“Here he comes now,” Griselda said, “but that’s no sign he’s ready to leave.”
“Boys,” Ty Ty said, walking over to the sycamore stump and sitting down to rest, “we’ve got to be up and doing. I aim to rope that all-white man before daybreak tomorrow morning. If he’s in the country, we’ll have him roped by then, if we don’t catch him a heap sooner.”
“You’ll have to keep guard over him when you bring him back, won’t you, Pa?” Griselda asked. “The darkies might try to take him off, as soon as they hear that you’ve got a conjurman on the place.”
“Now you be quiet, Griselda,” Ty Ty said angrily. “You know good and well I don’t take any stock in superstition and conjur and such things. We’re going about this thing scientifically, and no fooling around with conjur. It takes a man of science to strike a lode. You’ve never heard of darkies digging up many nuggets with all their smart talk about conjur. It just can’t be done. I’m running this business scientifically clear from the start. Now you be quiet, Griselda.”
“The darkies get nuggets somewhere,” Buck said. “I’ve seen plenty of them, and they come out of the ground some way. The darkies would catch an albino if they knew there was one in the county, or anywhere near. They would try to catch him, if they weren’t too scared to go after him.”
Ty Ty turned away, tired of arguing with them. He knew what he was going to do, but he was too exhausted after a hard day’s work out in the big hole to try to convince them of his way of looking at it. He turned around and looked in another direction.
It was late in the afternoon, but the sun looked as if it were a mile high, and it was every bit as hot as it had ever been.
“Sorry I’ve got to rush right off like this, folks,” Pluto said, sitting down on the shaded steps. “There’s a ballot box full of votes between here and the crossroads, and I’ve got to count them all before sundown tonight. It never does pay to put things off. That’s why I’ve got to rush off like this in the heat of the day.”
Shaw and Buck looked at Pluto a moment and at Griselda, and laughed out loud. Pluto would not have noticed them if they had not kept on laughing.
“What’s so funny, Buck?” he asked, looking around him in the yard, and finally down at his overflowing belly.
Griselda began laughing again when she saw him looking down at himself.
Buck nudged her with his elbow, urging her to answer Pluto.
“Mr. Swint,” she said, “it looks like you will have to wait till tomorrow to count some more votes. Darling Jill went off down the road about an hour ago and she hasn’t come back yet. She was driving your car.”
Pluto shook himself like a dog that has been standing in the rain. He made as though to get up, but he could not rise from the steps. He looked across the yard where he had left his car earlier in the afternoon, and it was not there. He could not see it anywhere.
Ty Ty leaned forward to hear what they were talking about.
Pluto had had plenty of time to make some reply. hut he had uttered no intelligible sound. He was in a position where he did not know what to say or to do. He merely sat where he was and said nothing.
“Mr. Swint,” Griselda said, “Darling Jill went off in your automobile.”
“It’s gone,” he said weakly. “And that’s a fact.”
“Don’t pay no attention to Darling Jill,” Ty Ty said consolingly. “Pluto, Darling Jill is as crazy as hell sometimes, and about nothing.”
Pluto sank back on the steps, his body spreading on the boards when he re]axed. He took a fresh chew of yellow plug. There was nothing else he could do.
“We ought to be starting, Pa,” Shaw said. “It’s getting late.”
“Why, son,” he said, “I thought you quit work an hour or two ago to go to town. What about that game of pool you were going to shoot?”
“I wasn’t going to town to shoot pooi. I’d rather go to the swamp tonight.”
“Well, then, if you didn’t aim to shoot pool in town tonight, what about that woman you would be after?”
Shaw walked away without a reply. When Ty Ty tried to make fun of him, he could only walk away. He could not explain things to his father, and he had long before decided that the best course was to let him go ahead and talk as much as he wished.
“It’s time to get started,” Buck said.
“That ain’t no lie,” Ty Ty said, going down toward the barn.
He came back in a few moments carrying several plowlines over his arm. He tossed the ropes into the back seat of the car and sat down on the stump again.
