The Hard Land-Part 28

Frank plunged the tines of the Jackson fork into the pile of hay and motioned to his son Hank. Hank kicked the mare in the flanks, and she began to move forward. With its load of hay, the fork started to rise, and Frank let the trip rope slip through his gloved hands.

He watched the hay soar through the air as Earl pulled on the guide rope, guiding the fork into just the right place on the growing haystack. At Earl’s signal, gave a tug on the trip rope and the pile of hay fell into place where, with little effort, Earl used his pitchfork to keep the stack level. Frank motioned for Hank to back the mare up and the fork dropped down for another load.

Frank straightened from pushing the fork into the hay when he saw Charlotte running from the house, her dress flapping in the wind. He looked up in the sky to see if the sun was directly overhead signaling lunchtime, but it was barely halfway up the sky. Something was wrong.