pointed. "Those two framing members are unsafe. To spare the house any more damage from tearing them out, I'm going to cut away only the burned part now. That will get rid of any sparks that might be in them. But they must be taken out altogether and replaced when you make repairs." She nodded, and he went to the truck for the small chain saw.
****
On the day Claudette brought Al home, the new boards on the front porch were still bare wood, and the two younger Button kids were scraping scorched paint off the siding. He got out of the station wagon gingerly, to keep from putting any strain on the stitches, and reached back for the cane they'd issued him. He stopped and looked around. "For a guy who wasn't planning to hurt anybody, Holz and his goons sure made a mess."
Claudette sighed. "I guess it tells us we've got religious freedom in the laws, but it's not in the culture yet."
"Yeah. That'll probably take a couple of generations. If we're lucky."
"Oh, but speaking of the law, I forgot to tell you. The noon news said they decided on the charges for the three guys they caught. Burglary and reckless conduct."
"Not arson and assault?"
"Nope, the prosecutor said the fire was an accident, it wasn't set. And Rausch didn't stab you, you just ran into him while he had a knife in his hand." She fixed him with a mock-stern look. "You'd better not do anything like that again, Al Green. You're a lover, not a fighter, I oughta know."
John Stewart came across the yard to them. "Welcome back, Brother Green. We all prayed for you. How do you feel?"
Al couldn't help coming out with a quick laugh. "Like I got a knife in the leg. But thank you all. It looks like you got along fine without me."
"Hah, that could be debated. But the place is still standing, and the fields are tended. Dinner will be along in a bit, and you might like to put your feet up until then. But afterward, the whole college is to gather in the chapel. There are things we must decide."
Al made a face. "Oh goody, just what I wanted to come home to, a staff meeting."
John laid a hand on the station wagon's top and grinned. "Oh, aye, but no doot we could have a wee prayer meetin' afore it, eh? A prayer o' thanksgivin' or two, I should think." He switched back to up-time English. "But we've got to figure out what learning we can carry on for now with what we still have here, then which of the books we sent away we're most in need of, to be microfilmed right away. And then, what will be our first choices to reprint."
"Well, that'll be a busy enough agenda."
"Oh, we'll surely think of issues aplenty as we go along."
"Great. But I hear what you're saying. We're not gonna let the lunatic fringe slow us down for long."
Claudette looked up from unloading a few wound care supplies. "For pity's sake, was there ever any doubt?"
****
Excerpt from "Wild, Wild Heart" by Bill Staines used by the gracious permission of the author.
Burning Chickens by Eric S. Brown
Henry sat at the bar. He had barely touched his drink. It was an extremely boring day and what he really wanted was something to do.
A father and son were having a conversation at the other end of the bar. It was early in the day and the establishment was pretty much empty customer-wise, except for the three of them. Henry couldn't help but listen in on what they were talking about.
The son was droning on and on about seeing some "horror" movie at an up-timer's house in Grantville. He was as an energetic as they came. His father was shorter and heavy on the muscle.
Henry pegged them as farmers and sure enough, he was right. The father was complaining, long and loud, about some mule that kept getting out of his barn. Every day the guy was having to go coax the mule back inside.
With a grin, Henry got up and walked over to them. "Hey," he said, sliding into a chair next to them. "I think I can fix your mule problem."
The son stared at him with a rather unfriendly expression.
The father grunted. "That
****
On the day Claudette brought Al home, the new boards on the front porch were still bare wood, and the two younger Button kids were scraping scorched paint off the siding. He got out of the station wagon gingerly, to keep from putting any strain on the stitches, and reached back for the cane they'd issued him. He stopped and looked around. "For a guy who wasn't planning to hurt anybody, Holz and his goons sure made a mess."
Claudette sighed. "I guess it tells us we've got religious freedom in the laws, but it's not in the culture yet."
"Yeah. That'll probably take a couple of generations. If we're lucky."
"Oh, but speaking of the law, I forgot to tell you. The noon news said they decided on the charges for the three guys they caught. Burglary and reckless conduct."
"Not arson and assault?"
"Nope, the prosecutor said the fire was an accident, it wasn't set. And Rausch didn't stab you, you just ran into him while he had a knife in his hand." She fixed him with a mock-stern look. "You'd better not do anything like that again, Al Green. You're a lover, not a fighter, I oughta know."
John Stewart came across the yard to them. "Welcome back, Brother Green. We all prayed for you. How do you feel?"
Al couldn't help coming out with a quick laugh. "Like I got a knife in the leg. But thank you all. It looks like you got along fine without me."
"Hah, that could be debated. But the place is still standing, and the fields are tended. Dinner will be along in a bit, and you might like to put your feet up until then. But afterward, the whole college is to gather in the chapel. There are things we must decide."
Al made a face. "Oh goody, just what I wanted to come home to, a staff meeting."
John laid a hand on the station wagon's top and grinned. "Oh, aye, but no doot we could have a wee prayer meetin' afore it, eh? A prayer o' thanksgivin' or two, I should think." He switched back to up-time English. "But we've got to figure out what learning we can carry on for now with what we still have here, then which of the books we sent away we're most in need of, to be microfilmed right away. And then, what will be our first choices to reprint."
"Well, that'll be a busy enough agenda."
"Oh, we'll surely think of issues aplenty as we go along."
"Great. But I hear what you're saying. We're not gonna let the lunatic fringe slow us down for long."
Claudette looked up from unloading a few wound care supplies. "For pity's sake, was there ever any doubt?"
****
Excerpt from "Wild, Wild Heart" by Bill Staines used by the gracious permission of the author.
Burning Chickens by Eric S. Brown
Henry sat at the bar. He had barely touched his drink. It was an extremely boring day and what he really wanted was something to do.
A father and son were having a conversation at the other end of the bar. It was early in the day and the establishment was pretty much empty customer-wise, except for the three of them. Henry couldn't help but listen in on what they were talking about.
The son was droning on and on about seeing some "horror" movie at an up-timer's house in Grantville. He was as an energetic as they came. His father was shorter and heavy on the muscle.
Henry pegged them as farmers and sure enough, he was right. The father was complaining, long and loud, about some mule that kept getting out of his barn. Every day the guy was having to go coax the mule back inside.
With a grin, Henry got up and walked over to them. "Hey," he said, sliding into a chair next to them. "I think I can fix your mule problem."
The son stared at him with a rather unfriendly expression.
The father grunted. "That
Similar Books
Space Station Crisis: Star Challengers Book 2
Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, June Scobee Rodgers
