《Moonshining in Appalachia》


 Trouble At The Mine

    Lucy went out on the front porch where five year old Hattie Mae was sitting on the porch swing, her cherubic face framed by braids going just past her shoulders. Her little feet barely touched the floor of the porch, but her tip toes managed to push the swing. Hattie Mae was singing ¡®Swing Low Sweet Chariot¡¯ to the rhythm of the swing. Lucy said, ¡°Honey, I brought you some green beans to snap. Could you please fix them while you swing?¡±


    ¡°Sure mama, bring them here,¡± Hattie Mae said as she put the brakes on the swing. She changed her tune to ¡®Pitter Patter Pit, I love to hear the rain come down¡¯ as she snapped the beans in beat to the tune.


    Her mama went back in the house to the kitchen to work on supper. Scrinch, ka blam, the screen door slammed behind Lucy and then echoed down the holler. The sound of Timmy John chopping wood wafted up from the wood pile and surrounded Hattie Mae like the promise of a warm winter fire after a heavy snow.


    Hattie Mae heard her sister, Karen Lynn in the kitchen peeling potatoes and asking her mother how long they had before their dad got home.


    ¡°Why, Karen Lynn I reckon he will be here about half past five, like always. What are you thinking?¡± her mama asked.


    Karen Lynn was ten years old and was just about the smartest and prettiest person Hattie Mae knew! Karen Lynn was a short person, being just a few inches taller than Hattie Mae and had blond hair in a ponytail and striking blue eyes. She didn¡¯t boss Hattie Mae around like some big sisters would, but liked to, as she put it, ¡®reason with her¡¯.


    Karen Lynn, peeling her last potato, started cutting them up in thirds and set them on the stove in a pot of water to boil. ¡°There, daddy said he would help me set out the seedlings tonight and it is the first year I will plant marigolds around the garden. I am right anxious to see if these hear flars (flowers) will keep away the bugs.¡±


    Her mama said, with a twinkle in her eyes, ¡°You got yore chores done, go get those flats ready for yore daddy!¡±


    Karen Lynn said, ¡°Thanks mama,¡± as she flew out the door..Scritch Ka-blam! No sneaking out that screen door! Just the way mama liked it!


    The next minute there was a terrifying explosion and the ground shook so that people were knocked off of their feet! The chickens were squawking and flyin¡¯ all around, the cows and horses were stompin¡¯ in the barn and as soon as they got their wits about them, all of the kids came a runnin¡¯ up to the house! John Joseph ran to mama and said,¡±You go on down to the mines, mama. I can keep an eye on things here.¡± He was seventeen and big as a man with broad shoulders and stood about 5¡¯ 10¡± with red hair and freckles.¡±


    She looked at him grateful-like, grabbed her shawl and medicine bag and took off for the coal mine. Lucy Mae Higgins was not a trained physician, but she was the one people in this holler depended on with her herbs and potions. She had learned everything from her great grandmother and with her kids and the community, had had plenty of practice. She didn¡¯t know what she would find and just prayed that her husband and all of the other miners had gotten out safely.


    Karen Lynn walked silently beside her mother. She was learnin¡¯ mountain medicine too and always went with her mother to help. Right now, she was scared for her daddy and all of the other men. She knew with an explosion like that, that the mineshaft might have collapsed and some of them could have been trapped and hurt or even dead.


    When they got to the mine, there was a great hubbub. Karen Lynn¡¯s worst fears had come true. The mineshaft had collapsed and she couldn¡¯t see her daddy anywhere.


    There were people running everywhere and scrambling.


    All of the men who weren¡¯t trapped in the mine were digging furiously to make a way to get to the trapped men as quickly as possible. One man was using a bulldozer and the rest had shovels.


    The women were bringing old sheets and such and working together to tear them up into makeshift bandages.


    One of the women rallied some teen boys to putting wood across some stumps for temporary hospital tables. Lucy would have to stabilize the wounded so they could make it into town to the hospital.


    Lucy knew that her sons, Carl Ray and Timmy John, would be by her side soon to help. She figured they could help carry any men who couldn¡¯t walk out of the mine.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Carl Ray was 20 and had been out working in the fields, getting them plowed up with old Susan the mule. Timmy John had stopped his wood chopping to go get him. When they got there, they got into the elevator, going down the mine shaft.


    A shout went up from the men digging!


    Past the falling dust, coughing men started crawling out. The diggers dropped their shovels and helped support the men who were getting out. They had gotten through!


    Five of the men walked out with only minor injuries. They came over to Lucy for some patching up after they checked in with the boss and told him the state of affairs and got their names checked off of the list. Lucy had Karen Lynn washing up their wounds to get all of the dirt out of them and then she applied the mercurochrome to the wounds and wrapped them up to protect them.


    Carl Ray and Timmy John, along with some other young men went in to bring out whoever they could find. They worked as fast as possible as no one knew if there would be other explosions. There were three teams of boys with stretchers. Carl Ray came upon a man turned over, face to the ground and gently turned him face up. His right arm was split open, his hand up on a rock ten feet away and his left leg turned at an ungodly angle. As Carl Ray turned him over, the man let out a huge sigh and was gone.


    Carl, with tears streaming down his face said, ¡°Leave him. Let¡¯s get the ones who can make it.¡± He said a shaky prayer, committing him into the Lord¡¯s hands and continued to the next man.


    Timmy John noticed as he passed by that it was their closest neighbor, Bart Jennings. Why, he had just spoken with him this mornin and now¡­ He was gone. That sent a shock through his body, realizing how serious this was and how important it was to help these men as quickly as possible.


    The next man they came to was standing up with a dazed look on his face and an obvious broken arm. Timmy asked him if he was able to walk and the man looked right through him as if he didn¡¯t see him. Carl Ray said, ¡°He can¡¯t hear you. He¡¯s been deafened by the explosion and he is probably in shock. Put your arm around his waist and guide him out to mama. I will keep looking. Get back as soon as you can.¡±


    Timmy John stayed with his mama long enough to make sure she was ok treating the man and that she would have another neighbor help her set the arm. Then he went back to helping Carl Ray.


    One of the other teams had come to another cave in and could hear men yelling for help behind the cave in. Men with their shovels got to work immediately. Time was so important because they were working against the elements: cave-ins, breathing coal dust, carbon monoxide fumes, and possibly undetonated charges. They broke through after ten minutes of digging and the majority of the men were able to walk out, some helping their fellow miners and some yelling for the stretchers. Forty -seven men were rescued from that area. Thirty-eight were able to walk out and nine were carried out on stretchers. Eleven men lost their lives.


    Lucy and Karen Lynn and the other women bandaging up the wounded were working so hard they didn;t have time to worry about their loved ones, just thinking about what to do to save these neighbors and friends with the primitive tools they had to work with. After about an hour, they could hear the ambulances screaming as they wound up the mountain road with all of its switchbacks. As soon as the ambulances got there, Lucy talked with the EMT¡¯s about who to take first and who could just go back home after they double- checked Lucy¡¯s work. ¡°Ma¡¯am you did a fine job of helping these men and made our work easier and I can point out a couple of men who would not have made it without you,¡± one of the EMT¡¯s said, praising Lucy.


    Lucy was glad her gifts had helped, but now she wanted to find her husband. With her heart pounding, she turned to walk away, since all of her patients were in capable hands and looked right into the weary, but twinkling eyes of Earl Alfred, her husband peeking out from his coal dust covered face! Lucy started crying as she hugged him hard enough to make him yelp! ¡°Where are you hurt Earl Alfred,¡± she asked?


    ¡°Lucy I have been watchin¡¯ you for the last half hour and thinkin¡¯ how lucky I am to have a wonderful woman like you! You cook and clean and heal folks and most of all, you love me,¡± her husband said. ¡°I have a cut on my leg, but I just have been standin here admirin you!¡±


    Lucy grabbed the mercurochrome and set to work cleaning out the large gash after checking it carefully for foreign objects. Earl Alfred tried to be brave, but it hurt like the dickens! Lucy told him while she worked, ¡°I love you Earl Alfred and you are my hero. You risk your life every day fer me and the kids. Thank you!¡±


    While they were wrapping things up and cleaning things up, the preacher and his wife walked around talking to folks. Reverend Henry Smith and his wife, Loretta were explaining to everyone that a tent would be set up in this spot outside of the mine and they would have the wake here for the dead altogether instead of each family individually in their homes. Nobody would be working in the mines or in the fields, so the men would be building coffins on site and the women would all be cooking and setting up for the meal.


    ¡°First order of business is to get the tent set up,¡± the reverend said. ¡°Next we will set up tables for the dead to be laid on and have the women cleaning them up and preparing them for burial. If you need help with your family member, my wife Loretta will be on hand to find someone to help you. This afternoon, we ask that the teen boys in each family will bring shovels and dig the graves in the company graveyard. This has been a very sad day and my heart goes out to each of you.

 Funerals and Changes

    The reverend¡¯s wife divided everyone up by teams and half of the folks stayed and worked and the other half went home and got some sleep.  Halfway through the night, the two teams changed places.  Someone sat with the dead all night and candles were lit so the dead could make their way into the afterlife.  Right about dawn the keening started (this is wailing and crying that takes place before the wake).  After everybody was about all cried out, the reverend started folks singin¡¯ hymns. ¡°Shall we gather at the river, and Just as I am and I walk in the garden alone ¡° were the first songs they sung and as the songs changed so did the rhythm of the hammers change as they pounded out the pine coffins.


    When the young uns weren¡¯t helping their mamas mix up cornbread or chop up a pretty salad, they would gather a ways off and play ¡®hide n seek¡¯ or ¡®ollie, ollie, oxen free¡¯.The teenage girls stayed busy haulin spring water and takin it round to the diggers, builders, little children and anyone else who was thirsty.


    Lucy Mae couldn¡¯t help thinkin about all those folks who lost their lives and how their community would be changed.  There were 6 widows and 5 young girls who lost their beaus.  That would make for rough livin for the widows, one of which was Donna Ann who was in the family way (pregnant) and due in 3 weeks.  The young girls whose beaus died wouldn¡¯t have many prospects of getting married now unless they went outside the holler because there weren¡¯t many more eligible young men around.  Her mind went to five years ago when little Wendy Sue, her two year old got sick with scarlet fever.  Lucy Mae had tried everything she could, but little Wendy Sue just couldn¡¯t get better.  She died and a part of Lucy Mae died with her.


    After the funeral and after putting the men in the ground, there was a big meal, which was customary at a burying. Then the womenfolk began cleaning up and havin the young uns carrying things home while the older boys and men filled the graves with dirt.  The mine operators would have to get the mines cleaned up and safe again before the men could go back to work.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Walking home, everyone¡¯s children walking in front of them with the little ones scampering care-free, Lucy and Earl had a chance to talk.  ¡°Earl, I am just about fed up with you working in the dangerous mine.  Some of these men, our friends, lost their lives and it could¡¯ve been you!  I know we ain¡¯t got much of a choice for work up here in these mountains, but that ain¡¯t stoppin me from wantin¡¯ you to do somethin¡¯ safer.


    Earl, leanin¡¯ on his crutches, said, ¡°Lucy, I¡¯ve been a thinkin¡¯ on this here thang fer a spell and I agree with you..  It¡¯s time fer a change.  The way I see it, there are a few choices, own a country store, grow and sell tobacco, work in the mines, grow and sell crops and moonshinin¡¯.  We don¡¯t have enough land usable to grow extra crops, as we eat mostly all we grow and I don¡¯t have a store or the money to make one.  I need to get out of the mines so I will be here to help you and not kick the bucket afore time.  So that leaves moonshinin¡¯.  I did it with my daddy many a year afore workin in the mines and have been makin¡¯ some every year fur my own use and its in my blood, makin¡¯ it, sellin¡¯ it and drinkin¡¯ it.  We have room to grow some more corn, along with our eatin¡¯ crops and I don¡¯t want moonshinin¡¯ to become a lost art.  It¡¯s part of our heritage.  I grew some extra corn this year, thinkin to sell it, but ther¡¯s no time like the present.  I think we will start out small this year.¡±


    ¡° Well Earl, I see you have been ponderin¡¯ this fur a while and you have yore family¡¯s best interests at heart.  As long as you can keep out of sight of the law, I¡¯m fer it,¡± his wife said.


    Timmy John met them at the front door with two buckets of fresh milk and his Mama said, ¡°Let¡¯s have milksop(a glass of milk with bread torn up in it) fer dinner, since we all had a huge meal earlier.¡±


    Timmy John said, ¡°I done skimmed the cream off the top and put it in the springhouse, so it¡¯s ready fer usin¡¯.  Daddy, we need to get Rosie bred again cuz she¡¯s startin¡¯ to dry up (her milk is going away) and it¡¯s gettin along about fall, so we can have a spring calf if we time it right.¡±


    ¡°Good thinkin¡¯ son,¡± his father praised him. ¡°I don¡¯t know what we would do without you boys.  You all have a good head on yore shoulders and I¡¯m  goin¡¯ to need to count on yore help while I¡¯m healin¡¯¡±

 Outhouses, Spiders and a New Career

    The Higgins are a regular mountain family for the 1950s¡­6  young uns and a ma and pa.  Their house is a wooden 2 story with two fireplaces.  The kitchen and living room and the parents¡¯ rooms are downstairs and the kids all sleep upstairs.  It is a fairly big house for the mountains, but their daddy had a good coal mining job for about 20 years.  There was no electricity or running water, except when someone used the pump at the kitchen sink.  It was a hand pump.  They always left a cup of water beside the sink just in case they needed to prime the pump.


    The day after the big disaster, John Joseph took his gun and went huntin for deer.  Their family needed meat and they wanted to take some food to Donna Ann and her young uns.  They would be needin help with her husband gone.  That is the way of the mountain folk.  They take care of their own, their neighbors.


    Timmy John brought up the cream from the springhouse where it had kept cold from the cold water stream.  The stream ran right under the spring house.  It was a cute little house about five feet by five feet.   He also brought up the butter churn.  A butter churn is a container with a tight fitting lid and a pole through the middle of the lid.  It stands about two and a half feet high.   Karen Lynn sat down on her stool and as soon as Timmy John poured the cream into the container and replaced the lid, Karen Lynn began gently plunging the pole up and down, over and over.  Once it started getting more difficult to plunge, Karen knew it wouldn¡¯t be long before the butter was ready.


    Meanwhile, Carl Ray was filling up the two big cauldrons with water and then built a fire under them to make hot water for washing the laundry.  Their mama and Hattie Mae gathered everybodies laundry and started sorting it and taking it outside. Cora Sue who was the oldest girl at 13 had made breakfast and was now cleaning the dishes.


    Earl Alfred said to his wife, ¡°Honey, I need to go looking fer a new hidey hole to make my likker.  I¡¯d like to take Timmy John and Hattie Mae.  Can you spare them fer a spell?¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°I reckon I can spare them, but should you be drivin with your leg all banged up like that?¡±


    Lucy replied.


    ¡°Oh, I reckon I¡¯ll be fine and it¡¯s pretty important to get some shine started so we have some cash income comin in!¡±  Earl said.  ¡°I got a couple of idees of places to get started.  I reckon the corn will be ready in about two weeks.  Where is Hattie Mae?¡±


    Just then the door to the outhouse opened and little Hattie Mae came out.  The outhouse was set out about 20 feet from the front porch and stood about 7 feet tall and was all made of unpainted wood.  It had a quarter moon cut into the door of it and had a plank laid from one side of the building to the other and two big holes cut into it where two people  could do their business.  There was a Sears Roebuck catalog sitting between the two seats.  That was their toilet paper.  They would tear out a page and rub it against itself until it was soft.  It was a mite softer than using a corn cob, which was used when they ran out of catalog pages.  Hattie Mae went over to the wash bowl set on a little side table by the front door. ¡° We got black widers makin a home in the outhouse,¡±  little Hattie Mae told her pa.


    Earl grabbed his spray and limped over to the outhouse, opened the door, pinpointed the spider and sprayed it.  ¡°Spiders are great fur catchin bugs, but those black widers are nothin to play around with.  Nobody wants to git bit by them!¡± Earl said. ¡° Hattie Mae, go fetch yore brother, Timmy John and jump in the truck.  We¡¯re goin fur a ride.¡±


    To tell the truth, Earl was pretty excited about his change in career.  It would be good to say good-bye to the mines, being cooped up underground.  Sure he knew the risks of makin moonshine: the still could blow up, killin a man or revenooers could bust up an operation, spillin the likker, or he could go to prison.  He also had to be careful not to step on anyone¡¯s toes, gettin his customers.  The code of the mountains said that you don¡¯t take another man¡¯s shine customers.

 Blackberries, Bears and Pies

    Timmy John told Hattie Mae, ¡°I¡¯m  collectin eggs and will be there right soon.¡±  The hen house was built by John Joseph and was over off to the other side of the porch from the outhouse.  It looked like a cute dollhouse, painted pink, blue and yellow.  There were three different entrances fer the chickens and one fer the person collectin the eggs. If you didn¡¯t know it was a hen house, you would think it was apartments fer little people!  After John Joseph finished it, everybody on their side of the mountain had to come and gawk at it!  Nobody had ever seen a henhouse like that!  Daddy and Mama never did figure out where John got the paint!  Oh the chickens are mighty proud of it too!!


    Timmy and Hattie climbed into the old truck with their daddy and the three set out to find just the right spot fer their new still.  Earl told them while they drove, ¡° The spot we are lookin fer  has  to be by fresh, cool water that won¡¯t run dry and be back fur enough in the woods that the revenooers won¡¯t be able to find us.¡±  Timmy set up front with his daddy since he was older and Hattie sat in the back.  She was havin fun goin over the bumpy dirt roads, bouncin up and down on  those old springy seats!


    Hattie Mae said, ¡°Daddy we have the best spring water in the hills.  Everybody says so that comes over.  They always have to have a drink of it.  Why don¡¯t we set up the still right there by the house?  It would be a lot easier, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Well, Hattie Mae, the law looks at moonshine different like than we do.  We would have trouble if we did that.¡±


    Hattie Mae didn¡¯t know what that meant, but she figured the law men put on special glasses to look at the moonshine and none of her family had any glasses.  How it caused trouble, she didn¡¯t know, but she trusted her daddy that he had it figured out.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    They had been off of any roads fur an hour, drivin up an old creek bed with a trickle runnin through it when Earl pulled over by a huge rock and said, ¡°Now we git out and walk.¡±  He grabbed a pail and gave one to each of the kids and headed over to a berry patch.  Earl was lookin all around while they picked, checkin out the surroundins.  In the middle of pickin, Earl took off through the woods.  It was hard going, with his bum leg, but he was determined to find the water source and find out if it would work.  He found the head of the spring and it was cold as ice!  When they had all filled their pails with huge blackberries it was time to head back.


