nife."
Billy pulls the knife from his pocket and pulls it s bl a d e out, then holds it up for Gumpy to look at.
"See, see? It still got blood stickin on it. S ee ? "
50 I Albert Frenclt
"Ya stick her? Ya stick her deep, huh, Billy? She fall?" "She come, tries and gits me again. Ah stuck her fast." "Where ya stick her at? She fall down?"
"Ah tells ya, Ah stuck her titty and gits her ann too." "She fall down? She gits back up? She still bein alive?" "Ah tells ya she falls down. Ah ain't tellin ya no more." "Ya kills her?"
"Ah tells her Ah kills her, she come botherin me again." "She killed, they's goin ta chase us, Billy. Theys try and
gits us."
"Ya scared, Gumpy, ya scared. They can'ts find us." "Ah bet they's comin ta git us. They comin ta git us."
"Theys ain't chasin nobody. Theys ain't comin, Ah watched. Ah ain't seen em. Ya scared."
"Theys go and tells theys mama on us. Ah bets theys did." "Gumpy, theys can'ts find us, they ain't knowin where we's
live."
"They can come ta the Patch, look for us there, tell our mamas."
"We can hide. Theys can'ts find us, we can hide good." "Where's we goin ta hide?"
"We can hides down by the Catfish, hides by that tree." "What tree ya talkin about?"
"That tree, that big tree be fallin down, where them big cats be."
"Theys find us there, theys come see us there."
"Theys can'ts see us there, Gumpy, can't nobody see us there."
"Yeah, they can."
"Ya scared. Theys can' t git us, we can git on a train, gits away."
"Theys go too fast. Ah ain't jumpin no train."
B 1 L L y I 51
"Uh huh. We can jump on one of them old freights. The ys go slow."
Gumpy is silent, he looks away from Bill y and lets his eyes peek down through the bushes and settle on the rusty-colored tracks. He stays quiet, but his eyes twitch and look up the tracks as far as he can see from his hiding place.
"We's can gits on one of em old freights, go ta Chicago, go ta Memphis, we can go everywhere, just ya and me. They's got picture shows all over , real big buildins, ya can look up and can'ts see where they end. Ah see em in my mama 's lookin books," Billy shouts, excitedly, then nudges at Gumpy's back for him to tum around. But Gumpy won't look at Billy.
"Ah wants ta go home," Gumpy whimpers.
Patch dogs were scrawny-lookin dogs, most of them didn't have enough skin to cover their ribs good. Not all of them had names, some of them didn't belong to nobody, but the y hang around just the same. Seem to know when to come around, sit till somebody throws them chicken bones out , or that chicken head. They seemed to know when somebody was about to kick at them, get tired of having them and their fleas hangin around, throw something at them, try and hit them , chase them away. Patch dogs had their ways too. If th ere wasn't nothin to eat, they sleep their da ys away, find some shade up under somebody's sittin porch, or them ones that didn't belong to nobody would get up under them road bushes and just lay.
"And after him was Semma the son of Age of Arari. And the Philistines were gathered together in a troop: for there was a field full of lentils. And then the people fled . . . ." R ev erend Sims flinched, lifted his eyes from the Second Book of Kings, 23:II, when he heard th e barking of th e Pat c h do gs.
52 I Albert French
He closed his slavin Bible when he saw the red dust spiraling above the low trees and bushes that lined the distant Patch Road. He knew, as the dogs k new, somethin that wasn't belongin around here was comin.
Patch dogs started runnin down to the road, barkin and howlin on their way. Them dogs already down at the roadside was out in the road , barkin and growlin. Patch children stopped their play and just stood watchin the road. Porch sittin mamas got up on their feet, moved out to the edge of their porch, stood watchin the road. Reverend Sims' wife, Netty, came to the door, then out onto the porch.
Sheriff Tom's big black Ford with that red dust stuck all on it comes rolling down
Billy pulls the knife from his pocket and pulls it s bl a d e out, then holds it up for Gumpy to look at.
"See, see? It still got blood stickin on it. S ee ? "
50 I Albert Frenclt
"Ya stick her? Ya stick her deep, huh, Billy? She fall?" "She come, tries and gits me again. Ah stuck her fast." "Where ya stick her at? She fall down?"
"Ah tells ya, Ah stuck her titty and gits her ann too." "She fall down? She gits back up? She still bein alive?" "Ah tells ya she falls down. Ah ain't tellin ya no more." "Ya kills her?"
"Ah tells her Ah kills her, she come botherin me again." "She killed, they's goin ta chase us, Billy. Theys try and
gits us."
"Ya scared, Gumpy, ya scared. They can'ts find us." "Ah bet they's comin ta git us. They comin ta git us."
"Theys ain't chasin nobody. Theys ain't comin, Ah watched. Ah ain't seen em. Ya scared."
"Theys go and tells theys mama on us. Ah bets theys did." "Gumpy, theys can'ts find us, they ain't knowin where we's
live."
"They can come ta the Patch, look for us there, tell our mamas."
"We can hide. Theys can'ts find us, we can hide good." "Where's we goin ta hide?"
"We can hides down by the Catfish, hides by that tree." "What tree ya talkin about?"
"That tree, that big tree be fallin down, where them big cats be."
"Theys find us there, theys come see us there."
"Theys can'ts see us there, Gumpy, can't nobody see us there."
"Yeah, they can."
"Ya scared. Theys can' t git us, we can git on a train, gits away."
"Theys go too fast. Ah ain't jumpin no train."
B 1 L L y I 51
"Uh huh. We can jump on one of them old freights. The ys go slow."
Gumpy is silent, he looks away from Bill y and lets his eyes peek down through the bushes and settle on the rusty-colored tracks. He stays quiet, but his eyes twitch and look up the tracks as far as he can see from his hiding place.
"We's can gits on one of em old freights, go ta Chicago, go ta Memphis, we can go everywhere, just ya and me. They's got picture shows all over , real big buildins, ya can look up and can'ts see where they end. Ah see em in my mama 's lookin books," Billy shouts, excitedly, then nudges at Gumpy's back for him to tum around. But Gumpy won't look at Billy.
"Ah wants ta go home," Gumpy whimpers.
Patch dogs were scrawny-lookin dogs, most of them didn't have enough skin to cover their ribs good. Not all of them had names, some of them didn't belong to nobody, but the y hang around just the same. Seem to know when to come around, sit till somebody throws them chicken bones out , or that chicken head. They seemed to know when somebody was about to kick at them, get tired of having them and their fleas hangin around, throw something at them, try and hit them , chase them away. Patch dogs had their ways too. If th ere wasn't nothin to eat, they sleep their da ys away, find some shade up under somebody's sittin porch, or them ones that didn't belong to nobody would get up under them road bushes and just lay.
"And after him was Semma the son of Age of Arari. And the Philistines were gathered together in a troop: for there was a field full of lentils. And then the people fled . . . ." R ev erend Sims flinched, lifted his eyes from the Second Book of Kings, 23:II, when he heard th e barking of th e Pat c h do gs.
52 I Albert French
He closed his slavin Bible when he saw the red dust spiraling above the low trees and bushes that lined the distant Patch Road. He knew, as the dogs k new, somethin that wasn't belongin around here was comin.
Patch dogs started runnin down to the road, barkin and howlin on their way. Them dogs already down at the roadside was out in the road , barkin and growlin. Patch children stopped their play and just stood watchin the road. Porch sittin mamas got up on their feet, moved out to the edge of their porch, stood watchin the road. Reverend Sims' wife, Netty, came to the door, then out onto the porch.
Sheriff Tom's big black Ford with that red dust stuck all on it comes rolling down
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