the road with them dogs already chasin it.
"What he doin down here?" the Reverend's wife utters. "Get in the house, woman." The Reverend snaps h is
words, then stands and comes to the edge of the porch.
The black Ford has slowed, the dogs and some of the chil dren run alongside of it. It stops, then slowly moves on again, until it disappears down at the end of the Patch Road, where the bushes rise again.
Rever end Sims does not move, his eyes stay on the green thick bushes where they last saw the dust y car. Patch mamas started callin them children, each child s eem to have its own sound callin for it. The dogs are returning to their places in the shade, but the Reverend is still. He knows the Patch Road doesn't go that far and there's onl y one way out of the Patch by car, and that's the same as the road in.
Shorty just a smilin and rockin, that whiskey just a rollin around in his head, got his mouth sayin everything. Big Jake ain't listenin, sillin over there sleep with his whiskey. LeRo y is just hafe listenin to Shorty. Shorty sayin the same thing
B I L L y I 53
anyway. Della Robinson is down LeRoy's too, she come down, heard Shorty down there with some money in his pocket , spendin it early. She ha s been tryin to get Shorty out of there , get him out back, and get some of that money before he spend it all on hisself. LeRoy knows what she's tryin to do , but he don't care, if the money don't come from Shorty's hand now, it will come from hers later.
"Hey, Shorty, baby, what's ya gonna do for Della, huh? Ya got somethin for me? Ya ain't hidin nothin, huh? Ya ain ' t hidin from me, are ya?" Della is cooing, and the more she does the more Shorty rocks and grins. " Come on ta me , Shorty baby. Why don't ya come on and goes wit me, Ah let you see some things ya like to look at. Ya like that, ya know ya likes to see some things Ah got for y a. "
Shorty's eyes are dancing in his head. Della keeps cooing and giving Shorty some good long looks. She knows he so drunk now, she can take him out back in the bushes, let him put his face in her breast, show him a nipple, and have what he got left in his pocket. She got him now, got him sniffin right behind her and just about to get through the door when Sheriff Tom come bustin in.
Shorty starts smilin up in the sheriff 's face and slobberin his words. "Afternoon, Sheriff Tom, fine afternoon, Sheriff. "
Sheriff Tom pushes Shorty out his wa y and walks up to th e counter.
LeRoy ha s stood, leaned over , and put his elbows down on the counter, looks at the sh e riff, and sa y s, "Ah got some bourbon here, ya want a little taste for this here heat?"
"Ya musta know I was comin."
"Figured ya might just stop down here."
"Ya knows why I'm here, then. I take it this little old bo y here with that grin all over his face and that rotgut ya s old
5./. I Albert f'rl'll('h
him, told ya about Reel Pasko's li t tle girl. Did he tells you about that? I'll take some bourbon."
Sheriff Tom made a little grunt as he stoppe
The sheriff took a sip and wiped the back of his neck again and just stood quietly for a moment. LeRoy tilted his glass up, drank his bourbon down, poured hisself another drink, and filled the sheriff 's glass back up.
"LeRoy, I got somet hin ugly here , real u gly," Sheriff started talkin real slow, almost mumbling.
"Yeah, Ah hear, Sheriff. Shorty comes down and tells me somebody hurts a little girl," LeRoy
"What he doin down here?" the Reverend's wife utters. "Get in the house, woman." The Reverend snaps h is
words, then stands and comes to the edge of the porch.
The black Ford has slowed, the dogs and some of the chil dren run alongside of it. It stops, then slowly moves on again, until it disappears down at the end of the Patch Road, where the bushes rise again.
Rever end Sims does not move, his eyes stay on the green thick bushes where they last saw the dust y car. Patch mamas started callin them children, each child s eem to have its own sound callin for it. The dogs are returning to their places in the shade, but the Reverend is still. He knows the Patch Road doesn't go that far and there's onl y one way out of the Patch by car, and that's the same as the road in.
Shorty just a smilin and rockin, that whiskey just a rollin around in his head, got his mouth sayin everything. Big Jake ain't listenin, sillin over there sleep with his whiskey. LeRo y is just hafe listenin to Shorty. Shorty sayin the same thing
B I L L y I 53
anyway. Della Robinson is down LeRoy's too, she come down, heard Shorty down there with some money in his pocket , spendin it early. She ha s been tryin to get Shorty out of there , get him out back, and get some of that money before he spend it all on hisself. LeRoy knows what she's tryin to do , but he don't care, if the money don't come from Shorty's hand now, it will come from hers later.
"Hey, Shorty, baby, what's ya gonna do for Della, huh? Ya got somethin for me? Ya ain't hidin nothin, huh? Ya ain ' t hidin from me, are ya?" Della is cooing, and the more she does the more Shorty rocks and grins. " Come on ta me , Shorty baby. Why don't ya come on and goes wit me, Ah let you see some things ya like to look at. Ya like that, ya know ya likes to see some things Ah got for y a. "
Shorty's eyes are dancing in his head. Della keeps cooing and giving Shorty some good long looks. She knows he so drunk now, she can take him out back in the bushes, let him put his face in her breast, show him a nipple, and have what he got left in his pocket. She got him now, got him sniffin right behind her and just about to get through the door when Sheriff Tom come bustin in.
Shorty starts smilin up in the sheriff 's face and slobberin his words. "Afternoon, Sheriff Tom, fine afternoon, Sheriff. "
Sheriff Tom pushes Shorty out his wa y and walks up to th e counter.
LeRoy ha s stood, leaned over , and put his elbows down on the counter, looks at the sh e riff, and sa y s, "Ah got some bourbon here, ya want a little taste for this here heat?"
"Ya musta know I was comin."
"Figured ya might just stop down here."
"Ya knows why I'm here, then. I take it this little old bo y here with that grin all over his face and that rotgut ya s old
5./. I Albert f'rl'll('h
him, told ya about Reel Pasko's li t tle girl. Did he tells you about that? I'll take some bourbon."
Sheriff Tom made a little grunt as he stoppe
The sheriff took a sip and wiped the back of his neck again and just stood quietly for a moment. LeRoy tilted his glass up, drank his bourbon down, poured hisself another drink, and filled the sheriff 's glass back up.
"LeRoy, I got somet hin ugly here , real u gly," Sheriff started talkin real slow, almost mumbling.
"Yeah, Ah hear, Sheriff. Shorty comes down and tells me somebody hurts a little girl," LeRoy
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