Charles Williams The Diamond Bikini (pdf)

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

shoat to save a man from comin down with that
typhoid, and then before he can hardly thank em for
what they done they get another burr under their
crupper and go tearin off to hell an gone to save
some other pore taxpayer from something. Man was
to just set once in a while he d live longer.
The two sheriff s men looked at each other again
and then out at the car like it had suddenly gone a
long way off and they wasn t sure they could make it
that far in the hot sun. They kind of oozed down on
the steps, still watching Uncle Sagamore and looking
into the end of the shotgun. Well, I reckon there
ain t no great hurry, come to think of it, the gold-
tooth one says.
Now you re talkin , Uncle Sagamore says. He
took the old plug of tobacco out of his pocket,
rubbing it on his overall leg to get off some of the lint
and dirt and roofing tack that was sticking to it, and
bit off a big chew.
Want to make you acquainted with my kin-folks,
he went on. This is my brother Sam and his boy.
Sam s in the investment business in New York. Sam,
say howdy to the shurf s boys. The high-pockets one
with the chicken fat in his hair is Booger Ledbetter,
and the other one, with that kiss-me-quick
moustache, is Otis Sears.
Howdy, pop says.
Howdy, Booger says.
Howdy, Otis says.
The Diamond Bikini 28
Nobody said anything else for a minute or two. We
all just sat there hunkered down looking at each
other. I was on one side of Uncle Sagamore and Pop
was on the other, and the two sheriff s men was on
the top step, in front of us. I could hear that bug
going buz-z-z-z out in the trees again. Then a little
breeze come along and the smell got awful. The
sheriff s men fanned harder with their hats.
You boys warm? Uncle Sagamore asked.
Well, not exactly, Booger says. It s just that
smell. Get s sort of rank at times.
Smell? Uncle Sagamore asked. He looked at them
kind of puzzled, and then at Pop. You smell
anything, Sam?
Pop quit waving the air with his hat. Why no, he
says, surprised like. What kind of a smell?
Uncle Sagamore looked back at Booger and Otis.
You sure you boys ain t just imagining it? Where
does it seem to be coming from?
Why, I thought from the tubs over there, Booger
says.
You don t mean my tannery, do you? Uncle
Sagamore asked.
Well uh, Booger says, looking at the end of the
shotgun again. I thought there was a sort of smell
coming from over there, but maybe I was wrong.
Sure is funny, Uncle Sagamore says. I ain t
noticed a thing, myself. But I m glad you boys
mentioned it; reminds me it s time for them two on
the end to dreen a little. They been soakin for nine
days now, and I better hang em up. I ll be right
back.
He got up with the shotgun under his arm and
walked over to the end of the porch. He stepped
down and lifted the old cowhide out of the end tub
with a stick and threw it over the clothes line, kind of
spreading it out. Then he took the next one and
spread it on the line too. They began to drip brownish
water onto the ground.
The Diamond Bikini 29
They was bad enough before, but now when they
was out in the air it was awful. They was only ten or
twelve feet away, and with the air circulating around
em. I could feel my eyes watering and my breath
choking up in my throat.
Booger and Otis was looking a little sick. They
would breathe real slow and easy, and fan with their
hats, and then they d look at Uncle Sagamore and
quit fanning and just try not to breathe any more
than they had to.
Uncle Sagamore come back and sat down with his
back against the door jamb and the shotgun over his
knees. He didn t seem to notice the smell at all.
I was kinda wantin to show you boys my tannery,
he says. Bein in the Gov ment, so to speak, you re
probably interested in new industries and the like,
and the different ways a man can scrabble around
and break his back to make enough money to pay his
taxes. What with them pussel-gutted politicians
settin around in the court-house just waitin for him
to scratch another nickel out of the ground, so they
can swoop down on it like sparrows after an oat-
foundered horse, a man s got to do something or he d
get desperate and start runnin for office hisself. So I
figured I d go in the leather business as kind of a
sideline.
Why, that sounds like a real good idea, Otis says,
wiping the sweat off his face.
Uncle Sagamore nodded his head. Sure. That way,
I figure I might be able to eat something once in a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Podobne