"It"s about my Grandpa," I said. "Grandpa t.i.tus Tol liver."
"t.i.tus Tolliver? Why, I reckon I know him! Use to run a still up in the toolies back of the crick. Fine figure of a man with a big black beard, he is."
"Is turns to was," I told her. "Now he"s all dried up with the rheumatiz. Can"t rightly see too good and can"t hear for sour apples."
"Sure is a crying shame!" the Conjure Lady said. But sooner or later we all get to feeling poorly. And when you gotta go, you gotta go."
"That"s the hitch of it. He won"t go."
"Meaning he"s bound up."
"Meaning he"s dead."
The Conjure Lady give me a hard look. "Do tell," she said.
So I told. Told her the whole kit and kaboodle, right from the git-go.
She heard me out, not saying a word. And when I finished up she just stared at me until I was fixing to jump out of my skin.
"I reckon you mightn"t believe me," I said. "But it"s the gospel truth."
The Conjure Lady shook her head. "I believer you, son.
Like I say, I knowed your Grandpappy from the long-ago. He was plumb set in his ways then, and I take it he still is. Sounds to me like he"s got a case of the stubborns.
"Could be," I said. "But here"s nary a thing we can do about it, nor the Doc or the Reverend either."
The Conjure Lady wrinkled up her nose. "What you *spect from them two?
They don"t know grit from granola."
"Mebbe so. But that leaves us betwixt a rock and a hard placea"*less you can help."
"Let me think on it a piece."
The Conjure Lady pulled a corncob out of her pocket and fired up. I don"t know what brand she smoked, but it smelled something fierce. I begun to get itchy againa"not just in the feet but all over. The woods was darker now, and a kind of cold wind come wailing down between the trees, making the leaves whisper to themselves.
"Got to be some way," I said. "A charm, mebbe, or a spell."
She shook her head. "Them"s ol"-fashioned. Now this here"s one of them newfangled mental things, so we got to use newfangled idees. Your Grandpa don"t need hex nor hoodoo.
Like he says, he"s from Missouri. He got to be showed, is all."
"Showed what?"
The conjure Lady let out a cackle. "I got it!" She give me a wink. "Sure *enough, the very thing! Now just you hold your watera"I won"t be a moment." And she scooted back into the cave.
I stood there, feeling the wind whooshing down the back of my neck and listening to the leaves that was like voices whispering things I didn"t want to gear too good.
Then she come out again, holding something in her hand.
"Take this," she said.
"What is it?"
She told me what it was, and then she told me what to do with it.
"You really reckon this"ll work.?"
"It"s the onny chance."
So I stuck it in my britches" pocket and she give me a little poke.
"Now, sonny, you best hurry and get home afore supper."
n.o.body had to ask me twicea"not with that chill wind moaning and groaning in the trees, and the dark creeping and crawling all around me.
I give her my much-obliged and lit out, leaving the Con jure Lady standing in front of the cave. Last I saw of her, she was polishing her Coolidge b.u.t.ton with a hunk of poison oak.
Then I was tearing through the woods, up the hill to the ridge and over. By the time I got to the clearing it was pitch-dark, and when I waded the crick I could see the moon light wiggling on the water. Hawks on the hover went flippy flapping over the back forty but I didn"t stop to heed. I made a beeline for the fence, up and over, then into the yard and through the back door.
Ma was standing at the stove holding a pot whilst Pa ladled up the soup.
They looked downright pleasured to see me.
"Thank the Lord!" Ma said. "I was just fixing to send Pa after you."
"I come quick as I could."
"And none too soon," Pa told me. "We like to go clean out"n our heads, what with the ruckus and all."
"What kind of ruckus?"
"First off, Miss Francy. Folks in town told her about Grandpa pa.s.sing on, so she done the neighborly thinga"mixed up a mess of stew to ease our appeyt.i.te in time of sorrow. She come lollygagging up the walk, all rigged out in her Sunday go-to-meeting clothes, toting the bowl under her arm and looking like lard wouldn"t melt in her mouth. Along about then she caught sight of Grandpa setting there on the porch, king of smiling at her through the flies."
"Well, up went the bowl and down come the whole shebang.
Looked like it was raining stew greens all over that fancy Sears and Roebuck dress. And then she turned and headed for kingdom come, letting out a whoop that"d peel the paint off a privy wall."
"That"s sorrowful," I said.
"Save your grieving for worse," Pa told me. "Next thing you know, Bixbee showed up, honking his horn. Wouldn"t come nigh Grandpa, nosireea"I had to traipse clear down to where he set in the hea.r.s.e."
"What"d he want?"
"Said he"d come for the remains. And if we didn"t cough them up real fast, he was aiming to take a trip over to the county seat first thing tomorrow morning to get hisself a injection."
