Showdown with the Shepherd Read online

  Hugh suddenly raised his hand and flicked his fingers at the torch. The flames exploded in a bright fury.

  A cloud of smoke filled the tent.

  Patrick couldn’t see anything for a moment. Then he heard King Saul cough. David waved at the smoke to clear it away.

  “The messenger has disappeared!” David said.

  “Like magic,” King Saul said.

  Patrick looked around the tent. Beth was gone too!

  The Enemy

  Beth sat in the middle of a tent. Her hands were tied tightly with leather straps to a post. She wiggled her fingers to keep them from falling asleep.

  The tent was empty. Hugh had left her an hour ago. A guard paced just outside the entrance.

  Beth felt foolish. She should have known that Hugh would do something sneaky. But she hadn’t expected him to make fire and smoke. And she hadn’t expected him to grab her.

  Hugh had easily pulled Beth out of the tent. At each fire pit, he had thrown fire powder into the flames. A smoke screen had covered them as they left the Israelite camp.

  A band of Philistine soldiers had waited for Hugh at the edge of the brook. The men had brought Hugh and Beth safely to the Philistine camp.

  Just then Beth heard voices outside Hugh’s tent. A moment later the flap was thrown aside, and Hugh entered.

  He smirked at her. “Goliath laughed when I told him about the boy,” he said.

  Beth frowned back at him. “So,” she said. “You know how this story ends.”

  He raised a hand and said, “You mean, how the story might end. Anything can change now that I’m here.”

  Beth shook her head.

  Hugh stepped closer to her. “How did you get here?” he asked.

  “The same way you did,” Beth said.

  “But you don’t have the ring,” Hugh said. “I have it. Is there another way to travel through time?”

  “That’s for me to know and you to find out,” Beth said.

  “If you’ll help me, I’ll untie you,” he said.

  “No,” Beth said. Her eyes were blazing.

  Hugh leaned toward her. “You’re a silly child,” he said. “Don’t you see how good we could have it? With everything we know, we could be kings and queens in this land.”

  “Is that your plan?” Beth asked.

  “Part of it,” Hugh said with a thin smile. “The Philistines deserve to win this battle. They’re the stronger warriors. A boy with a slingshot shouldn’t be the victor.”

  “Isn’t that up to God?” Beth asked. “David will win because God is on his side.”

  Hugh laughed and said, “David might win because he has the element of surprise. So do I. It’s a secret weapon.”

  “A secret weapon? You think you can save Goliath’s life?” asked Beth.

  “I don’t have to save his life,” Hugh said.

  “Then what are you going to do?” Beth asked.

  Hugh chuckled. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

  A Philistine soldier stepped into the tent. He bowed down on the floor.

  “Rise,” Hugh said. “What do you want?”

  The man stood. He kept his eyes downcast. “Sir,” he said, “you are needed at the work site. The head builder says the job is nearly finished.”

  Hugh nodded. He went to the tent entrance. Then he said to the soldier, “Bring the girl. I want her to see why she should be afraid.”

  The soldier untied the leather straps, and Beth stood.

  The soldier led her behind Hugh. They came to a wooded hill behind the Philistine camp. She could hear the sounds of sawing and hammering.

  They entered through the trees to a small clearing.

  What she saw next surprised her.

  Men were hammering nails into a large wooden structure. It was at least three stories high.

  It was a catapult!

  And then she remembered something: Catapults had not been invented yet.

  Now she knew why Hugh was so sure of himself. Hugh could take control by using the catapult to attack the Israelites.

  He might change history and win!

  A man brought Hugh a piece of papyrus.

  The man pointed at an area on the thick paper.

  Hugh nodded his head. “Good work,” he said.

  “Shall we test it?” the man asked.

  “No, we mustn’t let the Israelites know what it can do. We have to wait until the right moment,” Hugh said.

  “But you can’t do this,” Beth said to Hugh. “If you help the Philistines win, then all of history might change!”

