Read Online Across the Border by Arleta Richardson - Free Book Online

This is your house.”
    Polly was speechless. Sun-dried bricks of mud, water, and straw were the materials used for the structure. Through the open door, she could see the floor, hard packed and smooth, but undeniably dirt. The windows had no glass in them, but wooden shutters on the outside of the house would keep out the cold and rain. The roof was bright-red tile.
    While Ethan helped the men unload the wagon, and the other children ran through the yard, Polly, Manda, and Frances stepped into the large room and looked around.
    â€œWell, it is big,” Manda said as cheerfully as she could. “I think we can put up curtains to make separate bedrooms.”
    â€œI thought bedrooms was s’posed to have beds in ’em,” Polly said. “Them little sacks on the floor is what we sleep on?”
    Reymundo set down the boxes he was bringing from the wagon. “We’ll fill them with fresh straw, Señora. The cots are folded up in the corner.” He quickly unrolled a piece of heavy canvas and set up a low wooden frame.
    â€œWhat do you know! I ain’t slept on a straw tick since I was a child.” Then, seeing the concern on Reymundo’s face, Polly added hastily, “I remember how I loved to smell ’em.”
    The rest of the furniture was easy to identify. There was a large table, chairs, a dresser, and a cupboard. Upon examination the cupboard proved to contain heavy pottery plates, bowls, and cups. A drawer revealed pewter eating utensils with bone handles. These seemed to be all the household goods that had been provided.
    Reymundo looked nervous as he watched Manda and Polly survey the house. Neither had the heart to show him how dismayed they were, so they smiled bravely.
    â€œMy, my. It certainly is clean!” Manda said.
    Reymundo looked relieved. “Sí. Carlotta scrubbed everything for you. She wants you to be happy here.”
    When he left to help the men finish unpacking the wagon, Polly whispered to Manda, “I knew as soon as I saw this place that there weren’t no kitchen in here. Do I go to cookin’ outdoors again?”
    At that moment Frances poked her head in through a back window and glanced around outside. “Your kitchen is leaning up against the house.”
    â€œDoes it got a stove?” Polly asked.
    â€œI think so. I guess that’s what this is.” Together they studied the adobe structure. It contained a hollowed-out space to make a fire and an iron grate across the top to hold pots and pans. It stood in the middle of a small room.
    Polly circled it. “I don’t see no oven door. Where do you put in your bread and pies to bake?” She looked up at the ceiling. “If this ain’t just like an Indian tepee! The smoke goes right out the roof. I declare! Did you ever see the like?” She continued to gaze around the room. “At least there’s shelves here and some pots to cook in. And they’re clean. Now if I knew what I had in the way of food, I’d feel better.”

Chapter Nine
Polly’s Adventure
    Polly trudged down the road toward the village market. With a basket over her arm and a shawl over her head, she looked like the other women headed in the same direction. She still wasn’t used to calling the long, fringed shawl a rebozo, although she had to admit that it was a handy piece of clothing. It kept the sun from beating down on her head, and Polly had observed that it was used as a covering for the mouth and nose when a sharp gust of wind blew sand through the air. The Mexican women would also tie the ends together and use the shawl to carry things.
    A burro with two loaded baskets on his back came up behind her, and Polly stepped off the road to let him and his owner go by.
    â€œ Buenos días, Señora ,”the man said, and Polly smiled and nodded. These people were friendly, even if she didn’t know what they were saying most of the time. The Rush family had