“Boy,” he said, “I’ve just had a notion. I’m going to send for Rosamond and Will to come over here. We need them to help us dig some, now that we’re going to have that albino to show us where the lode is, and Rosamond and Will ain’t doing much now. The mill over there at Scottsville is shut down again, and Will ain’t doing a thing in the world. He might just as well be over here helping us dig. Rosamond and Griselda can help a lot, and maybe Darling Jill, too. Now mind you, I don’t say I’m asking girls to do work like the rest of us. They can do a lot to help us, though. They can cook food for us and carry water, and some other things. Griselda there, and Rosamond will help all they can, but I ain’t so sure about Darling Jill. I’ll try to persuade her to do something for us out there in the holes. I wouldn’t let a girl on my place work like a man, but I’ll do my durndest trying to make Darling Jill want to help some.”
“I’d just like to see you make Will Thompson dig,” Shaw said, jerking his head at his father. “That Will Thompson is the laziest white man this side of Atlanta. I’ve never seen him work, not here, anyway. I don’t know what he does over there in that cotton mill, when it’s running, but I’ll bet it’s nothing to speak of. Will Thompson won’t be doing much digging, even if he does go down in a hole and go through the motion of it.”
“You boys don’t seem to catch on to Will like I do. Now, Will is just as hard a worker as the next one. The reason he never likes to dig in the holes here for us is because he don’t feel at home here. Will is a cotton mill man, and he can’t get along in the country on a farm. But maybe Will will dig some this time. Will can dig as good as the next one, if he wants to. He might get the gold-fever over here this time, and go down in the ground and dig like nobody’s business. You never can tell what will happen when the fever strikes a man; maybe you’ll wake up some morning and go out there to find him digging for a fare-you-well. I ain’t seen a man or a woman yet who won’t get down in the ground and dig when the goldfever strikes him. You get to thinking about turning up a handful of those little yellow nuggets, maybe with the next stroke of the pick; and--man alive--you dig and dig and dig! That’s why I’m going to send for Rosamond and Will right away. We’ll be needing all the help we can get, son. That lode might be thirty feet in the ground, and at a place we haven’t started digging into yet.”
“It might he on God’s little acre.” Buck said. “What would you do about that? You wouldn’t dig nuggets when they were all going to the preacher and the church, would you? I know I wouldn’t. All the gold I get is going into my pockets, at least my share of it. I wouldn’t be giving it to the preacher at the church.”
“We ought to give up that piece of ground till we can dig on it and make sure.” Shaw said. “God’s not in need of it, and the first thing you know, we’re going to strike a lode on it. I’ll he dog-goned if I’m going to dig for nuggets and see that preacher get them. I’m in favor of shifting that piece of land till we can see what’s in it.”
“All right, boys,” Ty Ty agreed, “I’ll move it again, but I ain’t aiming to do away with God’s little acre altogether. It’s His and I can’t take it away from Him after twenty-seven years. That wouldn’t be right. But there ain’t nothing wrong with shifting it a little, if need be. It would be a heathen shame to strike the lode on it, to be sure, the first thing, and I reckon I’d better shift it so we won’t be bothered.”
“Why don’t you put it over he
re where the house and barn are, Pa?” Griselda suggested. “There’s nothing under this house, and you can’t be digging under it, anyway.”
“I never thought of doing that, Griselda,” Ty Ty said, “but it sure sounds fine to me. I reckon I’ll shift it over here. Now, I’m pretty much glad to get that off my mind.”
Pluto turned his head and looked at Ty Ty.
“You haven’t shifted it already, have you, Ty Ty?” he asked.
“Shifted it already? Why, sure. This is God’s little acre we’re sitting on right now. I moved it from over yonder to right here.”
“You’re the quickest man of action I’ve ever heard about,” Pluto said, shaking his head. “And that’s a fact.”
Buck and Griselda went around the corner of the house out of sight. Shaw started to follow them, but he changed his mind and rolled a cigarette instead. He was ready to go on the trip, and he did not wish to delay the start any longer. He knew, though, that Ty Ty would not leave until he became tired of sitting still.
