Jimmy walked. And he walked. And then he walked some more. He did not know how long he had been going. He was pretty sure he left Priscilla around noon. The sun had been high up in the sky. It was now much lower. Was it around five?

He still could not spot anyone or anything that could help them. Despair began to fill him. In a few hours it would be dark and he would have to stop. He was sure Priscilla would not last a whole day without water. God knows if he could either.

He forced himself to move his feet. One step at a time he told himself. He continued moving until he saw something. A house! It had to be. He prayed it was not just his eyes playing tricks on him. It had to be real. It just had to be.

He began to run. An elderly man caught Jimmy in his arms as he starting falling forward, his knees buckling in relief.

“Whoa there, son.”

“Help, I need help.” Jimmy forced the sound from his lips. It was hard to get the words out, but he had to. He was so tired; his throat was so dry.

The man handed Jimmy a canteen and Jimmy began to gulp the water.

The man soon snatched the canteen away. “Slow down, you’ll make yourself sick.” He waited, watching as Jimmy nodded, wiping his mouth. He then handed the canteen back, smiling in approval as Jimmy sipped the water this time.

“I need help. Please,” Jimmy was pleading now. “She’s out there. She’s gotta be so scared.” He knew he was not making much sense. But he could not seem to make his brain say exactly what he wanted to say. He just needed to get the words out.

“We’ll help you, son,” the man assured him. “Someone is out there. Your wife?”

Jimmy began to shake his head but the man had already turned his head. “Esther, hitch up the wagon. We have a young man here who needs our help.”

The rest of the events became one big blur for Jimmy. The elderly man and a woman, Jimmy assumed was his wife, got on a wagon. Jimmy got on board and directed them to what he hoped was the right spot.

After about a couple of hours Jimmy thought they were close to where he had left Priscilla. But the first place they looked at wasn’t right. Jimmy cursed to himself. Had he gotten things turned around in his mind? His heart contracted, had Priscilla moved herself or did someone else move her?

The elderly man, Martin, patted his shoulder reassuringly. “We’ll find her, don’t you fret.”

Jimmy nodded. They would find her. They had to find her, he thought grimly. He looked around, searching for a landmark. He then saw a hill he had avoided going over. The hill had been to his right. “There,” he told the couple, pointing left.

Martin clucked and snapped the reins. The wagon began moving slowly once more. And this time they found Priscilla, lying in the grass, her eyes closed.

Jimmy leapt off the wagon and cradled Priscilla in his arms. Together he and Martin got Priscilla in the wagon. The wagon ride seemed to last forever. Eventually they got back to the small farmhouse and Martin took Priscilla in his arms. “I’ll take her inside. Let Ester tend to her. You stay here,” he said in a voice that would broker no argument.

All Jimmy could do was nod; he was too filled with relief to do anything else. When Martin returned, he meekly followed him to a horse trough and got in when Martin motioned him to do so. He sat in there, letting his body cool off. He drank the water Martin brought him, ate the bread given to him and removed every stitch of clothing he had when Martin told him to. Jimmy sat there soaking for quite some time, feeling his body return to normal.

“Here.” Martin handed him a long nightshirt when he returned. Jimmy had not even been aware that Martin had gone. He stole a quick glance around. His own clothes had vanished. “Put this on.”

Once again, Jimmy could do nothing but what the man told him. He dressed, feeling a bit like his own grandfather. And when Martin motioned him to follow once more, he did just that.

He led Jimmy inside the house and opened a door. “Your wife is already in there.” He handed Jimmy a tray. “I expect you’ll be hungry in an hour or two. But Ester and I will be asleep, so this should hold you till morning.”

“Thank you,” Jimmy began. “Thank you so much. I don’t -”

“It wouldn’t be decent to let you die,” Martin said, his eyes dancing with mirth. “We didn’t do anything special,” he added in a more serious voice.

“You did,” Jimmy whispered, his eyes filled with gratitude. This man had saved them. “Thank you. If there is anything I can ever do,” he added.

“You can do some chores ‘round here when you are up to it,” Martin said with a small chuckle. “I don’t get around like I used to.”

Jimmy nodded his head vigorously. “Anything.”

“Then get some sleep. The way you look, I wouldn’t even expect to see you tomorrow.”

Jimmy smiled. He felt like he could sleep for a week. He walked into the room and heard the door click shut behind him. He set the tray on a small table and crawled into the bed. Priscilla was already there, her eyes still closed. But as Jimmy pulled her close, he noted that her body temperature was back to normal and her breathing was deep and steady. In a few minutes Jimmy was fast asleep as well.