    Their daddy was real happy.  ¡°I don¡¯t think any man¡¯s been out to this here spot, but we¡¯ll have to watch fer bears this time instead of revenooers.  I¡¯ll take that any time!¡±


    Timmy John yelled, ¡°Git in the truck!  Thar¡¯s a bear comin this way!¡±


    Hattie Mae shrieked and her daddy grabbed her, pushed her in the truck and started it up as Timmy John raised his gun, just in case.  They took off like a shot of white lightnin!!  Well, as fast as an old truck, drivin thru the woods could go!


    Cora Sue had cooked up a pot of navy beans and cornbread and turnip greens and hadn¡¯t made any dessert, but when she saw her favorite food, huge blackberries, come into the kitchen in 3 big pails, she changed her tune.  There were 2 big blackberry pies put into the oven quick as a wink!  Her mama smiled approvingly, as she came up the steps with a basket of fresh laundry that had dried on the line.


    Hattie Mae was in the kitchen saying, ¡°And there was that old bear chasin after our truck and daddy saved us by drivin us away.  Oh and Timmy John shot over his head to scare him off, so he went back to the blackberry patch and left us alone.


    Earl looked at Lucy and said, ¡°We found it, honey.  This is the best durn spot I ever saw!  I don¡¯t think nary a man¡¯s been back there before!!¡±

 Snakes, Plows and a Cool Porch

    As the family sat down at the table, Earl stood and took off his hat saying, ¡°Let¡¯s say grace.  Heavenly Father, we thank you for this food.  Please bless the hands that prepared the food and the ones that took part in growing and reaping it.  Thank you for always providing for us.  We pray for our neighbors who lost loved ones or who are hurt that you would heal them all, body and soul.  Thank you for supplying our every need.  Please continue to do so and help us always have thankful hearts.  In Jesus¡¯ name, amen.¡±


    The family started passing the food around the table and talking.  ¡°Daddy, old Susan got startled today while we was plowing.  There was an old rattlesnake, must¡¯ve been five feet long over to the side.  He took off when he saw us and by the time I got old Susan calmed down and got to the house to get my gun and came back out, I saw him way off headed into the rock outcrop.  I follered him,  but lost track of him.  We¡¯d best take the shotgun out  with us until we get him,¡±  Carl Ray said.


    Earl said, ¡°I reckon, son.  I¡¯m right glad you told us all so we can be on the lookout.  You girls be real careful, since we don¡¯t have enough guns for all and ifn you see him, run the other way and call fer yore brothers.¡±


    Timmy John said, ¡°That old black snake was in the chicken coop again.  I grabbed his neck and walked him out to the cornfield.  He can do some good there and not eat our baby chicks.  We need to make sure the chickens are all locked up at night so we don¡¯t lose any.¡±


    John Joseph said, ¡°I worked in the root cellar, cleaning it out to get it ready for this year¡¯s harvest.  I also got the mason jars all ready and in the kitchen.  We are going to need about 65 lids to go with them.  We also need 4 more flats of complete mason jars.  Mama, if you can make a list of the other things we will need for canning, I would be happy to drive into town tomorrow to get those things oh, and if you can spare me.¡±Stolen novel; please report.


    Lucy answered, ¡°That would be fine John, and I would appreciate it!¡±


    ¡°I got everybody¡¯s laundry all washed, dried and folded and each person¡¯s stack is on the couch.  Everybody please grab yore laundry and put it away after dinner,¡± their mother said.


    John Joseph and Hattie May cleared off the table and Cora Sue set out potholders and then brought out the blackberry pies!  Those steaming delights caught everybody¡¯s attention.  ¡°That smells like we done died and gone to heaven!¡± their daddy said.  ¡°I swear you womenfolk have some sort of magic up yore sleeve!¡±


    Lucy said, ¡°That was all Cora Sue¡¯s doing!  I was busy with laundry!¡±


    Cora Sue blushed, ¡°Shucks, it was fun!  I¡¯m glad you all like it!¡±


    Every last bite of pie disappeared and as the dishwashing team got started, their daddy said, ¡°Well I think I¡¯m going to sit out on the porch and smoke a spell.  Do you want to join me, Lucy?¡±


    Their porch was the place to go get cooled off on these hot days.    It reached around ? of the house and was screened in!  It was 5 feet wide and had a nice porch swing attached to the porch roof.  The tin roof covered the entire porch and was like a musical instrument when it rained, with the sounds it made.


    Earl and Lucy both stood up and Lucy, instead of answering, screamed out, ¡°Earl you are bleeding clear through yore overhauls!  I¡¯ll get my bag.  Take off those pants.

 Plans, Chestnuts and Silly Antics

    Lucy had Earl sit down and she examined his leg.  Karen Lynn brought her some clean water and some bandages.  Lucy took a needle and some thread out of her medical kit.  After she washed the area really well and staunched the bleeding, Lucy put a few stitches in Earl¡¯s leg while John Joseph distracted him with some silly antics.  He was juggling some tomatoes, when he missed  and  a very ripe tomato smashed right on his daddy¡¯s head!  With tomato seeds and juice running down into his eyes, the whole family broke up in fits of laughter and Earl¡¯s was the loudest laugh of the bunch.  This enabled Lucy to finish up doctoring Earl, while he had something else to think about!


    ¡°Earl, I insist you stay off of that leg for a week so it can heal and you don¡¯t open up that wound again.  We can see how it is doing at the end of the week,¡± Lucy said.


    ¡°Now honey, you know I can¡¯t stay off of my leg that long.  We are just tryin to get our new enterprise goin.  I gotta set up the still and go to town to get the supplies.  Laws a mercy Lucy, I got too much to do to set around.  I ain¡¯t one of yore kids.  I got responsibilities,¡± Earl protested.


    ¡°Now we will figure this thing out,¡± Lucy said.  ¡°John Joseph is going into town tomorrow and I reckon he can get the supplies you need.  That old chestnut tree is ready; I saw some ripe chestnuts on the ground today.  If¡¯n we all go out there, I reckon we can gather up a wagon full of chestnuts to take to market and have John Joseph barter for most of the things we need.  That¡¯ll stretch  yore cash money from the mine a mite further.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a rite fine idee, Lucy.  Let¡¯s get on it everybody!¡± her husband said enthusiastically.


    ¡°Now, Earl you know I meant everybody, except you!  You rest up.  I know you don¡¯t know how, but we need you to get all healed up so you will be ready to work that still when the corn is ready!¡±


    ¡°Well, Lucy, as much as I hate to admit it, you are right.  I will draw up the design fur the still while you all fill up the wagon with the chestnuts.  John Joseph is plenty old enough to take care of the shopping and bartering; you are right.¡±  Earl said.  ¡°Ok, everybody go grab yore sunhats and you boys bring a gun.  There are about two hours left before sundown.  Let¡¯s see how much you can get into the wagon before sunset!¡±


    One of the boys went out and harnessed up the horses to the wagon.  There was a mad scramble in the house, with kids going here, there and everywhere and before ten minutes had passed, the wagon was full of kids and they were off to the chestnut tree!  Lucy had stayed home to tidy up after dinner and make sure Earl stayed off of his leg.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Carl Ray drove the kids out to the old chestnut tree.  The ground was covered in huge cockleburrs.  These weren¡¯t just any old cockleburr, though.  Most of the ones on the ground, because there were still plenty in the tree, were opened up and there were two to four chestnuts in each one!  What a treasure! There were deer feasting on the fallen chestnuts who scampered off into the woods when the rowdy wagon of kids pulled up!  Carl Ray set the brake so the wagon didn¡¯t roll away and everybody jumped out and started filling their shirts up with one hand while holding the shirt with the other.  Timmy John grabbed the three pails that had been emptied out from the berries earlier and passed them out.  It was a mite faster for the ones with pails than the ones putting the chestnuts in their shirttails.


    ¡°Ouch!¡±  little Hattie Mae called out.  ¡°These cockeburrs are no joke, Karen Lynn!  Ain¡¯t we got nothin else I can put them in besides my shirt?¡±


    ¡°Here¡¯s a little soup bowl, Hattie Mae.  That should work.  It will make small amounts to put into the wagon, but every little bit counts!  Little things are important.  That reminds  me of a story I heard.¡±


    ¡°Oh, tell it, tell it!¡± clamored Hattie Mae.


    ¡°I can and will as long as it don¡¯t keep you or anyone else from loading up those chestnuts.  We have a really short time out here and it¡¯s needed to help stretch Daddy¡¯s money,¡± Karen said.


    That comment spurred them all to work just a mite faster because they all loved a good story!


    ¡°There once was a wonderful, kind king who ruled his kingdom with much love.  He had some enemies though.  He got word that his enemies were going to try to overthrow his kingdom and were on their way to assassinate him.  He got on his fine, black stallion who could run like the wind and took off to the next town where his loyal army were.  If he could make it there, they would protect him.  As he was galloping his horse, he noticed the horse had lost a horseshoe.  This was quite a predicament, as the horse could become lame running without his shoe, but the enemies couldn¡¯t be far behind.  What should he do?  He came upon a little village with a blacksmith shop where they made horseshoes and decided to stop and take care of his faithful horse.  As the blacksmith worked on the horseshoe, he told the king that his horse had lost the nail that held his shoe on.  They heard the thundering of many horses approaching and the king took off just as they were coming up the dusty road, with a renewed, rested, energetic horse who carried him to the next town safely.  On that last little bit of road, the king thought, ¡°Why, I never realized how important little things are.  That little nail caused me to lose the horseshoe and the loss of the horseshoe could have caused me to lose the horse.  If I had lost the horse, I would have surely been lost and then my kingdom  would have been lost too!¡±  The king thought about this very important lesson he had learned and ever since that event, was more kind to the little people who cooked his food, took care of his animals, cleaned his castle, etc.


    By the end of the story, the wagon was about as full as they could get it and the children started walking back toward home.  Nobody wanted to sit on top of a bunch of cockleburrs!!

 Sledding Without Snow

    After they got home from picking up chestnuts, all of the kids started bagging up the chestnuts to have them ready for tomorrow¡¯s trip into town.  Earl said, ¡°Carl Ray, let¡¯s step over to the swang while the kids are finishin¡¯ up.  I want to ask you something.  Did you happen to notice any blight on that old tree?  It¡¯s the last chestnut tree in this holler.¡±


    Carl Ray said, ¡°Unfortunately, yes.  Low down on the trunk it is circling half way around the tree.  The tree only has probably one more pickin¡¯ on it and I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ next year we will be lucky to see any at all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I was afeared of,¡± his daddy answered.


    ¡°What are you afeared of daddy?¡±  Hattie Mae asked.  ¡°You ain¡¯t feared of nothin¡¯, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh Honey, this ain¡¯t like bein afeared of bears or mountain lions.  It¡¯s just a manner of speakin¡¯.  It¡¯s just something I wish wouldn¡¯t happen, but it¡¯s time has come,¡± her Daddy started explainin.


    Hattie Mae, smellin a good story, asked her daddy to tell her more.


    ¡°I will tell you all a fine story just after you all finish up with the chestnuts,¡± he said.


    ¡°Yaaay!¡± A roar went up from all of the kids and they scrambled to finish as quickly as possible.


    Cora Sue went in ahead of everyone else and popped a great huge bowl of that scrumptious snack, popcorn,  putting lots of homemade butter on it and plenty of salt!  Storytime was one of the mountain folks¡¯ favorite pastimes!


    Everybody settled in and got comfortable. Cora Sue passed around bowls of popcorn as her daddy began his story.


    Earl started out, ¡°Back when I was knee high to a grasshopper, we would take our hogs, we had about 30 each year, and clip their ears with our special family clipper and then turn them loose in the woods to get fattened up.  When it came time to take them to the city to be sold, we could tell which were our hogs by that identifyin¡¯ mark.  Man , how they would squeal, it was deafening!  It didn¡¯t really hurt them too bad, to get their ears clipped  but they wanted to be set free so they could forage for food.¡±


    ¡°Well, back then we had so many chestnut trees, that come the middle of September clear thru till the middle of October, we had to quit going barefooted and wear shoes because there were so many chestnuts on the ground.  Why, every 4th tree was a chestnut tree and they were not little, bitty scrawny things either!  Many of them were 100 feet tall and 10 feet around!  We all had to wear hats because it would rain cockleburrs when you walked into the woods.  It was a happy time of year, knowing those old hogs were goin to fetch a pretty penny after fattenin up on the chestnuts!  Oh and we et them too!  They were so good roasted!  But everyday we would start fillin up sacks to take to the city.  There were so many that we took wagon load after wagon load down to the railroad depot and we, along with all the other mountain folks were fillin up railroad cars with our sacks.  After chestnut season, we bought seed for the next year and all of those things we¡¯d been a hankerin for all year: shoes, sugar, shovels, and all manner of things.     My pa was such a character, he¡¯d invite the neighbors over and he played the fiddle and we would have the biggest barn dance to celebrate the chestnut season!  My pa would drink all the neighbors under the table with his little brown jug.  Oh they tried to catch up to him and at the end of the dancin, we would bed down all of the neighbors on quilts out in the barn, cause they shore couldn¡¯t make it back home.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The next morning, all of us kids played hide n seek and went cow tippin before the adults had opened their eyes!  The  moms got the best breakfast for us   you ever did see with johnny cakes and fresh sorghum, scrambled eggs, fried country ham and coffee that would make yore eyes roll around in yore head!


    Before you knowed it, the neighbors were all loadin up their kids and headin back home and just like that we knew it was time to start roundin up the hogs to take to market.  That was no joke.  Them hogs was big!!  Only the menfolk and the oldest boys could take part in this tussle!¡±


    Hattie Sue yawned really big and laid her head in her sister¡¯s lap.  Earl just kept talkin, knowin everybody else was just takin it all in.  ¡°One time my brother and I, just tryin to change things up a little, took an old piece of cardboard up to Knob Hill, you all know where that is.  It has a gentle slope that ran right under a big old chestnut tree and then a sudden drop off.  Well, this here hill was about two feet deep in chestnuts and so slippery when you¡¯d step on the chestnuts that it would take your feet right out from under ye!  We decided to capitalize on that slipperyness.  After tryin to climb up it for right about half an hour, we both finally got to the top with our cardboard.  We set it down, held hands and jumped on that old cardboard right on our behinds and grabbed the edge of the cardboard with our other hands and away we went!  Oh we flew like the wind and it about took the breath out of us!  However, we came to the drop off and we were both yellin like little girls as we flew through the air!  We came down hard and just kept on a goin and if it weren¡¯t for a big pile of hay, we¡¯d still be goin today!!  We hit that hay and it thumped the air right out of us both!  When our pa came runnin and saw we wuz ok but had shirked our duties to play real dangerous-like, he marched us off to the woodshed and gave us what old Paddy gave the drum¡­a beatin!¡±


    Hattie Sue opened her eyes a crack and said, ¡°I want to slide down the chestnuts, pa.  Can I go?¡±


    Her brothers and sisters all laughed!  ¡°She probably would too, pa, if¡¯n there were any more big piles of chestnuts,¡± Cora Sue said.


    Karen asked, ¡°Why were there so many in your day, pa, but we don¡¯t see lots of chestnuts anymore like that?  Is it just a tall tale about there being lots of chestnut trees?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, honey.  It''s as true as the sky is blue and cows give milk,¡± her daddy answered.


    ¡°What happened?¡±  John asked what they were all thinkin.


    Looking around at all of the eager faces and the kids trying to muffle their yawns, their pa said, ¡°Well, seein as how tomorrow is a big shoppin day and the ones left behinds have to get things ready for our still, we will save that question for the next story-tellin.  Now you young-uns git yoreselves off to bed.¡±


    They prayed for the night and after a long day, everyone settled down pretty quick.

 The Secret Trip

    John woke up about 5:00 in the morning to the smell of coffee and bacon.  His mom had not


    only fixed him breakfast before his long trek into the city, but had made 2 lunches¡­.one for him and for her too!  His mom was going with him.  Lucy was awfully good at trading or bartering and she and his dad had decided she would be a great asset on this trip.  John went out to the barn to hitch the horses up to the wagon, while his mom finished up the breakfast.  They ate as quietly as possible, so as not to wake the rest of the family and then were off on their adventure!


    The horses were feeling frisky in the crisp early morning air!  They pranced like a couple of Tennessee Walkers.  John had to keep reining them back in so they wouldn¡¯t go too fast down the mountain.  ¡°What do you think about going to one of the big stores first and see if¡¯n they will take all of the chestnuts, so we don¡¯t have to go traipsin around to a lot of smaller stores, John?¡±¡± Lucy asked.


    ¡°Sure, ma,¡± John answered, being a man of few words.  ¡°We have passed apple tree after apple tree and they are plum full of apples.  Isn¡¯t this the old Johnson place?¡±


    ¡°It shor nuff is, John Joseph.  And I do believe they moved away last year.  Are you thinkin what I am thinkin?¡± Lucy asked her son.


    ¡°That we need to buy lots of sugar and cinnamon and flour?  I can taste yore apple pie rite now, ma!¡±  John said.  ¡°We won¡¯t let those apples go to waste!¡±


    Meanwhile, back at the house, Cora Sue had gotten breakfast started and Carl had milked the cow so they would have fresh milk in their coffee and for the kids to drink.  Earl had started early workin on his drawings of the still.  He was trying to remember the lay of the land around where he would place the still.  He was thinking about going back to that spot so he could map it just right.  If he timed it right, he could get there and map it out and get back before dark.  ¡°Honey, can you take care of cookin the supper and churnin the butter if¡¯n I bring you back some more of those blackberries?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing pa.  Who are you takin with you?¡±  Cora Sue answered him.


    ¡°I thought I would take Hattie Mae, Timmy and Karen.  Does that sound ok to you?¡± her  pa said.


