Hammon's Day

Chapters 5 & 6

 

Chapter 5

 

     He was wrong. The doctor cleaned the wound on the side of his head. Then he dressed it with a salve from a jar in his leather pouch. The salve had a soothing effect, and after a moment Hammon could not feel the wound any more. From the same pouch, Eli brought out a clean bandage and replaced the soiled one Timothy had put on earlier that day. In all there wasn't more than a minor twinge, and that only when Eli was cleansing it with water. Hammon thanked him quietly.

     "I am not without some skill," Eli said, a touch of irony in his voice. "You may have a scar to remind you of this incident, but I rather doubt anyone will ever notice. Your hair will hide it very well. You'll only need to draw attention to it when you wish to impress the ladies."

     Lehi said quietly, "Thank you, Eli. I will visit you very soon."

     "Or I you," the physician said, packing his pouch again. "I will see you again, too, young man. Keep that wound clean, and have someone change the dressing tomorrow morning. I'll be by to see that it was done properly."

     Hammon watched him turn and walk down the street.

     "He was good," he said to Lehi.

     "Timothy is good with this sort of thing," Lehi returned, "but he cannot compare with Eli. That man served the armies during the great Gadianton wars. He saved more men than even he can count. His knowledge is extensive."

     "So, you want him to know you appreciate him," Hammon said.

     "I do appreciate him," Lehi said. "The Lord uses all his servants according to their skills. Eli's skills are considerable. Come. Let's go find your parents."

     Hammon nodded, and fell into step beside the priest. They could see the tops of the temples above the houses now, and they were getting ever closer. He couldn't help feeling exceptionally well. The pain in his head was completely gone, and the salve had soothed the wound. He wondered how much better things could be.

     They rounded a corner, and the temples, all three of them, came into view at once. Between the pyramids of the temples was a grassy expanse. People were moving freely around, busy with tasks and duties associated with providing for all of them. They were setting up a large, temporary camp.

     Tents were raised near one side of the grassy field. Near the other large cooking fires had been built. The once pristine nature of the areas between the pyramids was now a vast mass of people. Between the tents and the cooking fires the grass was left open. Children played, and adults stood in small groups talking.

     Hammon glanced up at Lehi, an unspoken question in his eyes.

     "There are no more than a thousand or so refugees from the burned out camps," Lehi said as they walked. "There are as many more from the city itself. They are a little nervous about the threat from the mobs. We'll find your family, though. It might seem a miracle among so many people, but, you see, I believe in miracles. Besides, I know where they are."

     "Thank you," Hammon said happily.

     "Save your thanks until I perform the miracle," Lehi chuckled.

     A figure broke away from a group on the field and walked quickly toward them. Hammon was enjoying the cool grass under his feet when he recognized Timothy. He also recognized the look of anger on the man's face. As he approached, Hammon unconsciously hung back, letting Lehi half hide him. The ploy didn't work. Timothy strode straight toward him.

     "We've been looking all over for you," he said, more than a touch of annoyance in his voice. "Where have you been?"

     "He was looking for his parents," Lehi said calmly, smiling.

     Hammon was grateful the older man was attracting Timothy's attention. He hoped the younger man would forget about him, at least for a time.

Timothy turned immediately toward the older priest, and with a broad smile embraced him. Lehi held the younger man by the shoulders.

     "I understand you've been playing doctor," he said to Timothy, and indicating Hammon with a slight flip of his head.

     "I was," Timothy said, flashing a glare at the boy. "Who redid his bandage? That's a pretty good job."

     "We ran into Eli," the priest explained.

     "Likely the wound needed to be cleaned by then," Timothy said evenly, still glaring at Hammon. "What were you thinking, young man? You could have endangered your life."

     "Didn't you tell me you gave him a blessing?" Lehi asked warmly.

     Timothy looked back to the older man. His look softened. He knew what the priest was trying to do.

     "We did," he admitted reluctantly.

     "Well, then, he was bound to get well," Lehi returned. "Now, we have some reunions to take care of. Where are his parents?"