  Hugh shrugged. “So what?” he asked. “I don’t care as long as I’m on the winning side.”

  Beth groaned. “How can you know the Bible and be such a nasty man?” she asked.

  Hugh laughed and said, “The Bible is full of nasty men.”

  “They don’t win in the end,” Beth said.

  “I will,” Hugh said. “You’ll see tomorrow.”

  The Song

  The fire was hot. Patrick could feel the warmth on his face. But inside he felt cold. He was worried about Beth. He guessed Hugh had taken her. Why?

  Nearby, David’s brother Eliab stood over a large fire. He stirred a pot of stew.

  David sat down next to Patrick. He said, “I’m sorry about your cousin.”

  Patrick nodded. “Hugh is mean,” he said.

  “Once Goliath falls, we’ll get her back,” David said. “I’m sure our Lord will watch over her until then.”

  Patrick admired David’s faith in God. He wished he could be more like the shepherd.

  An odd sound echoed across the valley. Everyone stopped to listen. Patrick realized it was the sound of Beth’s harmonica. She was playing a song.

  Patrick stood up with excitement. “Beth’s okay,” he said to David. “That’s her. She’s playing a harmonica.”

  David looked confused. “A har-moanee-ka?” he asked.

  “A harmonica is a musical instrument,” Patrick said. “But why is she starting and stopping the song?”

  Patrick hummed along to Beth’s tune.

  Suddenly, he sat up straight. “It’s ‘ The Alphabet Song’!” he said. “We learned it as little kids. It taught us the letters in our alphabet.”

  “Why would she play that song now?” David asked.

  “I don’t know,” Patrick said.

  The song started again. Patrick listened.

  This time she made it to the letter P. She started again. She got as far as U. Then L.

  Patrick realized what was going on. Beth was sending a message!

  Patrick crouched. He used his finger to write the letters in the dirt: P, U, L.

  Beth began to play again. Each time she stopped, Patrick wrote down the letter.

  P, U, L, T, C, A, T, A, P

  He wrote nine letters before the music stopped. He waited, but Beth didn’t play anything else.

  He looked over the letters. Was it a scrambled message?

  Patrick began to write words in the dirt.

  AT, TAP, CAT

  He still had some leftover letters. If only Beth would start again. She didn’t.

  Tap at cat? No, that wasn’t it.

  Patrick decided to make some new words. He mixed up the letters too.

  UP, PACT, A, PUT, PUL.

  “Put up a cat!” Patrick shouted.

  David and his brothers looked at Patrick.

  “What does that mean?” David asked.

  Patrick stood back and looked at all the words. Patrick read more. “Pul-Cat-

  A-Tap.” He read it again, “Up-A-Cat-Pul.”

  “Catapult!” shouted Patrick. “Beth is saying catapult.”

  “What is a ‘cat-ah-polt’?” Eliab asked.

  “It’s a weapon,” Patrick said. “It throws things through the air.”

  “Like my sling?” David asked.

  “Sort of,” Patrick said. “But it’s a lot bigger. It can throw large rocks or burning wood.”
<
br />   “Why are you frowning?” David asked.

  “A catapult could destroy your whole camp,” Patrick said. “Even city walls wouldn’t be able to hold up against it. This is big trouble.”

  The Rescue

  David and his brothers had fallen asleep inside a tent. The entire camp was still. Night had fallen.

  Patrick sat on a large rock in the open air. He couldn’t sleep. He was worried about Beth. He fiddled with his bracelet and wondered how to stop Hugh from using the catapult.

  An owl hooted. Leaves rustled. The soldiers snored. Only a few guards walked the paths, keeping a watchful eye.

  Patrick knew what he had to do.

  He waited for a guard to pass by. The soldier disappeared behind a nearby tent. Patrick sprinted for the edge of the camp.

  He looked out over the valley. Patrick raced to a patch of high grass. He waited to make sure no one had seen him. Then he ran toward the Philistine camp.