    ¡°Shore pa, Carl can stay and help me with the egg collecting and weedin the garden.  Is that going to be ok with ma, tho?¡± Cora Sue asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s been almost a full week and I ain¡¯t had no problem with my leg bleeding for 3 days.  I think it will be ok.  And just think about how those blackberries will taste!  Blackberry season is almost over, too.¡±  He knew just what to say to get Cora Sue to feel good about their little trip, cuz he knew ma wouldn¡¯t be any too happy when she came home and found out he wuz out workin agin.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    He and Timmy loaded up some old plywood, hammers, saws and nails and the girls got some food together for the trip and Timmy made sure to bring his shotgun, remembering the bear from last time.  ¡°Pa, why are we bringing buildin stuff?  This ain¡¯t the material for the still, is it?¡±


    ¡°No, it ain¡¯t, Timmy.  I¡¯ll explain it to you when we get up yonder.  We ain¡¯t ready to set up the still, yet.  John and yore ma will be bringing the copper tubing and copper sheets and such for the still.  Let¡¯s get loaded up.  Can you go get the girls?¡±


    Drivin down the road in the old jalopy, Hattie Mae tried to explain to Karen how much fun the back seat was for bouncin around.  They were both waitin excitedly for their fun ride and knew it would start soon, as their pa just left the road and was driviin down the creek bed when pa put on his brakes, sudden like!


    ¡°What happened, pa?¡± Karen asked as she picked herself off of the back of the front seat!  She picked Hattie up too off of the floor of the old car.


    ¡°Thars a big tree across the creek!  We¡¯re going to have to get out and saw it up sose we can move it.  You girls can get out too, but watch out fer critters.  There may be berries nearby but remember, where there¡¯s berries, there¡¯s bears!¡±  their pa explained.


    The tree across the stream bed was a foot in diameter and the guys decided to each start on the edge of the stream bed, one on each side and work toward the middle, toward each other.  Timmy was the first to make a cut all the way through and had the satisfaction of seeing the end of the log roll off down the hill!  His dad, being very competitive, put the gas on, so to speak and made the next cut through.  There was no hill on that side of the creek so he had to put some muscle to the log to get it out of the way.


    The girls had gone for a walk, looking for berries.  There was a lot of undergrowth, so they took it slowly.  Suddenly Hattie said, ¡°Lookie up ahead on the right.  Do you see berries?¡±


    Karen answered, ¡°I think so but let¡¯s go slowly and listen.  We don¡¯t want to come up on no bear!¡±  They crept slowly in the direction of the berries and stopped and listened.  There was a snuffling sound coming from the berry bushes!  Karen grabbed Hattie Mae and they ran like the wind back to pa and Timmy, praying the bear was not following them!


    Timmy heard the girls scream and ran toward them with his shotgun. The girls ran up to him, all out of breath with Karen panting, ¡°A bear, a great big bear!  Right down there.  Do you see him?¡±


    Timmy scanned the horizon, looking for the bear.  He finally spied him, but the screaming of the girls had spooked him and he was a long ways away!  Timmy laughed, ¡°That old bear is a lot more scared of you than you are of him.  He won¡¯t be botherin you any more today!  You girls did the right thing, yelling and gettin away from him!¡±  They walked the rest of the way back to their Pa.


    ¡°So pa, what is the big secret with all of the tools?¡±  Timmy asked his dad.


    Earl smiled and said, ¡°We are going to build a little cabin for us to stay in while we make the still and for while the still is running.  You see this flat place over yonder?  That will be the place we put it.  We need to gather up some 5 inch logs, about 30 of them and some year old trees to use for the stakes to hold the logs steady.  We will need to gather wood for the bunk beds, but we can do that later.  I¡¯d like to get the cabin as far along as possible today.  Do you reckon you could gather up the supplies while I wander up to check on our still site again?¡±


    ¡°Sure Pa, I¡¯ll be glad to ,¡± Timmy said.

 Hatties Storytelling

    ¡°Sure Pa, I¡¯ll be glad to,¡± Timmy said.


    ¡°What can we do, pa?¡± Karen asked.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you get the pails and come with me?  There are several berry patches on the way to the still site and you can pick a few pails for Cora to fix up into a nice blackberry cobbler!¡±  Earl said.


    The girls ran to grab their pails and Earl got his rifle to take with them on their trek.  They stopped and ate sandwiches Cora had packed for them and had some nice cool water before heading off on their walk with their dad.  Timmy had already brought 3 logs before the girls and their dad even left!


    Earl encouraged the girls to talk loud and sing on their way to the berry patch so any bears would be scared off before they got there.Little Hattie May had a different idea and said, ¡°I want to tell you a story pa!¡±


    ¡°Well go right ahead, just talk up loud, ok?¡± Earl said


    ¡°Ok, pa,¡± she shouted!  ¡° Once upon a time there was a family that lived in the woods.  Little Lulubelle was 5 years old and had blond hair clear down to her bottom, but she was sad because she always had to wear it in braids.  Cuz if¡¯n she wore it loose, it would get all tangled up and filled with leaves and such.  Well, after she did her chores each day, cuz there weren¡¯t no school fur kids her age yet, she would go to a special place in the woods that she called her own.  She would go around the dead tree trunk at the edge of the cornfield and walk about 20 paces to  some willow branches hanging over a stream.  It was like a waterfall of beautiful green leaves.


    The stream was shallow at that point so she waded through the stream and pulled and pushed the leaves and branches aside so she could keep walking through the stream.  Well, that stream went back into a cave so she kept a walkin through the cave plum to the other side.  When she came out of the cave she was in fairyland!  There were colors everywhere!  The sky was bluer than ever before and there was a permanent rainbow across the sky!  But the trees!  There wuz a wisteria vine growing like a tree up to the heavens with deep shades of purple wisteria!  There wuz cherry trees with red cherries and pink blossoms at the same time!  There wuz trees with oranges growin on them.  In between the trees wuz blueberry bushes with blueberries as big as a doorknob!  And that fruit wuz so delicious and juicy you didn¡¯t never want no other food!  Why you could almost fill up just lookin at them!


    Lulubelle just sat down and looked and looked at the beautiful place!  After a few minutes, she saw somethin out of the corner of her eye.  She sposed it wuz a field mouse and glanced over where she saw it move.  She rubbed her eyes, thinkin she wuz blurry-eyed when she caught sight of a little tiny person!  She weren¡¯t no more than 3 inches tall and she had on the purtiest shade of green dress!  She wuz bare-footed and ran to grab a vine and swung clear up into the Wisteria!  Lulubelle¡¯s mouth dropped open and about that time dozens of other fairies ran across the green, green grass!  Lulubelle thought, ¡°Is this Heaven?  Are all people in Heaven small like this?  How am I going to get back home for supper?  But she weren¡¯t really worried.  All of a sudden, one of the little fairies saw her and blew on a ram¡¯s horn.  All of the little fairies looked up and saw her too!  She wondered what would happen next and sat very quietly so she didn¡¯t scare the fairies.


    A fairy with a big brown hat bravely walked over to the giant named Lulubelle and said in his tiny voice, ¡°Who are you and what right have you to be here?¡±


    Lulubelle whispered, ¡°I am Lulubelle and I just walked through the willow tree and I love this place and I love all of you and I love the cherries and blueberries and oranges too!  What is your name, sir?¡±


    ¡°I am Drogor, the lord of the fairies.  Do you mean harm to us?¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Oh, no, sir!  I am very friendly, you can ask my ma.¡±  Lulubelle started explaining.


    ¡°Why are you here in fairyland?  Are you a human?¡± Dragor continued questioning, tryin to figure out what was going on.


    ¡°Yes, I am a human; I am a child,¡± Lulubelle told him.


    ¡°No human has been in here for 500 years, when my pappy was the Lord of the fairies.  We must have a break in the willow tree.  What will we do with her?¡± he asked a crowd of fairies who had gathered around and were staring at Lulubelle.  ¡°If one human knows about us and our land, they go tell other humans who will only cause us trouble and come to gawk at us or worse.  They may destroy our way of life and try to make us pets who live in cages!¡±


    ¡°Oh no, sir!  I wouldn¡¯t never do that!¡± Lulubelle said feelin nervous.  ¡°I want to be friends and come to visit you right here and I won¡¯t tell nobody.


    The girl fairy who had swung up into the tree, suddenly swung down and landed on Lulubelle¡¯s nose and started looking into her big brown eyes.  Lulubelle held very still.  ¡°My name is Moss-Lily and I say she can be trusted!  Let her come to visit us.  Our land is the most beautiful in the world and we must share it with her!¡±


    ¡°Lulubelle told them she had to go home for supper, but if it was ok with them, she would come back tomorrow.  You can tell me then what you all decide, if¡¯n I can visit with you again.¡±


    Everybody said good-bye and Lulubelle went back through the cave and the willow tree and kept them all a secret.  Sittin at supper, while all of her family was sharin their day, it was hard not to tell them about the most magical thing she had ever seen.  While washin dishes, she almost spilled the beans to her sister.  Why this thing was eatin her up.  She wuz almost to burst, needin to tell someone!  ¡°No, I want to keep visitin them and they might put a stop to it if¡¯n


    I tell anyone.¡±  She dreamed that night about her beautiful land and the little folks.


    The next mornin, after chores, Lulubelle took off for her special place, wonderin if it was really there.  She went around the old stump, to the willow tree.  Then she parted the leaves and branches and continued walkin thru the stream and thru the cave and holdin her breath, she looked and there was her special place!!  She watched as the fairies swam in the stream, swung thru the trees on vines, picked flowers and braided them into crowns to wear.  At that point, Moss-Lily saw her and came over.  ¡°Hello, my new friend!  Lulubelle, is it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I came back to see if I wuz allowed to keep visiting,¡±  Lulubelle said.


    ¡°As long as you can see us, you can visit.  On the day this land is no longer here, the visits will be over,¡±  Moss-Lily explained.


    ¡°Oh good!¡± Lulubelle exclaimed.


    Moss-Lily invited Lulubelle in further into their land to sit and braid flowers with her.  After Lulubelle finished her crown, ten of the girl fairies took the crown, had Lulubelle bow her head to the ground and they crowned her with the beautiful flowers!  It was the best day of Lulubelle¡¯s life!  When it started growing dark, Lulubelle stood up slowly, making sure she didn¡¯t squash any of her new friends and saying good-bye, left the way she had come.


    Her sister, spying the new crown when she returned, asked, ¡° Where did all of those nice flowers come from?  I ain¡¯t never seen those before around here.¡±


    Lulubelle didn¡¯t know what to say, so she just kept quiet.  ¡°Ma, Lulubelle has flowers that don¡¯t grow around here!  She ¡®s been wanderin off!¡±  Her sister told.


    Lulubelle¡¯s ma called her over. ¡° Where have you been off to, Lulubelle?¡±


    Lulubelle didn¡¯t want to lie to her ma and asked, ¡°Do I have to say, ma?¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯d better, honey,¡±  her ma said, right nice like


    Lulubelle looked all worried.  ¡°Ma, can you just come with me tomorrow, after chores and I will explain it all to you?¡±


    He ma looked into Lulubelle¡¯s eyes and said after thinkin it over,  ¡°Yes, honey I will.¡±


    The next day, Lulubelle and her ma set out for fairyland.  Lulubelle was worried that Moss-Lily and Drogor and the rest of the fairies would not be happy about her bringing another human with her.  Well, she would know soon.  She and her ma had just passed through the cornfield and were right now walkin around the dead tree stump.  They went to the willow tree and waded in the water to the place where they had to push aside the willow branches and leaves.  Then they were walking through the cave.  They got to where it opened up into the beautiful fairyland and saw¡­¡­

 Storyteller, Blackberries and Haulin Logs

    They saw the bright blue sky turning back into a normal blue sky.  They saw the blueberry bushes shrink before their eyes and the blueberries that had been as big as doorknobs, shrink into normal blueberries.  The orange trees just plain disappeared and the wisteria shrunk down to vine size.  The cherry trees were still there, but with no blooms and very few cherries.  The flowers died and disappeared before their eyes.  But the most interesting and heartbreaking was a small voice that said, ¡°Good-bye, Lulubelle!  I will miss you.  We have to go away before more humans come.  I hope to see you again someday, MY FRIEND!¡±


    Lulubelle¡¯s ma turned to her and said, ¡°Did you hear that?  We just saw the real fairyland!  Why this is what all girls dream of!  Thank you for sharing it with me Lulubelle!  Her voice sounded just like bells softly chimin!  I¡¯ll never forget this day as long as I live!¡±


    Lulubelle was sad to lose her special place and her special friend, but wuz happy she and her ma could share it  The End.¡±


    ¡°What do you think, pa?  Did you like my story?¡±  Hattie asked.


    ¡°That was right nice, Hattie May!¡±  He said as he looked down at her.  ¡°Well, we are at the berry patch.  Let me walk around it and make sure that ol bear from the other patch ain¡¯t here.  Then you girls can get started pickin and I will go make notes on the still site.¡±  Earl walked    around the berry patch and couldn''t resist popping a few mouthfuls of blackberries into his mouth, as he did.  He came back to the girls and said, ¡°All clear!  You can git started and I¡¯ll be back directly.¡±


    As he walked off into the woods, Karen said, ¡°Hattie May, that was my favorite story ever!  I can see it now, you are going to grow up to be the holler¡¯s storyteller!  I¡¯m goin to fill up my pail first!¡±  and she ran to get started!


    Hattie May raced to beat her sister.  ¡°Hey, it¡¯s no fair.  My bush has just a lot of unripe berries.  Why can¡¯t we pick them?¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Karen said, ¡°Hattie May, you know as well as I do that those unripe berries make a sour pie.  Besides, next time we get up here, those unripe berries will be ripe if¡¯n you leave them to get finished.¡±


    ¡°Ok, oh, looky at this bush!  I think I done died and gone to Heaven,¡± Hattie May said in that cute little girl voice she had.  ¡°This has the biggest, fattest blackberries I ever did see!  Oh, my pail is going to be filled up first, Karen!  You¡¯ll see.¡±


    At this point, Timmy had just cut his tenth log and was dragging it to the buildin site.  Doin this hard work was goin to make his muscles big.  His sweetheart at church would notice on Sunday, fer shore.


    Earl had come up on the still site and was figurin where he would put the pipes, one to bring water to the still fer coolin and the other to run water down to the buildin site.  Then, he looked around for the best place to put the barrel for the fire and looked around fer some good ol creek mud to seal the whole thing up with.  He figured he had a pretty good idee of how things would work on this end.  As he started back down through the woods to the girls, he pondered on how he would get customers without botherin nobody who wuz already in the business.


    When Earl got back to the girls, he found 3 full pails already in the car and the girls had taken an old shirt and tied it up at the waist and buttoned it up and were filling it up with more black berries.  ¡°Oh you girls are pretty smart there!  It looks like you are making the top half of an ol scarecrow!  But I bet it tastes a whole lot better!  Let me try it!¡±  With that Earl reached for the blackberry filled shirt.


    The girls screamed and ran a ways away.  Their pa laughed and went over to check on Timmy.  ¡°Boy, I don¡¯t know how in the world you made that much progress!  Why you are near finished with them big logs!¡±  Earl exclaimed.


    Timmy, his chest swelling with pride with his dad¡¯s encouraging words, finished pilin another log on the huge pile.  ¡°How much more time do we have today,pa?¡±  Timmy asked.


    ¡°Well son, I think we better be getting back before yore ma.  She¡¯s not goin to be takin too kindly to me traipsin up here to work on the still.  If¡¯n we¡¯re back at the house, things will go a mite easier, I¡¯m thinkin.¡±  Earl said.


    Timmy said, ¡°I¡¯ve got one more log cut, pa.  I¡¯d kinda like to move it over here too.  Is that ok?¡±


    ¡°Shore son, the girls and I¡¯ll get loaded up and be ready to go when you get back.¡±  Earl replied.

 Hes Goin to Do What Hes Goin To Do

    After gettin into town, John and his Ma went to the nearest big grocery store.  ¡°I reckon this is a rite purty haul of chestnuts.  I don¡¯t see these comin in hardly atall any more,¡± the manager at the Kroger store said to ma and John.


    Their spirits lifted and they were sure this manager would take them all!  After all, Kroger was a big chain.  They weren¡¯t at all prepared for his next words and John was ready to start hauling all of those bags of chestnuts into the store.


    ¡°But I can¡¯t make no decisions without contacting the higher up men in the Kroger stores.  All of those decisions are out of my hands,¡± the manager said kindly.  ¡°I¡¯m sure sorry.  But if¡¯n you folks will be here next week, I might have a different answer.¡±.


    John and Lucy looked at each other sadly.  They didn¡¯t have that much time to be away from their family.  They left, feelin deflated.  The Kroger manager had recommended The Trading Post, which was a couple of miles away, so they decided they had nothing to lose by trying to sell or trade the chestnuts there.


    The manager at The Trading Post practically flew out the door to look at the chestnuts.  ¡°How many did you say you have?  We never see chestnuts anymore; why all of the chestnut trees have been dead around these parts for a few years.  I just had a man from New York in here yesterday and he would have bought up the whole wagon load!  ¡°What kind of a price are we lookin at here?


    Ma and the manager of The Trading Post managed to come to an agreement that was acceptable for them both and on top of their agreement, the manager offered to give them a 10% discount on any supplies they bought from him.  Ma had set everybody down before they left the house and had drawn around each of their feet on butcher block paper and then wrote the name of each of them on their respective papers.  She used that to find the new shoes for everyone.  Then she picked out material for sewing dresses and shirts for everybody.  Then she got some nice sturdy overalls for all of the menfolk.  They got sugar, salt, chicken feed, flour, cornmeal, coffee, smoking tobacco for pa to tide him over till their crop of tobacco was harvested and dried and they got all of the rest of the household goods they would  need for the winter.  John took his list of items needed for the still down to the hardware store and managed to get everything with the cash pa had given him without too many questions.  He had decided if anyone asked him about if¡¯n they were running a still to tell them he was thinkin about runnin water from their spring into the house with a copper tube made from the sheets of copper.  But no one really did confront him.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    John packed the copper sheets in the wagon first, then he put the mason jars down with sewing material between each flat of jars to protect it from the wagon¡¯s jostling while they rode home.  He was a careful packer.  The rest of the supplies were packed around this.  They were finished about 4:00pm and hoped to make it back before dark.


