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Smith, Jewell Ellen, 1915-1998

"Great Jehoshaphat and Gully Dirt"

And sometimes
by the drink. We'll get a sight more for it that way. He's gonna
get regular customers lined up and see to it that I'll have
plenty of sugar-two or three hundred pounds at a time. He can
arrange with a fellow so there won't be no suspicion round here.
You know yourself if I was to go to Drake Eye Springs and start
buyin' a heap of sugar at Mister Jodie's store, that'd be a dead
giveaway. Say, he might be the very one to loan me some money!
Providin' I don't let on to him what it's for."
"Ward, you ain't talking sense! You're just-"
"Dammit, woman, shut your mouth! This is the first sensible
thing I ever-Good God A' mighty! Ophelia, look down yonder at the
spring! Who in hell's that? Heerd ever' damn word I said! Why
didn't you tell me somebody was around? Looks like some
young'un!"
"I didn't know nobody was here. I sent the young'uns to fetch
the cow, and I left the house just a minute ago to come look for
berries."
"Ophelia, that's that damn little gal of Mister Jodie's and
Miss Nannie's! I swear to God, if she tells her pa, I'll kill
her! I'll kill her! So help me!"
It was me, all right! I snatched up the water gourd and
started streaking back up the trail!
"Good God, Ward! You're drunk, or crazy! Don't say such a
thing! Anyhow, she's so little she wouldn't know what's going on!
See how little she is? Just look at her spindly legs!"
I didn't have time to look at my spindly legs.


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