arry was fortunate that he took his honeymoon when he did. The last week in April was unusually warm for that high latitude. The temperature got into the middle 70s and a nice breeze dried out the land. Jack was already on some of his fields on the Thursday that the Waverlys were gone. Rick was concerned. He thought he should be starting on Larry's land. Jack explained that most of Larry's land was more clay, not as loamy as his, and probably would still be too wet. It would be fine until Larry got home by Monday. Anyway, Larry's dad was doing the chores. If he thought the land should be worked, he'd do it.
Spring wasn't as physically hard as harvest but it required long hours. If one had a good weather day, the work went on from as soon as it was light enough until it was so dark that it was impossible to see. Freddy was now doing all the milking but the final stripping and taking the cans to the milk house. Jack would come back from the field; strip each cow just to be sure Freddy got it all. Jack was pleased and surprised. Freddy's hands had gotten much stronger. The boy had all but the last few completely stripped. Jack would then take the cans to the milk house and head right back to the tilling.
All fields, except those that had had grain last year and were going to hay this year, had to be plowed. When grain was sown, clover, alfalfa, timothy or whatever type hay was desired was sown at the same time. Timothy probably would not be sown as much when the war was over. Timothy was good horse hay and when more tractors were available, the horses would be gone. Cows liked the clovers, alfalfa and other grasses. Drills had a section for the grain seed, the hay seen and fertilizer. If sowing sugar beets or navy beans, hayseed was not sown.
Rick insisted on walking back to Larry's to help "Grandpa" Waverly with the morning and evening chores. It wasn't that far. Grandpa Waverly also thought the fieldwork could wait until Larry and Dotty got home.
Many days, Millie didn't see her dad. He was in the field before she got up and still out there when she went to bed. Jack used his Oliver 66 Row Crop. On Saturdays, Freddy usually drove one of the teams, usually Dick and Bess, on a disk or a drag. Since Ray Simmons was killed driving a cultipacker, Jack wouldn't let Freddy on one. Actually Jacks soil was lighter and there was no need to use a heavy implement for breaking us clods.
Ray's death was an unfortunate accident. The footrest was not tight and Ray must have put too much weight on one of his feet and fell in front of the implement. When the heavy machine was over his chest he must have called whoa to the horses. After what was probably several hours his father noticed the horses just standing there. He went to check and found his eleven-year-old oldest son dead. The community never did hear if the boy has suffocated or died from internal injuries. Most people thought it was suffocation. Some claimed if the boy had not yelled, "Whoa," the implement would have roller over his head; caused some injury but probably not crushed his head or even fractured his skull.
Jack got a lot done. The weather cooperated until Friday, about noon. It was a good rain. About half his fields were "in" and a nice gentle rain was welcome. He hoped he'd have the same luck with the rest of his fields.
Millie was pleased to see her dad sitting, resting and relaxing in the mudroom. It was too early to do chores and Jack was using the time to catch up on the news. When Millie came in, he folded the paper, took the girl's hand and kissed it. He was too sweaty and dirty to hug her. She had lived on a farm all her life and even though she wanted a hug, she understood his actions.
Jack greeted Em and finally Rick and Freddy when they came in. The boys had taken a few minutes to play with the dog.
"You guys get those wet clothes off. It's probably too warm to get sick but warm or cold, wet clothes on your mom's furniture is sure to cause an uproar.
"Tell Millie to come back here a minute."
When Millie came back into the mudroom, Jack handed her the paper, his thumb indicating a particular article. "Read this."
Millie read for only a short time then turned white. "What happened to Janet?"
"I don't think the police even know about her. The paper doesn't mention her."
What the article did say was that a woman, identified as Sadie May Hartley, had been gored by a bull while attempting to help butcher a heifer on a farm east of the town of Willis. Police had been called when the farmer was awakened by the screams of her accomplice, tentatively identified as Karl Nomanski of Detroit. Identification was made by a driver's license carried by the man. He is not cooperating with police, other than identifying his accomplice, so investigators do not know if the license was issued to the accused or if it was stolen. The accused was attacked by the bull while trying to climb a barbed wire fence. Between the bull and the barbed wire, he was badly bruised and cut. He had survived and was arrested for theft - cattle rustling - and suspicion of black marketing. Sadie Mae Hartley had not survived.