    Lucy was pretty happy about how things had worked out.  They sang while they traveled home.  Then it got real quiet while Lucy was making up patterns in her head for the dresses and John was thinkin about buildin that still with his pa.  The horses shied away from the left of the road and it was all John could do to calm them down.  He handed the reins to his ma and said, ¡°It¡¯s probably a mountain lion.  I¡¯ll grab my gun so¡¯s I¡¯m ready if¡¯n one comes near.¡±


    Lucy said, ¡°We¡¯s almost home and I¡¯m glad we didn¡¯t lolly-gag around but hit the road as quick as we could.  These mountain lions ain¡¯t no joke and he would have the advantage over us if¡¯n we wuz still out here after dark.  I ain¡¯t never been so glad to see the old house as I am now, son!¡±


    ¡°Me too, ma!¡± John answered.  As they pulled into the yard, the whole family came out to help unload and to celebrate their supply!  The wagon was unloaded and John and Timmy took the horses to unhitch them and feed them and put them away for the night, so if there was a mountain lion anywhere around, he couldn¡¯t get to their horses!


    Pa was lickin his lips to keep from droolin he was so eager to get started on the still!  Ma saw the blackberries and figured what had gone on while she was away.  She waited till she and Earl wuz  alone and she had time to cool off and then talked to pa about that trip.  ¡°Honey, I thought you wuz  goin to stay off of that leg till it healed.  You¡¯ve done been up the mountain again.¡±


    Pa said, ¡°Yes, but it proved itself today.  There was no bleedin and my leg ain¡¯t achin.  It is all healed up and ready to go!¡±


    Ma just sighed.  ¡°Earl, you are goin to do what you are goin to do!  Heaven help us!¡±

 Apples, Donna and a Mountain Lion

    John had told his pa about the apples at the old Johnson place and how they were going to go to waste if somebody didn¡¯t go pick them.  Earl thought it was a fine idea to take the family down for the day to pick the apples; they could sure use them and it would take the heat off of him if he delayed the still buildin for the day.  Lucy was relieved when Earl said they would spend the day pickin apples.  They took the wagon and the old jalopy, so the apples could ride in the wagon and the people in the car, because it was too far to walk.  They hadn¡¯t gone far when the horses started actin up.  Earl asked, ¡°What do you think is causin that?  John said, ¡°I think it¡¯s a mountain lion, pa.  I think he follered us home yesterday.  We better have our guns at the ready.


    They hadn¡¯t gone a dozen feet when a big ol mountain lion came jumpin out of a tree right at ol Blackie the horse!  The girls screamed, John lifted his gun and shot that old lion between the eyes and he fell on the side of the road as dead as a doornail!  ¡°Good shot, son!¡± his pa said, amidst exclamations from everyone!  ¡°Well, ma, looks like someone will have a nice lion coat to keep them warm this winter!  And it looks like I need to brush up on my tannin skills!¡±


    Timmy had jumped out of the car and was calmin down the horses, strokin their heads and speakin soothingly.  Ma was holdin her heart, thinkin what could have happened, if her boys weren¡¯t such fine shots!  Hattie and Karen were arguin about who needed a new coat worse.  Carl had been snoozin and woke up with a start from all of the commotion!  He stretched and got out and helped the other guys put that ol lion on the top of the jalopy and tie it down.  They calmed down pretty quick and finished their journey to the apple trees.


    The apple pickin went like this.  Hattie and Karen picked all of the good apples off of the ground, Earl and Lucy and Cora held sacks for the apples to be put into and everybody else picked apples off of the trees.  After a couple of hours, Hattie and Karen made sandwiches for the family and one of the boys brought spring water from the ol Johnson place and they all sat down in the green grass and had theirselves a picnic!  Then it was back to pickin.  After a couple of more hours, they had all the wagon could hold and they loaded up and started for home.


    Earl and Lucy talked about it and agreed that he would load up the still supplies and take John and Timmy to work on the bunkhouse and Carl to help him take the still supplies a mile up to the site.  Lucy would get the girls organized.  Cora would get out the big ol laundry wash tub and fill it with cool water so they could wash the apples. Then, afterwards, Cora and Hattie started doing the chores together, collecting eggs, feeding the stock and weeding.   Karen and her ma would start cutting the apples, peeling them and coring them.  Then they would make some apple pies and applesauce and can it with some of the new canning jars they just bought.  They would also make and can  apple butter and for supper there would be fried apples and onions, a real family favorite.  Earl and the boys would be gone two or three days, workin up at the still and it would take Lucy and the girls that long to finish up the apples.


    Earl said, as he was kissing Lucy good-bye, ¡°Honey, I left you with the rifle.  I know you are a right fine shot and with none of the boys here and us¡¯ns  just runnin into that mountain lion, you need to be prepared.  I done skinned the lion and got the meat cut up and into the smokehouse.  If you could feed that fire with some green wood, I¡¯d be much obliged.  It should  stay smokin till we get back.  I got the brains soakin so¡¯s we can use them to tan the hide when we get back.  I do feel better knowing we got that lion yesterday, but please be careful and feed the animals and do the chores while it is light out.


    Lucy said, ¡°I done packed you food for three days and don¡¯t even think about bein gone more than that.  There is a sack of apples and a bunch of the lion meat to drop off at Donna Sue¡¯s house.  Check on that little one for me, please.  She has shore got her hands full with that new baby and no husband.  You keep yore gun by you all of the time and be keerful.  You ain¡¯t as young as you used to be, Earl.  She checked his leg one last time and declared him well and gave him a big hug.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    The boys had transferred everything into the old jalopy, since the wagon was too wide to make it through the creek bed.  They were pretty crowded, but in high spirits.  The boys were lookin forward to buildin their cabin and the adventure this trip would bring.


    When the boys arrived at Donna Sue¡¯s house, they were greeted by a mess.  There was a broke down fence, with the mule and the pig loose outside of it.  The screen door had fallen off of the top hinge and was just hangin.  There was a board missin on the front porch.  There were two little kids playin in the mud who looked like they hadn¡¯t seen water in many a day.  Pa said, ¡°This ain¡¯t good, boys.  It appears Danna Sue has lost courage and given up.  One of you boys start puttin things back together and round up the animals, one of you make friends with the kids and clean them up and give them somethin to eat.  John, you come in with me to see Donna Sue.¡±


    They walked in to see Donna Sue rockin the baby, with a blank stare on her face.  It took her a minute to acknowledge them. ¡° John, fix Donna somethin to eat.   It looks like she is plum starvin to death.  Donna, honey, it¡¯s Earl and John.  We is here to help you.  Here, can you drink a swaller of water?¡±


    She took the cup, seeming to not know what to do with it.  Earl patiently helped her put it to her lips.  She sipped the water and then greedily gulped it down and said only one word, ¡°More!¡±


    Earl filled her cup and helped her drink that one and three more.  By this time, John had fried her up some lion meat and she ate slowly at first, but then devoured the food.  The baby was whimpering and Donna Sue looked at her and realized she needed to eat, as well.  She got out a blanket and draped it over her front and started nursing the .baby.


    Earl asked her if she still had milk for the baby.   She answered yes. He felt relieved that there was this one good thing that had happened in the midst of so many problems and then he asked her what had happened.  He already knew the answer to the question, but needed to see if all of her marbles wuz still in place.


    Donna Sue looked at him as if seein him for the first time.  ¡°Laws a mercy, where did you come from Earl and John Joseph!?  How long have you been here?  Where are my young uns?¡±


    Earl said, ¡°We come to help you, Donna Sue.  Looks like you got a mite behind, here.¡±


    At that show of sympathy, Donna Sue started crying.  ¡°I had no food for the young uns and I couldn¡¯t haul water from the well, cuz the baby wouldn¡¯t let me put her down.  We ran out of firewood, but it ain¡¯t winter.  But what will I do this winter with no firewood chopped and I ain¡¯t been tendin the garden?  We got a hog for meat, but I ain¡¯t never killed or butchered no hog.  Oh, what am I to do?¡±  She started crying harder.


    Earl and John looked at each other.  They were so eager to get started on the still and the cabin, but here was a family that was goin to die if they didn¡¯t get help.  John offered to start on the chores, feedin the animals, collectin eggs, bringin in water, choppin wood and such.  Carl had already repaired the screen door and was working on the fence.  Timmy was washin up the children and singin songs with them.  Earl started sweepin the house and choppin up some of the rescued vegetables for later.  He offered to hold the baby so Donna could get herself washed up and her clothes changed.  She smelled pretty bad.


    After Timmy had gotten the kids cleaned and fed and happy, he, at Earl¡¯s request, had taken the jalopy back home to get ma to load it up with all kinds of food and soap, etc. that Donna would need.  He also brought back Cora to stay with Donna for a while to help her.  After all of the chores were done and the animals were put back up, Donna Sue looked up at Earl with tears of joy.  ¡°You are my angels of mercy.  I gave up, but you brung us back to life and gave me new hope.¡±


    Earl said, ¡°Cora and Donna, we will be back in three days to check on you.  Do you reckon you will be alright till then?¡±


    They said they would and pa pulled Cora aside and told her to keep a close eye on Donna, that she had been through a really rough time and lots of hugs and patience were the cure.  Cora said she understood and would do what she could.


    It was a sober group of menfolk who continued on their way.  Earl talked with the boys, as they left Donna Sue and Cora and the kids.  ¡°Boys, she was sure as shootin lookin into those pearly gates.  If¡¯n we hadn¡¯t stopped by, she would be goin thru them tonight.  And I think those kids would¡¯ve followed purty quick.  We need to be thinkin about what we can do to help.  It¡¯s the code of the mountain folk¡­we take care of our own.

 They is the Best Neighbors a Body Could Have!

    Cora got the  children settled in bed and then went out to get the animals put up for the night.  Her pa had tied their cow up behind the jalopy and brought her with them to Donna¡¯s, saying the kids and Donna needed the milk more than their family did.  So, Cora did the evening milking and took it to the spring house, after taking out some for Donna.  When she got up to the house, Donna had laid the baby down in her crib and was putting away the food Earl and his kids had brought to them.


    Cora fussed at Donna to rest, while she was recovering her strength and gave her a glass of milk to drink.  Donna said, ¡°This warm milk tastes like ice cream from the drugstore soda fountain in town!  Thank-you and your family Cora for coming to my rescue!  We wouldn¡¯t have made it without you all!¡±


    ¡°Oh Donna, tweren¡¯t nuthin.  You would have done the same fur us!¡± Cora answered.  She got the rest of the food put away, cleaned up the dishes and asked if Donna needed anything else.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.  How are you going to get home?  It;s a fur piece to walk and it is getting late.¡±  Donna Ann asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m stayin¡¯ with you fur 3 days till my Pa and brothers come back.  I want to cook and clean fur you  and help you get yore strength back,¡±  Cora said.


    Donna started softly crying, ¡°You all is the best neighbors a body could have!


    Pa and the boys got to their spot shortly before dark and not having time to work on the new cabin, gathered wood for a fire to keep away the critters.  They would sleep around the fire tonight, on the ground, after making their dinner on the fire.  ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped boys, bein late.  Donna and them kids was more important than our comfort.¡±  They prayed together for the night, for the ones at home, for Donna and Cora and for their own protection and fell sound asleep.


    Earl woke the next morning, saying ¡°Lucy, no!  Ouch! Don¡¯t bite my fingers!¡±  Opening his eyes he saw a little chipmunk run off!  He chuckled and told the kids as they woke up to be sure and wash their hands out here every time they ate and explained how he had woken up to a chipmunk nibbling on his fingers!Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Carl had bacon sizzling on the fire before long and had made up some biscuits and coffee.  ¡°Nothing tastes as good as breakfast over a campfire,¡±  Earl said and they all agreed.


    They divided up into two teams, one building the cabin and the other dragging the still fixins up the hill.  John had taken their food and tied it up in a big bag and hauled it up about 20 feet off of the ground with a long rope, sose they didn¡¯t have no food robbers takin it.  The bears were eatin for the winter right now and he didn¡¯t want to contribute the boys food for the next few days to any bears.


    ¡°John and Carl, let¡¯s go over the plans for a simple, strong cabin.  I reckon you can get the walls and door up before tonight.  I wuz thinkin to put four stakes about six feet high on the ground on each side, two on each end and place the logs in betwixt these, servin as holders fur the logs.  Then if¡¯n you can fit the logs up to the top of the stakes, all the way around, we can fill in the cracks later with mud and such and build a roof.  I think that will be right fine!  A door on wooden hinges would be great if you can get to that tonight.  We will be on the ground again tonight, but I will feel a lot safer with the 4 walls up around us.¡±  Earl explained.


    ¡° Timmy, let¡¯s start draggin the supplies up the mountain.  I figure we need 4 to 6 trips to get it all up there.  It¡¯s a little inconvenient, because it is so out of the way, but we gotta do it to keep far enough out of the way of the revenooers sight.  This cabin will be the first place fur them to stop if¡¯n one of them comes up the mountain and hopefully they won¡¯t go no further and just figure thar¡¯s a new homestead.  Well Timmy let¡¯s get goin.  These supplies ain¡¯t goin to carry themselves!  Carl, if¡¯n you have any kind of trouble, fire yore shotgun 3 times; blam, blam, blam, just like that, ok?¡± Earl said.


    ¡°Sure Pa.  Let¡¯s get goin, John.  You shore got a lot of the logs last time you wuz here, John!  We got a good headstart!  Why don¡¯t we start with the stakes, sose we can start puttin those logs where they go and clear off some of this land sose we got somewhere to put the next batch of logs, ok?¡± Carl said to John as the other team started their long trek.


    Back at Donna¡¯s, Cora had gotten up and made breakfast and had the kids fed before Donna opened her eyes.  She wuz sweepin the kitchen when Donna walked in.  ¡°Good morning, Donna; how did you sleep?¡± Cora asked.


    ¡°Purty good!  Have you seen my young-uns?¡± she asked Cora.


    ¡°They are playin outside; they done ate,¡± Cora explained.  ¡°Ma says you need to rest up and get yore strength while I am here.  I milked the cow and put most of the milk in the spring house this morning.  Them kids drank milk like it wuz goin out of style this mornin!¡±


    ¡°I imagine they did.  They ain¡¯t had none since my husband passed.  It is so nice to have you here, Cora!¡±  Donna said.  She sat down to nurse the baby.

 A Visitor

    ¡°Ma, ma,!¡±  Karen came running in all excited-like.  She had just gone out to do the outside chores while Ma and Hattie had gotten started on their 10th batch of apple butter.


    ¡°Laws a mercy Karen; what¡¯s gotten you in such  a tizzie?  Her mom asked as she wiped her hands on her apron.


    ¡°Ma, Clement from back in Blackberry Holler is here.  He says his dad is hurt bad.  His old tractor fell over backwards on him goin up the hill and he had to wrestle him out from under it.  He¡¯s callin fur you!¡±  Karen was so excited that she ran her words all together.


    ¡°Tell Clement to get Blackie and Youngster all hitched up to the wagon and then you come in and pack us up some blankets and sleepin stuff.  Hattie and I will turn off the stove and wrap things up in here.  Did you finish gatherin up the eggs and get the critters fed?  Also you better put the chickens away fur the night, cause we may not be back.  I don¡¯t want to travel after dark with the lions out and bears hungry this time of year.  Hattie grab a couple of loaves of fresh baked bread and a couple of jars of apple butter and some apple sauce and some of those fresh vegetables you brung in from the garden yesterday.¡±


    Ma was putin together her doctorin stuff, bandaging sheets, herbs and white lightening fur pain.  She realized he might not make it.  Them tractors was real heavy.  She tried to think of what they might be facin, to prepare herself.


    They were loaded up pretty quick and on the way out of the yard, she saw old Susan out grazin.  This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Karen go take old Susan in to the barn and lock her up,¡± Ma was saying, when Clement handed her the reins, interrupting her and jumped out of the wagon to go take care of it.


    Clement was 16 years old, tall and skinny as a rail.  He was as strong as an ox though. He was the only child of Mildred and Pete.  They had met each other later in life and she had had two miscarriages and they were mighty proud of their one who made it, Clement.


    When he returned to the wagon, they took off and Ma asked Karen and Hattie to make some cheese sandwiches and pour some water for Clement.  She knew he had walked a fur piece and was probably pretty hungry and thirsty.  Clement took the sandwiches gladly and gobbled them down while Ma drove the team.  Blackie and Youngster were always high spirited when they got to go out pullin the wagon and Ma was glad to be handling them.  It was easier to hold them back than to try to calm them down when they got to goin too fast.


    The wagon pulled up to Mildred and Pete¡¯s place about two in the afternoon and Mildred ran out to carry in the supplies with Clement and the girls while Ma went in to check out Pete. Pete was laying on the four poster bed, softly moaning.  She could tell by the way his breathing was shallow and his breath would catch, that his ribs were either broken or severely bruised.  She suspected the former.  Ma softly said, ¡°Hello Pete.¡±


    He looked up at her with pain in his eyes and whispered, ¡°You came!  Can you help me?¡±


    Ma compassionately smiled at him and said in her most convincing tone,  ¡°I am goin to try, Pete!  I need to ask you some questions and will try not to make you talk too much.  Have you been able to drink water or coffee?¡±


    Pete said, ¡°Yes, little sips.¡±


    Ma asked, ¡°Can you tell me where the pain is?¡±

 Healin Home

    On Pa and Timmy¡¯s first trip back to the new homesite to gather more material to take up to the still site, John and Carl used their combined manpower to hoist the last two logs into the first side of the cabin, on top of the first five logs.  And just like that, the first side of the cabin was done!  Pa and Timmy gathered up another load of supplies and started back to the still site.  They hadn¡¯t gone but a few hundred yards, when pa dropped the barrel he was carrying, when he stumbled over a root sticking up in the path.  That old barrel started rollin downhill, knocking Timmy off his feet and over against a tree.   Timmy dropped everything in his hands, yellin fur John and Carl to stop the barrel before it rolled all the way to China!  That old barrel didn¡¯t stand a chance in Hell with all that manpower chasin it and they captured it and Pa and Timmy got started off on their journey agin!


    Carl and John got the supports up for the three other sides and got the first five logs into the other long side of the cabin, so they were ready when Pa and Timmy returned.  All four guys got the remaining logs into that long side.  Pa and Timmy started off on their last trip for the day and John and Carl got the long logs cut into halves for one of the short sides.  They also got a door and the wooden latches fixed up for Pa to hang.  When the guys got back, the four of them made short work on the rest of the walls!  They would sleep inside tonight!  There was no roof on their little cabin, but they would feel a lot safer, sleeping inside tonight!


