The Waif and the Ferryman (standard:drama, 2325 words)
Author: Ian Hobson	Added: Feb 06 2009	Views/Reads: 3398/2269	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
'Bad boy!' Thomas shouted, leaving the bull and rushing across the deck to stop the donkey from eating Mary's flowers.

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handful and was walking back towards the ferry when a boy leading a 
donkey, laden with two large sacks of carrots, arrived. 

Old Ben had seen the boy and come across from his cottage. 'Ah, young
Thomas,' he said, 'going to market?' 

'Yes,' said the boy.  He let go of the leather thong that was looped
around the donkey's neck and head and felt in his pocket for his fare. 

'Well that will be a penny for you and two for your donkey,' said Ben,
holding out his hand. 

'But I only have two pennies and a halfpenny,' said Thomas, looking
hopeful. 

Old Ben pulled a face but said, 'Well, I suppose that'll have to do.  On
you get then.' 

The boy's donkey had begun to eat the grass on the riverbank, but taking
hold of the crude leather bridle again, Thomas pulled him towards the 
ferry.  The donkey was reluctant to leave the riverbank, but with a 
little encouragement, and a carrot that the boy pulled from his pocket, 
he stepped noisily onto the wooden boarding platform and then over the 
shallow side of the boat and onto the deck. 

'You too,' Ben said to Mary, as he untied a rope that tethered the boat
to the riverbank, before stepping aboard himself.  The ferryboat had 
dipped slightly with the added weight, so Mary effortlessly jumped 
aboard, deciding to give the ferryman his flowers after they had 
crossed the river. 

'Hold on there, Ben!'  Old Ben looked up to see a man leading a bull, so
he quickly stepped back onto the boarding platform and retied the 
tether.  'Thanks for waiting,' said the man, 'I'm late as it is.'  The 
man, a farmer who lived a little over two miles from the river, was one 
of Ben's most regular customers. 

'No matter, Jack,' said Ben, 'and if you'll give me a hand with the
pullin' across, I'll only ask three pennies.' 

'Aye, that's fine wi' me,' replied the farmer, pulling on a ring in the
bull's nose.  'Move up there young 'uns.' Mary moved to the other end 
of the deck, while Thomas pulled on his donkey's harness again, making 
the animal take more reluctant steps forward and closer to the front of 
the boat.  Then the ferryboat settled deeper into the water as Farmer 
Jack and his bull came on board.  The bull seemed docile enough, though 
Mary kept well out of its way, staying close to the boy and his donkey. 
Ben knelt to untie the tether again. 

'Do you have room for one more?'  An old woman was standing on the
loading platform, her face shadowed by the hooded cloak that she wore.  
Ben seemed quite startled as he had not seen her arrive, but he nodded 
and she stepped lightly over the side of the boat, as though it was 
something she had done many times before. 

'Right,' said Ben.  'Let's get her across then.'  He untied the tether
and got back on board, and Mary and Thomas watched as he moved towards 
the front of the boat and took hold of the ferry rope.  The rope ran 
between two pairs of posts that stood at each corner of the upstream 
side of the ferry. 

'Will one of you youngsters hold the bull for me while I help Ben?' the
farmer asked, showing Mary and Thomas how to keep one finger in the 
bull's nose ring.  'He's no trouble, but if one of you'll hold him like 
this, he'll feel better for it and keep still.'  Mary shook her head 
and pulled a face, she was already closer to the bull than she wanted 
to be.  She looked towards the old woman who lifted her head and 
smiled. 

I'll hold him,' said Thomas and, letting go of his donkey's bridle, he
stepped over to the bull and put a finger in his nose ring. 

'Thanks,' said the farmer.  'Right, then.'  He took hold of the ferry
rope with both hands.  'Ready, Ben?' 

'Aye, Jack.' 

As the two men pulled, the ferryboat slowly left the riverbank.  Thomas
had crossed the river this way many times, but was still fascinated by 
the way the big flat-bottomed boat moved out towards the centre of the 
river when Ben pulled on the rope; and with the farmer helping, it 
didn't seem to matter that it was so low in the water. 

'My flowers!' 

Thomas's donkey had taken the opportunity to stretch his neck towards
Mary and snatch a mouthful of her flowers.  Mary pulled away but the 
donkey wanted more and followed her across the deck. 

'Bad boy!' Thomas shouted, leaving the bull and rushing across the deck
to stop the donkey from eating Mary's flowers.  But his shouting upset 
the bull and he bellowed loudly and trotted after Thomas, causing the 
deck to sway beneath everyone's feet. 

