Read Online The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker by Cynthia DeFelice - Free Book Online

her.
    â€œHe’d like you to pay a visit to the Stukeley family today,” Mrs. Bunce went on. “After you’ve finished up your chores,” she added.
    â€œAre you sure?” asked Lucas uncertainly. “Mr. Stukeley said he wouldn’t be needing Doc anymore.”
    â€œYes, Uriah said that Mr. Stukeley had made that clear. However, he said he can’t help wondering how the girl—what’s her name?”
    â€œSarah,” Lucas answered.
    â€œHow Sarah is faring. You know how he is. I tell him he’s more concerned for his patients than they are for themselves.” Shaking her head, Mrs. Bunce sighed. “In any event, he seems to think you could pay a visit without appearing to intrude. There’s a girl about your age you could call on?”
    â€œLydia,” Lucas supplied eagerly, feeling his neck flush. He found that he did want to see Lydia Stukeley again, and he very much liked the idea of another trip through the countryside. The fact that Doc trusted him to make such a trip alone pleased him greatly. And while the sorrow that hung over the Stukeley household was a painful reminder of his own losses he, too, wanted to know if Sarah was any better.
    â€œAll right,” said Lucas.
    â€œYou’re to take Jasper,” said Mrs. Bunce.
    Lucas nodded happily. Jasper would be good company.
    Â 
    It seemed to Lucas that Mrs. Bunce was determined to get as much work out of him as she could, with Doc out of the way. By the time he finished up his chores, it was the middle of the afternoon.
    The sky was flat and gray, threatening more snow, when Lucas finally headed out of town. Sitting astride Jasper, breathing deeply of the sharp winter air as it mingled with the steamy warmth rising from the horse’s broad back, he wished more than ever that he had asked Doc about the cure and why he hadn’t used it for Sarah.
    He recalled overhearing Mr. Stukeley’s grim voice saying, “I heard about a cure. And, by God, I aim to try it.” If Sarah was no better, he decided he’d tell the Stukeleys what Oliver Rood had told him. He had a feeling it would be no surprise to Lewis Stukeley.
    Following roughly the same route he’d ridden over with Doc two days before, he arrived within sight of the Stukeley farm just before dusk. He tied Jasper and was about to knock on the door when he saw dark figures silhouetted on the hillside.
    Squinting his eyes, he made out Mr. and Mrs. Stukeley, and the smaller figures of Lydia and her little brother, Samuel. Mr. Stukeley held a shovel in his hand. Lucas almost hollered a greeting, but something about the stillness of the huddled group stopped him. As he drew nearer, he saw that their heads were bowed in prayer. His heart gave a sickening lurch. Sarah! They were burying Sarah. Filled with dread, Lucas waited a distance apart.
    When the family raised their heads, Lydia caught sight of him. “Here’s Lucas,” she said. A smile crossed her face. Then she quickly grew somber again.
    Mr. Stukeley nodded. Mrs. Stukeley looked at her husband uneasily before she said quietly, “Good day, Lucas.”
    The family stood frozen, staring at him. There was no hole in the ground, no wooden box. Lucas had the strong sense that he had interrupted them, but not, thank goodness, in burying Sarah.
    Under a small stand of hickory trees, Lucas could see flat fieldstones set upright in the ground. Without asking, he knew that they marked the graves of Lydia’s brothers and sisters, along with others of the Stukeleys’ relatives and ancestors.
    â€œI—Doc wanted me—I mean, I wanted to know how Sarah—if the plasters helped her any,” he stammered.
    â€œShe’s dying,” Lewis Stukeley said. His voice was soft, but in it Lucas could hear anger and something else. Determination. “And we aim to do what we can for her.”
    â€œYes, sir,” said Lucas. Looking again at the shovel