Heaven's Gate Bridge five

Heaven’s Gate Bridge five

Timothy was very proud to have the opportunity to walk home by himself this day. He loved to walk by the bridge called Heaven’s Gate that connected the two parts of town. He thought that it was a little bit funny to have a town separated by the river but then the story of why this occurred was even more unusual.

The town of Franklin, was beautiful to all who lived there. It enjoyed the benefits of a nice river that flowed into the Chesapeake Bay and the woods that grew beyond the area that people had settled down in. The story was that on one side of the river lived the undesirable people, gamblers, pirates and even a witch or two in the very beginning of the town’s history. The truth was that the land was so fertile that people wanted to own land near the river for its’ water to use. They also planned to have transpiration for whatever they wanted to send down the river to the bigger city.

In the beginning the bridge was not there and the people had to boat or ferry to go to the other side if they had business. Then Max von Crooke designed a crude bridge that seemed to have problems every time someone tried to work on it. Mr. von Crooke was not impressed with the nickname Devil’s Crooke Bridge. The poorly constructed bridge fell in the water during the last great storm and Mr. Crooke was killed by accident when he tried to save a friend who fell in. But the town’s people missed the bridge and decided to do the right thing by calling in someone who knew more than Mr. von Crooke.

Arthur Bannon was called in and agreed to do the job for a small fee only if he could get some property in the area and name the bridge. Arthur was very religious and thought that a better site a half a mile upstream was better. He also knew that some of the churches had used this spot for baptisms so he named the bridge Heaven’s Gate since everyone knew that baptisms were part of the steps one took to get into heaven.

The bridge was completed the same day two churches had baptisms. One in the morning and the other after lunch. Everyone was pleased at their new bridge. It also had the convenience that it kept the traffic away from the homes where people wanted to have more privacy. It also seemed to possess some kind of positive luck there because many a young man proposed to his future wife on this bridge. And of course almost all of the lucky young ladies accepted. No doubt about it, Mr. Bannon’s bridge was something very special.

As Timothy was walking home, he heard a slight whimper. He thought that it could have been his imagination. But he decided that since there was no one to tattle on him, he would investigate the unusual noise. The noise stopped. Timothy turned around to go. He did not want to get his shoes wet because he knew that his mother would send him to his room for messing up his clothes.

There it was again. This time it seemed like a painful cry. Then it stopped.

Timothy decided that maybe it could be a strange bird in the area. Since they were a few miles from the bigger part of the river, a bird could be calling another bird. He had heard that birds could talk to their friends.

Then as Timothy decided that he was getting late, one last cry and he waked in the muddy water directly to something that looked like a wet, brown bag. It moved. And moved again. He rushed to it and unfastened the rope that tied it closed. Inside was a small brown puppy. It looked wet and muddy. It could be no bigger than the toy train that he had at home.

“Oh my gosh. Who would do this to you buddy?” he said as he picked up the puppy out of the bag and felt the cold animal nuzzle his chest. “You are just a baby. And it looks like someone tried to hurt you.” There was some blood on the back side of the puppy. “I can’t leave you here. You need to be warm and fed.”

Timothy left the bag behind and put both arms around the shaking animal. But as soon as he got on the road and started petting it’s head, the animal got quiet. “Hey buddy would you like to visit my house? I don’t think that mother and father will mind you staying for a night or two. You can even stay…in…Willie’s bed.” and then the tears started again.
Timothy reached home and noticed that no one was on the steps to greet him. He figured that mother was taking care of his sisters. This gave him the opportunity to put his new friend in the shed for a while so he could clean the dog up. He imagined that his parents would accept a clean dog faster than one that looked like it lived in the marsh. He put the dog in the shed and hurried to get the materials for his clean-up job but since he did not know much about this animal he did not know that the animal would follow him into the house.

Timothy went into the laundry area to get a towel and a bowl to put some clean water in. The dog followed him into the house but smelled some garbage in the kitchen. The need for food was stronger than the need to be hugged so the puppy went into the kitchen and immediately tried to get into the garbage can. He jumped on the can and knocked it over spilling vegetable peelings and one nice bone. He hit pay dirt. He drug the bone into a corner and sat down to begin his feast leaving a trail of mess behind him.

Timothy raced back to the shed and noticed that the door was open. He looked left and right for any sign of the puppy. He figured that now was a good time to get the puppy back into the shed. Timothy whistled and called, “Here puppy! Come back for your bath.” No response.

Then there was a scream from the kitchen. Timothy guessed that the missing puppy had been found and that his chance for making a good impression was lost. He ran into the house and then to the kitchen.

“What has happened to my kitchen? And who brought that ‘thing’ in here?” demanded his mother as she stood over the confused puppy.

“Ah. I did. And I found him near the bridge in a sack so I brought him home just for tonight.” stammered Timothy.

“Goodness, Timothy,” responded his mother as she walked over to retrieve the bone.

“What’s the matter mother?” said William as he ran into the kitchen. His eyes followed the mess to the little brown animal on the floor. “Oh my gosh! Where did that dog come from?” he said as he slowly walked toward the animal.

“This is Buddy. I found him in a sack on the way home. He won’t be any trouble. I can take care of him. Please mother can I?” said Timothy as he tried to step between anyone from picking up the dog.

“Buddy? You’ve already named it?” asked William with a slight grin on his face.

“Yes.” said Timothy as he stood as defiant and protective as he could. Just then the puppy did all things that new, animals do, make a wet spot on the floor.

“Timothy Jackson Miller, get that dog out of my beautiful kitchen and clean that mess up. If you don’t want to go to bed you had better do it now. As for that puppy, you will have to get permission from your father. You will have to accept his decision.” said Mrs. Miller as she left the room to go upstairs to check on the girls again.

“Yes mother.” said Timothy as he took Buddy out to his new temporary home.

“You found him where?” asked William. “You know that you have to come straight home. Boy will father let you have it now. And I doubt that Buddy will stay. “

“He can if we both ask.” said Timothy as he put his hand out to make a deal.