    John figured he would start the campfire outside the cabin to cook on.  Carl pulled down the food from up in the tree where it was hanging and they took out the food they needed for the night before he pulled it right back up in the tree and tied it securely.  Timmy put the cast iron frying pan on the fire and fried them all up some mountain lion steaks and some turnip greens.  He fried the potatoes and onions in some oil.  ¡°Boys, there¡¯s nothin like good old work to give you an appetite!¡±  Earl said as he wiped his mouth on his handkerchief.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    They cleaned up the pots and stoked the fire for the night and all went into their new freshly built cabin and slept like babies!


    Early the next morning, right as the sun was coming up, John pulled the food down from the tree again and Timmy cooked them some coffee and bacon and biscuits.  ¡°That smells mighty good,¡± Carl said, as he came out of the cabin stretchin.


    ¡°Well boys, this is our last day and we need to finish our work and head back early sose we get home before dark,¡±  Earl said.  He was pretty excited because after hauling up this last load of still supplies, he was goin to get started settin up the still!  It would be far from completed today, but it was makin him feel like a kid at Christmas!


    John and Carl knew they wouldn¡¯t finish the roof today either, but they were pretty sure they could get the logs all cut and drug back to the cabin.  Along about 3:30 in the afternoon the two teams reunited and started loading up their sleepin supplies and the food that was left and took off down the mountain. They hadn¡¯t gone but about two miles when Earl smacked hisself in the head!  ¡°What¡¯s goin on Pa, did you git bit by a mosquito?¡± Timmy asked.


    Earl said, ¡°No, we is almost out of fuel.  I sure hope we can make it home with what we got.  If¡¯n we can git home, we can take the can in the wagon to get some more fuel, but if not you boys is goin to be pushin the car!¡±

 Pain, Difficult Decisions and Mountain Doctorin

    ¡°Can you tell me where the pain is?¡± Ma asked Pete.


    While Pete talked with her, haltingly, Ma prepared a warm poultice to place on his belly.  ¡°I feel¡­ swollen¡­ in my belly,¡± Pete gasped out, ¡°but I feel flat, too.¡±


    Ma encouraged him to rest and gently felt his belly.  Pete choked and Ma lifted him slightly sose nothing went down into his lungs.  Pete turned his head to the side and blood trickled out of his mouth.  She wiped his mouth and said, ¡°Well, Pete, would you like a little shine to take off some of the pain?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I would¡­.It¡¯s a mite painful.¡±


    Ma lifted his head and gave him a sip of moonshine.  His features relaxed slightly and Pete mouthed, ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Lucy gave him a little more moonshine.  She wasn¡¯t a doctor, so she had nothing else to offer him for pain.  Pete fell asleep and Lucy asked everyone to be as quiet as they possibly could to give him this momentary pain free sleep.  She placed another pillow under his head and turned it to the side so he wouldn¡¯t choke and place the warm compress on his swollen, feverish belly.


    ¡°Mildred, can we go out to the porch swing and have a cup of coffee?¡±


    Mildred jumped up and met Lucy outside with 2 steaming cups of coffee.  She handed Lucy a cup of coffee and said as she sat down by Lucy, ¡°How bad is it Lucy?  Can he come back from this?¡±


    This was Lucy¡¯s least favorite part of doctoring and she would just as soon leave it out altogether, but she loved her mountain friends and would bring them whatever comfort she could.  ¡°Do you mind if we say a word of prayer, Mildred?  Dear Lord, we come to you with sorrow of heart but faith in You.  Please smile on Pete and bring his health back, if it be your will and bless our time to talk.  Mildred, I will give it to you straight.  He¡¯s a dyin.  If¡¯n he stays here in his own house, he will die.  The other alternative is takin him into town to the hospital.  I don¡¯t know if Pete can live through the jostlin of the dirt roads into town.  He might die on the way or he might make it to the hospital and then die¡­or live.  He has messed up innards and I don¡¯t know, but they might be able to fix him up.  You have a really big decision to make.¡±You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Mildred was softly weeping.  ¡°What would you do, Lucy?  I just don¡¯t know what to do.  He¡¯s my man and I don¡¯t want to see him suffering or leaving me.  He is such a healthy man, it¡¯s hard to see him weak.¡±


    Lucy said, ¡°Mildred, I don¡¯t know what I would do in your situation.  I think when he wakes up, you should both talk about it and make your decision together as soon as possible.  Do you have a place where Karen and Hattie could bed down for the night?  They have their own blankets and such.  I need to get back to Pete and change his compress.¡±


    Mildred said with tears in her eyes, ¡°I¡¯ll get the girls taken care of.  Will you call me when he wakes up?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Lucy said, with an empathy only a mother and wife could have.


    Lucy checked on Pete, changing his compress, pacing a wet rag on his head and wiping his mouth.  There wasn¡¯t much she could do and it made her feel really frustrated.  She consoled herself by realizing even a college educated doctor couldn¡¯t do anything more in this situation, with all of his high falutin education.  It helped a little, but it didn¡¯t make her friend any better.


    Pete stirred, moaning.  Lucy asked Mildred for a cup of hot water and put some white willow bark in it.  This had the properties of aspirin and could help some with the aches and might take some of the swelling down.  When he opened his eyes, she started spooning little sips of the tea into his mouth.  ¡°That moonshine took away some of the pain, sose I could think a little more sensibly.  I thank you fur that,¡±  Pete said.


    Mildred heard him whispering and came into the room.  She sat down beside him and asked how he was doin.  ¡°I feel a mite better.¡±


    ¡°We need to talk, Pete.  We have to make an important decision,¡± Mildred said to him.  She proceeded to relate what Lucy had told her.

 The Deathwalk

    Mildred and Pete, after a short talk, decided to sleep on it and make the final decision in the morning, as Pete was in a lot of pain, and couldn¡¯t think clearly.  Lucy gave him some more of her moonshine and he went to sleep again.  He was still bleeding out of his mouth, which Lucy knew meant he had internal injuries.  They already knew that, as you don¡¯t escape unscathed when a heavy tractor falls on you.


    Lucy spent the night changing compresses and feeding him sips of tea and giving him moonshine when he couldn¡¯t stand the pain.  Mildred also stayed by his bedside.  He held onto her hand tight when he was awake and she stroked his hand  lovingly when he slept.  Around about three in the morning, Lucy said, ¡°I need to rest for an hour; are you ok to stay with Pete and change the compresses and all?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.  Go rest,¡± Mildred said.


    Lucy slept a couple of hours and it took her a moment to realize where she was when she woke up.  She washed her face and went in to take Mildred¡¯s place.  Mildred said, ¡°Pete slept the last couple of hours and I changed the compress.  He ain¡¯t had no tea or moonshine since you laid down.  I¡¯ll go fix some breakfast fur all of us and then lay down fur a spell.¡±


    Lucy took over and as soon as Mildred left the room, he woke up.  Pete sat up and was looking up in the corner of the room.  ¡°Mama, you came to help me.  Yes, I hurt.  A lot.  What?¡± and he laid back down, asleep.


    Lucy went to get Mildred.  ¡°Honey, I think you better come.  It looks like it might be the death walk (this was what they called it when someone on their deathbed suddenly sat up or walked with supernatural energy right before they passed on.)  And he is talkin to his Ma.¡±


    Mildred broke down crying, ¡°Lucy, Pete is goin to pass.  I ain¡¯t ready.  We ¡®re only in our fifties.  I love him.  He¡¯s my man.  What am I goin to do?¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Lucy put her arms around Mildred, comfortingly. ¡°Mildred try to calm down sose you can be a comfort to Pete and get back in there.  I¡¯ll go get Clement to be with you, too.¡±


    Lucy sent Clement in to his mother and father after explaining what was going on with his pa. Clement gritted his teeth so he wouldn¡¯t cry and went into the sick room.  Lucy fed the girls and had a bite, herself and set aside plates for Mildred and Clement.  She asked the girls to collect the eggs and feed the animals and went back into the sick room.


    Lucy brought in a new compress and changed it.  She asked Pete how he was doin and he said, ¡°That warm compress¡­feels mighty nice.  Could I¡­get some more shine?  My ma wants a snort.  It shore helps with the pain.  Ma, is that Tater with you?¡±


    Mildred explained that was his younger brother¡¯s nickname who passed at ten years old.  ¡°He seems mighty lucid, but then he talks to his ma like she is right in the room!  What do we do, Lucy?¡±


    ¡°Mildred, don¡¯t pay it no never mind.  I seen it afore.  It¡¯s like his ma  is in another room and Pete can see into both rooms.  I know you don¡¯t want to hear it, but it is a common thing for a close relative to come get the one who is goin to pass to  accompany them into Heaven!¡±


    ¡°For shore, I thought that wuz an old wives tale, but I done seen it with my own eyes and heard my husband say it with my own ears and I know its a happenin!  We didn¡¯t talk anymore about stayin here or goin to the hospital, and I¡¯m glad now.  He needs to be here with his family to pass.  He wouldn¡¯t make it to the hospital, Lucy.  It is done out of our hands, now,¡± Mildred said emotionally.


    Clement went to get the Reverend and his wife to pray for his pa and help them after he passed.  Lucy continued trying to make Pete as comfortable as possible and Mildred started to feel a peace about her husband.  Long about 4 in the afternoon, Pete passed with a sigh.


    The Reverend and his wife came right away.  They found Mildred crying and set in to helping her with getting ready for the wake and getting a coffin made and all of the other things that came with a passing.


    Lucy saw her work was over there and she and the girls headed for home.

 White Horses and Goodbyes

    Mildred and Pete, after a short talk, decided to sleep on it and make the final decision in the morning, as Pete was in a lot of pain, and couldn¡¯t think clearly.  Lucy gave him some more of her moonshine and he went to sleep again.  He was still bleeding out of his mouth, which Lucy knew meant he had internal injuries.  They already knew that, as you don¡¯t escape unscathed when a heavy tractor falls on you.


    Lucy spent the night changing compresses and feeding him sips of tea and giving him moonshine when he couldn¡¯t stand the pain.  Mildred also stayed by his bedside.  He held onto her hand tight when he was awake and she stroked his hand  lovingly when he slept.  Around about three in the morning, Lucy said, ¡°I need to rest for an hour; are you ok to stay with Pete and change the compresses and all?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.  Go rest,¡± Mildred said.


    Lucy slept a couple of hours and it took her a moment to realize where she was when she woke up.  She washed her face and went in to take Mildred¡¯s place.  Mildred said, ¡°Pete slept the last couple of hours and I changed the compress.  He ain¡¯t had no tea or moonshine since you laid down.  I¡¯ll go fix some breakfast fur all of us and then lay down fur a spell.¡±


    Lucy took over and as soon as Mildred left the room, he woke up.  Pete sat up and was looking up in the corner of the room.  ¡°Mama, you came to help me.  Yes, I hurt.  A lot.  What?¡± and he laid back down, asleep.


    Lucy went to get Mildred.  ¡°Honey, I think you better come.  It looks like it might be the death walk (this was what they called it when someone on their deathbed suddenly sat up or walked with supernatural energy right before they passed on.)  And he is talkin to his Ma.¡±


    Mildred broke down crying, ¡°Lucy, Pete is goin to pass.  I ain¡¯t ready.  We ¡®re only in our fifties.  I love him.  He¡¯s my man.  What am I goin to do?¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Lucy put her arms around Mildred, comfortingly. ¡°Mildred try to calm down sose you can be a comfort to Pete and get back in there.  I¡¯ll go get Clement to be with you, too.¡±


    Lucy sent Clement in to his mother and father after explaining what was going on with his pa. Clement gritted his teeth so he wouldn¡¯t cry and went into the sick room.  Lucy fed the girls and had a bite, herself and set aside plates for Mildred and Clement.  She asked the girls to collect the eggs and feed the animals and went back into the sick room.


    Lucy brought in a new compress and changed it.  She asked Pete how he was doin and he said, ¡°That warm compress¡­feels mighty nice.  Could I¡­get some more shine?  My ma wants a snort.  It shore helps with the pain.  Ma, is that Tater with you?¡±


    Mildred explained that was his younger brother¡¯s nickname who passed at ten years old.  ¡°He seems mighty lucid, but then he talks to his ma like she is right in the room!  What do we do, Lucy?¡±


    ¡°Mildred, don¡¯t pay it no never mind.  I seen it afore.  It¡¯s like his ma  is in another room and Pete can see into both rooms.  I know you don¡¯t want to hear it, but it is a common thing for a close relative to come get the one who is goin to pass to  accompany them into Heaven!¡±


    ¡°For shore, I thought that wuz an old wives tale, but I done seen it with my own eyes and heard my husband say it with my own ears and I know its a happenin!  We didn¡¯t talk anymore about stayin here or goin to the hospital, and I¡¯m glad now.  He needs to be here with his family to pass.  He wouldn¡¯t make it to the hospital, Lucy.  It is done out of our hands, now,¡± Mildred said emotionally.


    Clement went to get the Reverend and his wife to pray for his pa and help them after he passed.  Lucy continued trying to make Pete as comfortable as possible and Mildred started to feel a peace about her husband.  Long about 4 in the afternoon, Pete passed with a sigh.


    The Reverend and his wife came right away.  They found Mildred crying and set in to helping her with getting ready for the wake and getting a coffin made and all of the other things that came with a passing.


    Lucy saw her work was over there and she and the girls headed for home.

 Revenooer

    The Higgins were up the next morning before the rooster crowed, preparing dishes for Pete¡¯s wake and doin regular chores.  Pa went out to check the tobacco and corn crops to see if they was ready fur harvestin and to see if the mountain lion meat was finished smoking.  Ma and the girls made a blackberry cobbler and using the lion meat, made a pasta dish with a white sauce.  Breakfast and dishes were over with before you could say cornswaggle and everybody loaded in the wagon and headed off to Pete and Mildreds place.


    It was a somber event for Pa and Ma and a couple of the older kids, because they realized it could be one of them instead of Pete.  That caused some deep thinkin about here and now,  but also eternity.  Now, the younger kids respected this and tried to be calm, but they was all excited about seein all the other young-uns and getting to play with them while the older folks mostly did the wake.  School was about to start, but they hadn¡¯t seen much of their friends since the mine explosion earlier in the year.


    Generally, in the summertime, the kids didn¡¯t see each other except for at Sunday-go-to-meetings, hoe-downs, or wakes and funerals.  They had a quiet drive over to Mildred¡¯s and Pete¡¯s.  People were arriving from all over this holler and the women folk were working together to arrange all of the dishes, tables and chairs.  There was all kinds of huggin and weepin goin on.  They was too many people to eat in the house, so they ate outside like a big old picnic.  The Reverend held the service first and then they ate.  Then the women folk cleaned up while the men sat around and smoked.  The young-uns played games like hide n seek and had a good old time.  Then before you knowed it, it was time for everyone to say goodbye and head home.


    On the way home, Pa and Ma talked and planned fur the fall activities, as they called them.  It was mostly just seasonal chores.  Pa had to get the tobacco reaped and hung up in the barn and get the corn reaped too before he went back to the still.  He also had to go into town to get gas fur the car.  They had made it home from the still, but just on fumes and they would need the car to go back to the still.  Ma needed to spend a day or two huntin herbs and gatherin them and Karen would be helpin her.  They would need to be tied up  in small bundles and hung in the barn, as well to dry before they were usable.


    The next day, pa got the three boys to work on the tobacco and corn and he hitched up the horses to go into a gas station/ general store nearby.  That would take less time than going into the big town.  He thought as he drove that he sure was glad he had hidden a mason jar of shine under the house.  Ma thought she had taken the last one for her doctorin, but she just didn¡¯t know!  He took it with him along with the gas can.  When folks went to that gas station, there were generally people playing checkers on an old pickle barrel and others standing around shootin the breeze and so havin a bottle to pass around sure was appreciated!This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Pa got his gas and put it into the wagon and then went back in to enjoy the company.  The first sign of trouble was when he pulled out his bottle and took a swig and passed it and instead of taking some, all of the men just passed it.  ¡°Uh-oh,¡± Pa thought. ¡°That ain¡¯t good.¡± He looked around at the crowd and saw a man he didn¡¯t know. ¡° I¡¯m Earl,¡± he said by way of introduction.  ¡°Whose yore pa?  I ain¡¯t never seen you around these parts before.¡±


    The young man said, ¡°My name is Steve and you wouldn¡¯t know my pa.  He¡¯s from Cordoba Holler.  What kind of refreshment have you got there, so kindly handing around?¡±


    Earl knew he had made a big mistake.  Nobody else was drinkin and this was a stranger.  He thought quick and said, ¡°Yep, my wife is the doctorin woman in these here parts and I took some of her medication.¡±


    Steve said, ¡°Are you sick and are these here people you done offered it to sick?  Is that moonshine?¡±


    Pa was caught red-handed and just hoped this newcomer wasn¡¯t a revenooer.  He decided to just be honest.  ¡°Why yes, it is.¡±  He kept his answer short.


    Steve asked, ¡°Where did your woman get moonshine?  Do you know who made it and where I can find him?¡±


    ¡°Speakin,¡± Earl answered.


    Now this young man was smart.  He done gone to college and he wanted to break up a still and get some recognition.  So he took Earl outside, out of earshot of the other men and said, ¡°I am going to let you off with a warning this time Earl, but I tell you I will have my eye on you and you better not so much as think about makin any moonshine or you will be in prison, choppin rocks, doin hard time.  You need to respect the law and if¡¯n I so much as catch you with any part of a still or. any moonshine in your possession  I will throw your ass in jail!¡±  Steve took the bottle from Earl and poured it out on the ground.


    He was so tickled to have found a moonshiner that he had to keep his excitement down so he could appear stern.  He would go to Earl¡¯s house and do a stakeout and follow Earl everywhere!  This was his big break!


    Earl was glad he just got a warnin.  He was already thinkin ahead to how he would handle this situation.  The young revenooer swaggered back into the store and Earl left for home.  They would have to keep a close eye out for this one.

 Spring Water

    When Pa got home he called a family meeting.  ¡°Boys, I see you got all of the tobacco reaped and hung in the barn.  I¡¯m mighty proud of you.  I guess the corn will have to be next.  Lucy, I imagine the root cellar is gettin filled up with applesauce and apple butter.  Do you think the lion meat will be havin room in there, too?¡±


    Lucy said, ¡°Oh, we have plenty of room fur the lion meat and lots of other goodies too!  The girls and I finished up the last of the apples today.  Tomorrow we will have wash day and then the following day get back to cannin.¡±


    Earl said, ¡°We need to make a few changes around here.  There was a revenooeer man at the general store today and he means business.  Kids, we can¡¯t talk about moonshine or stills anymore.  Outsiders done made laws and will put your pa in jail if¡¯n they find any moonshine or any part of a still.  From now on, we can¡¯t mention the still and the cabin up there is now known as ¡®The Huntin Cabin¡¯.  We talked about it before, but this ain¡¯t no joke and that is that.  When we go up there, we will do some huntin every time.  We could use some good old venison to keep us over the winter, anyway.¡±


    ¡° The revenooer man is goin to be snoopin around, you can count on it. The best answer you can give him if he asks you a question is,¡¯I don¡¯t know¡¯, ¡° Earl said.