     "His father went with the boys back to Amliki's shelter. Of course, he won't find his son there." Another glare at Hammon. "His mother is at the cooking fires helping with the meals for these people. I think his sister is playing with the other children. Come, we'll find your mother at least. I don't know what your father will do to you when he finds you aren't at the shelter. I know what I would do."

     He turned on his heel and strode across the grass. Hammon looked up at Lehi and raised his eyebrows.

     "I would get used to that for the next little while," the priest said, smiling. "You've upset more than a few people this afternoon."

     "Goodness," Hammon breathed. "What happened to the hero?"

     "Even a hero gets in trouble when he worries his parents," Lehi laughed. "Come along."

     "You really do know Timothy, don't you?" Hammon said, changing the subject.

     "Of course I do," Lehi returned, stepping out to follow the younger man. "He's my nephew."

     Hammon blinked, and caught up with the priest.

     "Nephi was his father?" he asked.

     "And the father of his brother, Nephi," Lehi said.

     "How do you keep track of all those Nephi's?" Hammon asked, half teasing.

     "It is a popular name in my family," Lehi said lightly. "Of course, it's not too difficult to keep the father separated from the son. My brother is no longer with us."

     Hammon swallowed, and said, "Oh. I'm sorry."

     "You don't understand. He didn't die. At least, I don't think he did. He's no longer with us. He received a call, and said his goodbyes to all of us. Then he walked into the forest. For all we know, he may be out there somewhere preaching to the Lamanite population in some remote village. Look. There is your mother."

     Hammon stopped, and stared. It had seemed so long ago he'd seen her, yet it had been less than a day.

     Rebeccah knelt with her back toward them. She was tending the fire, and seemed absorbed in her work. Another woman, one whom Hammon did not know, stood next to her. She was talking to his mother, and his mother was listening intently as she worked.

     Hammon was trying decide how to approach her when his mother suddenly held her hand up to the other woman. The woman stopped talking. Slowly Rebeccah rose to her feet, the stick she'd been using to stir the fire still in her hand. She turned to face Hammon.

     Their eyes met and Hammon saw pure joy fill her face. He ran to her and felt her arms around him. He heard his mother murmuring things in his ear, but it was all unimportant when compared with those arms. He held on a long time.

     When they released each other, he was surprised to find his face wet, partly with his own tears and partly with his mothers. He wiped at his cheeks as Rebeccah turned to Lehi.

     "Thank you for bringing our son back to us," she said, extending her hands toward Lehi. "It's like a miracle."

     "He specializes in miracles," Hammon said quietly.

     "Well, you are together again," Lehi said, squeezing Rebeccah's hands, then releasing them. "I have things to do, so I will leave you two to your reunion."

     "Thank you, Lehi," the boy said. "Mother, this is Timothy, Lehi's nephew. He bandaged my head last night, and again this morning."

     It seemed she noticed the bandage for the first time. Concern crossed her face, but she saw her son's smile and dismissed it. She looked directly at Timothy.

     "Thank you, too, Timothy," she said. "It seems we owe a lot of people debts we cannot easily repay."

     "Just seeing the joy on your face is payment enough," Timothy said quietly. "You, young man, should seek out Amliki and offer him an apology. He's probably very worried about you. I don't think I want to be in your place when your father gets back, either. Good day, Rebeccah. Good luck with the boy."

     Rebeccah laughed as Timothy strode away, following Lehi.

     She turned toward Hammon and said sternly, "Now, young man, I want to know why you left the shelter, where you were safe, when you knew everyone was out trying to help you?"

     Hammon backed up a step, and said, "This is supposed to be a reunion, not a trial. I'm supposed to be a hero. Lehi said so."

     "We'll celebrate your courage later," his mother said, straitening his tunic, and running her fingers through his hair. "Right now we need to talk about your foolishness."

     "The man with the scar passed by the shelter," Hammon replied. "No one else was around, so I had to follow him. Then he caught me and said some unpleasant things. Then Lehi found me."

     "What are you talking about?"

     "About the man who burned our tent," Hammon said. "I saw him on the street by the shelter. I thought he might know where you were. Amliki was gone, and Timothy was gone. I was the only one left to follow him."

