Nick drained the last sip of coffee from his cup, and was just about ready to leave when Nan came traipsing in, an axe swung carelessly over her shoulder. His dark brows shot to his hairline in alarm.
"What ya doin', Nan?" he asked casually, trying to keep the suspicion from his voice.
"Me?" Nan turned around, her dark blond bangs casting a see-through curtain over her blue eyes. "Killin' that turkey for Asia."
"The one fer Thanksgivin'?"
"Yeah."
"Y'know, I don't think that's such a good idea. Maybe ya should just wait for Asia ta do it," he suggested, casting a wary glance at the hefty tool. He hadn't trusted her with it before, and he wasn't about to now. And, he preferred his meat sliced…not minced.
"Too late," she said simply, shrugging her shoulders.
"Too late?" He didn't like the sound of that.
"I already killed it."
"Dan, Harry's gone!" Nat lamented as he approached Dan and Nick by the woodpile.
"Gone?" Dan stopped and turned to look at his friend. "We put 'im in the extra stall, all good an' tight. How could he be gone?"
Nick, having only heard half the conversation, straightened and wiped perspiration from his brow with the back of his gloved hand. "Who's Harry?"
"The turkey Nat an' I caught."
"And now he's gone," Nat said mournfully.
"Yer turkey's gone?"
"Harry," Nat corrected absently.
"Yeah…Harry."
"Have ya seen him, Nick?" Dan asked.
"He ain't gone far," Nick answered vaguely, not looking either boy in the face.
Both boys looked hopeful.
"Uh, Nan killed it, I mean, Harry."
"WHAT?!!"
"She, uh…killed it."
"Harry," Dan put in without thinking.
"Uh, yeah, Harry-she killed 'im. I mean, she killed Harry," Nick stumbled through an explanation. This "Harry" business had him utterly bewildered.
"There's a second turkey?" Nat's brows furrowed in confusion.
"No, jus' Harry," Nick said.
"Oh."
"Nan killed Harry?" Dan said finally, giving a helpless smile.
"Don't mean ta make light o' the situation or nothin', but wasn't he-Harry-gonna end up there sometime soon anyhow?"
"Well, yeah…I guess so," Dan admitted.
"He just got there a li'l sooner than ya originally planned," Nick reasoned sensibly, trying to discourage any form of retaliation.
"But I wanted to show him to Mrs. Jo," Nat said dejectedly.
Nick gave a small shrug of his shoulders, offering the boy a sympathetic smile.
"Sorry, Nat…guess ya just gotta hide yer turkey a li'l better next time?" He grinned a weak grin.
"There now," Nan said out loud, securing the dead turkey on a string. She tied it up above the porch railing and let it hang in the air to 'dry out'. "That should keep ya just fine 'til Asia can fix ya up fer Thanksgivin' dinner."
With a satisfied look, Nan dusted off her hands and started down the steps into the yard, not catching the flash of white in the bushes.
Asia placed her hands on her hips and pursed her lips tightly. Where had that crazy bird gone? "Nan said she left it out on the back porch..." she mused out loud.
"Somethin' wrong, Asia?" Nick asked, stepping into the kitchen. He stood in the doorway, his coat dusted lightly with small flakes of snow.
"Nat and Dan's turkey-I can't find him."
"Harry?"
"Who's Harry?"
"Never mind." Nick waved it off, having no desire to go into that again. "Thought I saw Nan hangin' him up on the back porch. He ain't there?" He walked towards the door and poked his head out.
A thick string, frayed at the end from being snapped, fluttered in the cold wind. Small dots of blood meandered across the floor and down the steps, fading into the brown grass. Nope, no Harry.
Nick turned around, forehead creased in thought. Where in blue blazes could that turkey - Harry - have gone?!!
"Somebody HELP!"
Nick jerked back, knocking his head on the doorframe. "What is it, Nan?"
"The turkey…h-he's…he's gone !" she gasped, eyes wide.
"So I've heard," Nick muttered, utterly fed up with the stupid bird. "But how could he be? I thought ya killed him!"
"I did!"
"Then how could Harry be gone?"
An expression of bewilderment crossed Nan's face. "Who's Harry?"
"The turkey you killed!"
"You named a turkey?"
Nick glared at her. No, he hadn't named a turkey!! "No, I didn't name a turkey."
"Who named a turkey?" Asia asked, rejoining the twosome.
"Nick."
"Nat and Dan."
Both responses came at the same time.
Asia rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. "Ya sure Mrs. Jo didn't name it?" she suggested dryly. Nan and Nick shot the housekeeper a "very funny" look.
"What did I name?"
All three spun around, jaws slack.
"Ya didn't name nothin'," Nick growled.
Jo paused from removing her gloves, a peculiar look etching her features. "Nick, is something wrong?"
"Nan is what's wrong!"
"Me?"
"Nan?"
"Look!" Nan screamed, "there's Harry!" She thrust her fingers in the direction of the window.
"Harry? Who's Harry?" Jo inquired.
"Don't ask!" Nick lunged towards Nan, trying to catch the girl before she could slip out. But, she got away and started chasing a turkey around the yard, waving Asia's butcher knife through the air.
"Nan, put that down!" Jo yelled, running to the end of the porch.
"I thought she killed Harry..." Asia mumbled in confusion.
At that point, Nat and Dan emerged from the barn, and Emil, Tommy, and Rob poked their heads out various windows.
"Help!" Bess's scream tore through the yard.
"What now?!" Nick roared, starting in the direction of her voice.
"What happened?" Jo panted, right at Nick's heels.
Bess sat on the ground, her skirts billowed out and her blond tresses tumbling down in her face. "I saw Nan running around and came out to see what was happening. And this," she wailed, shrinking back as the turkey flapped its wings at her, "ran right into me!"
Everybody snickered.
"It's not funny!" she retorted hotly, blowing a few stray wisps of hair from her eyes.
"Oh yeah it is," Nan said, with a wide grin.
"Now Nan," Nick started, turning towards the girl, "how in blue blazes could ya kill Harry, and now claim that this is him?!!"
"It was there and now it ain't," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "What other explanation could there be?" She smiled innocently.
"Ya hang a turkey out back - a dead turkey - an' ya actually think that Harry just got up and walked off?"
Nan nodded. It seemed plausible to her.
"Who's Harry?" Franz and Isabel asked in unison, walking up to the group. They had just returned from a walk in the woods.
As if on cue, Max came trotting out, dragging a turkey - a dead turkey - with him.
" That is Harry."
"No, no it ain't." Dan shook his head, speaking of the turkey Nan had killed and now hung from Max's mouth. "That ain't the turkey Nat an' I caught."
"What!"
At that point, Emil and Tommy came out, a delighted look on their faces.
"Hey look, they found Frank!" Emil told the younger boy.
"FRANK?"
"Yeah, Frank," Tommy said, "Frank-the turkey Emil and I catched."
"Caught," Jo corrected on sudden impulse.
"Caught." Tommy puckered his nose. "Yuck, what happened to him?"
Nick glanced heavenward, throwing his hands in the air. "I give up!"
"So Nan killed Emil and Tommy's turkey," Jo said, trying to get it all straight.
"Frank."
"Yes, Frank." Jo half-smiled. "And Nat and Dan's turkey-"
"Harry," Nick interjected.
"-Harry, was running around the yard. Nan was chasing him, and then he ran into Bess?"
Nick nodded. "Yep, that's right. Frank an' Harry-our two li'l Thanksgivin' turkeys."
"Harry…" Jo sighed, catching her bottom lip to keep from laughing. "Frank and Harry."
With a tablecloth in hand, Meg stepped out on the porch. "Who's Harry?"