Fisher was beginning to get a dazed look on his face. “ ‘Mind-asked.’ ‘Mind-talk.’ You mean what I think you mean, Jediah?” he asked.
“Reckon I do,” Jed said emphatically. “Just like I mind-talked with Ma this afternoon an’ tole her what all the hurrah was about jest ‘cause I flang them bullets through that big ol’ black spot.”
“You talked with your mother back in West Virginia this afternoon?” Harry pressed. “From the rifle range?”
“Shore did,” Jed said happily. “Most plumb forgot fer a couple o’ weeks now, what with us bein’ so con-sarned busy. It wuz purely fine to talk with Ma.”
Fisher’s brain was spinning. “Can you contact her anytime you want to?”
“Shore kin,” Jed said proudly. “It takes a mite more power though, the furthern I git from home. Or if Miz Hawkins is listenin’ in.”
“Let’s see you do it now,” Fisher demanded.
Jed shut his eyes. “Ma,” he thought, “you got time fer a chat?”
The lights went out all over the barracks. Harry Fisher fainted.
When he came to, he was lying on Jed’s bunk with the mountain boy leaning over him solicitously. “You all right, Harry?” Jed asked anxiously. “Ma’s worried ‘bout you.”
Harry fainted again.
When he came to the second time, Jed had gone running down the barracks aisle to Corporal Weisbaum’s room. Harry sat up and swung his feet over the edge of the bunk. He was light-headed and his brain was still whirling.
A minute later Jed came back leading Weisbaum. The corporal peered down at Fisher. “You sick ‘er some-thin’ Fisher?” he asked. “Get too much sun today?”
Harry shook his head. “No. I’m O.K. now, corporal. Must have been something I ate. I’ll be all right.”
Weisbaum reached down and felt Harry’s forehead. “You look kinda peaked to me. You hit the sack and if you don’t feel O.K. in the morning, I’ll put you on sick call.”
Harry shook his head again. “No need for that. I’ll be all right. I’m going outside and get some fresh air. Jed, will you give me a hand, please?”
He stood up shakily and Jed took his arm. “O.K.,” Weisbaum said, “but if you don’t feel so good, you’re going to the dispensary, you hear.” He went back to his room.
Harry and Jed walked out of the barracks into the night air. Fisher paused and breathed deeply, then turned to face Jed. “You always been able to mind-talk with your mother?” he asked.
“Why, shore,” Jed replied. “Most folks back home kin. Shore saves a heap o’ walkin’ over them hills.”
“And did the lights go out when you talked that way?” Harry inquired.
“Well now, I don’t rightly know,” Jed said. “Only place what has them lights close by is Paulsburg and that’s thutty miles from Owl Creek and us folks ain’t got much truck fer them big cities. Don’t reckon any of us ever been there more ‘n three-four times in our whole lives. But it shore happens in Paulsburg whenever we gossip thataway. Never thought nothin’ of it afore, though. Reckon, now that I study on it a mite, it’s ‘cause we got to use more of the power to reach across them hills. Ma once said she reckoned us Cromwells could mind-talk with the Empereer of all Roosha if’n we had to. ‘Course, we’d be straining our heads a mite fer all that distance ‘cause Ma says Roosha and England is a heap further from Bluebird Gulch ‘n even Madison. Or Fort McGruder, I reckon.”
Harry thought quietly for a moment.
“When was the last time you talked with your mother that way?” he asked.
“Don’t rightly know or remember jest when it wuz,” Jed replied. “Seems like it wuz ‘bout the fust week we wuz here. One night, in the barracks. I kinda got homesick I reckon, ‘cause that wuz the day I got cussed out for the first time in my whole, entire life.”
Harry smacked his clenched fist into his hand. “That’s it,” he cried. “That’s it. That was the night the lights went out three times in the barracks. The night Weisbaum made us take that five-mile moonlight hike because he thought someone was fooling with the lights.”
He grabbed Jed by the arm. “That was the night, wasn’t it, Jed?”
“Come to think of it,” Jed replied, “I reckon it wuz. There wuz such a hurrah when the lights kep a-goin’ out, I never did get to hear what Ma had to say. ‘N by the time we got back from that little walk, I plumb fer-got to ask her.
“You know somethin’ Harry, I plumb fergot what would happen to them lights. By gosh, I reckon I wuz the one what got us all in trouble. I jest reckon I better go ‘n tell the fellers I’m sorry ‘bout that.”
Fisher grabbed his sleeve. “Oh no you don’t,” he snapped. “You’re coming with me.”
Ten minutes later, two slightly scared recruits stood on the steps leading to the post commander’s quarters. Jed started back down the steps. Harry held tightly to his arm. “Come on,” he whispered savagely, “we’re going to talk with the colonel, Jed. Now don’t you go getting chicken on me, you hear.”
“Harry, I ain’t never even see’d no colonel, much less ‘n talk to one,” Jed said, “and I reckon I jest as soon not, if’n you don’t mind.”
“I do mind,” Harry snapped and pulled Jed up to the door.
Their ring was answered by a pretty, teenaged girl. She smiled inquiringly at the two young soldiers.
“Miss,” Harry stammered, “we’d like to talk with Colonel Cartwright, please.”
The girl turned into the house. “Dad,” she called, “someone to see you.”
Colonel William Cartwright came to the door. The light from the room glinted off the silver eagle on his collar. He looked at the two young soldiers. “What can I do for you men?” he asked.
“Sir,” Harry answered with a stiff salute and a quavering voice, “I’m Private Harry Fisher and this is Private Jediah Cromwell, sir.”
The colonel returned the salute. “All right, at ease. What do you want?”
Harry gulped and took a firm grip on his courage. “Sir,” he barked out, “are your house lights all in good working order?”
“What?” Cartwright exploded. “What the devil are you talking about, soldier?”
“Sir, we’ve got to show you something right now,” Harry stammered. “It’s urgent, colonel.”
“Now see here Fisher,” the colonel said, “we’ve got proper channels for any problems you might have and I don’t take care of those things at my quarters. I have an office in post headquarters and with the permission of your company commander, you can see my adjutant during duty hours. Or the chaplain.”
“Please, sir,” Harry gulped. “It’s awfully important.”
“Well,” the colonel hesitated, “this is most unusual.”
“Yes, sir, it is most unusual,” Harry agreed.
“All right,” the post commander sighed, “what is it?”
“Sir, are your house lights all working?” Harry repeated.
“Now look here, Fisher, if this is some sort of a gag, I’ll see that…”
“No, sir,” Harry repeated strenuously, “I really mean the question.”
The colonel glanced back over his shoulder into the house. He turned back to the pair. “Yes, the lights appear to be all functioning.”
Harry turned to Jed. “Talk to your mother, Jed,” he whispered.
Jed shut his eyes. “Ma,” he thought, “it’s me agin!”
The lights went out all over the colonel’s quarters.
Colonel Cartwright gasped and stared at the mountain boy standing with his eyes closed.
“All right, Jed,” Harry said, “break it off.”