Food for Thought

Benjamin left for the barn. A pale sun shone through a haze, and Benjamin noticed that today was cooler than normal. The harvest was going to come early. It was going to be a lean year, but not a disasterous one. The wagons of the landless farmers were already arriving further up the creek for the harvest. These workers would supplement Benjamin's extended family in gathering the grain harvest. The hired hands knew Benjamin as a tight man, but fair, and prompt in paying wages. For those who could not afford to maintain and protect farms of their own, Benjamin's establishment provided a safe haven. "I would not want any of them to see the harpy. Lord knows that there are still Ians among them willing to create trouble."

Benjamin opened the large door to the barn, and looked into the cowpen. He smiled. Two wide-open eyes peered out for a second from underneath a stack of hay. As he approached they quickly disappeared under a black blanket of wing partly enveloped in straw.

"It's me!" he announced playfully. "Nice try, but I see you clearly."

Checkers stood up and shook out her wings to dislodge the straw, and retracted them to their non-flying position. She was dissheveled after her stay in the cowpen, with straw sticking to her oversized clothes and unruly locks of hair falling on her shoulders. She did not ask the question that she wanted to ask - "Why did you not turn me in to the riders?" She was afraid that he might be regretting this. Instead, she asked, "Am I safe now?"

"Safer, I would say, but in this country you will never be safe. You will need to be on your guard, but the dogs should alert us to prying eyes. I have come to fetch you for dinner."

Checkers had forgotten about the dinner invitation in all the excitement. She stammered, afraid of making a bad impression on her hosts. "I forgot about that. I need some time to neaten this outfit up a little bit, and my hair ..."

Benjamin cut her off. "You are coming now. My wife will make sure that you look right, according to the customs of our country." He told himself, "She is trying to pull the same nonsense that Mary sometimes pulls. If I don't get her out of here now, she going to take an hour doing Lord knows what, and I am getting hungry. Some things stay the same, I reckon."

Mary had set their dinner on a long wooden table. In the middle was a large serving bowl of a beef stew, with an undecorated ladel. A bowl of apples, somewhat past their prime, flanked one side. On the other was a loaf of coarse rye bread. Small earthen bowls and a spoon marked three places at the table. Three greasy brownish candles would provide light. If Benjamin allowed his guest to live, these would be needed for a conversation likely to extend into the evening.

After Mary had fussed over Checkers' clothes and fixed her hair, an impatient and hungry Benjamin assumed the center seat at the long table. Mary understood the hint, assured Checkers that she looked grand, and moved over to the table with Checkers. Both women took a seat. Benjamin then said grace. Checkers thought this odd, as

1. the language that Benjamin used sounded familiar, yet it was not one that she could understand.
2. Gliders usually prayed just after the meal was killed, not before it was served.

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