    ¡°Pa, if there are laws against moonshinin, does that mean it is wrong?¡±  little Hattie asked.


    ¡°Honey, our ancestors brung over our moonshinin makin skills from the old country and it is a part of our heritage.  The Scots-Irish has been makin whiskey for many, many years.  It¡¯s like makin quilts and carvin furniture and playin the gitar and banjo.  It¡¯s a part of who we are.  Now, I don¡¯t plan on quittin makin moonshine, just becuz outsiders tell me its wrong and they made laws agin it, but we sure as shootin ain¡¯t goin to flaunt it either.  I don¡¯t plan to go to jail over our heritage.  It just has to be a super secret and not be talked about.  Do you understand?¡± Earl explained.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Yes, Pa, I think I do.  Besides, 5 year olds don¡¯t know what grown ups business is.  Ha ha!,¡± Little Hattie said.


    ¡°You is one smart cookie, Hattie,¡± her pa said proudly.


    Pa said, ¡°I want you all to be friendly to strangers, but don¡¯t give out no information.¡±


    The next evening at supper, Carl said, ¡°I was workin on gettin in the corn today and seen something out of the corner of my eye.  I thought it might be that big old rattler and whipped my head around right fast and saw a man walkin out across the back of the field toward the spring.  Well, I stopped what I wuz doin and follered him.  When I got to the spring, he was drinkin big gulps of our water.  I asked him, ¡°Kin I help you?¡±


    He answered, ¡°Oh, hello.  I¡¯m Steve  and was just drinkin some of this fine, clear spring water.  It is mighty fine water for makin shine, ain¡¯t it?¡±


    Carl said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know.  It is mighty fine fur drinkin and coolin off the spring house and waterin the crops.  Purty darn cold fur takin a bath, though.  Where did you come from and what are you doin on our land?¡±


    Steve said, ¡°I¡¯m from down  the mountain a ways.  Lookin fur people with the talent of makin moonshine.  Do you know of anybody in these here parts?¡±


    Carl said, ¡°I can¡¯t say I do.  Are you goin to be around here long?¡±


    ¡°No, I got to be moseyin along.  Nice meetin you,¡± Steve said as he backed off and left the way he came.


    Earl asked, ¡°So he said his name is Steve?  That¡¯s the revenooer.¡±


    ¡°I figured as much,¡± Carl said.  ¡°Well, I know what he looks like!¡±

 The Spy and Burnin Oil

    The following day, they finished reaping the corn and worked on putting it up for the winter.  The girls did more canning while Lucy worked on sewing school clothes for the kids.  Pa came in and started talking to Lucy while she sewed on the old sewing machine, operated by a  foot peddle .  ¡°Well, the boys have seen Steve several times today, hiding in different places, spying on them.  The last time we seen him he was heading off down  toward town.  So since he is gone, I figure it is the time for me and the boys to go up to the hunting cabin.  Could you please get food together for the next few days?  Will you be ok if I take the three boys?¡±


    Lucy replied, ¡°I¡¯ll be glad to and yes, you can take the boys.¡±  She prepared the food for her boys and made sure they took warm sleeping supplies.  Pa put gas in the car and took 2 big burlap sacks of cracked corn they had taken off of the cob and dried, as well as their food.  Carl brought tools for splitting logs to make the bunk beds and oats for making mash to seal their boiler on the still.  John brought rope for hoisting the roof onto the cabin and a rope for putting the food up in a tree.  Timmy finished up chores for the day and they were off.


    Meanwhile, Steve had only gone a short distance down the hill where his car was hidden behind some trees and was sitting in it, still keeping an eye on the Higgins¡¯ place, wondering what to do next.  ¡°Hmm, it looks like they are packing up the car for something.  Are they going into town?¡±  He watched until the guys started up the car and took off.  When they left the driveway, they turned uphill instead of toward town.  Steve watched as their car left a steady stream of smoke trailing behind them.  ¡°Obviously their old car is burning oil.  They better have a lot of oil with them, or they are not going to make it very far.  Hey, wait a minute.  I can follow them and they won¡¯t even know because I can just follow their smoke trail!  What a stroke of luck!  The only thing better than this is if they are headed to the place where they make their moonshine!¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Lucy was outside hanging some clothes on the line when  she saw an unfamiliar car drive past.  ¡°You know, the man driving looks like the revenooer guy.  How odd.  Oh, no, he is follerin my boys!  I have no way to let them know and they think he done went to town and have no idea he is follerin them!  Lands sakes!¡±  She went into the house and asked Karen and Hattie to pray with her for God¡¯s protection and safety for her boys.


    The boys got to the huntin cabin and put their supplies away and decided to build a fire outside  to cook their supper and get an early start in the morning.  A squirrel sat in the tree next to them, chittering away.  When they opened the door to the cabin, a possum ran out.  Pa laughed and said, ¡°Well Mr. Possum, you won¡¯t get stuck in there anymore because we¡¯re goin to build a roof on the cabin!


    Meanwhile, our revenooer had watched closely to see when the trail of smoke from the car would stop because he wanted to stop before he got to where the boys were goin so they wouldn¡¯t know he had followed them.  He saw the trail of smoke turn and decided to cut his engine and hide the car.  He got out and walked until he could see their little cabin and the campfire.  Steve went back and camped in his car for the night.


    The next morning, after breakfast, John and Carl got started splitting logs for the bunk beds and framing them on the walls of the cabin, while Earl and Timmy took the bags of corn up the mountain to the still site.  Steve had quietly walked up close to the cabin, still out of sight and caught a glimpse of Earl and Timmy headed toward the still.  He followed them, thinking, ¡°I am glad I studied with a Cherokee guide for a couple of years; it sure is coming in handy about now.¡±  He was able to walk with nary a sound, avoidin twigs and rocks.  He stayed back from them and hidden in the tall grasses and brush and was real keerful not to lose sight of them.

 A Revenooers Dream

    Carl and John were makin two big old triangles with three two inch trees to each side.  These would go on the two small ends of the house, one of which contained the door.  One of them climbed up on the roof with his hammer and nails and hauled one of the triangles up and started nailin it to the house.  Carl said, ¡°This is slow goin, balancin the wood and trying to hammer at the same time.  Could you clim on up here John and hold this heavy thang fur me?¡±


    Once John was  up on the roof, it didn¡¯t take no time at all to get that part securely nailed to the cabin.  They did the same thing on the other end and before you¡¯d a knowed it, they were ready for a ridgepole, betwixt the two!  Carl¡¯s hollow leg started actin up and they had to stop fur a bite before lookin fur the right ridgepole.  Their ma had packed them some cold fried chicken and potato salad and they made short work of that!


    They went into the woods, looking fur just the right tree.  Once they found it, they had to lop off the tiny branches to prepare it.  John and Carl hauled it up on the roof and nailed each end to the triangles.  This made it secure and ready fur the small trees goin from the ridgepole to the cabin.  They were makin real progress.  Well, after decidin the size of the rest of the small trees they would need to form the rest of the roof,  it was off into the woods they went.


    Meanwhile, Pa and Timmy had made it to the still site and were unaware of Steve watchin them.  They poured the sacks of corn in a barrel, adding in yeast, sugar and water and then covered the whole thang.  ¡°There, that¡¯ll need to sit about 7 or 8 days and we kin put the still together while we is up here,or at least a good part of it today.¡±  They got to workin on assemblin the still.


    Steve¡¯s heart started racin and all kinds of things went through his mind.  He could bust them right now and be justified fur it.  However, he really did want the thrill of bustin up a workin still.  What good was it to bring back parts that hadn¡¯t even been used to make some moonshine?  He sat real still and listened to Earl¡¯s plans, to help him decide when to strike.


    Earl said, ¡°Let¡¯s dig a hole to put the metal can in fur our fire.  You go collect some good old red clay whiles I dig.  Then we can collect some  old flat rocks to pack around the can with the red clay sealin it.¡±  He droned on about how they were goin to put it together and then when he started talkin about goin back home for a few days while the corn turned to mash, Steve¡¯s ears perked up.  ¡°Let¡¯s get Cora on the way home.  She¡¯s probably ready to git home about now.  We¡¯ll get an early start tomorrow.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Steve had heard enough.  He would leave silently like he came and go to town to stock up on supplies and then watch for when Earl and the boys would leave again so he could follow them and make his bust when they got the still working.  He was so excited about his first bust bein just around the corner!  He considered bringing some fellow officers, but decided against it cuz he didn¡¯t want to chance another officer getting his promotion.  With this under his belt, he would be likely the next in line fur  sheriff!  He managed to get back to his car without makin a sound and left that evenin.


    John and Carl hadn¡¯t completed the cabin, but it was gettin mighty close.  When Pa and Timmy got back to camp, there was a fine smell in the air.  The boys ate and went to bed and even without the bunks bein finished and without the roof on the cabin, they slept great.  The next mornin, after breakfast and clean-up, they took off for home.


    Cora and Donna were hangin up laundry and the young-uns were playin in the yard when Earl¡¯s crew got there.  They jumped out and asked what they could do to help out.  Donna had done some cannin and asked if they could run the jars down to the root cellar.  They also milked the cow,  collected the eggs and weeded the garden which was doin better because of Cora¡¯s daily waterin.  Donna expressed her gratitude at all of their collective help and she looked so perked up, that she might have been a different person from the one  they saw a few weeks before.


    Earl said, ¡°We¡¯ll be passin this way in a few days, Donna and will stop in to check on you.  On the way back from the huntin cabin we should have some venison for you, Lord willing.  Is there anything you need us to bring to you?¡±


    Donna said, with tears in her eyes, ¡°No, Earl.  You done that.  I¡¯m mighty grateful fur you all bringing me back to life!  I¡¯ll always remember this!¡±


    Earl responded, ¡°Oh, twernt nuthin.  You¡¯d of done the same fur us.  You are like one of my young-uns!¡±  They all waved as the Higgins drove out of the driveway and on towards home.

 Saturday Night Baths and Sunday Go-To-Meeting

    When Earl and the boys  got home, they was all busy takin their Saturday night baths to get ready fur Sunday-go-to meetin.  Water was put on to boil in the two big kettles outside and in big pots on the stove.  The tub was put into the kitchen and curtains drawn around it.  Each person in the family got a turn in the old tub and the water was changed when it got cold.  Bar soap was used for washin everything, even their hair!  The boys filled and emptied that tub, over and over.  I will say, the garden got a good waterin on  Saturday nights, as the boys always emptied the bath water into the garden.  A garden hose had one end in the garden and the other in the tub and one of the boys would run out and siphon the water to get the tub to empty.  They had gotten to be pretty good at that, sose they didn¡¯t get a mouth full of bathwater!!


    A good supper for Sunday was cooked on Saturday night  so nobody had to cook on Sunday.  All they had to do was set it out.  This was because of the day of rest.  Everybody¡¯s good clothes were washed on washday, but on Saturday night the ironing was done and the clothes were all laid out neat for Sunday morning.  On Sunday morning, they had a breakfast of oats with sorghum molasses and milk.  ¡°Ma, we¡¯re down to the last of the sorghum molasses.  When will it be time to take our cane to the sorghum press?¡± Karen asked her mom.


    Ma said, ¡°They is gettin set up now and it should happen in the next two weeks, sometime.  Everybody stack yore dishes on the sideboard and Karen please wipe down the table and let¡¯s load up fer church.¡±


    They loaded up in the wagon, cause it would be a mite crowded in the car and took off for church.  The Higgins were mighty proud of their church.  It was a wooden structure set up on cinder blocks.  They had real wooden pews with a velvety seat and backing.  There were holders behind each pew where the songbooks were stored.  Up front, behind the preacher was a row for the choir to sit in.  The Preacher¡¯s wife played the piano, which was adequate and accompanied the songs.  The preacher was also the music director.  The preacher today preached a good old ¡®fire and brimstone¡¯ sermon, which served two main purposes:  getting the people to check their hearts and see if they were right with God and to keep them awake.  After a long, hard week working their fields, people tended to drift off when they sat still.  After makin sure everyone was wide awake, the preacher spoke to the congregation about how much Jesus loved them.  That, in fact, he loved each of them so much that he died for each of their sins, which everyone has.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    On the way home, Hattie said, ¡°Ma, I have a question.  Jesus loves me and I love him right back.  Why did he have to die so I could be forgiven and go to heaven?  Couldn''t there be another way?¡±  She started crying and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want him to die.  He loves me even when I am bad and forever and always.  I want to meet him.¡±


    Ma put her arm around Hattie and said, ¡° Honey, after Jesus died, three days later he rose from the dead and he is alive again and you will meet him one day if you receive him to be your Savior.  Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Hattie said, ¡°How can I receive him to be my savior?¡±


    Her Pa said, ¡°Hattie, when you get to be up around ten or eleven years old, If¡¯n you decide to have Jesus as your savior, you can pray then and ask Him to forgive you and live in yore heart.  You are still a little young to make a commitment like that.¡±


    Hattie frowned and was quiet the rest of the way home.


    Meanwhile, Steve had done his shopping and had parked his car where he couldn¡¯t be seen, but he could watch the Higgins place.  He saw them leave for church and could tell by the way they were dressed that that was where they were going.  Steve settled in for his Sunday lunch of a bologna sandwich and  potato chips and drank some water with it.

 Shootin at The Revenooer

    ¡°Earl, I¡¯m a mite concerned fur you,¡± Lucy said.


    ¡°What¡¯s that all about?¡± Earl asked.


    ¡°When you uns went off to the hunting cabin last time, there was a car I ain¡¯t  never seen before that went up that same way as you and the man driving favored Steve, the revenooer.  I¡¯m thinkin he follered you,¡± Lucy said.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not goin to borry tomorrow¡¯s problems to worry about today, Lucy.  I¡¯m glad you done told me and I will pay better attention, but nobody bothered us atall while we wus at the huntin cabin.  We aim to spend the first couple of days up there this time huntin fur deer fur Donna¡¯s family and us fur the winter, cuz we have to wait for the mash to ferment.  We will keep our eyes peeled fur signs of our revenooer.  I want you to keep the house locked up at night, just so nobody gets no ideas,¡± Earl  replied.


    That night when they went to bed, the Higgins said their family prayers on their knees in their living room just like always.  Earl said, ¡°Our family prayers is important.  They keeps us together, however, each one of us needs to have a relationship with the Lord and should pray when we are by ourselves,too.  It¡¯s like we is a close family but sometimes Karen and Hattie talk about things among themselves and sometimes Ma and I talk about things among ourselves and that is called a relationship.  So when you pray and talk to Jesus, that is a relationship.


    That night when everybody went to bed, Hattie thought about what her Pa said about relationships and about what her mother had said about waiting to ask for Jesus to live in  her heart and forgive her for the bad things she¡¯d done and she made up her mind about something.  Hattie pulled her quilt over her head for privacy and put her plan into action.  Hattie prayed, ¡°Dear Jesus, I love you.  I want to be saved, but my Ma says I am too young.  I know you said to honor your ma and pa, so I will do what she says, but  I just wanted to tell you that I am sorry for the bad things I do and ask you to forgive me.  I love you and I know you love me and I thank you for that.  I am happy we are talking and that we have a relationship.  I¡¯ll talk with you tomorrow!¡±  Hattie yawned really big.  ¡°In Jesus¡¯ name I pray¡±  Hattie pulled the quilt down around her neck and turned over and was asleep quicker than you can say fried hotcakes with syrup on top!Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Steve was gettin mighty tired of sleepin in his car.  He started dreamin about after he made this big bust about his big promotion.  He hoped he would get his own office and a new squad car.  He might even get his picture in the newspaper.  This was his chance for fame.  Why, this would be the thing that would make Callie down in town notice him and start dating him and maybe even down the road, be his wife!  Yes, this was the turning point in his life!  He was so lost in his daydreams that he almost missed the Higgins heading up toward the still.  What made him notice was when he started coughing because of the smoke from the burning oil!  Steve started up his car and follered them.


    Earl and the boys got to the huntin cabin early enough in the day to finish off the bunk beds and so they did.  Their food was hung up in the tree because it was the hungry time of the year for bears.  They only had a short time before hibernation would be upon them.  A pot of beans was set on the fire since the team would be there for a few days.  They fixed a mess of turnip greens with the turnips in them, cornbread with butter and some fresh corn from their garden back home.  For the mattress on the bunkbeds, Lucy had sewn together two sheets for each bunk to where each one looked like a giant pillowcase and Timmy went out and gathered some long grasses to fill them.  He overfilled them because the grasses would take up less room as they dried.  In a couple of days, he would add more to each one.


    The guys cozied up on their newly made bunks like they was a king in a palace and they slept like one too.  Meanwhile, from his hiding place, Steve smelled the good food cooking and it made him madder than all get out!  They was havin a nice hot meal and he was sleepin in his car eatin sandwiches again.  He couldn¡¯t risk startin a fire to cook.  Earl¡¯s team might spot it and his whole operation would be messed up!  Next mornin, Steve woke to hearin shots fired really close to his car.  Were the Higgins  on to him and tryin to shoot him?  Or were they tryin to scare him away?

 Preparin For a Bust

    ¡°Pa, I got him!  He¡¯s still runnin so I gotta foller him till he drops so we don¡¯t lose him in the underbrush!  It¡¯s a 10 point buck so he is a big one!  John took off after the buck he had shot and the other boys were more determined than ever to get one bigger than John had gotten.  The spirit of competition raged high with the brothers!


    Steve, the revenooer let out a big sigh as Earl¡¯s boys moved further away, realizing they were not there for him, but for huntin deer!  He just hoped they wouldn¡¯t discover him durin their huntin!  He opened up a can of tuna fish, added some chopped up dill pickles and onions and mayonnaise and ate that with some ritz crackers.  He would have to live like this at least one more day, as the guys were obviously huntin today, not making moonshine.  However, the mash must be close to gettin fermented by now. ¡° Well, I will sharpen my axe today that I will use fur choppin up the still and be ready fur when they starts cookin,¡± he thought.