Pluto sat on the steps thinking of Darling Jill and wondering where she was. He wished she would return so he could sit beside her and put his arms around her. Sometimes she would let him sit beside her, and at other times she would not. She was as inconsistent about that as she was about everything else she did. Pluto did not know what to do about it; she was that kind of girl, and he knew of no way to change her. But as long as she would sit still and let him hug her, he was completely satisfied; it was when she slapped him on the face and hit him in the belly with her fists that he was wholly displeased.
An automobile passed the house in a cloud of red dust, powdering the roadside until the weeds and trees looked more dead than ever. Pluto glanced at the car, but he quickly saw that Darling Jill was not driving it, and he had no further interest in it. The car went out of sight around the bend in the road, but the dust lingered in the air long after it had gone.
The last time he had seen Darling Jill she had made him leave five minutes after he got there. It hurt Pluto, and he went back home and got into bed. He had come to see her for the evening that time, confidently expecting to be with her for several hours at least, but five minutes after he reached the house he was on his way home again. Darling Jill had told him to go roll his hoop. On top of that she slapped him on the face and hit him in the belly with her fists. Now he hoped that if there was a law of averages, or even a law of compensation, his meeting of her this time would be wholly different. This time she should, if there was any justice, be glad to see him; she should even let him hug her and, to make up for the previous visit, allow him to kiss her several times. Darling Jill should do all of that, but whether she would or not was something he did not know. Darling Jill was as uncertain as were his chances of being elected sheriff that fall.
The thought of the coming election stirred Pluto. He made as though to stand up, but he did not move from his seat. He could not get out in the heat of the day and walk down the dusty road calling on voters.
Buck and Griselda came back with two large Senator Watson watermelons and a salt-shaker. Buck also had a butcherknife in his hand. Pluto forgot his troubles when he saw the two large melons, and sat up. Ty Ty pulled himself out of his crouched position. After Buck and Griselda had put the melons on the porch. Ty Ty went over and cut them into quarters.
Griselda carried Pluto his portion, and he thanked her many times over for her consideration. There would have been no need for his getting up to go for his slice of watermelon inasmuch as Griselda was already standing. And if she had not brought it to him, he did not know whether he could have gone after it or not. She had sat down beside him and was watching him lower his face into the cool meat. The melons had been cooling on the bottom of the well for two days and they were ice-cold.
“Mr. Swint,” she said, looking up at Pluto, “your eyes look like watermelon seeds.”
Everyone laughed. Pluto knew she was right. He could almost see himself at that moment.
“Now, Griselda,” he said, “you’re just making fun of me again.”
“I couldn’t help saying it, Mr. Swint. Your eyes are so small and your face is so red, that you do look exactly like a watermelon with two seeds showing.”
Ty Ty laughed again, louder than before.
“There’s a time for fun, and a time for work,” he said, spitting out a mouthful of seeds, “and now is the time for work. We’ve got to be up and doing, boys. We’ve sat around the house here long enough for one day, and now we’ve got to be on our way. I aim to rope that albino sometime between now and daybreak tomorrow morning. Let’s be up and doing.”
Pluto wiped his hands and face and laid the rind aside. He wished to wink at Griselda, and to lay his hand on her knees. In a minute or two he found the courage to wink at her with his watermelon seeds, but try as he might he could not bring himself to touch her. The thought of laying his hand on her knees and maybe trying to push his fingers between her legs brought a blush to his face and neck. He drummed on the steps with his fingers in seven-eighths time, whistling under his breath, and scared to death that somebody would read his thoughts.
“Buck’s got a fine-looking wife, hasn’t he, Pluto?” Ty Ty asked him, spitting out another mouthful of watermelon seeds. “Did you ever see a finer-looking girl anywhere in the country? Just look at that creamy skin and that gold in her hair, not to mention all that pale blueness in her eyes. And while I’m praising her, I can’t overlook the rest of her. I reckon Griselda is the prettiest of them all. Griselda has the finest pair of rising beauties a man can ever hope to see. It’s a wonder that God ever put such prettiness in the house with an onery old cuss like me. Maybe I don’t deserve to see it, but I’m here to tell you I’m going to take my fill of looking while I can.”