     "Didn't it occur to you that they were out finding us?" Rebeccah said.

     Hammon hung his head, and said, "It did, but I thought I could find you faster. I was wrong, I guess."

     "Well, that's enough for now," Rebeccah said, touching his bandage lightly. "Don't let this hero thing go to your head. You still have a lot of growing up to do, you know. You're going to get to explain all this again in a few moments. Look. Here comes your father."

     Hammon turned to see his father only a dozen paces away. The pleasure of seeing him mixed with the displeasure he saw in the man's face. He steeled himself for the onslaught he knew he deserved.

     Instead of yelling, his father stepped directly up to the boy, caught him up and hugged him. Hammon couldn't breathe, and felt a little like a small child. After a few moments it was over. In the way of most men, his father was emotional only in short bursts. He put the boy down, and stepped back.

     "I should beat you," he said evenly. "However, it seems you are not the worse for wear. Amliki has assured me your head will mend. That's good. You have survived in a strange city with unknown dangers, and you managed to find us again. I suppose that's something I should be proud of. I suppose we ought to leave it at that. I'm just very happy you're back, son."

     Hammon found it impossible not to smile. His father wasn't going to beat him. He was proud of him! He stood a little taller and met his father's gaze directly.

     His father suddenly became stern, and pointed his finger directly at Hammon's nose.

     "If you ever do anything like this again, we'll renew this discussion, Hammon! It will not end quite as happily for you as this one has. Do you understand my meaning?"

     Hammon nodded quickly as the smile fell from his face.

     "Now, I'm going to get your sister," his father said quietly. "I expect you to help your mother here with whatever she wants you to do. I'll be back shortly."

     Hammon knew he was in trouble. He was only required to help with the women's chores when he had penance to pay. He hung his head and nodded. When his father expressed displeasure it was always best not to argue. Besides, he realized he was getting out of the situation fairly easily.

     "Yes, sir," he said quietly.

     His father smiled briefly at his mother, and left. His mother breathed deeply and took her son's chin in her hand.

     "It's not so bad," she said softly. "But, wait till your sister sees you. She'll be impossible to control."

     Hammon turned to help with the fire. He was happy to be with his family again.

 

Chapter 6

 

     Hammon heard someone shout his name, and turned from the fire pit. He was sweating, and the tubers he'd been turning were almost done. He was surprised how dirty the front of his tunic had become. Most of the people were beginning to gather near the end of the pit to enjoy the meal that had been prepared for them, so the field was nearly empty. The three boys, Ephraim, Jacob and Dan, were easy to spot running directly toward him. Dan was almost bouncing along, and the other two had a distinct spring in their step.

     "There's going to be a big meeting after supper," Ephraim shouted. "Amliki said we could come."

     "Amliki almost insisted we come," Jacob said sullenly.

     "But we get to see you again," Dan laughed. "Is this your mother? Proud to meet you, ma'am. What are you doing, Hammon? Helping with dinner? We already ate, but Amliki said we could have something here, too, if we wanted."

     Hammon looked back at his mother and said, "This is Dan. He never stops talking."

     "Sometimes I do," Dan protested. "Was your father very angry when he got back?"

     "Not very," Hammon returned. "He was happy I was back. Believe me, I was glad to be back, too. Look, I have a lot of work to do. You want to get together later, before the meeting?"

     "Sure," Ephraim said. "We all know you're being punished. But we were hoping you could be paroled in our care. We'd be sure you got back here okay. We're just going to talk with the priests, and say hello to Amliki and Timothy."

     Hammon glanced back at his mother.

     She smiled, and said softly, "All right. Go be with your friends. But come back for something to eat."

     One of the women took his place by the fire.

     "These are almost ready," he said, handing his stirring stick to her. "I pulled them back from the really hot coals to keep them from burning. I'll be close, Mother."

     The boys ran across the field. Hammon was glad he was able to keep up. They made a quick stop at the base of the temple pyramid so Hammon could wash in the stream.

