Part 15 (1/2)
”Jodie, yonder's a whole bunch of men!”
”Where?”
”Backed up there between the fire and the schoolhouse branch.”
”Yeah, I see them now. They've been trying to put it out for us! Nannie, it won't be safe for y'all to go any closer. I'll stop the wagon here at the gin. Now, you young'uns stay with your mama.”
”Jodie, it's too late to do a thing! Don't you go up close!
All them cartons of shotgun sh.e.l.ls could go off.”
”They've done exploded. That's what Bandershanks heard.
Nannie, I've gotta go close enough to see if I can tell how and where that low-down fool set the fire.”
”What'd you say, Papa?”
”Nothing of any consequence, son. You hitch the mules for me.
Here, hold the reins.”
Papa leaped from the wagon and ran up the slope, straight toward the fire.
”Take care, Jodie!”
”Mama, soon's I hitch the mules, lem'me go find out what it looks like on the other side! I ain't never seen such a fire in my whole life! I'll run way around. I won't get no closer'n we are right now.”
”Lemme go too, Mama.”
”If Mierd goes, can I go, Mama?”
”Now, now, children, Papa said for y'all to stay with me. I tell you what we'll do. I'll walk with you, and we'll make our way up toward the schoolhouse spring. But now y'all have got to keep close to me and close to the branch.”
”Hot diggity! Come on!”
”Mama?”
”What, Mierd?”
”How come the fire just keeps on and on burning so terrible?”
”For one thing, the timbers in the store are pine, heart pine, full of fat-even the s.h.i.+ngles on the roof. Besides, the shelves were stocked full of Christmas goods-things that burn easy. And, there's all that coal oil, and cloth-just everything.”
”Mama, all our candy's burning up!”
”Yeah, Bandershanks. I guess it is. Don't cry, hon!”
”Hot diggity! Yonder's Wallace Goode! Mama, see Wallace standing up there with all the men? Lemme go where he's at!”
”Just for a minute, son. Then you come straight back.”
Mierd and I wanted to go see Wallace too, but Mama wouldn't let us. Wiley came streaking back, Wallace with him.