Scotty’s only classroom time was in the afternoon after lunch. Adrianna was reading him a book about the history of the Civil War. In the evening he and Jack spent their time painting the toy soldiers of Jack’s youth, blue for the North and gray for the South. The history book had pictures of the battlegrounds and he and Adrianna made mountains and valleys, rivers and streams out of papier-mâché`. Scotty spent all his spare time painting the scenery and building bridges and farms. *** The weather hadn’t let up for the last ten days; the strong wind blew huge drifts blocking the road. Feeding the animals and hauling water took all three men the entire day, every day. “I’m sure glad Jack spirited you away to our valley,” Will said one day as he finished his noonday meal. “It frees me up to help with the chores, and he needs me real bad right now.” He was looking out at the unending blizzard. Jack and Andy had already returned to the barn but he had lagged behind on purpose. “Where’s Scotty off to?”
