his gloves tightly down over his hands, buttoned his jacket shut, and before she realized just what he was about to do, he began to run. He ran past the townspeople, past Buck and Lou and Kid and Ken, up the stairs, barreling through the door, disappearing into the smoke and fire. "No!" Jack yelled, the bucket dropping from her hands, water soaking her dress from waist to hem. "Jimmy, no!" She lifted her skirt, prepared to run after him. Strong hands stopped her, grasping her shoulders. Buck had placed his body before her, barricading the way. "No," he said firmly. His black eyes echoed the instruction. "Buck," she pleaded. "Buck, Jimmy went in there --" "He went in there after Ben and Maddy. And you will stay right here." Buck's tone was unyielding. "Buck, I have to --" "It ain't just me tellin' you, Jack. Jimmy made me and Kid promise we'd make you stay." It was hard to stand fast and not relent, the anguish and terror in her face broke his heart. He hated so much to see pain in the faces of any of his friends, these friends who were as much his family as if they'd been related by blood. "Please, Jack, stay here. Don't endanger yourself. You need to stay strong for Maddy." Jack's chin trembled. She bit hard on her lower lip and nodded. "All right, Buck, I'll stay." As soon as she had, and Buck could see that she would keep her word, he released her and quickly went back to assisting the other men. For a moment Jack could only stand there, numb and unmoving. Maddy -- Ben -- Jimmy. To lose any of them was unthinkable; it would cause so much pain to so many people. It wasn't just she who would suffer if they lost Maddy; it wasn't only Kid and Lou who would be heartbroken if they lost Ben. Tyler Hodges raced past her, two buckets of water in his hands. The sight jarred her back to reality, and she picked her pail up, running back to the well. "Jack!" It was Lou. "Did you see Jimmy run in?" She wrung her hands. "I've never been so scared in my life!" "We have to be strong," replied Jack, in a half-hearted repeat of Buck's earlier instruction. And then they separated again. The minutes ticked by, and there was no sign of Jimmy or either of the children. The fire had spread down the porch. It seemed that no sooner had they smothered it in one area than it sprung up in another. Murmurs ran through the crowd: "Ain't no hope at this rate", "We can't keep this thing down", "Gonna have to let it burn itself out". Lou heard these words, and her heart screamed. 'No, please', she begged silently, unable to voice the words. "We can't give up! You can't just leave them in there!" Rachel was shouting at Peter Brinkmann, as he and Roger Lensky sat down on the ground, hanging their heads in defeat. Finally Lou found her voice. "Why hasn't someone gone in there to help Jimmy?!" she shouted. "Cappie went in," answered Buck, materializing at her side. "Cappie and Jon Robbins." "But it's been forever!" wailed Lou. "It's been ten minutes." Buck knew he had to maintain calm as long as he could manage. He had to be strong for Lou and Jack and Rachel, for Jimmy and Ben and Maddy and Cappie. Not to mention his own wife and child. The crowd was so loud a person could hardly hear their own thoughts. There were shouts and cries of terror, wails and sobs, and the growing roar of the fire as it engulfed the station. Only ten minutes, filled with activity and constant movement, but nonetheless dragging by on slow heels for Lou and Jack. There were sharp cries from several in the crowd as Cappie rushed out with Ben in his arms. The legs of Cappie's pants were on fire and Ben's clothes were sullied with burns. He dashed down the crumbling steps, his long legs carrying them as quickly as possible. Kid met him halfway, dropping his bucket at his feet with a clatter, gathering his small son into his arms with loud, choking sobs. Ben's little arm crept around his father's neck as he rested his head on the broad shoulder against him. Lou rushed to her husband's side, and for a moment they were one unit, difficult to distinguish as separate beings. Cappie had dropped to the ground. Rachel was at his feet, tossing a heavy, wet blanket over his burning breeches. Tears in her eyes, she beat mercilessly at the flames and at last they died away, leaving Cappie on the ground, trembling, panting for breath, a mess of fear and nerves. Rachel knelt and cradled his brown head in her arms. "Oh, my darling. Oh, thank God, thank God." Lou and Kid's elation was short-lived: not only were Jimmy and Maddy not out yet, but Ben had begun coughing and choking, his little body wracked with shivers. Kid carefully pounded his son's frail back and for a moment Ben seemed to be breathing freer. But as his mother and father watched in horror, his brown eyes -- Lou's eyes -- Rolled back in his head, his lids dropping closed over them. His head fell back over his father's arm and not even his mother's hysterical cries woke him. "He's breathin', Lou. He's breathin'!" Kid shouted at Lou, trying to calm her, trying to be heard over her shrieks. "I think I see somethin'!" shouted an unknown voice. It was Jon Robbins, a wealthy, reclusive