5.
Saturday Morning
9:11 A.M.
Jubilee of Life Church
Outside the back entrance to the Jubilee of Life Pentecostal Church, Reverend Marvin Corwin unlocks the heavy gold and silver padlock hanging from the handle of the Hotel Jubilee, a custom-made cage to hold the many rattlesnakes the boys bring back each year. A wirey, towheaded boy, all smiles, follows closely behind.
“You sure you want to call it a day, Scotty?” asks the Reverend.
“Yessir, I’m happy with my three snakes.”
“Well then, If you think so, your snakes have the honor of being the first three to move in to the Hotel Jubilee this year.”
The doors creaks open, revealing a long wood-framed cage the size of a pick-up truck. The top is covered in a grid made of alternating 2×4’s and welded wire fencing. The Reverend lifts the padlock and opens the cage.
“Alright, let’s get these fine specimens secured. Hand me your bag and we’ll get ‘em in there. After I drop ‘em in, you quick like close the door.”
The boy hands over the pulsating burlap bag. The Reverend unties it and gives it the slightest shake. Heads over rattles, the three snakes fall into the cage in a hissing angry ball,
Scotty drops the gate, nearly slamming it closed on the tail of a rattler.
The Reverend snaps on the lock, a long whistle escaping his lips.
“That was a close one, son. Another second and you might have had the chance to meet the good Lord long before your time.”
“Really, Reverend? Was I that close?”
“Nah, Scotty, you did great. Wrangled them in like a pro. Now go on back to the fields and get yourself some cookies and lemonade while we wait for the rest of the boys to get back.”
Scotty ignores his advice and continues to lurk, peering through the cage at the snakes as Jacob Tilden walks up to join Reverend Corwin.
6.
9:20 A.M.
Jubilee of Life Church
The clear day has become cloudy and a light rain has begun.
Reed bursts through the trees and runs through the tall grass toward the Reverend. He passes several other boys out hunting for their own snakes.
“Hey Reed, how many ya got?” shouts a small boy with a Cornhuskers hat, holding up his stick in greeting.
“Not now,” Reed replies, and continues running.
His feet ablaze, his breathing heavy, and a sharp pain in his side, he nears the church.
The Reverend and Jacob are walking down from the snake pit as he approaches.
“Jacob, come quick, need your help,” says Reed, each word separated by a deep breath.
Hands on knees, his face growing red, he continues, “It’s Mick, he fell down into the pit. I don’t know how badly he’s hurt, he’s just laying there, his leg…it’s bent…it’s snapped…it’s broken.
“Now calm down, son,” says the Reverend. “Show Jacob where to go and I’ll get some help and take some three-wheelers down to the pits.
Reed hops on a three-wheeler with Jacob. The chattering engine drowns out the voices of the other parishioners, along with their well wishes and prayers. Reed nods his head in a serious gesture as they speed away into the field. The Reverend and two other men gather medical supplies and a stretcher, following Jacob while others run off to the church office to phone an ambulance.
7.
9:53 A.M.
The Sandpits
Like dinosaurs gathering at a watering hole, an abandoned excavator and a bulldozer sit dormant at the edge of the sandpits. Mick’s awake and his agonizing screams overcome the aggressive buzzing of the three-wheelers’ engines. They find him on the ground, writhing, his right leg snapped, laying sideways, like a backward letter L, the bright white of bone visible through his blood-soaked blue jeans.
While Jacob splints the leg, The Reverend works to calm Mick as the others prepare the stretcher to take him back to safety.
8.
9:53 A.M.
The Hotel Jubilee
Back at The Hotel Jubilee, a line of boys with ragged, burlap snake bags has formed. They take their turn and release their captives into the snake pit, the floor of the cage a writhing bed with fang and rattle.
Scotty, the first boy to arrive back with his bag, looks on as the church custodian, Janice, reattaches the ancient padlock to the cage. In a state of anxiety about Mick’s injury, the usually cool-headed woman, leaves the padlock unlatched when she turns back to join the anxious crowd.
9.
10:02 A.M.
The Field Outside Jubilee of Life Church
Suspended between two three-wheelers, Mick lay on the stretcher, in and out of consciousness, his muffled cries occasionally escaping the chainsaw buzz of the engines. The group breaches the hill and see the entire congregation gathered in the churchyard.
Babies yowl and shouts of, “Good Lord…” “Is he alive?” and finally “My boy, that’s my boy!” come from the crowd.
10.
10:02 A.M.
The Hotel Jubilee
Clad in his favorite game day, red Nebraska football shirt and blue jeans, Scotty slowly makes his way to the snake pit. The gold and silver padlock, still unlatched, is now within reach. Always a helpful child, he reaches up to latch it, but the smallest of the agitated rattlers strikes at him through the fence. Scotty is fast and dodges the beast but a second snake manages to break the skin of his calf as he reaches out for the padlock.
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