Zeke Barked And Barked!

 In the back of the Sitting Room everyone could hear Whitlee Jo say over and over "Marnee, Marnee, Marnee. He'p! Marnee Marnee He'p!" No one could figure out what she was trying to say except Marlee. Marlee said, "Whitlee wants to know if Marlee Ada got help because she was going to fall in the well. Remember? She was trying to get water up out of the well with a bucket and it was too heavy. She wanted to take a soak in an old tub like her ma used to do. I hope she didn't fall in."

Grandma Lu's face was very serious. "Yes, Marlee, that's exactly right. She was too little to bring up a heavy bucket of water, wasn't she? She was holding on to the rope as tight as she could but she could feel herself slipping. She was so scared she wasn't thinking right. She should have let go of the rope, shouldn't she?"

Marlee Ada's pa was out in the fields and so were her brothers, but Zeke was there wasn't he? Zeke knew immediately that Marlee Ada was in trouble and started barking his head off. He ran to the house and jumped up to the window and barked and barked, but no one was there. 

When no one came to the door he ran as fast as he could to the well and barked some more. His loud barking had gotten the attention of the neighbor children. They were on their way and so was Marlee Ada's pa and brothers.  They decided that something was wrong over at the Banister's so they ran through the fields to see if they could help.

When Marlee Ada's pa drove the team of horses into the yard he jumped down and ran as fast as he could to the well. He grabbed Marlee Ada and hugged her as tight as he could. He was so happy she didn't fall into the well. And Zeke got all kinds of hugs too because if it wasn't for Zeke's barking Marlee Ada might have gotten hurt really bad, wouldn't she?"

"When they got to the house Pa had a lot of questions like why was she trying to get water out of the well. After Marlee Ada told him about her ma taking a soak in an old tub he closed his eyes and said to himself, "Oh, how I miss you, Catherine. Our girl needs a ma. I sent for a woman that can hopefully care for our young ones and keep them safe. Hopefully she will  arrive soon. It has been months and it soon will be winter."