Part 24 (1/2)
”No, suh!” Shoogie told him. She started backing away.
”Gal, you a-feared o' automobiles?”
”Shoogie ain't scared! She just ain't seen none!”
”Well, Bandershanks, I know you ain't a-feared to ride, are you?”
Before I could say ”Yes, sir” or ”No, sir,” he grabbed me by both arms and jumped back into the automobile with me!
”Turn me loose!”
”Shut up! Quit screamin' and kickin'!”
He clamped his hand over my mouth and plunked me down on the seat. With his feet he did something that made the automobile start rolling.
”Sit still, young'un! What's that little n.i.g.g.e.r's name?” Then he hollered back at Shoogie, ”Black gal, you go tell Mister Jodie to get me that money!”
I twisted around quick to see what Shoogie would do. Shoogie was gone! All I saw was a streak of dust.
”Now, little wildcat, you'd just as well stop scratchin' and fightin'! We've got a long ways to go! Ah, this is the chance I been waitin' for! Your pa's gonna pay plenty to get you back, and I can buy me my own automobile! Man, that'll be the day! G.o.d d.a.m.n, young'un, you bite me one more time and I'll let you have it! Quit tryin' to jump out, you little devil! Don't you know if you jump, fast as we're goin', you'll break your fool neck?”
All at once Mister Ward quit talking mean to me. He didn't let go of my arm, but he told me he thought I was a sweet little gal-pretty, too-and that we were going where there was lots of candy.
”More candy than anybody's ever seen, Bandershanks!”
”I don't want no candy! I wanta go home!”
”Just as soon as we get all that candy, we'll go home.”
”Where's the candy at?”
”It's not too far,” he said. ”Pretty soon after we cross Rocky Head Bridge we'll come to the road goin' to that candy store.”
He reached down under the edge of the seat and got a bottle of something that didn't smell good and gulped down half of it.
”What's that?”
”Whiskey. Good G.o.d, ain't you never seen a bottle o' whiskey before?”
”No, sir.”
”I wish to h.e.l.l my young'uns could say that.” He laughed and muttered something else.
Then Mister Ward began singing, or half singing and half talking to himself. He sounded real happy, like he knew something n.o.body else had ever thought about. He had quit paying much attention to the road. Instead, he was just letting the automobile weave from side to side. I was wis.h.i.+ng we'd hurry and come to that candy road. But we didn't. We just kept going and going.
”When we gonna get there?”
”Just a little bit farther, gal.”
The few houses we were pa.s.sing I'd never seen before. ”I wanta go back home!”
”Naw, naw, don't start that tune again. We're gonna soon be comin' to a big steel bridge. You ain't never seen such a high bridge! Be watchin' out and tell me when you see it up ahead.”