'No!' yelled Farmer Jack as he stopped pulling on the ferry rope and
tried to steady his bull.  But the bull's bellowing had upset the 
donkey and he began to heehaw loudly and then kicked with his hind 
legs, catching the farmer on the shin.  'Agh!'  Jack grabbed the shin 
of his left leg and hopped up and down on his right, while his bull, 
deciding that he too would like a mouthful of Mary's flowers, trotted 
forward again, knocking Jack and Thomas over, and tipping the ferryboat 
so much that Mary almost fell over the side. 

With all but the old woman at the front of the boat, the deck was now
tilting steeply, so Mary threw what was left of her flowers into the 
river and grabbed hold of the boat's side, while old Ben left the rope 
and clambered over Jack to try and pull the bull towards the back of 
the boat before it began to take on water.  But he was too late: one 
corner of the boat went below the surface of the river and, as water 
rushed in, Mary lost her grip and fell over the side with a splash. 

'Help!' she cried.  'I can't swim!' 

As the ferry tilted under the added weight of the water that was flowing
over the side, the bull slid forward making it tilt even more. 

'Help me get the bull to the back!' old Ben shouted as he grabbed the
bull's tail and started to pull it.  'Help me before we sink!' 

Farmer Jack, now back on his feet but up to his knees in water, tried to
reach for the bull's nose ring, but the beast had a mind of his own and 
leapt over the side and into the water, immediately followed by the 
donkey, still laden with the two sacks of carrots.  And as the animals 
swam towards the far riverbank, the ferryboat righted itself, sending a 
small tide of water towards the old lady who seemed quite unperturbed. 

Thomas, who was now soaking wet from head to foot, got to his feet and
looked downstream. 'The little girl!' he shouted.  'Look she's going to 
drown!'  Mary was drifting away, frantically thrashing her arms about 
and barely keeping her head above water. 

'What a morning!' exclaimed Ben.  'I wish I'd never got out of bed.'  He
tore off his jacket and his waistcoat and handed them to Thomas.  'Hold 
these,' he said, and then he stepped up onto the side of the boat and 
dived headlong into the water and began to swim towards Mary.  Farmer 
Jack was more concerned about his bull, but was relieved to see the 
animal reach the far riverbank and scramble ashore, quickly followed by 
the donkey.  But Thomas, watched as old Ben swam towards Mary, soon 
reaching her and grabbing a handful of her hair as she went under. 

'Wrap your arms around my neck,' said Ben, breathlessly, after pulling
Mary's head back above the surface of the water.  Mary was coughing and 
spluttering, and shivering with cold and fear, but she grabbed the old 
man's shirt collar with one hand and wrapped first one arm, and then 
the other, tightly around his neck, while he struck out towards the 
nearest riverbank.  But Ben found that swimming with a little girl with 
arms wrapped tightly around his neck was not so easy, as he could 
hardly breathe.  He struggled on and, with his heart racing, he finally 
reached the riverbank, close to where Mary had picked the windflowers, 
and staggered ashore with her, collapsing onto the grass. 

Meanwhile Thomas had persuaded Jack to pull the ferryboat back to that
side of the river, and it was Thomas who got to Ben first.  He was 
still lying face down in the grass, with Mary sitting shivering beside 
him. 

'Ben!' cried Jack as he arrived.  'Ben are you all right?  Help me turn
him over.' He knelt beside Ben and, with Thomas's help, turned him onto 
his back and then put an ear to his chest and listened for his heart.  
But it beat no longer. 

'He's dead,' said Jack, still kneeling beside the old ferryman and
looking first at Mary and then at Thomas.  'He's one of the strongest 
men I ever knew, but that swim must have been too much for him.' 

Mary got shakily to her feet and began to cry.  'But he was such a kind
old man.'  But then she looked about and said, 'Where did his wife go?' 


Jack and Thomas looked at each other and then at Mary.  'His wife?' 
Jack answered.  'His wife died two years ago.' 

'But the old woman,' said Mary, 'the one at the back of the ferryboat. 
Wasn't she his wife?  She looked like his wife; I saw a picture of her 
in the cottage.' 

Again Jack and Thomas looked at each other and then at Mary, while a
hundred yards away, on the road outside the cottage, Ben and the old 
woman stood facing each other. 

'I thought it was you,' said Ben.  'Is it my time now?' 

'It is,' his wife answered.  'Are you ready?'  Ben nodded and, hand in
hand, they turned and walked away to where another ferry was waiting. 


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