"Injunction," Ma said, looking like she was ready to bust out with the bawls again. "Said it was a scandal and a shame to let Grandpa set around like this. What with the sun and the flies and all, he was fixing to have the Board of Health put us under quar-and-tine."
"What did Grandpa say?" I asked.
"Nary a peep. Ol" Bixby gunned his hea.r.s.e out of here and Grandpa kep" right on rocking with Susie.
She come in *bout half hour ago, when the sun went downa"says he"s getting stiff as a board but won"t pay it no heed. Just keeps asking what"s to eat."
"That"s good," I said. "On account of I got the very thing. The Conjure Lady give it to me for his supper."
"What is ita"pizen?" Pa looked worried. "You know I"m a G.o.d-fearing man and I don"t hold with such doings. *Sides, how you *spect to pizen him if he"s already dead?"
"Ain"t nothing of the sort," I said. "This here"s what she sent."
And I pulled it out of my britches pocket and showed it to to them.
"Now what in the name of kingdom come is that?" Ma asked.
I told her what it was, and what to do with it.
"Ain"t never heard tell of such foolishness in all my born days!" Ma told me.
Pa looked troubled in his mind. "I knowed I shouldn"t have let you go down to Spooky Hollow.
Conjure Lady must be short of her marbles, putting you up to a thing like that."
"Reckon she knows what she"s doing," I said. ""Sides, I give all my savings for this herea"eight-seven cents, a Confederate quarter, and my Coolidge b.u.t.ton."
"Never you mind about no Coolidge b.u.t.ton," Pa said. "I swiped it off"n a Yankee, anywaya"one of them revenooers." He scratched his chin. "But hard money"s something else. Mebbe we best give this notion a try."
"Now, Paa"" Ma said.
"You got any better plan?" Pa shook his head. "Way I see it, what with the Board of Health set to come a-snapping at our heels tomorrow, we got to take a chance."
Ma fetched a sigh that come clean up from her shoes, or would if she"s been wearing any.
"All right, Jody," she told me. "You just put it out like the Conjure Lady said. Pa, you go fetch Susie and Grandpa.
I"m about to dish it up."
"You sure this"ll do the trick?" Pa asked, looking at what I had in my hand.
"It better," I said. "It"s all we got."
So Pa went out and I headed for the table, to do what the Conjure Lady had in mind.
Then Pa come back with sister Susie.
"Where"s Grandpa?" Ma asked.
"Moving slow," Susie said. "Must be that Rigger Morris."
"No such thing." Grandpa come through the doorway, walking like a c.o.c.kroach on a hot griddle. "I"m just a wee mite stiff."
"Stiff as a four-by-four board," Pa told him. "Upstairs in bed, that"s where you ought to be, with a lily in your hand."
"Now don"t start on that again," Grandpa said. "I told you I ain"t dead so many times I"m blue in the face."
"You sure are," said Susie. "Ain"t never seen n.o.body look any bluer."
And he was thata"blue and bloated, kind ofa"but he paid it no heed. I recollected what Ma said about mebbe having to put up with a skeleton at mealtime, and I sure yearned for the Conjure Lady"s notion to work. It plumb had to, because Grandpa was getting deader by the minute.
But you wouldn"t think so when he caught sight of the vittles on the table. He just stirred his stumps right over to his chair and plunked down.
"Well, now," Grandpa said. "You done yourself proud tonight, Addie.
This here"s my favoritea"collards and catfish heads!"
He was all set to take a swipe at the platter when he up and noticed what was setting next to his plate.
"Great day in the morning!" he hollered. "What in tarnation"s this?"
"Ain"t nothing but a napkin," I said.
"But it"s black!" Grandpa blinked. "Who ever heard tell of a black napkin?"
Pa looked at Ma. "We figger this here"s king of a special occasion," he said. "If you take my meaninga""
Grandpa fetched a snort. "Consarn you and your meaning!
A black napkin? Never you fear, I know what you"re hinting around at, but it ain"t a-gonna worka"nosiree, but!"
And he filled his plate and dug in.
The rest of us just set there staring, first at Grandpa, then at each other.
"What"d I tell you?" Pa said to me, disgusted-like.
I shook my head. "Wait a spell."
"Better grab whilst you can git," Grandpa said. "I aim to eat me up a storm."
And he did. His arms was stiff and his fingers scarce had enough curl left to hold a fork and his jaw muscles worked extra harda"but he went right on eating. And talking.
"Dead, am I? Ain"t never seen the day a body"d say a thing like that to me before, let alone kinfolk!
Now could be I"m tolerable stubborn, but that don"t signify I"m mean. I ain"t about to make trouble for anyone, least of all my own flesh and blood. If I was truly dead and knowed it for a fact -why, I"d be the first one to go right upstairs to my room and lie down forever. But you got to show me proof *fore I do.
That"s the pure and simple of ita"let me see some proof!"
"Grandpa," I said.