Part 4 (2/2)

Daniel nodded and started to walk away

”How many bullets did you use?” his father asked

Daniel stopped ”Two”

Jeb nodded approvingly ”Don't fergit to clean the gun real good, now”

”I won't, Paw”

Jeb watched his son walk around the co boy now Al to swell out his britches It was time to move him out of the room he shared with his brother and sisters It wouldn't do at all to have the young ones seeing things like that It put wrong thoughts in their heads, and he had enough trouble with Molly Ann as it was

Molly Ann was his oldest child, a little more than a year older than Daniel and a full wo forherones had gone down frolass and textileand took a sip The white-hot liquor burned its way into his stomach and warmed him Problems; there were always problems with seven children And there would have been ten if three hadn't been stillborn The Good Lord had knohat he was doing He'd figured out that Jeb Stuart Huggins would have a hard enough job providing for those he had But still, it wasn't fair Especially since Maw had crossed her legs and closed him out No more children It wasn't easy on ait And noith Molly Ann walking around with those ripe young titties and chunky fat ass, he was getting all kinds of sinful thoughts He took another sip of the squeezin's and wondered when the circuit preacher would co would do a lot to dispel the sinful sacrilegious notions the Devil was planting in hisa fains stared into the fire-blackened iron pot sitting on the ancient wood-burning stove The water was sireat yellow fat blobs swelling and breaking on its surface With a long-handled fork she rescued the square of fatback froe of the fork With satisfaction she placed it on a plate It should be good for at least two s before it was used up Quickly she dureens into the boiling stock and began stirring She sensed rather than heard Daniel coh the kitchen door She did not turn around

''Maw” As always, she felt a shock at the boy's deepening voice It seemed only yesterday that he had been a baby

'Yes, Dan'l''

'I got me two rabbits Ma says fer you to fix 'emferthepot''

She turned to face hiaunt, and the lines on her face made her seem much older She took the rabbits froe from squir'ls,'' she said

'But we ain't had no squir'ls for more'n a month,” he protested

Her lined face relaxed into a se ''I was jes' fiinnin', son''

His eyes lightened 'Yes, Maw”

'Go tell Molly Ann to come an' he'p me clean the rabbits You'll find her out back mindin' the kids”

”Yes, Maw” He hesitated a ood”

'Tain't nothin' but fatback and greens,” she said ”You hungry?”

He nodded

She took a piece of hard bread from the board next to the stove and wiped it with the salt pork so that all its grease was absorbed, then handed it to him

He took a ood Thank you Maw”

She sit your sister”

She watched hian to hone it gently against the sharpening stone

Daniel walked slowly toward the back of the house He waited athe comer so that he could finish his piece of bread He didn't want the other kids to see hi for some of it When he had sed the last bite, he went around the coed past hian squalling fro suspended frohtened up, the kindling hatchet glea in her hand ”Richard, Jane, you coet a tannin' fer sure”

The children ignored her warning Molly Ann turned to Rachel, her ten-year-old sister, as sitting on a block of wood, looking at a picture book ”Rachel, you go git 'e 'eot to her feet, after er children, ere now lost in the tall grass in the field

Molly Ann pushed her long brown hair back fro fro and pushed it into the baby'sthe small piece of wood

”These kids'U drive me crazy,” Molly Ann said She stared at her brother ”Where at you been all day?”

”Huntin'”

”Git anythin'?”

”Two rabbits Maw says fer you to come an' he'p her clean'e at the top of her dress She had opened the top buttons across her breasts so that she could swing the kindling hatchet, and she was almost coh she made no uiltily, feeling the flush creep up into his face

”You were starin' at an to fasten the buttons ”I could tell from the look on your face”

I was not/' he round

'You was too” She finished with her buttons and cao to he'p Maw''

A11 right” He still did not aze

''Your pants is all swole,” she said

Daniel felt his face grow even hotter He couldn't answer

She laughed ”You're jes' like Paw”

Now he looked at her ”What do you ain ”I was down at the brook this afternoon washi+n' myself when I sa outta the comer of my eye watchin' me from behin' a tree”

He couldn't keep the wonder out of his voice ”Did he know you saw him?”

”No” She shook her head ”I made believe I didn't knoas there, but I kep' watchin' outta the corner o' my eye He was jackin' hisself off jes' like you do On'y he's bigger His pole looked like it was a yard long”

He stared at her, open-o blasphemin'!” she said sharply