Chapter 19

If Whitehorse hadn't been so fired up, we might have lost the game. Last year was the first time since dad had played that they had lost to our team twice in the same year, and I guess they were determined it wouldn't happen again.

They tried intimidation and trash talking, too. It seemed to worry them that all any of us did was smile at them when they did that. We didn't respond outwardly, but it pissed us off a little. It was nice of them to help us out like that.

The result was that the game started out with them being over-eager, and us being focussed. It was a bad combination for Whitehorse.

They got the ball first, and had a decent return on the kickoff. They started at their thirty-nine yard line, and came out throwing. They went three and out, and punted from their twenty-two. We had sacked their quarterback three times in a row. The blockers came at us fast, but were easy to slip. All of the sacks were shared, and two of them were made by three of us. Their quarterback was staggering pretty bad as he left the field.

Our offense had to wait for a while to play. They punted, and Ron Hambry, one of last year's freshmen, caught it at our forty. He ran it all the way back for a score, and we kicked off again.

Their return guy tried to duplicate his feat, but didn't hold onto the ball very well. I was the one who knocked it loose, but Fred scooped it up. We were up by two scores, and our offense hadn't taken a snap.

It got worse for them the next series. They started on their thirty, and decided to run this time. Ernie Perry ripped the ball right out of the back's hands, and made it into the end zone with three would-be tacklers hanging off of him. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to be playing quarterback today.

That question was answered three plays after we kicked off again. They held onto the ball, but didn't move it very well. They lost three yards, and punted from their thirty. We almost blocked it, and the ball only went twenty yards before going out of bounds at the fifty yard line.

As I lined up, I noticed that it looked like they had practiced for last year's team. The defensive line was set up to stop the run. I didn't like that much, since the play coach called was actually a run up the middle. I looked over at him, and got a nod. That was all I needed to change the play at the line.

It was a fake sweep to the right side, and all the defenders bit. I made an easy throw to our wide receiver, who was running a crossing route from the left side. There wasn't a defender within twenty yards of him, and none got any closer before he crossed the goal line.

We knew that our success wouldn't last forever, but we managed to make the most of it. The rest of the game was hard fought, and fairly even. I was hoping they'd stay shell-shocked but instead, they settled down. The only bad part about having a four touchdown lead, was that I didn't get to use many of our new plays.

Mostly, we ran. That worked out well enough, and our defense was unbelievable. We ended up winning fifty-five to six, so we were happy. Heck, we even had a decent field goal kicker this year. He made two, and one of them was from forty-six yards. Not bad, for a high school player.

We held our elation until we made it out of the parking lot, but it wasn't easy. I'll admit to being a little worried going into this game. Whitehorse was pretty darn good last year, but the team we had just played wasn't the same. Not in the first quarter, anyway.

I sat with the offensive line all around me on the way home, and we got to talking about things besides football. I found out that the Perry's were wheat farmers from way back, and the triplets planned on keeping it that way. They were excited about their move here, and not because of football. They were used to winning games, but not to land like they had now.

Their old farm had been much smaller, and the soil was decent enough for good production. They had done pretty well, but the farm they had now would do much better. The only problem was capital. In order to purchase the Peterson place, they had to sell everything they had in Oklahoma. Salvaging enough of the neglected equipment on the new farm to operate effectively had proven impossible, and getting a loan big enough to buy new machinery was proving to be difficult.

In talking to them, it was easy to see that they knew wheat inside and out. I knew, given the chance, they would have a lot of success. Unfortunately, as it stood now, the chance they had was slim. It would be years before they could afford what they needed to take full advantage of the land.

Even worse, was the fact that they wouldn't get any kind of a crop until next year. They had managed to plant a crop of winter wheat, but it didn't cover much acreage. Harvesting even that wouldn't be easy. The combine on the place wasn't salvageable, and even renting one was almost out of reach. They were worried that the farm would fail, and they'd have to sell out.

I liked these guys. Even if they weren't such good football players, I'd hate to see their dreams crushed like that. I wished the folks had machinery to lend them, but they didn't. Even the 'tenant farmers' wouldn't be much help. I knew we had cash to spare, but letting others know about it wouldn't be a good idea. I'm sure the government would be curious as to where it came from, and we didn't need the attention.

Still, I thought there might be a solution. I wasn't smart enough to see it, but I wasn't too proud to seek the advice of someone who might be. When we got back to school, everyone was there as usual. Instead of heading back to our house, we followed the folks back to their place.

