Wish You Well

The family is enjoying a quiet meal one evening when Diamond arrives, and Louisa invites him in for dinner. They are eating part of the boar that Louisa was compelled to sacrifice early in the season to keep them all fed. Their meal is interrupted by the arrival of Cotton. He says there was some trouble in the company coal town on the day of their excursion. Someone placed horse manure in the mine superintendent’s brand-new car.

Cotton knows that Diamond was responsible but manages to deflect suspicion away from the boy. He warns that the coal company people have long memories and might retaliate at some point. Diamond concedes that he won’t cause any more trouble in the future but leaves Lou wondering about the reason for his grudge against the coal operators.

Lou has become adept at managing the daily routine. One morning, she rises even earlier than Louisa or Eugene and gets breakfast started. On this particular day, Cotton arrives to help with the spring planting. By the time they are finished, he and the children all have blood blisters on their hands from the tedious work. Even though the children want to rest after their labors, Louisa sends them off to find some cows that have wandered off.

During their search, Lou and Oz encounter Diamond. He’s already managed to pen the missing animals and helps drive them back to the farm. When Lou asks why he threw manure into the coal superintendent’s car, the boy becomes evasive. After Lou changes the subject and asks why Diamond doesn’t attend school, he runs away without answering.

Lou and Oz arrive late at school because of planting. They soon realize that half the class is missing because all the children are needed to help with the crops at their own family homes. When Lou opens her desk, she finds a dead copperhead snake with a note reading “Yankee go home” attached to its neck. She knows Billy Davis is behind the prank. During lunch break, Lou contrives to attach the dead snake to Billy’s lunch bucket, frightening him. The two get into another fistfight until the teacher breaks it up.

Both children’s families are notified. When Billy’s father arrives, he strikes his son for letting a girl beat him up. Louisa enters the schoolroom in time to intervene and warns George never to hit his son again. The man is on the point of punching Louisa when the sight of Eugene standing in the doorway makes him reconsider: “He looked back at Louisa. ‘This ain’t over. No sir.’ He banged the door shut on his way out” (180).

School has ended for the year, and the children spend all day working the farm. One day, Lou notices the fields covered in green. She excitedly runs into the house to tell everyone that the crops are growing. She even shares this bit of news with her mother.

Aside from mastering additional farming skills, the children finally get a chance to learn to ride a horse. Their mount is named Sue, and it takes some coaxing for her to respond to their commands. When Cotton carries Amanda outside to view the spectacle, Oz proudly proclaims himself a cowboy.

Later that evening, Lou shares a quiet moment with Louisa and apologizes for pummeling Billy but says that Billy is just plain mean. Louisa points out that Billy’s father is such a terrible parent that he won’t even give his son any food for lunch: “Billy Davis got to live with his daddy ever day. I’d ruther be in your shoes. And I know Billy Davis would. I pray for all them children ever day. And you should too” (187). 

At midnight, the arrival of Diamond awakens Lou. He wants her and Oz to come with him to see something incredible. The children sneak out of the house and follow Diamond to a waterfall illuminated by a full moon. The sight is enchanting. Lou concludes that the rock surrounding the pool must be phosphorescent.

As the three head back toward home, Diamond’s dog, Jeb, takes off after a bear. The children continue their trek without the dog until Diamond notices that they’ve stumbled across George Davis’s makeshift distillery. The man is concocting illegal moonshine and doesn’t realize the children are observing him. Before the children can sneak away, Jeb chases the bear right into the still operation. As Diamond tries to control the dog, George charges at them and nabs Oz. In the scuffle that follows, the still is destroyed, and Diamond knocks George out with a piece of timber.

The children run home only to be confronted by an angry Louisa. She sends Diamond to sleep in the barn and lectures Lou about endangering Oz. The next morning, George arrives and demands payment for his wrecked still. He threatens Louisa, who points a shotgun at him. Diamond intervenes and gives George an antique coin as payment for the damage.  

A few nights later, after supper, Cotton arrives with Diamond, who has had a rare bath for the occasion. The lawyer is carrying a gramophone and some records. He hopes that the music might stir Amanda’s interest. Everyone clears a space in the middle of the room, and they all begin to dance. The happy revelry has a positive effect on Amanda: “Something was a little odd now with the music and laughter filtering into her room. Perhaps if it was possible to smile without moving one facial muscle, Amanda Cardinal had just accomplished it” (203).

Meanwhile, a group of men, that includes George Davis, are investigating the small coal mine located on Louisa’s property. This is a geological survey crew, and the men all become jubilant at something they’ve just discovered inside the mine.