Irene and Jack had four very emotional children on their hands for at least an hour. All were crying except Freddy. Freddy was concerned but he only knew the school Janet and had not been told of the event at the Halloween party. Freddy was concerned because Janet was a human being, a person he knew. The fact that he didn't like her much was of no importance to him right now. She was a child, a child he knew, a child in need of help. The fact that he knew Janet was not of that much importance either. Because of their upbringing and their nature, Millie and he would have been concerned for any child experiencing what they imagined Janet was might be experiencing.
Millie knew what had happened the night of the Halloween Party so her tears were understood by her parents. It was Em and Ricky whose commiseration was almost overwhelming them. Both shook with sobs. It was obvious that both needed some solicitous affection. Irene took Em on her lap and Jack took Rick. It was several minutes before either child began to calm down. When his sobbing decreased to the point that he could talk, Rick said, "She wasn't like she was at school. She was mostly scared. She told me once that the only people who ever loved her were my mom and Lar ... my dad. She played at our house a lot. She stayed away from her mom as much as she could. We need to try to help her. Can we call my mom and dad?"
"They're probably on their way home. They said they'd be back tonight, remember? In the meantime, I'll make some calls. You OK now?"
Rick nodded and Jack stood him on the floor and went to the phone.
The Huron County sheriff contacted the Detroit Police Department. Detroit police had little to go on but began a search for Janet. They had little to go on because Karl Nomanski was still not talking. He would tell them nothing about where Janet might be.
The only real clue the police had was the car used in the attempted theft. Pictures of the car, each side and front and rear, were distributed to all Detroit precincts hoping that a beat officer might have seen the car in a particular neighborhood. The driver's side rear door was badly dented and there were other identifying dents and scratches on various area of the car. Now, it was just a matter of waiting and hoping.
When the Waverlys got home, the first thing Larry did was call his brother-in-law in Detroit. Timothy Collier was politically very prominent and powerful. He was Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, well known in Detroit legal, political and social circles and when necessary, feared. When he thought a thing was right, he got it and when necessary his methods, though always legal, were tough and those on whom such methods were used did not soon forget them.
The following Monday, Tim called the Detroit Chief of police and made it clear that finding Janet was to be top priority.
Janet was almost catatonic in fear. She was alone. Karl and her mother had left a week ago. Janet knew that she wasn't loved but she was at least fed. Now there was no food. The apartment had no bathroom and she used the one down the hall only when she had to but she was afraid to take a bath there. There was no lock on the door.
The first day she thought they'd be back. She cried most of the second day but by the third day, she seemed to have no tears left. She just sat and stared and worried. What would she do? Maybe she should just wait until she died. Nobody loved her - except Larry.
Larry, she had to get to Larry. But how? Maybe it was thinking about Larry that wouldn't let her cry. She didn't know. She didn't even know what was outside that window even though she had stared out of it for days.
Millie and the Distaff Quartet were busy writing letters: to the governor, to the Local Congressmen both local and national, to the Michigan Senators, to President Truman, to the Detroit Chief of Police, to the Huron County Sheriff, to everyone they could think of. The content of all the letters was pretty much the same. Janet was very scared. She was very alone and she was only 11 years old. She was a friend. DO SOMETHING!
Millie was determined that she was going to get this solved. She even convinced the boys to write letters. Rick didn't take much convincing but he had trouble getting to it. When he wasn't worrying, he was crying. Dotty and Larry were as comforting as they could be. They were worried too but Janet had spent so much time at Dotty's that she was like a sister to Rick and, anyway, she was 11, like Rick and she was a girl. Rick knew that if he would be scared in a situation like Janet's, a girl would definitely be scared. Eventually, Millie had Freddy, Dallas, Rick and Danny writing letters. Millie wanted to call those people but long distance cost too much. Millie did succeed in getting her whole class involved, even Suzy. After more than 100 letters, the Wayne County Sheriff called Tim Collier and ask him to convince those kids in Elkton that everything possible was being done and they were sure they'd find Janet and that she would be well taken care of. Everything would be fine. Just give them time.