     There were small streams throughout the city, most used for drinking water, but some for irrigating the small gardens that abounded in some sections. Here the stream had been encased, and allowed to flow through a narrowing part of the stone to pour into a catch basin. The water was clear, and cool. It was used by the priests to clean themselves before the temple ceremonies.

     Hammon remembered the clay pot that served the same purpose at the temple back home. He splashed water on the front of his tunic and scrubbed with his hands. The worst of the grime washed away, but he was left with a wet tunic. The day was warm, and the tunic was bound to dry quickly.

     They crossed in front of the stairway and ran around the opposite side, between the two largest pyramids. There they found the older priests, along with Amliki and Timothy, engaged in quiet discussion. Lehi, who was speaking as they arrived, stopped a moment to acknowledge their arrival.

     "It seems this scarred man who had given you so much trouble is engaged in many enterprises," Lehi said. "Brethren, this is Hammon, the boy we've had so many reports on today. You already know Ephraim, Jacob and Dan."

     The priests' faces grew less stern for a moment. They smiled, or held up a hand in greeting. That done, they quickly returned to their somber expressions.

     "I'm happy to see you again," Amliki said pleasantly. "I would like to enlist your help up at the shelter. All the children have to be down here before sunset. I will need you older boys to help herd them along."

     "Of course I'll help," Hammon said genuinely.

     "You may stay and listen if you like," Lehi said casually. "We were talking about the attacks we've had to endure these past weeks. You might have something to report to us. Timothy, you were speaking. Please continue."

     "Well, we did some investigation," Timothy said, "And we found that this man with the scar is not just a member. He appears to be one of the leaders."

     "That is interesting," Lehi said quietly. "You met him again today, Hammon. Can you tell us anything that might help?"

Hammon thought a moment. He was surprised he was being called on to speak.

     Then he said, "The only thing I really know is that he didn't seem too interested in me at all. He could have hurt me again, if he'd wanted to. Nobody in the marketplace would have stopped him. He just didn't seem to want to. In fact, he told me to go get treated by a doctor."

     "That's not surprising," Amliki interjected. "These men work better under cover of darkness, and in mobs. If their faces are known, they are less likely to want to hurt anyone."

     Hammon nodded. It sounded right, but he couldn't help feeling something else had happened in the market. Scarface had not been afraid of discovery.

     "That's true," Lehi said, "but I don't think we can count on that to protect us completely."

     "We don't know a lot about the mobs that have been causing the trouble," Timothy explained. "They may be different groups all together. However, the things we've been able to find out tend to make us believe that they are all one organization, divided into different bands. Each of these bands has a different leader. The man with the scar is one of those leaders. He reports to someone higher up. We don't know who that is. Some have suggested this might be a resurgence of the Gadiantons."

     "Surely not!" one of the priests exclaimed. "They've not been active further west than the river Sidon."

     "What about the threat to destroy us all?" another asked. "Are we to take it seriously?"

     Lehi nodded, and said, "I don't think we have any choice. They hate the Lord. For whatever reason, they want to destroy us all in order to destroy Him. They gave us till tonight to go away, and, of course, we cannot. Our homes are here, our families are here, and our temples are here. Besides, where can we go that they are not? I find it disturbing to think that there are those in this very city who would want to make good on such a threat. It's even more disturbing to know that they are capable of fulfilling every part of it. Timothy, what has been done to help protect the members to this point?"

     "We've gathered as many of the people together here as we could," Timothy said quietly. "Many did not want to leave there homes. Some simple dismissed the threat as another in a long stream of empty threats. I feel some anxiety for their welfare."

     "It will be all right," Lehi said suddenly.

     "Nephi has been largely in charge of the preparations," Timothy added. "He told us not to arm ourselves. He was adamant about that. He said we'd not have to defend ourselves from the mobs. I wish I had his faith."

     "We all do," Lehi said. "Has he come back yet?"

     "No," Timothy said. "He said he needed to be totally alone to pray. He wanted to speak to our Father alone. I believe he is asking for help for our people, but I am not sure what kind of help he would ask for."

