Zeely by Virginia Hamilton Page A

hogs came on in a mass.
    “There’s the mist over everything,” she whispered to herself. “It makes the street all wet and shining. Look how the sun comes through in patches. There’s not a thing to say about it, it’s a special day to the stars. Zeely Tayber is the brightest star of all!”
    The hogs looked as if they were half crazed from fear. Many of them frothed at the mouth and staggered blindly in circles. Nat Tayber and his boys managed to get in front of them to slow the lead animals down. It was a wonder the boys and Nat didn’t get bitten, for the hogs snapped at and fought anything that got in their path.
    All the time, Toeboy struggled to free himself, but Geeder grimly held him. The odor and sight of the frightened, exhausted animals sickened her.
    “They’ll be all right,” she said softly to Toeboy. “You’ll see, nobody will hurt them.”
    Through the street passed Zeely Tayber, her long smock brilliant in the mist. She moved straight and tall. Often, a fresh gust of breeze billowed the smock, causing her to appear to rise above the animals. She was taller than any of the men along the curbs and taller than the young trees lining the street. Through all the terrific noise and brutal movement, she made no sudden motion, nor did her face change from its serenity.
    “Oh, she’s just wonderful!” Geeder whispered. “She’s just the most beautiful lady!”
    And so Zeely was. She was beautiful and tall and unlike anyone else in the whole town.
    Suddenly an enormous sow fell. She frothed at the mouth and grunted, as though something hurt her. Other hogs trampled her and still she was unable to move.
    “That’s awful!” Geeder said. “Oh, somebody do something!”
    Toeboy jerked free from Geeder and instantly disappeared back in the crowd.
    “Well, you just go home then,” Geeder muttered.
    Someone was shouting, “A sow’s fallen! A sow’s fallen!” The injured sow still lay grunting in the street. Other folks began shouting the same thing, and in a while, Nat Tayber raced back through the animals.
    Something happened to Geeder when she saw Nat heading for the sow. Her face grew burning hot and her arms felt cold. She was in the street before she knew it. She was going away from Nat toward Zeely, who was still at the rear of the line of animals.
    Geeder could hear people shouting at her to get out of the way before she was trampled. Once, somebody reached for her. She felt the sharp prick of fingernails as she pulled away. All of them, the people shouting and the one person who had tried to hold her back, seemed far away. She didn’t think about anything except hurrying.
    She was running. She got in the way of a hog. Some animals snapped at her, knocking into her; she was crying a little, from somewhere in her throat. There was pain in her left foot where a big boar had stepped on her. The stench of the animals made her legs weak. She almost fell, but then Zeely was just ahead. Geeder had to step between two sows to get to her. She placed her hand as lightly as she could on the back of one animal in order to get around it. The heat of the hog shot up her arm and she gasped in terror.
    The crowd roared in Geeder’s mind. She couldn’t think what they were saying because the sound ebbed and rose, like many voices over the radio when there is too much static.
    Miss Zeely was standing still. Miss Zeely was staring at her.
    Zeely Tayber moved to shield Geeder from the hogs. She didn’t touch Geeder, but leaned over her. Geeder started talking before Zeely had a chance to warn her out of the way of the hogs.
    “It’s a sow,” Geeder said. She rested one hand on her knee, trying to catch her breath. “It’s all sick in the street, just lying down. Nat . . . your father. He’s got his pole!”
    Geeder straightened up too quickly. There was a stitch in her side that took her breath away. She had to bend down and come up slowly before the pain eased. Then, Zeely had Geeder by the