Books: Nostalgia

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"A short distance away on the ice I saw a sturdy wooden stake some three or four feet long and as thick as my arm. . . . Joe did not see me coming and as I skated up behind him his head made a perfect target. I gripped the stake in both hands and put everything I had into my swing. It struck Joe's head . . . like a home run —and the fight was over. . . . The speed of my attack had carried me past, and by the time that I could . . . turn back, he was lying prostrate in a pool of blood, surrounded by a crowd of horrified schoolboys."

Sure he had killed Joe (who soon recovered), Bellamy went home. "What brings you home?" asked his surprised mother, "you didn't break through the ice, did you?" "Why no—I didn't break through." "As I stood there before her the voice of conscience kept whispering, 'Murder will out! Murder will out!' . . . I couldn't keep my teeth from chattering. . . ." "Why, you have a raging fever," she said, "I must get you into bed this very minute."

When Lawyer Partridge came home for midday dinner, Bellamy knew he was in for a crossexamination. " 'How was the ice?' asked Father. 'Fine.' 'Why didn't you stay?' 'I—I—I got cold.' 'But it isn't very cold today.' I realized at once that I had given the wrong answer and I began to hedge. ... As he stood there stroking his beard and looking at me I heard the door slam and Herb's voice from down stairs asking where I was. ... I tried to think of a way to warn him of Father's presence . . . but my mind would not work fast enough. . . .

"I certainly admired the way he acted when he suddenly saw Father standing there. . . . 'Hello, Pop,' he said casually, 'Didn't know you were home. When do we eat? . . .' 'What's the matter with you?' Herb [asked his brother]. . . . 'He's running a little fever,' said Father. . . . Herb shook his head. 'That's funny. He was having as good a time as anybody up there—and the first thing I knew he was gone.' I looked at Herb with admiration. ... He was so calm, so unperturbed. . . . The dinner bell rang. . . . 'Don't lag, Herb,' said [Father], 'and don't forget to wash your hands.' Herb listened at the door until he was sure Father was out of earshot, and then turned to me and said, 'Joe never knew what hit him!' '

Big Family is not all about Boy Town and fist fights. There are Mother's efforts to make both ends meet, Grandma's efforts to break up the children's ungodly card playing. Grandma found that burning a whole pack of cards in the stove in her room was too much bother, so she sabotaged sin by slyly removing just one card from each new deck. It was always the ace of spades, and Author Partridge believes the old lady thought the ace was the devil's hoofprint.