writer from New York who had been in town only a short while and barely knew the people whose lives he was now trying to save. He emerged with Maddy, the little girl hanging limply in his arms. The moment his foot connected with the bottom step it gave way and both he and Maddy went flying into the air. Jack hadn't even seen Teaspoon arrive, but it was his arms that reached for Maddy's body. He caught her just before she fell to the ground. Her big blue eyes opened at the sudden movement. She looked up in wonder. "Grandpa Teaspoon?" she whispered, her voice raspy with smoke. "It's me, sugar," answered Teaspoon, fighting a losing battle to keep the tears back. Maddy smiled slowly. "Hey, Grandpa Teaspoon," she said, and then closed her eyes with a soft smile. It was then that Teaspoon noticed Maddy's arms. And Maddy's legs. The tiny body was covered in a mass of angry red burns. Fire had scorched through her cotton shirt and overalls. Her little boots had melted onto her feet. Her feet were almost unrecognizable. Jack tore through the crowd to Maddy and Teaspoon. He could hardly bear to meet Jack's eyes. "Oh, my baby! My baby, my baby! Oh, Maddy!" Jack seized hold of Maddy, drawing her from Teaspoon's arms, clutching her to her chest. "Oh, my baby, my little girl." She kissed her cheek and head again and again. Her mother's eyes did not see the burns, only the child. "Mama," whispered Maddy sleepily, burying her face against her mother's water-soaked dress. A loud pop, and the top beam of the station's roof went crashing down to the grass below. "I have to go in there!" Jack recognized Kid's voice. "I have to go in there, Lou! Jimmy's in there!" There was hardly a building left to go in to. The station was nearly gone already. Jon Robbins was on the ground next to Jack, coughing up black phlegm, wincing at the pain in the back of his head. His hair had been burned nearly completely off. Jack couldn't release Maddy, but she touched Jon's shoulder. "I can never thank you enough, Mr Robbins. Words...words will never be enough." Jon managed to meet her eyes. "Ma'am, I was glad to carry the child out and do my part. But it's not me you have to thank. It's that man of yours. That Hickok. He's the one that found both the children, and he's the one that rescued that little girl from the danger she was in." He paused, not wishing to frighten her further, but truth compelled him to say so. "And he's the one you need to be praying for right about now." Suddenly Jack was tired. So tired. She felt as if she'd been working for days instead of minutes. She began to cry, rocking Maddy in her arms, the tears falling down her pale face. "Dear God, please don't take him. Please don't take my Jimmy. I'll do whatever I have to do, just please don't take him. I love him so much, I just couldn't bear it if I lost him again. Please keep him safe. Please bring him out of there safe and sound. Let me kiss him and hold him and love him again. Let me bring life into this world that is a part of James Hickok." She was speaking aloud, she didn't care who might hear her. "I want to grow old with him and hold him in my arms, and see his smile on my children's faces. I want him for the rest of my life, good or bad. Please let me have that." The crowd was still, buckets both full and empty rested, forgotten. There was nothing more that could be done. The fire was beyond their control. Two men had gone in after Jimmy, and what more could anyone do? Jack felt a presence at her side. When she turned, it was Lou. Ben was in her arms. Their eyes met. Whatever happened to them in the future, neither would ever forget this day, this moment branded in time forever: first their children, then their men. What woman could stand it? Jack knew that Lou could, and if Lou could, then so could she. But dear God, she didn't want to have to make that choice. Cheers erupted. Buck and Kid were out, only moments later. Jimmy was carried between them. "He's alive and breathin!" Kid shouted to everyone. They cheered again. Teaspoon cheered along with them, but his heart wasn't in it. He had seen the survivors of this disaster: the three men had been seriously injured, their burns nothing to be treated lightly. The children had suffered the most, and Teaspoon feared their recovery would be painful and slow. If there was a recovery. But he didn't allow himself to stop on that thought. Stretchers were made by the townspeople, wagons loaded carefully with the five victims. Lou, Kid, Jack, and Rachel rode too. Teaspoon looked around at the exhausted crowd: dirty, tear-streaked faces, smoke-clouded eyes. The bitter scent of the fire still hung in the air. All that hard work, and maybe it had all been for nothing. The station was gone, lost to them, and the people, the most important thing of all, were now damaged, maybe beyond repair. With a heavy heart, Teaspoon stayed until the fire had burned itself out. It was well after dark when he left.
CHAPTER 1 ¤ CHAPTER 2 ¤ CHAPTER 3 ¤ CHAPTER 4 ¤ CHAPTER 5 ¤ CHAPTER 6 ¤ CHAPTER 7 ¤ CHAPTER 8 ¤ CHAPTER 9 ¤ CHAPTER 10 ¤ CHAPTER 11 ¤ CHAPTER 12 ¤ CHAPTER 13 TO BE CONTINUED...