Griselda hung her head and blushed.
“Aw, now, Pa,” she begged.
“Ain’t I right, Pluto?”
“She’s a perfect little female,” Pluto said. “And that’s a fact.”
Griselda glanced up at Buck and blushed again. Buck laughed at her.
“Son,” Ty Ty said, turning to Buck, “wherever in the world did you happen to find her, you lucky dog?”
“Well, there’s no more where she came from,” he said. “She was the pick of the crop.”
“And I’ll bet they’ve given up trying to raise any more, there at that place, after seeing you come and take away the beauty of them all.”
“Now stop that, Pa, you and Buck,” Griselda said, putting her hands over her face and trying to keep them from seeing her.
“I hate to cross you, Griselda,” Ty Ty said determinedly. “Once I get started about you, I can’t stop. I’ve just got to praise you. And I reckon any man would who has seen you like I have. The first time I saw you, when Buck brought you here from wherever it was you came from, I felt like getting right down there and then and licking something. That’s a rare feeling to come over a man, and when I have it, it does me proud to talk about it for you to hear.”
“Please, Pa,” she said.
Ty Ty continued talking, but it was impossible for anyone to hear what he was saying. He sat on the stump talking to himself and looking down at the hard white sand at his feet.
Pluto moved his hands a little. He wished to get closer to Griselda, but he was afraid. He turned around to see if anyone was looking. The others were all looking elsewhere, and he quickly put his hand on her legs and leaned against her. Griselda turned and slapped him so quickly he did not know what had struck him. He felt the flow of blood rushing to his stinging cheeks and he heard the tingle of bells in his ears. When he could open his eyes and look up, Griselda was standing on the ground in front of him, and Buck and Shaw were doubled up with laughter.
“I’ll teach you not to get fresh with me, you big haystack!” she cried angrily. “Don’t get me confused with Darling Jill. She may not always slap you, but I certainly shall. You’ll know better than to try something like that again.”
Ty Ty got up
and came across the yard, looking at Pluto to see how badly he was hurt.
“Pluto didn’t mean no harm, Griselda,” Ty Ty said, trying to calm her. “Pluto wouldn’t harm you, not with Buck around, anyhow.”
“You’d better be going on down the road to count your votes, Mr. Swint,” she said.
“Now, Griselda, you know good and well Pluto can’t leave till Darling Jill comes back with his car.”
“He can walk, can’t he?” she asked, laughing at Pluto. “I didn’t know he had got so he can’t even walk any more.”
Pluto looked around him frantically, as if he were looking for something to hold on to. The thought of getting out into the hot sun and walking in the red dust terrified him. He clutched the overlapping boards of the steps with both hands.
Shaw noticed someone coming towards the house from the barn. He looked again a moment later and saw that it was Black Sam. When the colored man came closer, Shaw left the yard and went to meet him.
“Mr. Shaw,” Black Sam said, taking off his hat, “I’d like pretty much to have a word with your Pa. I need to see him.”
“What do you want to see him about? I told you what he said about the rations.”
“I know you did, Mr. Shaw, but I’m still hungry. I’d like to see your Pa, please, sir, boss.”
Shaw called Ty Ty to the corner of the house.
“Mr. Ty Ty, I’m all out of something to eat at my house, and we ain’t had nothing to eat all today. My old woman is downright hungry for something to eat.”
“What in the pluperfect hell do you mean by coming to the house and bothering me, Black Sam?” Ty Ty shouted. “I sent you word that I’d get you some food when I get around to it. You can’t come here to the house and bother me like this. Now get on home and stop worrying me. I’m going off to rope an all-white man tonight, and I’ve got to give all my thoughts to that. This all-white man is going to help me locate the lode.”