SETH. She"s that stingy, cuttin" an" choppin" wood, sellin it t" the city folks. We might a knowd.
LON. An" me a comin" all the three miles an" a quarter t" see him a fore he died.
SETH. I been settin" here two days a waitin".
LON. An" then t" treat us like that. [_Wipes his mouth._] Why, the hull place ain"t worth a d.a.m.n!
SETH. A cavin"-in shanty an" two acres yuh couldn"t grow weeds on.
LON. A pile o" sand.
SETH [_rising; bursting into fire like an apparently dead rocket_]. She ain"t a goin" t" heve it!
LON. What?
SETH. I won"t let Ma heve it!
LON. But how yuh goin" t" stop her? "Twon"t do no good t" tear up the will an" testament. It"s rec-ord-ed.
SETH. Don"t make no difference. She ain"t a goin" t" heve that place.
LON [_eagerly_]. But how yuh goin"--?
SETH. I don"t know. But I"m a goin" t".
LON. It ain"t hers by rights.
SETH. Didn"t she leave him twenty years ago?
LON. Why, she ain"t even expectin" it!
SETH. She"ll never miss it if she don"t git it.
LON [_shaking his head_]. Me an" the kids packed up, ready t" move in.
[_There is a silence. Lon deep in his disappointment, Seth making his brain work as it has never worked before. And he is rewarded for his diligence. A suggestion of his sneering smile comes to his face._]
SETH. Lon?
LON. Yes?
SETH [_looks about, making sure that only his brother is listening_].
Yuh "member what yuh done t" Rogers when he didn"t leave yuh paint his bath-house?
LON [_his eyes open wide_]. Burn it?
SETH. Sh!
LON. Oh, no!
SETH. Yuh don"t want Ma t" heve it, does yuh?
LON. When I burned that bath-house I didn"t sleep good fur a couple o"
nights. I dreamed o" the sheriff.
SETH. n.o.body knows but me. An" n.o.body"ll know yuh an" me set fire t"
Pa"s old place.
LON. Yuh swear yuh won"t never tell?
SETH [_raising his right hand_]. I swear.
LON. Yuh won"t never try an" make out I done it next time we run agin each other fur district school-inspector?
SETH [_raising his right hand_]. I swear. "Cause if I kin"t have Pa"s old place, no one kin.
LON. Got matches?
SETH. Yes. An" Pa"s kerosene-can"s got "bout a pint in it. [_Takes the can from the bottom shelf._]
LON. I may as wall take these papers along with me. [_Picks up the newspapers._]
[_Seth moves to the table. Begins to fill his pipe. Lon takes his corncob from his pocket and coughs. Seth looks at Lon, meditates, then speaks._]
SETH. Heve a smoke, Lon?
LON. Maybe I will.
[_Lon fills his pipe.--Seth strikes a match, lights his own pipe first, then hands the match to Lon._]
SETH. We"re brothers.
LON. The same flesh an" blood has got t" treat each other right.
[_Lon starts to put Seth"s tobacco-pouch in his pocket, but Seth stops him._]
SETH. An" we wouldn"t be treatin" each other right if we let Pa"s property come into Ma"s hands.
[_Seth carries the kerosene, Lon the papers. They go out the back door and disappear. Thus, in disgust and rage, the brothers are united. Then Seth"s voice is heard._]
SETH [_in the yard_]. Wait a minute, Lon.
[_Seth returns. He picks up Pa"s tobacco-pouch, knife and scissors, glances toward the door to see that Lon isn"t watching, and sticks them into his pocket._]
LON [_in the yard_]. What yuh doin", Seth? [_Appears at the door._]
SETH. I thought I left somethin" valuable. But I ain"t. [_He leaves._]
[_Lon and Seth pa.s.s out of sight._]