For the first time, I was the one who asked for a family meeting. We gathered in the family room, and I explained the situation.

"That's sure enough a pickle", dad grunted. "If they're as good a farmers as you suspect, I'd hate to see 'em go belly up. This country needs folks like that, and there's too darned few of 'em left. Heck, if we had that kind of money, I'd lean towards taking a chance on lending it to them. We don't, though."

Grandpa looked at me, and spoke before I could. "I know what yer thinkin', young 'un", he said with a smile, "but if you was to pony up the cash, them infernal revenuers would be on you like buzzards on a carcass."

I wasn't feeling any better, until he added "There might just be a way, howsoever."

He had everybody's attention, now. "I happen to know", he continued, "of an auction comin' up next month over to Isabel. Feller there named Franklin had him a right nice farm, until that tractor an' him tangled up. His widow is sellin' out, an' I knew Kenny Franklin pretty well. Ain't nothin' on that place more'n five year old, an' it's all bought an' paid for. Kenny was a 'cash on the barrelhead' kind of feller. Didn't believe in credit, an' never used it."

"I know his wife, too", he added. "Elaine was just like him. They both hated them tax men, an' she wouldn't mind pullin' the wool over their eyes none. I figger since we're talking cash money, you could pay her what it's worth. The bill of sale don't necessarily have to say so, if you get my meaning. Ain't no law against her sellin' cheap, I believe."

It might be sneaky, and illegal, but it sure would solve the problem. There were a few reservations, but in the end, we let grandpa see about feeling out Elaine Franklin's feelings on the matter. If it worked out right, the machinery wouldn't even be part of the auction. It would be sold before that, to us.

It took almost fifteen minutes to get her answer. Grandpa said that almost all of that had been waiting for Elaine to get over the shock. All she had needed to hear was "cash money", and "fair market value". She had expected to get neither, and jumped on it. Defrauding the I.R.S. had been a bonus, as far as she was concerned. The extra, she promised, would never see the inside of a bank. Most of it wouldn't even be spent in the country.

That worked out pretty well for us. If she opened an account in the Cayman Islands, I could do a direct transfer into it. That way, the cash we had here could stay where it was. Except for the portion on paper, anyway. We set up a time to go look at it in two weeks. Next Saturday was the homecoming dance, so that wouldn't work. The next weekend was open, if the Perry's were willing. I still needed to find out that important detail.

Mom was all over that one. She was perturbed that we had new people in the community that she hadn't had a chance to meet. I had their number, along with everyone else's on the team. Mom handed me the phone, and I got the hint. John answered, and I talked to him for a minute before handing the phone off so our moms could talk.

Sunday dinner with all of us was arranged, but differently than mom had wanted. The folks had a pretty big dining room, but not big enough for sixteen people. The only place big enough for that, was ours. The girls planned on a really large family. Our dining room could handle over two dozen, easily. The commercial kitchen they had set up would make cooking for that many a snap, too.

Things got hectic after she hung up. For her and the girls, anyway. Dad, grandpa, and I, sought refuge on the porch. Mom gathered up everything she thought we would need for the dinner, and then some. Thankfully, the girls talked her out of packing pots, pans, and dishes. We had more than enough at our place, and more would just get in the way. We escaped as soon as we could, and went home to put the food she sent away.

That might sound easy, but it wasn't. Our freezer and refrigerator were already full, and the cabinets weren't much better. We had to conjure up duplicates in the cave to move some stuff. I was then politely informed that my services were no longer required until bedtime. They were getting things together for Sunday, and cleaning. I didn't see the need for the hurry, since it was only Friday night.

I decided to watch some television, and settled Barney Miller. We had put our own satellite dish in, and got the largest color television we could find. It turned out to be a waste of money, as far as I was concerned. Most of the shows I had liked before, weren't on anymore. Bob Newhart and Carol Burnett were pretty good. They were on tomorrow night, though. The only two shows I thought were even worth watching tonight, were this and MASH, which was on next.

I found some news after that, and caught up on events a little. It was a big news day, I discovered. Some crazy chick tried to shoot President Ford. She had been one of the idiots who followed Manson, so I guess it figured. What a nut job. As soon as I knew she failed in the attempt, I turned the T.V. off.

The conversation was lively that night, and centered on the Perrys. Two of them, in particular. Robin and Wendy were enigmas, and nobody really knew them at all. The girls seemed a lot more bothered about that than I was. I figured that if they didn't want to socialize, that was their business. None of us had any classes with them, and never got within ten feet of them. I didn't see what all the fuss was about. Heck, maybe they just needed time to adjust to a new place.

