“Going to move the wagon,” Jewel said over his shoulder.
“Don’t be a fool,” I said. “I never meant nothing. You couldn’t help it.” And Darl hung back too, but nothing wouldn’t suit Jewel.
“Shut your goddamn mouth,” he says.
“It’s got to be somewhere,” Darl said. “We’ll take out soon as pa gets back.”
“You won’t help me?” Jewel says, them white eyes of hisn kind of blaring and his face shaking like he had a aguer.
“No,” Darl said. “I won’t. Wait till pa gets back.”
So I stood in the door and watched him push and haul at that wagon. It was on a downhill, and once I thought he was fixing to beat out the back end of the shed. Then the dinner-bell rung. I called him, but he didn’t look around. “Come on to dinner,” I said. “Tell that boy.” But he didn’t answer, so I went on to dinner. The gal went down to get that boy, but she come back without him. About half through dinner we heard him yelling again, running that buzzard out.
“It’s a outrage,” Lula said; “a outrage.”
“He’s doing the best he can,” I said. “A fellow don’t trade with Snopes in thirty minutes. They’ll set in the shade all afternoon to dicker.”
“Do?” she says. “Do? He’s done too much, already.”
And I reckon he had. Trouble is, his quitting was just about to start our doing. He couldn’t buy no team from nobody, let alone Snopes, withouten he had something to mortgage he didn’t know would mortgage yet. And so when I went back to the field I looked at my mules and same as told them goodbye for a spell. And when I come back that