     "Where God is concerned, nothing is impossible," Lehi cut in. "He will ask God to decide the best way to help us. Well, we've done all we can for the moment. Priests, your responsibility will be to move among the people. By your presence and your words you will provide calm in the face of anxiety. We don't want to give the mobs any excuse to begin their carnage before the proper time. That won't be until well after dark. They will need the dark to cover their identities. We will see many miracles by then. I believe you boys have a task to perform. Make sure, Amliki, that you all get back here before sunset. Leave anything you cannot easily carry up at the shelter. You will be able to retrieve it later."

     "I will," Amliki said. "Young men, if you'll come with me."

     They walked away from the gathering. Hammon looked back to see the priests beginning to separate and move away toward the crowds of people. Lehi stood in the midst of them, still giving instructions. Timothy stood to one side, listening and adding a word or two when needed.

     "You believe they'll do what they say?" Hammon asked as they neared the front of the pyramids.

     "The mobs?" Amliki said simply. "They believe they will. What we're attempting to do is make them wait until the appointed time. Lehi says the Lord will intervene."

     Hammon saw Amliki glance upward, and saw a silent prayer move his lips. He took a deep breath.

     "So, the sign should come tonight," Hammon returned.

     "Samuel promised there would be a sign to announce the Messiah's birth at Jerusalem," Amliki affirmed. "He promised a day and a night and a day when the sun would set, but there would be no darkness. He said we'd know the sun had set, but that there would be no night. He said it would be five years after the time he was preaching."

     "Okay," Hammon said. "So the sign should come tonight. We'll all be okay."

     "That's difficult to say. The leaders of the mobs chose today as that day," Jacob said. "The Lord's timetable may be different. Remember: This is His world, not the mob's."

     Hammon blinked twice, and said, "So, the mob really doesn't know."

     "Exactly," Amliki returned. "How would anyone know? Only a prophet would know the exact day it would happen. They said today was exactly five years after Samuel's prediction. So, they said if it happened tonight, then Samuel was a true prophet. If it didn't happen tonight, then he was a false prophet, and they wanted to sweep the city clean of anything to do with him."

     "That means us," Dan said morosely.

     Hammon thought a moment, and said, "Is tonight the night? I mean, according to the calendar, it is tonight, right?"

     "There's been a lot of argument about that," Amliki returned. "Some say yes, others say not. There's a bigger issue here, though. Samuel may have been speaking in exactness, or he may have been indicating simply that the time was at hand. We don't have his exact words written down. And some say the calendars aren't that accurate. I don't see how they could not be. I mean, it's just a matter of counting days. In any case, we might be in some trouble tonight. So we'll get the children and bring them down here. Just in case."

     "Oh," Hammon said quickly, "I have to tell my mother where we're going."

     "It's okay," Amliki said quietly, still walking. "Your father knows. He approved and he promised to tell your mother. He found your sister, by the way. She was where she was supposed to be."

     Hammon felt the sting of the gentle reproach.

     "I saw him just before the meeting," Amliki continued. "He and your sister will meet you at your camp. And, we'll be back before anyone knows we've been gone."

     "It took me a while to walk down here," Hammon said, shaking off Amliki's censure.

     "I understand you took a detour through the market," Ephraim said casually.

     "How does everyone know where I've been?" Hammon almost shouted.

     "Remember," Amliki said quietly. "You're the most exciting thing that's happened around here in a long time."

     "I haven't found the city all that boring," Hammon said, keeping pace with Amliki.

     He was finding the pace easy now. His headache was completely gone, as was the nausea. All that healing had happened in just part of a day. He understood the power of blessings in healing, but felt particularly blessed to be the recipient of that power.

     He felt a touch of concern. He had not gotten a distinct answer as to whether the sign would be given or not. If it was, they would be all right. If it was not, they could all be in serious trouble. Lehi had promised the Lord would intervene, but what form that intervention would take worried Hammon. He didn't like the uncertainty of the situation.

     Amliki led them down a wide avenue, then off on a side street he would not have chosen to go back to the hill. Only a couple of turns later and they stood in the street below the hill, staring up at the ruins that had become the shelter of nearly every orphan in the city.