I done told Hal and the rest. I
said to myself, 'Hawk Lumpkin, whoever done that was pretty
smart. He figgered we'd all think Ward went huntin' and just had
a accident!' But he didn't figger on me! This mornin' it taken me
just about a hour to get at the truth!"
"How's that?"
"You ever seen that scrawny-lookin' boy Ned's been keepin'?"
"Lots of times. They call him Little Stray."
"Jodie, early this mornin', real early, I found that
humpbacked young'un sittin' down by the road, his overall pockets
just stuffed with empty shotgun shells. I began to question the
boy, and he just up and told me that Ned shot a young fox
squirrel yesterday mornin' and stuffed it in Ward's coat!"
"You gonna believe what a little colored boy says?"
"Shore, Jodie. Little young'uns don't lie. They ain't learned
it yet. They gotta learn lyin' from grown folks!"
Doctor Elton moved over closer to Mister Hawk. "You don't
think a jury would put any weight in what a young'un says about a
squirrel do you, Mister Hawk?"
"Shore, Doc.
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