See t op and get some er.’
No, ter . ell er gives you typhoid.’
I already yped foot.’
I remember.’
Yeaayed in t room on t t so I was bald-headed.’
I bet least ten miles from tooo.’
I sure am ty, Mick said. And you got in t sack for lunch?’
Cold liver pudding and chicken salad sandwiches and pie.’
ts a good picnic dinner. S s. I got te little packages of salt and pepper. And sander. Everything wrapped in oil paper.
And paper napkins.’
I didnt intend for you to bring anyt o a store soon and get cold drinks.’
to tation store. in aer t glare tore seemed dark. tacked e meat, cans of oil, and sacks of meal. Flies buzzed over a big, sticky jar of
loose candy on ter.
? kind of drinks you got? harry asked.
toreman started to name t good in ter.
I a ce Ne any of them?’
Ditto, two.’
No, a minute. a bottle of beer if you can treat as it y to drink beer—but maybe suddenly ed to be a sport. After t ser face. t on teps in front of tore.
Micks legs ired t them jumped.
Stle ook a long, cold pull. Across ty field of grass, and beyond t a fringe of pine rees black. t blue.
I like beer, so sop bread do. I like to lick salt out my tle to myself Ive ever had.’
t s t tastes good.’
toreman said it oo go. in t sun again. alking loud and laug any reason.
Gos sun makes me dizzy. But I sure do feel good, he said.
I cant to get in swimming.’
to t on to keep from bogging. uck to . ill kept talking. to red clay and tias broto play on ime to it.
the place she had been looking for.
quot;t! See t sign t says PRIVAtE? e got to climb take t pathere—see!’
t. Slick pine needles covered tes ter . Cool. t from ter and a breeze singing rees.
It imid, and tly along the creek.
Dont it look pretty.’
makes you s jump in ter and cool off.’
Arent you hungry?’
O.K. t first. ell eat er on w’
Sly and stuffed to a ree stump. took s and doh.
Sruggled into t oo small and cut he legs.
quot;You ready? harry hollered.
Ser and until I find out if tumps or s looked at er. Sended to dive, anyayed out of parts t o tell old a tale:I dont dive any more. I used to dive, ime.
But once I busted my dive any more. S for a minute. It was a double jack-knife dive I was doing. And wer.
But I didnt t it and just began to do sricks. t me. t wer was coming from.
And I never have swam good since.’
t.’
S to add on to tale to make it sound more reasonable, but instead s looked at broer made it s and legs. In tigrunks and blue.
embarrassed.
ters about ten feet deep except over on ts s going. I bet t cold er feels good.’
S scared. S t caug top of a very ree and to do but just climb do until it broke in o swim.
Once s under, but s going and didnt lose any face. Souctom. t good.
Ser s and called out crazy o make echoes.
atch here!’
all, ttle tree. trunk so ter.
Me too! atc!’
quot;ts a sapling.’
Sly er oo. Now she could swim O.K.
ter. t eac seem to be anyto do. Suddenly she said:have you ever swam naked?’
t and for a minute answer.
itties urned eettered. I—I dont think so.’
tement o say. I o.’
bangs of his hair. O.K.’
took off ts. o umbled and urned to more man a minute.ree and tore it to pieces. e better get dressed.’
All t, sleepy feeling of a summer afternoon.
In t ter and tuffed egg and mas did t make he.
t;Listen ty, Mick. I never did t mean I t you mean t------’
Ser. Maybe ter start back if to be home before dark.’
No, s lie do for a minute.’
cs ig was like sense all over.
Now we can sleep and be fresrip home.’
t bed and looked up at t te like an oboe —and t sank doones and called again. tion words.
I love t bird, s a vireo.’
I c on ter. You to tly like?’
he waves.
Sometimes blue and sometimes green, and in t sun ttle s back in a cigar box. And over
ter are te gulls. e time and ts never baking like it is here. Always------’
Snos to see. Cold, s of snoures. Blizzards. e, cold sno keeps falling soft and falls on and on and on ter. Snow like in Alaska.’
turned at time. t eac rembling and s igo crack. O saying over and over. It ed somethe way.
t was.
t. ty road, for it e afternoon.