  At times he crouched. At times he crawled. He hoped he wouldn’t get caught. He also hoped there weren’t any snakes, scorpions, lions, or bears in the grass.

  The sky was even darker when he came to the brook. No starlight shone on the water. That made it easier for Patrick to cross unseen. He waded quietly across.

  With soggy sandals, Patrick reached the Philistine camp. There were so many tents. Which one held Beth?

  Torchlight flickered ahead. Patrick quickly ducked between two tents. A guard passed without seeing him.

  Then Patrick realized that these tents didn’t have guards. Why would they? But there might be guards watching Beth.

  He pressed onward. Then he stopped short. Two guards stood outside a tent at the far end of the camp.

  Patrick’s heart lifted. He hoped it was Beth’s tent.

  Patrick slipped around to the back of the tent. He got down on his belly and crawled. He found a gap between the canvas and the ground. He wiggled inside.

  Patrick looked around the tent. But he couldn’t see anything. He waited for his eyes to get used to the pitch black.

  He saw a small form on the floor in the middle of the tent.

  Someone lay sleeping on the ground.

  Patrick tiptoed over and looked at the small shape. It was Beth! She was asleep, but her hands were tied to a tent pole with a leather strap.

  Patrick crouched down. He leaned over and put a hand gently over Beth’s mouth. He whispered in her ear, “Don’t scream. It’s me, Patrick.”

  Beth’s eyes opened wide.

  Patrick drew back his hand.

  Beth smiled. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered.

  Patrick nodded. “We’d better go,” he said quietly. He untied the strap.

  Beth shook her hands. “My fingers tingle with pins and needles,” she said.

  Patrick led her to the back of the tent. They both crawled out from underneath the canvas. As they stood to leave, Beth stopped Patrick.

  “Wait! We can’t leave yet,” she said.

  “Why not?” Patrick asked.

  “Didn’t you get my message?” Beth asked.

  Patrick’s eyes lit up. “Yes,” he said. “The catapult.”

  “He’s going to use it on the Israelites after David defeats Goliath,” Beth said. “We have to break it.”

  “How?” Patrick asked.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe you’ll think of something when you see it.”

  Beth and Patrick sneaked quietly through the camp. They hid behind tents to avoid the guards on watch.

  The cousins reached the woods and spotted the catapult. Torches around the bottom gave off a dim light. Patrick could see enough to be worried. The catapult had a large beam attached with several ropes. It looked like a giant arm.

  At the end of the beam was a giant bucket. Patrick guessed that the Philistines would put a big boulder in it. Then they would fling the rock at the Israelite camp.

  Two soldiers paced back and forth. They were guarding the catapult.

  “How do we get past?” Patrick asked.

  Suddenly something hit Patrick’s back.

  “What?” he whispered to Beth.

  “I didn’t do anything,” she said.

  “Didn’t you tap me on the shoulder?” he asked.

  “No,” Beth whispered.

  Patrick felt another tap, this time on his leg. A small pebble fell at his feet.

  The cousins crouched low in the grass.

  “Someone’s throwing rocks,” Beth said.

  A hand waved at them from behind a tree. Then David peeked out at them.

  Beth and Patrick sneaked through the grass toward the shepherd.

  Beth sighed with relief. “I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered.

  “But why are you here?” Patrick asked.

  “I followed you,” David said. “I thought you might try to rescue Beth.”

  Beth smiled. “My heroes,” she said.

  David pointed to the catapult. “Is that the giant slingshot?” he asked.

  “It’s a catapult,” Patrick said.

  “It is big,” David said. His eyes were wide.

  “And it’s very powerful,” Patrick said.

  “We have to wreck it,” Beth said. “But there are two guards who will stop us.”

  “We need a distraction,” Patrick said.

  “Beth could play her harmonica over in the woods,” David said.

  Beth shook her head. “I don’t have it,” she said. “Hugh took it away from me. That’s why I stopped playing ‘ The Alphabet Song’ earlier.”

