He's Aunt Vic's baby."
"Mattie, this child belongs to somebody way over in Drake Eye
Springs! 'Cross the Arkansas line! I'll go hitch up. Get on your
good dress, and we'll take her home. I'll bet her pa's got the
Law out combing the woods with bloodhounds! And every man in them
parts helpin'! We'll go by to see sister Dink while we're over
that way. Make haste, Mattie, 'cause you know if it was one o'
our'n lost, we'd be outta our minds."
Uncle Hiram hobbled out the back door before I could get a
chance to tell him that Mister Ward fell in the deep river. Miss
Mattie started washing my face, and then they bundled me up into
the wagon, and away we went.
The first house we got to, we stopped while Uncle Hiram went
inside to see about using the phone. But when he came back, he
was shaking his head.
"It wasn't no use, Mattie. Couldn't get nobody on the Drake
Eye Springs line. I reckon they're all out searchin'."
"Let's just go on, Hiram. It won't take more'n three hours."
We rode and rode, up hills, down hills, around curves, across
shallow streams-much longer than three hours, it seemed to me.
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