Part 18 (1/2)
”Not a word.”
”Fell down day befo' yistidy an' broke her hip.”
”Why,” said Margaret, ”you didn't tell us yistidy at meetin'.”
”Wall, I had suthin' else on my mind at the time. When things git to pus.h.i.+n' around in my mind, I jest let one thing crowd out another.”
”Fell down and broke her hip,” Margaret mused aloud.
”Yes'm. Runnin' fitten to kill herse'f at the time. Can't run so mighty brisk, you know, bein' old an' sorter rheumatic, but she done the best she could. I seed a old feller a runnin' once, an' I says--”
”But here,” Jasper broke in, ”ain't she old enough to know better'n to run fitten to kill herse'f?”
”Yes, suh, but she had to run on this here occasion. She was a gittin'
outen the way.”
”Outen the way of what?”
”The crazy man that was atter her with a knife. Reckon you ricolleck Bud Thomas,” he went on without a change of countenance. ”He made a fiddle outen a gourd an' could play on it a right sharp. Went along by the sto'
one day an' he war a settin' on a box with this here gourd riddle, an--”
”Well, but what about him?” Jasper broke in.
”He war the crazy man. Reckon you ricollect that black ash tree down by the creek at Baker's ford. Come along thar one time when the white suckers war a runnin' an' I had a pair of grab hooks, an'--”
”Well, what about Baker's ford?” Jasper asked, coming closer to him, and Margaret leaned forward expectantly.
”That's whar he hung hisse'f.”
”What are we all a comin' to?” Margaret sighed, sitting back in her chair.
Laz continued: ”Didn't have no rope, so he hung hisse'f with a grape vine.”
Starbuck shook his head. ”Oh, you kin put a grape vine to mo' uses than one.”
Margaret turned upon him. ”Jasper, I wouldn't make light of it.”
”I ain't a makin' light of it--can't make nuthin' of it. Laz, kin you think of any other little thing that's happened to fret yo'
neighborhood?”
”Believe not, nothin' wuth dividin'. Did hear that Tobe Walsh war kicked to death by a mule. Didn't put much faith in it, though.”
”But was it true?”
”Yes. The mule got him. Buried ter-day.”
”Oh, isn't that sad,” Margaret wailed. ”And he leaves a young wife, too.”
”Better than to leave an old one,” said Jasper. ”The young widder, you know, kin smile through her grief.”
”Had to tote her from the grave,” Laz went on. ”But she picked up a right smart chance when Steve Moore came along. Had her bonnet set fur him befo' she married Tobe, but he broke the strings an' got away.”