Listen here, he said.
Yeah.’
quot;e got to understand t to. Do you—any?’
I dont kno.’
Listen to do somets sit down.’
t by a ditche road.
t far apart from eace sun burned do beds all around them.
e got to understand this, harry said.
very still and tears rolled do t made him cry.
An ant stung up in it very close.
Its this way, he said. never had even kissed a girl before.’
Me neit of the family.*
ts all I used to t—o kiss tain girl. I used to plan about it during sc it at night.
And te. And I could tell s for me to kiss looked at he dark and I
couldnt t —to kiss ime came I couldnt.’
S.
It . Adultery is a terrible sin any it. And you a kid.quot;No, I . I any kid. But now I wishough.’
listen to married—secretly or any other way.’
Mick s like t. I never h any boy.’
I never And Im not just saying so—its true.’
tom lip tled and bloody . and and scourned her head from him.
tter if only quit talking. treaked red-and-c a broken a pine tree across from tising for a man for county sed to sit quiet for a long time and not t say a word.
Im leaving toayed his in my eyes.’
tell me. Can you look at me and see the difference?’
cime and nodded t he could.
t one more t send you my address and you e and tell me for sure w.’
?how you mean? she asked slowly.
o o e is quot;O.K.quot; and tO know.’
tretc giant-sized on t
over like an old beggar and kept wiping his nose on his sleeve.
For a minute t, golden glorees and t very old, and it ed to be or not.
teen miles and from tchen.
come ailor in a sreet.
Sometimes even on Sunday. c nighodox dishes for harry and her.
Listen here------ he said.
Sed in t finisurned and looked back over s was we and hen he was gone.
this here is a riddle, George said.
I listening.’
trail. t t her.
kin hey?’
Less see. epfather.’
George grinned at Portia tle square, blue teeth.
hen.’
You cant guess. It you dont t a Indian being a lady.’
Sood outside tccure. Inside it urned on and t table c t t tia owel. She looked
t. Ralp quietly on trying a little of old Cmas tinsel.
tia. If ts to two------’
S into t o move back t glanced at do table and ed.
raipsing in after everbody done finiso me like I never off from work.’
Nobody noticed e a big plateful of cabbage and salmon and finis. It old Portia t Miss Bro out the gasoline.
Quit fro, Mick. Youre coming to t to fix up and try to look t you can.
And barge out like t wo give Ralpo bed. Clean his nose and ears good.’
Ralp icky meal. S table as ook up tco bed. Sia chen.
Listen! Look at me. Do you notice anyt? Sure I notice, hon.’
Portia put on and changed her shoes. ell—?’
Just you take a little grease and rub it on your face. Your nose already done peeled very bad. t thing for bad sunburn.’
Sood by ree ter if t ell. If they knew.
eps. quot;Mick! Oelep;
George croried to listen in, but sz talked very loud and excited.
My harry should be home by now. You know where he is?’
*No, maam.’
on bicycles. here should he be now? You know where he is? No, maam, Mick said again.
N.
o t again ted. trees ronger. try.
Jake Blount ed t dizzily of t feel ly a o trouble antly. so t omactle pouco leave top button of rousers undone. t, but on drinking. Liquor o take one small glass to make it better. Noo . It t t gave tion of t so all turated mont a quart of w make him drunk.
out liquor entirely. For several days er and Orange Crusernoons and evenings. sleep and it o try to read.
tink in ed less in t last had come.
A dream ed come to error—but trange point never could ents of time aical t doubt but o dreams,
tesque nig led o a madmans region of disorder, but al scattered ts of t them.
tealt nature. t lingered in er. t remembrance of t o save some possession? as ed by all t tudied tand. time after return.
ter of signs day of ting to er cold in t on treets all day.
e and ragged on book full of c and crazy. Simms tried to convert him.
Cy, I smell tink of beer on ttes. If ted us to smoke cigarettes an is on t. Repent. Let me s.quot;Jake rolled up he air.
tained o you, age voice. Simms looked do them.’
Simms backed against ture ed a lock of silver back on ongue licked th. Jake laughed.