I got up early Saturday to do some cleaning of my own, along with the morning chores. That's right, chores. Those didn't go away when we moved, they followed us. It wasn't nearly as much, but they were there to be done. The only animals on the place were horses, but we had a few of those. Two dozen, in fact. They expected to be fed, watered, groomed, and exercised every day. One of them could be pretty obnoxious if I was even a few minutes late.

Diablo wasn't very happy with me anyway, even though he admitted the snakes were a pretty amusing little trick. The trouble was, he hadn't been ridden in over a week. I missed riding as much as he did, and decided to do something about it. Since he still wouldn't go near the snakes, a temporary solution had to be found.

I had a talk with Bernie, and she said that we should keep them all together in a cage, instead. If they were needed, it would simply be a matter of triggering a transportation spell that could be done in advance. The idea even had an added benefit. The snakes didn't care much for the spell, and would be even more pissed off.

The result was a morning ride for all of us, after we turned the rest of them out into the pasture and mucked out the stalls. The rules carried over, too. We were all armed with the usual items before we headed out. We didn't need them this time, but I knew dad was right when he told us "It's better to have 'em and not need 'em, than it is to need 'em and not have 'em!"

After we got back, I asked the girls how much we should show the Perrys of our place. Except for the most important thing, our abilities, it was decided that we should hide nothing. If these people were going to be our friends, we didn't want to keep anything from them that we didn't have to. Once that was over with, The others had me call the Perry's house to tell them to bring swimsuits.

I asked about riding, too. I guess it was a good thing I did, because Wendy and Robin had been trying to weasel out of coming until they heard that. Girls and horses. It works every time.

I was alone again most of the evening, but kept busy. I spent some time 'talking' to Smoky and Diablo, then watched a little television. Concentrating on the silly shows that were on wasn't easy. I kept wondering if letting other kids know how we lived was a good idea.

The part about me living with five girls wasn't half of it. This place looked huge from the outside, and was impressive enough. It was over a third larger, when you added the part not seen from the outside. I was worried about the reaction when they realized that we not only lived here alone, but that it belonged to us. They were going to find out that we had money, there wasn't any way around that. Mom and dad had insisted that if we were to do this, the Perrys would have to be told where the funds came from.

That was what worried me the most. I didn't want the guys treating me any differently than before. We weren't a bunch of spoiled rich kids, and I was concerned that they would treat us like they owed us something.

It was still bugging me when we went to bed, but my thoughts were quickly directed elsewhere. This would be the first time we entertained anyone, and the girls were excited about it. An excited Kelley was a handful all by herself. Four more ensured I was tired enough to sleep well. This time, I was thankful for the exhaustion.

We had just finished turning the horses into the pasture, when the folks pulled up. Mom had hauled a bunch more stuff, and I played pack mule again. Dad, grandpa, and I, made ourselves scarce as soon as we could.

They had seen the inside of the house, but I gave them a tour of the portion they hadn't seen. The cave impressed them quite a bit, especially the emergency shelter we had created at the rearmost part. We were kind of proud of it, ourselves. To me, the best part was how hard it was to find. The door looked like the end of the cave, and raised upwards. There was no latch to release, or raise it. It took a specific spell to open the door. Nothing else would work. Even explosives would be useless. I suppose it could be blasted open, but the mountain would cave in if it was tried.

Inside the shelter was a large bed, and supplies enough for a month. Grandpa asked what we would do if those ran out, and I assured him that it shouldn't be a problem. We had caches in other places that we could teleport in. My favorite part of the arrangement, and one I was proud of, was the fact that even magic shouldn't be able to detect anything but rock behind the door. That spell had taken a long time to create.

By that time, the football games had started, and we settled in to watch while the women slaved away in the kitchen. Mom stopped by, and I ended up on the receiving end of a glare from dad. There would be some serious remodeling going on at their house soon. Mom absolutely loved our kitchen.

Our guests showed up at noon, as we had asked them to. It would give everyone time to get to know one another before dinner. I guess all the heavy lifting was done by now in the kitchen, because the girls were released from duty. Mrs. Perry and mom stayed in there, though.

Mr. Perry got together with dad and grandpa, so the 'younger folks' headed off on our own. That was when we discovered that the Perry girls actually could talk.

They were twins, but fraternal. They looked a lot alike, but it was easy to tell them apart. Robin was a couple of inches taller than Wendy, and her hair was brown. Wendy's was black, and she wasn't quite as skinny as her sister.