he will repeat seventh grade!”
Eddie’s eyes widened in alarm. He cringed in spite of himself at Miss Brown’s dreadful warning.
Uh-oh. I’m in for a switching and now that Pa knows I’ve been skipping school, there’ll be no more fishing for me.
Eddie stole a glance at Pa who was looking down at his calloused hands, roughened by shoveling marl at the pit. Then Pa looked up at the teacher.
“I apologize for my son’s behavior, Miss Brown,” he said. “To tell the truth, I ain’t been supervisin’ him real close. You see, Eddie’s ma died back in Jacksonville not long ago and we’ve been goin’ through some bad times. When I took on this job with the Florida East Coast Railway, or F.E.C. as we call it, I thought Marathon would be a good place for Eddie. I know schoolin’ is important but he really likes to fish and swim.”
“School comes first,” said Miss Brown firmly. She pursed her lips for emphasis. “Eddie must be here every day.”
“I’ll try to see to it,” he said, “but we’ve been workin’ night and day to finish the railroad extension. A week from Sunday, a survey train will be sent to Key West and back to test the tracks. Mr. Flagler’s countin’ on us to be finished by then.”
“I sure want Eddie to get schoolin’,” Frank Malone continued. “Eddie’s ma wanted that too. She always made sure he done his lessons and spoke good English. Someday I’d like him to get a desk job, not one fightin’ mosquitoes and diggin’ in the marl pit like me. Buildin’ up roadbeds for them tracks is gruelin’ work.”
Miss Brown sighed. “Yes, well, please talk to your son, Mr. Malone. A boy’s father can be a tremendous influence.”
“Yes, ma’am,” agreed Frank Malone standing up. “I’ll do that.”
Then turning to Eddie, he said, “When you finish them sentences, git on home to your chores. I’m headin’ back to work, but make no mistake, when I git home tonight, we’ll talk.”
Frank Malone jammed his straw hat on his head and strode out the door. Eddie knew what “we’ll talk” meant. Most likely, Pa would give him a good switching for skipping school.
After finishing up sentences ninety-nine and one hundred, Eddie waited impatiently for his dismissal. Finally Miss Brown glanced at the clock on the wall and waved him out. Freed at last, Eddie burst out of the schoolhouse into the bright sunshine of the Florida Keys.
“Come on, Rex,” called Eddie. A big yellow Labrador retriever was waiting patiently in the shade of a buttonwood tree. At the sight of his master, he sprang to his feet and wagged his tail happily.
Eddie bent down to pat Rex’s head and whispered, “Pa won’t be home till late. Let’s go on over to Matthew’s house. There’s plenty of time to finish my chores before Pa gets home.”
Whenever Eddie needed a friend, he would walk over to see Matthew Lawrence. Matthew was a kind old man from the Bahamas who lived in Adderley Town, the small black community in Marathon. Before retiring, Matthew had worked as a carpenter for the Florida East Coast Railway and he liked entertaining Eddie with stories about the railroad.
When Eddie first came to Marathon, Matthew had taken him under his wing. The old man owned a small sailboat that he used when harvesting sponges to sell in Key West. Matthew had taught him how to sail the boat and sometimes let him borrow it to go fishing.
Eddie threw sticks for Rex to fetch as he walked along the sandy path to Adderley Town. When they arrived, Matthew was resting under the gumbo limbo tree near his white concrete house. The green wooden shutters at the windows were propped open, letting in a cool breeze.
“Hey, Matthew. How are you?”
“I’m doing all right,” said Matthew. “How about yourself?”
Sheepishly, Eddie confided in his friend about his trouble at school.
When he finished, Matthew said sympathetically, “I know you’d rather be outdoors, but you need book learning too.”
“Yeah,” sighed Eddie. “It’s just more fun to catch fish than to memorize poetry.”
Matthew smiled and said, “You’ve got that right.”
“Can you go fishing with me now?” asked Eddie.
“Sorry, but I’m weeding the garden today. My melons and squash need more room to grow,” said Matthew, “but you’re welcome to take the sailboat out by yourself.”
“Thanks,” replied Eddie. “I’m going to fish over at Sand Dollar Key.”
“Sounds good,” said the old man. Then looking up at the sky, he added, “Just keep your eye on the weather. My achy bones tell me a storm is brewing in the Gulf.”
Eddie whistled for Rex and hurried toward the dock where Matthew’s sailboat was tied. Rex hopped in first and sat straight up on his haunches ready to catch the wind in his ears. Eddie picked up a fishing pole that leaned against the mangroves. Then he jumped in behind Rex and set sail for his favorite place to fish and swim.
The fish weren’t biting so Eddie anchored the boat offshore. He pulled off his shirt, kicked off his shoes, and dove into the clear, blue water. Rex jumped in after him and paddled around. When Eddie surfaced he took a deep breath and plunged deeper to search for horse conchs on the coral reef. Schools of tiny yellow and blue striped fish darted past him as he dove again and again.
The sun had dropped low in the western sky when Eddie realized that once again he’d lost track of time. Quickly he returned the sailboat to Matthew’s dock and ran home with Rex. It was nearly dark by the time he reached the camp where all the new railroad employees and their families lived. As he approached his tent, Eddie saw Pa’s muddy boots by the screen door.
“Uh-oh, Pa’s home and my chores aren’t done,” said Eddie, holding Rex back by his collar. “We’d better stay away and give Pa time to cool off.”
With his devoted companion at his side, Eddie ambled through the dusty, deserted streets of Marathon, killing time until he could go home. As he slapped at mosquitoes that bit his arms, he was glad it was January and not summertime. He’d heard the mosquitoes were so thick in the summer months they looked like black curtains covering the window screens.
He and Rex continued to wander the roads until they came to the water tower by the railroad tracks. As Eddie looked up toward the top, a full moon slipped out from a bank of dark rain clouds.
“Stay, Rex,” ordered Eddie. He began to climb the rungs of the tower’s ladder, tasting and smelling the salty sea air as he went. When he reached the top, he sat down and let his legs dangle between the rails. Marathon spread out below him like a picnic cloth on the ground and the whole town was quiet. Eddie watched the lights in the men’s dormitories go out one by one as the exhausted railroad workers turned in for the night.
Looking down from the tower, Eddie could see the paymaster car parked at the Florida East Coast Railway station. He knew that tomorrow hundreds of hardworking railroad men would line up to receive their wages in gold coins. They had come from many different countries to fill the ranks of workers Henry Flagler needed to build his Over-Sea Railroad.
Then Eddie noticed his pa’s supervisor, Mr. Tate, out on his nightly stroll. When he looked more closely, he saw Pa coming from the opposite direction. Frank Malone waved to Mr. Tate as the two men passed in the road.
Eddie hoped Pa would walk on by. At that moment, however, Rex spotted Pa too and let out a friendly bark to greet him. Frank Malone stopped, then stepped back away from the water tower and looked up.
“I see you, Eddie,” he called. “Git on down here.”
Eddie began to climb down very slowly. He needed time to think of a good excuse for disobeying Pa.
Maybe if I point