    Back at the cabin that night, the two deer the boys had gotten were hung up in the trees so the blood could drain out, after the innards were carefully taken out so as not to corrupt the meat.  The brains were cooked up to use fur  tannin the hide.  The boys had taken the skin off of the deer and scraped it.  The deerskins were stretched between a frame of wood, using thin cord and the brains rubbed all over it to prepare it fur Lucy to sew into useful deerskin items.


    Timmy said, ¡°Pa, I done looked all over this mountain and the deer I shot is nowhere to be found.  I follered the bloodstains and he doubled back around but then I lost him.  I hate the thought of that deer goin to waste but what¡¯s a body to do?¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Well, if you cain¡¯t find him, you cain¡¯t find him.  Let¡¯s concentrate on doin what we can do around here.  How about you and me finish up with the roof on the cabin, while yore brothers finish up with the deer?¡± Earl said.  The roof was finished that night, as well as the skins framed and tanned and the deer hung and ready to be cut up.  The guys all hit the sack that night and slept like a bunch of babies, full of milk!


    Early the next morning, after breakfast, the guys split into two teams.  One was to go to the still to get it runnin and the other would process the two deer and then with any time left, would start chinkin the cabin.  That was simply to put mud and grasses in the holes betwixt the logs, so air wouldn¡¯t get in.  It would be much warmer that way.


    Earl thought, ¡°With these deer gettin processed, visibly, if¡¯n anybody was to come up the creekbed to the cabin, they would figure it was a huntin cabin only and not suspect any moonshinin to be goin on hereabouts.¡±


    Well, Earl was wrong.  Steve not only suspected moonshinin, he had heard them talkin about it, seen the still himself and knew the day was fast approachin.  He knew the mash was probably ready and that they wouldn¡¯t leave it much past today.  When he heard Earl and Timmy headin toward the still, and they weren¡¯t quiet like him; they was singin and talkin and carryin on, he figured it was time fur him to make his move.  He watched fur smoke to rise up in their direction, signallin that the still was operational,  gave it one more hour,then grabbed his axe, his camera, his handcuffs and put his pistol in it¡¯s holster and took off!

 A Bear Attack

    ¡°Pa, I got him!  He¡¯s still runnin so I gotta foller him till he drops so we don¡¯t lose him in the underbrush!  It¡¯s a 10 point buck so he is a big one!  John took off after the buck he had shot and the other boys were more determined than ever to get one bigger than John had gotten.  The spirit of competition raged high with the brothers!


    Steve, the revenooer let out a big sigh as Earl¡¯s boys moved further away, realizing they were not there for him, but for huntin deer!  He just hoped they wouldn¡¯t discover him durin their huntin!  He opened up a can of tuna fish, added some chopped up dill pickles and onions and mayonnaise and ate that with some ritz crackers.  He would have to live like this at least one more day, as the guys were obviously huntin today, not making moonshine.  However, the mash must be close to gettin fermented by now. ¡° Well, I will sharpen my axe today that I will use fur choppin up the still and be ready fur when they starts cookin,¡± he thought.


    Back at the cabin that night, the two deer the boys had gotten were hung up in the trees so the blood could drain out, after the innards were carefully taken out so as not to corrupt the meat.  The brains were cooked up to use fur  tannin the hide.  The boys had taken the skin off of the deer and scraped it.  The deerskins were stretched between a frame of wood, using thin cord and the brains rubbed all over it to prepare it fur Lucy to sew into useful deerskin items.


    Timmy said, ¡°Pa, I done looked all over this mountain and the deer I shot is nowhere to be found.  I follered the bloodstains and he doubled back around but then I lost him.  I hate the thought of that deer goin to waste but what¡¯s a body to do?¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°Well, if you cain¡¯t find him, you cain¡¯t find him.  Let¡¯s concentrate on doin what we can do around here.  How about you and me finish up with the roof on the cabin, while yore brothers finish up with the deer?¡± Earl said.  The roof was finished that night, as well as the skins framed and tanned and the deer hung and ready to be cut up.  The guys all hit the sack that night and slept like a bunch of babies, full of milk!


    Early the next morning, after breakfast, the guys split into two teams.  One was to go to the still to get it runnin and the other would process the two deer and then with any time left, would start chinkin the cabin.  That was simply to put mud and grasses in the holes betwixt the logs, so air wouldn¡¯t get in.  It would be much warmer that way.


    Earl thought, ¡°With these deer gettin processed, visibly, if¡¯n anybody was to come up the creekbed to the cabin, they would figure it was a huntin cabin only and not suspect any moonshinin to be goin on hereabouts.¡±


    Well, Earl was wrong.  Steve not only suspected moonshinin, he had heard them talkin about it, seen the still himself and knew the day was fast approachin.  He knew the mash was probably ready and that they wouldn¡¯t leave it much past today.  When he heard Earl and Timmy headin toward the still, and they weren¡¯t quiet like him; they was singin and talkin and carryin on, he figured it was time fur him to make his move.  He watched fur smoke to rise up in their direction, signallin that the still was operational,  gave it one more hour,then grabbed his axe, his camera, his handcuffs and put his pistol in it¡¯s holster and took off!

 John Sharpens a Knife

    Carl went out in the woods with a purpose in mind.  He found some plantain leaves to bring back.  There was already pus starting to come out of the wounds and he had learned from his ma that if you ground up plantain leaves and place that on a wound that it would take the infection out of a wound.  He changed the dressings again and put the plantain on the places where there was pus.  The revenooer had not woke up, so he took a spoon and turned him on his side so as not to choke him and fed him a few sips of water.  He fed him a spoonful of shine the same way so as to make wakin up go a mite easier.


    Earl and Timmy had started bringing the jars back down the hill and Pa was planning how they would load it up, along with the deer and bear meat, the revenooer and all of them.  John had his hands full butcherin up all that meat sose it would take up less room in the car.  He pulled out his sharpenin stone  and got to work.  He knew a sharp knife would be well worth the time it took to sharpen it.


    Carl gave a few little sips of water to the revenooer and alternated with broth.  He felt Steve¡¯s brow.  ¡°Whew doggies, he is burnin up.¡±  After changin the bandages again and washing out the used ones, Carl went lookin fur some willow bark to make a tea to hopefully bring down the fever.  ¡°He¡¯s lost so much blood, I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s got any left,¡± he said to himself. When he got back with the tea, Steve was goin in and out of consciousness.


    Steve said weakly, ¡°Who are you?¡±  Then he screeched in pain when he tried to sit up and passed out again.  Carl fed him some shine with a spoon so the next time he tried to wake up, it might be a little less painful.  Steve opened his eyes again a half hour later and asked, ¡°Where am I?  Who are you?¡±


    Carl answered, ¡°I¡¯m Carl and you got attacked by a big ol black bear.  You don¡¯t never sneak up on a bear when he is feedin.  He done got you on the chest and on yore leg.¡±


    Steve slept again.  The next time he woke up he was delirious.  His fever was raging.  Steve said, looking right at Carl, ¡°Daddy, why¡¯d you woop me.  It was my brother Pete smokin behind the barn.  It hurts so bad.  Help me.¡±


    Carl felt befuddled.  Should he feed him tea for the fever or shine to take down the pain.  Steve couldn¡¯t make it much longer with such a high fever.  They had to get him back to Ma.  she would know what to do.


    Pa and Timmy and John had gotten the car about loaded up.  The still was finished runnin and all of the meat was cut enough to make it home.   Earl had Carl and Timmy sit on the back seat and he and John would sit up front.   He and John brought out the mattress with the revenooer on it and laid it across Carl and Timmy¡¯s laps.  He made sure that revenooer got ten big spoonfuls of shine before they started out because it was going to be a little bumpy, driving through the creekbed, not on a proper road and he didn¡¯t want the revenooer to be in too much pain.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Earl said as he drove like a snail with someone holdin him back, ¡°It¡¯s kindly comical boys.  Here we is runnin shine and we got the revenooer as a passenger!¡±


    Carl had brought a jar of cold water and kept refreshin the rags on his forehead every time they went dry from the high fever.  Steve was moanin in his sleep.  It¡¯s not a smooth ride drivin through a creek bed.


    Meanwhile, Lucy and the girls was out in the cane field, cutting down cane to take to the press.  First they had to strip it, which was pullin off the leaves so they wouldn¡¯t gum up the press.  Then they would cut the cane with tobacco hatchets down by the ground.  Next they would load up the cane on the wagon to take to the press.  The seed up at the top of the stalks had to be removed, too.


    While they was workin on strippin, a wagon pulled into the yard.  ¡°Laws a mercy, who is a comin here durin harvest time?¡± Lucy asked.  She knew all of their neighbors worked pretty much from sun-up to sun-down this time of the year, gettin all of their crops put up to keep them through the winter.  A figure started walkin up toward them.    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Clement!  ¡°Howdy Clement!  How¡¯s yore ma?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s fine, Miss Lucy.  How are all of you doin?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re fine too.  What brings you around durin harvest time?¡±


    ¡°I done finished up early and my ma said to bring you some of our corn to show our thanks fur helpin when Pa was a dyin.  You helped make him comfortable and we¡¯re mighty grateful fur yore help.  We ain¡¯t needin so much corn any more, now that Pa won¡¯t be makin shine and she thought you might keer fur some.¡±


    ¡°Why thank-you, Clement.  That¡¯s mighty thoughtful of you,¡±  Lucy said.


    ¡°I see you are harvestin yore cane.  That¡¯s my favorite thing to do.  Why don¡¯t I give you a hand.  You and the girls finish strippin the cane and I¡¯ll whack it!  Clement said.


    With Clement¡¯s help, and he worked twice as fast as the girls, they finished loading up the wagon and all went in to enjoy Karen¡¯s fried chicken, collards and mashed potatoes.  After supper, Clement went out to unload the bags of corn.  Along about that time, Earl pulled in with his car full of surprises!


    Earl and John went to unload the revenooer first along with his mattress and Steve woke up, in his delirium, looked up at Earl and said, ¡°You¡¯re under arrest!¡±

 Youre Under Arrest, Earl

    The revenooer woke up, said,¡±you¡¯re under arrest, Earl Higgins,¡± yelped in pain and passed out again!


    Earl chuckled under his breath and continued helping carry Steve into the house.¡±He¡¯s not goin to be takin me in any time soon!¡±


    Lucy came out to see what all of the commotion was about, took a look at the revenooer, coming in on a mattress and rushed over to feel his brow.  ¡°He¡¯s burnin up! Laws a mercy, Earl!  What next!  What happened to him?¡±


    ¡°Well, he got in the way of a bear, feedin on a deer and we happened to be close enough to get there in time and we shot the old bear.  So we patched the revenooer up to bring him to you and then took that bear apart, since he wouldn¡¯t be needin his body no more and brought him to you fur eatin!


    She managed to put the revenooer in a quiet place and while the car was being unloaded and Clement¡¯s wagon, as well, Lucy examined her patient. ¡° Who¡¯s been tendin to him, Earl?¡±


    Earl answered, ¡°Carl.¡±


    ¡°Carl, come in here,¡± Lucy called.  She asked him what had been done and commended him fur his quick thinkin with the white willow bark and plantains.  ¡°How¡¯s his pain been?¡±


    Carl explained everything to her and Lucy set to work, helpin the revenooer. ¡°Those wounds need to quit bleedin and oozin out  puss.  We need to get on top of that so his fever will break.¡± Carl had collected a bag full of plantain and another of white willow bark, since they was in abundance up by the cabin, knowin his ma would need them. ¡° Carl, I¡¯m mighty grateful for the herbs and mighty proud of you.  I didn¡¯t know you paid so much attention to how to doctor a wound, but you did fine!¡±


    Lucy saw the swipe marks from the bear on Steve¡¯s chest and some of them were starting to scab over, but were turning red around the edges and swelling.  She put a wet bandage over them so she could get the scabs loose and then disinfected the wounds.  Steve moaned and turned his head and said, ¡°Water.¡±  Lucy gave him some and he settled back down.


    Clement found Earl and said he needed to talk with him. ¡° Mr. Earl,  my ma sent me over to bring corn in appreciation fur you folks helpin us.  I have a situation, tho.  My pa made shine and has regular customers.  I ain¡¯t plannin on carryin on with the business and understand you might have some shine you will need to move.  Would you be interested in takin over my Pa¡¯s customers?¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Well, ol Earl about fell over.  He had been a stewin on the drive home, thinkin about how he was goin to get customers and realizin the shine he had made was quality, but not near enough quantity to provide enough income fur his family. This was an unexpected answer to his problems.   He and Clement came to an agreement.


    Now Clement and his ma were pretty partial to bear meat and so Clement ended up with a large portion of that and some of the venison.  He was promised 5 jars of sorghum molasses and Earl had corn enough to make two more runs of liquor and enough customers to make it worthwhile!  Clement said, ¡°Several of my pa¡¯s customers are a pinin fur somethin to drink right now.  You wouldn¡¯t have any shine I could take with me fur them?  I wouldn¡¯t want them to go lookin somewhere else.¡±  They agreed on a price and Clement took all of the first run except fur the jar Lucy was doctorin with!!


    Clement went back home, happy as a lark and Earl went in to talk with Lucy.  ¡°Earl, I don¡¯t feel so good about having yore liquor here with the revenooer here.  He¡¯s pretty bad off, but he¡¯s goin to be gettin better soon.  What¡¯ll we do?¡±


    Earl said, ¡°All the shine is gone, except yore portion in that one jar, Lucy.  I got customers, thanks to Clement and his ma.  Nobody should know except you and me.  Then we don¡¯t have to worry about someone accidentally lettin the cat out of the bag.  I got to turn around and go back and fire up the still again.  Shine season is about over and I gotta make hay while the sun shines, so to speak.  I will leave Carl with you.  I saw you got the cane loaded.  He can take the cane to the press and help with other chores around here.  It wouldn¡¯t be fittin to have the revenooer here with all of you girls, alone, neither.  Timmy and John and I will head back out tonight.  I need to take all of the sugar you have on hand.  Do you have anything you want to send to Donna?¡±


    Lucy¡¯s head was a whirl with everything that was goin on all at once.  She agreed with Earl and said good-bye to him and the boys.  Steve was weak from travellin and all of the blood loss and his fever was ragin.  Lucy managed to get the last of the bleedin stopped that evenin and Steve woke up and had a few bites of solid food, but mostly broth and fell back into a deep sleep.  Before he fell asleep, while Lucy was feedin him, Steve said, ¡°I thank-you ma¡¯am and yore boys fur helpin me.  However, I¡¯m a law man and I know what I seen and yore man is goin to prison fur breakin the law.¡±


    ¡°Ok Lucy, one day at a time.  Worryin never solved nothin. Let¡¯s just do what we got to do and believe the good Lord will watch over us and somehow or another things will work out the way they  are supposed to,¡± Lucy gave herself a pep talk.

 Steves an Ornery Cuss

    Earl, Timmy, and John went to Donna¡¯s first and dropped off the venison.  Her eyes brightened up, seein the meat that would help her and her young uns through the winter.  Earl asked her if she could use any more meat and she said, ¡°I sure could use more but not if it is goin to take meat out of yore family¡¯s mouths.¡±


    Earl said, ¡°Well, if we get some more, we would be pleased to share it with you.  You know that new revenooer is at our house with Lucy doctorin him up after a bear attack.  He¡¯s aimin to put me in prison, but is too sick right now.  I got a new business goin, but can¡¯t take it back to my house.  How would you feel about me keepin some in yore root cellar once in a while?  I think you are the last person in the world anyone would suspect of havin any hootch.¡±


    Donna agreed and they said good-bye till next time.  Earl got the next batch put on to soak up at the still, covered it up real good and they took off fur town.  They got oil and gas put in the car, went to three different stores and bought some sugar at each store, along with mainly baking goods, so the sugar wouldn¡¯t scream out, ¡°I¡¯m makin moonshine!¡± and then went back to the cabin.


    Earl and the boys went huntin the next day and managed to get three rabbits, and a porcupine and got them dressed out.  If they got enough rabbits this trip, Lucy could make a rabbit coat for one of the girls.  When they had a little time, they continued chinkin the cabin.  The followin day, Earl put the rest of the corn, sugar, yeast and water in another barrel so that it would be ready the day after they had run the other batch that was on soaking.  That way  they could run two batches on this trip.  John and Timmy were makin a lean to attached to the cabin so they had a place to put the deer and bear hides to protect them from the elements.  They would also put chopped wood and kindling under the lean to.


    Meanwhile, back at home, Carl and Karen  headed off to the sorghum press.  When they got to the field with the press, the Mitchells who owned the press got the mule hitched up to it.  Well, actually the mule was hitched to a long stick that was attached to the press.  He walked around in a circle and that turned the wheels and cogs of the press.  Carl fed a cane into the top section of the press and then one into the bottom section.  These were crushed and the juice ran into a five gallon bucket.  When this was filled, another was put into it¡¯s place.  They ended up with four five gallon buckets.  This was taken to a ten foot  long metal tray which was about waist height and there was a roaring fire underneath it.  The juice was poured into the tray, which had maze like metal partitions in it.  The juice boiled for a long time and Carl and Dan Mitchell had long scoopers that they used to scoop off the chlorophyll.  This went on for hours.  The juice turned from green to brown and was finally ready.  It was bottled in mason jars and loaded carefully into the wagon and they made their way home.


    Meanwhile, on the home front, Lucy was beside herself.  After getting Steve five cups of broth, Lucy decided he was ready for something more substantial.  She scrambled him some eggs and served him some blackberries with cream and he ate every bite. ¡°That sure hits the spot!  There¡¯s nothin like good ol home cookin! My ma used to make roast beef every Sunday!  Do you make roast beef, Lucy?¡±


    Lucy had put some stitches in his leg and he started itching it.  ¡°Steve, don¡¯t scratch your leg, you will tear the stitches.¡±


    ¡°But it itches,¡± he whined.  ¡°I need to go to the outhouse.  How am I goin to get there?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a hand,¡± Lucy said. She helped him sit up and his eyes got wide and he passed out.  Lucy caught him so he didn¡¯t fall on the floor and she laid him back down.  She went to the kitchen and started cooking supper.  After about ten minutes, while she was peeling the potatoes, she heard, ¡°Mrs. Higgins, Mrs. Higgins could you come here?¡±


    Lucy went to see what Steve needed.  ¡°I told you I need to go to the outhouse. Could you please help me? And where is yore man?  I gotta get him to justice!¡±


    Lucy explained, ¡°I don¡¯t know if you are ready to walk out there. You passed out when you tried to get up.  How about you use this chamber pot?¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°No!  I want to go to the outhouse like any civilized person does!¡±  Steve objected.