  Patrick looked at David and asked, “Could you knock out the guards using your sling?”

  David shook his head. “It’s too risky,” he said. “I might get only one before the other shouted for help.”

  “I have an idea!” Beth said. “David and I could hide in the woods and make snorts like a bear. The men would follow the sounds.”

  David nodded. “That’s a great idea,” he said. “Surely the guards would go after a bear. It would be a prize for them to show off to the other soldiers.”

  “No,” Patrick said, “what if they follow the sound and catch you two?”

  “I’ll take care of that,” said David. “If they move in Beth’s direction, I’ll make a bear noise from somewhere else. Then the guards will come after me.”

  “When they do, I’ll make a bear snort from a different place,” Beth said.

  “They’ll think the bear is moving,” David said.

  “We’ll keep them running in circles,” Beth said. She giggled softly.

  “But how will you destroy the catapult?” David asked Patrick.

  Patrick sighed and said. “I’m not sure.”

  Patrick looked at the large structure. It was made with wood and rope. Should he try to burn it down? He looked at the torches and back at the catapult. It would take a lot of heat to get something that big to catch fire.

  “Whatever you’re going to do, you must do it quickly,” David said to Patrick.

  Patrick nodded. He wondered what Mr. Whittaker would suggest. There had to be something he could do. He fiddled with the snake-knot bracelet on his wrist.

  Patrick’s eyes went from the bracelet to the catapult, then back to the bracelet. “I think I know what to do,” he said.

  “What?” Beth asked.

  “There’s no time to explain,” Patrick said. He wasn’t even sure it would work.

  David patted Patrick on the back. “We’ll take our positions,” David said.

  “How will I know if the soldiers are coming back?” Patrick asked.

  “I’ll hoot like an owl,” David said.

  “Let’s go,” Beth said to David. Then they sneaked off toward the woods.

  Patrick crouched low and waited.

  A few minutes later, he heard a bearlike growl coming from the woods.

  He watched as the guards moved toward each other. They talked for a moment and then grabbed their spears. They charged into the woo
ds.

  Patrick slipped the bracelet off his wrist. And then he sprinted for the catapult.

  The Knots

  Patrick climbed the catapult frame monkey style. It was like playing on a jungle gym. He made it to the bucket.

  He could hear Beth, and then David, snorting and growling below. They were doing their bear act for the two guards.

  Patrick found two ropes tied to the bucket. The ropes would be used to lower the bucket.

  Just like I hoped! he thought.

  The knots were tight. He got one knot loose after a minute or two. Then he stopped to look at the end knot of his bracelet. It was a slipknot. He retied the catapult knot in the same way as the bracelet’s.

  Just then, a gust of wind blew.

  Patrick lost his balance and slid down the bucket. He clawed at the air and began to fall. He clamped his legs together around the beam and hooked his ankles. He didn’t fall to the ground. But he was now hanging upside down.

  Patrick looked at the ground. It was a long drop. His heart pounded.

  Then he heard a hooting sound coming from the woods.

  Whoo! Whoo!

  That was David’s signal! The soldiers were coming back! Patrick had to hurry.

  He struggled to get upright again. He had to hope the work he’d done would stop Hugh.

  Patrick shinnied down the launch beam.

  He hit the ground running. He raced for the tree where he’d last been with Beth and David.

  A moment later Beth appeared. “How did it go?” she asked.

  “I untied one of the ropes,” Patrick said. “Then I retied the knot so it’ll slip. Tomorrow the Philistines will try to launch the catapult. But the bucket should tilt.”

  “What do you mean by ‘should’?” Beth asked. “Will the bucket tilt or not?”

  “I think it will,” Patrick said.

  Just then David appeared. He was breathless from running.

  “Are the soldiers coming?” Patrick asked.

  “No,” David said. “They’re still looking for the bear, I think. I used my sling and tossed a few stones farther away. They heard the sound and followed it.”

  “But I heard you hooting,” Patrick said.

  David tilted his head. “I didn’t hoot.”