Tillie leaned forward over the handlebars, standing on the pedals as she powered the clunky old bike up the hillside. It really wasn"t much of a hill, not compared to the hills around her former school in Mankato, but it was the tallest this prairie town had to offer. Usually she made the climb easily, but this June day had dawned unseasonably hot and humid. The air was dead calm, without the slightest of breezes to cool her, and too full of moisture already to wick away any of the perspiration that coated her body.
Drops of sweat from her forehead showered down on her hands with every downward stroke. And they were already sweaty enough; her palms were so greasy they kept slipping over the grips. The salty taste of her own perspiration kept leaking into the corners of her mouth, but it w
