blank Close call
-- a story about Lewis Martin

O ne day Lewis Martin was splitting wood near the big hill to the north of the farmhouse. 

It was late afternoon, and Lewis could hear the conversation of his brothers and sister--Harry, Jack, George and Roberta--as they walked home from school. From the volume of the conversation it was apparent that they were just out of his sight on the other side of the crest of the hill.

Suddenly a car coming from Lewis' side of the hill popped up over the crest. On the other side, Lewis heard the car slam on its brakes and squeal to a stop.  Fearing the worst, Lewis took off at a run. White-as-a-sheet, he loped over the crest--and found everyone was okay. It seems that the kids, who had been taught to be careful when walking at that spot, had been walking well to the sides of the road--just in case they met traffic at that spot. 

The car's driver hadn't been thinking about finding kids in the road and had slammed on his breaks instinctively when he crested the hill and found children walking on the other side.

The car went slower as it continued on its way, while Lewis walked to the house with his brothers and sister. Jack said that it took quite a while after the mishap for the color to return to Lewis' face.
 
 

--as told by Jack Martin   
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