    ¡°Do you think you are strong enough?¡± Lucy asked.


    ¡°Yes, please let¡¯s go!¡± Steve insisted. ¡°I know you and yore family saved me from a bear attack and you are nursin me back to health, but I gotta job to do and have to take Earl to prison.  You understand, don¡¯t you?¡±


    Lucy helped him up and they slowly headed outside.  Steve started to say more, but Lucy said, ¡°Save yore breath.  We can talk about it later.¡±   He had to stop every few feet to rest, but Steve made it to the outhouse. It was taking so long that Lucy was worried her potatoes would run out of water and burn.  He did his business and Lucy helped him back inside.  He was feeling weak, so laid back down and went directly to sleep.


    Lucy was glad to see Carl and Karen come home.  Steve slept through the night but was up bright and early and was an ornery cuss!


    <ol start="30">


    <li> Don¡¯t Bite the Hand that Feeds You</li>


    </ol>


    ¡°Lucy, Lucy!  Can you help me?¡± Steve called out.  ¡°I need to go to the outhouse again!¡±


    Carl was home so he rushed in to help Steve, since his ma was out collectin eggs.  She liked to go on an early mornin walk to clear her head before fixin breakfast.  Lucy talked with the chickens as she opened the hen house doors.  She had brought scraps from last night¡¯s supper to go with their grain.  ¡°Here you go, LIttle Biddy.  Oh you are so hungry!  I see you like the cooked corn as much as you do the dried out corn!  Pretty Princess, I don¡¯t know where in the world Hattie came up with yore name, especially with all yore neck feathers gone, but they do say ¡®beauty is in the eye of the beholder!¡¯  She wondered what they were goin to do, since the revenooer knew their business, had seen the still with his own eyes and was determined to put Earl away.  ¡°We are in a fine mess, now,'''' she thought.


    Steve was gettin stronger.  He asked Carl, while they walked out to the outhouse, to tell him what happened that day at the bear attack.  ¡°You need to save yore breath, Steve, fur walkin.  I¡¯ll be glad to fill you in after you use the outhouse.¡±


    After Steve came out, they walked to the front porch swing and sat down together.  Carl said, ¡°We wus goin about business, processin the two deer we  got the day before, wishin we hadn¡¯t lost the third one, when we heard a God-awful scream, loud enough to wake the dead!  It was closeby to Timmy and Pa and they rushed over with their guns at the ready and saw you in the mouth of that ol black bear.  Timmy shot him betwixt the eyes and the minute he let go of your leg, Pa shot him again in the chest.  You had passed out from the pain and they carried you back to the cabin.¡±


    ¡° That bear had found the deer we lost the day before and was feastin on it gettin fattened up fur hibernation, when you come upon him.  Now you know, as well as I do that any bear with cubs or any bear that¡¯s eatin on something is the wrong one to approach.  So, you was attacked!¡± Carl explained.


    Steve whimpered, ¡°I want to hear more, but I gotta lay down.  Will you help me, Carl?¡±


    Carl helped Steve back to bed  and helped him drink a few swallers of moonshine  and he was asleep before you could say, ¡®Jack Robinson.¡¯


    During supper, Carl heard, ¡°Carl, Carl could you come here?¡±


    Carl got up, his mom gave him a knowing look, and he went to the other room to find Steve laying on the floor.  Carl managed to get him back in bed and Steve opened his eyes. ¡°  I didn¡¯t want to bother you, but I couldn¡¯t make it to the table,¡±  he said.


    Carl put his arm around Steve¡¯s waist and walked him to the dinner table.  Things were quiet for a few minutes, as everybody enjoyed the good cooking.  Then the silence was broken when Steve said, ¡°Where is yore husband, Lucy?  I¡¯m goin to be needin to take him into town.¡±


    Lucy pretended like she didn¡¯t know what he was referring to and asked him if the food was ok.


    ¡°You could use some tips from my ma, Lucy.  The potatoes were dry and needed some onions and the green beans needed some butter, but the venison was pretty good,¡± Steve complained.


    Lucy got up and went to the kitchen before she said something she would regret.  Takin care of this ungrateful revenooer was gettin to her.  He was not only complainin about the food and the pain, but was plannin on putting her husband in prison.


    Hattie stared at Steve for a minute and said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t never have said that to my ma.  She is a good cook and she has been takin care of you.  My pa said something about the food to her one day and she came out of the kitchen with a fryin pan and chased him.  Besides, it made her feel bad,¡± Hattie fussed at Steve.


    Steve paled when Lucy came out of the kitchen and he asked Carl to help him back to bed.

 30. Don’t Bite the Hand That Feeds You

    ¡°Lucy, Lucy! Can you help me?¡± Steve called out. ¡°I need to go to the outhouse again!¡±


    Carl was home so he rushed in to help Steve, since his ma was out collectin eggs. She liked to go on an early mornin walk to clear her head before fixin breakfast. Lucy talked with the chickens as she opened the hen house doors. She had brought scraps from last night¡¯s supper to go with their grain. ¡°Here you go, LIttle Biddy. Oh you are so hungry! I see you like the cooked corn as much as you do the dried out corn! Pretty Princess, I don¡¯t know where in the world Hattie came up with yore name, especially with all yore neck feathers gone, but they do say ¡®beauty is in the eye of the beholder!¡¯ She wondered what they were goin to do, since the revenooer knew their business, had seen the still with his own eyes and was determined to put Earl away. ¡°We are in a fine mess, now,'''' she thought.


    Steve was gettin stronger. He asked Carl, while they walked out to the outhouse, to tell him what happened that day at the bear attack. ¡°You need to save yore breath, Steve, fur walkin. I¡¯ll be glad to fill you in after you use the outhouse.¡±


    After Steve came out, they walked to the front porch swing and sat down together. Carl said, ¡°We wus goin about business, processin the two deer we got the day before, wishin we hadn¡¯t lost the third one, when we heard a God-awful scream, loud enough to wake the dead! It was closeby to Timmy and Pa and they rushed over with their guns at the ready and saw you in the mouth of that ol black bear. Timmy shot him betwixt the eyes and the minute he let go of your leg, Pa shot him again in the chest. You had passed out from the pain and they carried you back to the cabin.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡° That bear had found the deer we lost the day before and was feastin on it gettin fattened up fur hibernation, when you come upon him. Now you know, as well as I do that any bear with cubs or any bear that¡¯s eatin on something is the wrong one to approach. So, you was attacked!¡± Carl explained.


    Steve whimpered, ¡°I want to hear more, but I gotta lay down. Will you help me, Carl?¡±


    Carl helped Steve back to bed and helped him drink a few swallers of moonshine and he was asleep before you could say, ¡®Jack Robinson.¡¯


    During supper, Carl heard, ¡°Carl, Carl could you come here?¡±


    Carl got up, his mom gave him a knowing look, and he went to the other room to find Steve laying on the floor. Carl managed to get him back in bed and Steve opened his eyes. ¡° I didn¡¯t want to bother you, but I couldn¡¯t make it to the table,¡± he said.


    Carl put his arm around Steve¡¯s waist and walked him to the dinner table. Things were quiet for a few minutes, as everybody enjoyed the good cooking. Then the silence was broken when Steve said, ¡°Where is yore husband, Lucy? I¡¯m goin to be needin to take him into town.¡±


    Lucy pretended like she didn¡¯t know what he was referring to and asked him if the food was ok.


    ¡°You could use some tips from my ma, Lucy. The potatoes were dry and needed some onions and the green beans needed some butter, but the venison was pretty good.¡± Steve complained.


    Lucy got up and went to the kitchen before she said something she would regret. Takin care of this ungrateful revenooer was gettin to her. He was not only complainin about the food and the pain, but was plannin on putting her husband in prison.


    Hattie stared at Steve for a minute and said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t never have said that to my ma. She is a good cook and she has been takin care of you. My pa said something about the food to her one day and she came out of the kitchen with a fryin pan and chased him. Besides, it made her feel bad,¡± Hattie fussed at Steve.


    Steve paled when Lucy came out of the kitchen and asked Carl to help him back to bed.

 A Cussworthy, Haywire Day

    Earl figured he had a short time to run the shine, get it to Donna¡¯s, find a new place to make moonshine and get all of the equipment taken apart and transported to a new place.  He was talking about it with the boys and John said, ¡°I don¡¯t know pa if we can get all of this done before Steve gets back up here.¡± Where can we move all of that equipment to?  Have you got a place in mind?¡±


    ¡°John, do you remember that fine water at the apple orchard?  I walked the property and found the source and follered it a ways back in the woods.  I¡¯m thinkin of storin our equipment there for the winter.  As long as it ain¡¯t discovered this winter, we will have it ready next summer and be ahead of the game, not havin to look fur a spot or the stuff to use fur cookin.  You ain¡¯t heard nothin of anyone movin into that ol place, have you?¡±


    ¡°No, I ain¡¯t.  It sounds like it might work, pa,¡± John said.


    Earl said, ¡°We will work all night tonight, doin the first run and then the second run right after.  Timmy, is that food about ready?  I think my stomach is stickin to my backbone and it needs somethin to pry it apart,¡±


    ¡°Yeah, pa, the foods ready.  Come and get it!¡± Timmy said.


    Back at home, the day was startin off on the wrong foot.  It was laundry day so Carl had gotten up early and put the two huge pots on to heat water outside.  Then he went to feed the animals before breakfast.  Cora was cookin and Hattie settin the table when they heard a bump, bump and a really loud, ¡°Oh no!¡±  they both ran into the other room and found Karen lying out on the floor.  Lucy ran in, too and said, ¡°Don¡¯t move her!¡±  Karen had fallen down the stairs!  Lucy was explaining to them that Karen may have broken something and she needed to check her out before they could move her, when they heard Carl yelling, ¡°Whoa, stop, come back here you good fur nothin mule!¡±  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Cora rushed out to see their mule runnin toward the boiling pots with Carl runnin after him!  The mule hit the pots doin about a hunnert miles an hour and just kept on agoin!  The pots went two different ways and Carl put on the brakes to keep from gettin hot water spilled all over him! Once Cora saw Carl was ok, she started laughin and cryin at the same time.  Carl stood up, and now Lucy¡¯s kids weren¡¯t cussin kids, but he let out a stream of dirty words you ain¡¯t  never heard before!    Steve was woken up by all the commotion and was yellin fur Carl to come walk him to the outhouse, sayin he couldn''t hold it.  Lucy was just lookin from Karen to Hattie to Steve and out the front door and just shakin her head!  She asked Hattie, ¡°You think we could start the day over, Hattie?¡±


    After checkin out Karen and findin only a few bruises, and after Carl caught the mule and got him back in his pasture and then put the water back on to heat up, and after Steve got escorted out to the outhouse and back, the family settled down and had their breakfast.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s get our day back on track and see if things can¡¯t go a little bit better, ok?¡± Lucy asked.  Everyone agreed and set about to doin their chores.


    Lucy said, ¡°I need to check yore wounds, Steve.  Are you about finished up eatin?¡±


    Steve sopped up the last of the gravy with his biscuit and said with his mouth full, ¡°They is itchin mighty bad,  Lucy and one has a little pus comin out again. I would appreciate it if you could take a look at them.¡±


    ¡°Steve, you have been scratchin these wounds and they are gettin infected.  What were you thinkin?  Don¡¯t you want to get better?  Don¡¯t you want to be able to go home?  You can¡¯t scratch them!¡± Lucy fussed at him.


    ¡°Well, hellfire  Lucy, they itch like I done stepped on a red ant hill!  You would itch them too, if it was you!.¡±  Steve said. ¡°Oops, sorry fur cussin, Lucy.¡±


    They got through that day and Lucy was mighty glad to lay down and look at the insides of her eyelids that evening!

 32. Freeze and Put Your Hands on Your Head

    Earl, Timmy and John had spent the spare time they had hunting and had gotten a record 30 rabbits!  While Timmy was helping his dad to do the run of moonshine, John was skinning and dressing out the rabbits.  He put a rabbit stew on to cook with wild onions and some carrots they had brought.  Oh, it smelled good!  While that was cooking, John started the arduous task of curing the rabbit skins.  While he was stretching the skins, he thought of his little sisters and how happy they would be to have the beautiful coats!  John smiled and put his shoulders to the task.  They was all stretched out that evening under the lean-to.  John thought to himself, ¡°My it¡¯s gettin a mite crowded under here!¡± as he smiled proudly.


    Earl and Timmy finished up the last run about 3:00 in the morning.  They transferred the liquor to mason jars and carried them down to the car and loaded it all up.  Earl said, ¡°I am hungry enough to eat that whole bear we killed!  It sure smells good, John.  What do you have fur us tonight?¡±


    John said, ¡°A delicious rabbit stew!¡±


    He dished the stew out to Timmy and his dad and gave them each a wedge of cornbread.  They were so hungry and finished the bowl of stew before you could blink an eye!  John was ready and grabbed their bowls and refilled them.  After rinsing the bowls in the stream and drying them, the three guys hit the sack.


    Before bed that night, Steve was loudly complaining about how he couldn¡¯t rest well because of his wounds hurting all night long and then waking him up when he did get to sleep.  ¡°Lucy,  you call yourself a doctor, but I¡¯m in all of this pain!  What kind of a doctor lets his patients hurt like this?¡±


    Lucy, having had about all she could handle from this ungrateful man, set her mason jar of moonshine that she used to treat his wounds down beside him and stomped out of the room.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Steve stopped his complaining to pick up the jar, got a small smile on his face that slowly spread, took off the lid of the jar and turned it up.  He choked and choked and after calming down, changed his tactics and sipped the moonshine.  In fact, he sipped the moonshine until there was none left.  He slipped from a sitting position slowly down the pillow and fell into a blissful sleep!


    The next morning, Carl was coming out of the barn after feeding the animals, when he heard a car pulling onto the gravel of their driveway.  At first he thought it might be his pa returning, but when he heard, ¡°Freeze and put your hands on your head!¡±  he realized he was wrong!


    ¡°Be quiet and lay on the ground,¡± the local officer, Fred Wilson said, throwing his authority around and putting his boot on Carl¡¯s back!


    Carl was running through things in his head, wondering what he could have done to bring the police down on him.  He had kissed his girl, Molly Jones right on the mouth behind the church last Sunday.  No that couldn¡¯t be it.  Her old man would have come after Carl himself if he didn¡¯t like it.  Besides he was hopin to get Molly married off, so he would have been glad things were movin along!  Well, he had found Frank Hardie¡¯s fiddle under his wagon seat, after he had given Frank a ride home and Frank had forgotten to take it with him.  But Frank would know Carl would return his fiddle and he wouldn¡¯t have sent the police.


    About that time, the federal agent, Bert Wintergreen, started looking everywhere, shining his flashlight in the hen house, the outhouse, in the barn and in the springhouse.  ¡°I don¡¯t  see nobody, let¡¯s check the house.  By this time, the sun wasn¡¯t up, but everyone, except Steve, was awake and getting things ready for the day.  The local officer kept his boot on Carl¡¯s back, all authoritative like and Bert went to the front door.  Lucy answered and took in the situation at a glance by candle light.


    ¡°Hello officer, can I help you?¡±Lucy asked.


    ¡°We are missing a federal agent and were told he might be here.  His name is Steve Cordoba.  Have you seen him?¡± Bert asked.

 33. You Got My Revenooer Drunk With Moonshine

    ¡°Why yes, officer.  He is here. He got banged up by an old bear and was brought to me and I¡¯ve been doctorin him.  He was pretty bad off with a high fever,  infections and ¡­.¡± Lucy was rudely interrupted by Officer Wintergreen.


    ¡°Never mind that.  Can you take me to him?¡± The officer requested.


    Lucy took him to Steve, who was sprawled out on his bed, barely covered with a sheet, his hair all disheveled, snoring like a walrus in heat.  There was the empty mason jar on the floor.  Steve¡¯s idea to drink it so he could sleep was working.  Officer Wintergreen picked up the jar and smelled it.  He almost fell over backwards.


    ¡°You drugged him with moonshine!¡± Bert accused Lucy.  ¡°How could you?¡±


    ¡°No sir, he done that to himself so he could sleep, but he didn¡¯t have to drink all of it!  That¡¯s what I use to clean out his wounds!¡± Lucy exclaimed.


    ¡°Steve, Steve, Cordoba!  Wake up!  We¡¯ve got work to do!¡± Bert yelled.


    No response.


    ¡°Can you make some strong coffee, ma¡¯am?¡± he asked Lucy.


    ¡°Of course.¡±  Lucy asked while she started the coffee, ¡°Are you finished with Carl?  I imagine he¡¯s gettin mighty tired of layin in the dirt.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes, I will let him up,¡± Bert said.


    Lucy put the strong coffee on the bedside table so Steve could smell it and she started dressing his wounds, knowin it would wake him up.  As she unbound the places on his thigh, the officer walked in, took a gander at the bear bites and whistled!  ¡°That¡¯s  a mighty bad bite!¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    All of a sudden, Steve woke up and said, ¡°Woman, leave me alone!  I¡¯m finally gettin a good sleep and you wake me up!¡±


    Bert said, ¡°Steve, we asked her to help us wake you up.¡±


    Steve said, ¡°Why¡¯d you do that?  I need my sleep.  Who is that?  Is that Earl Higgins?  You need to stop spinnin and you are under arrest!  No.  No it¡¯s not.  Bert Wintergreen, is that you?  What¡¯re you doin here?  Ow, my head!!  Somebody just shoot me.  I done slept through the leg pain just to wake up to a pain in my head!¡±  He drank some coffee and calmed down a little.  ¡°No really, Burt, what are you doin here?¡±


    ¡°You disappeared and we thought maybe a moonshiner got you, so we come lookin fur you,¡± Burt explained.


    ¡°No moonshiner got me, but a bear did.  The moonshiners found me and saved my life.¡±  He drank some more coffee and asked Lucy for some breakfast.  ¡°I¡¯ll take 2 over easy eggs, some oatmeal ¡°with brown sugar and 3 slices of bacon if you don¡¯t mind.¡±  Steve didn¡¯t wait fur Lucy to answer, but turned to Bert and asked, ¡°What¡¯ll you have, Bert?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not hungry, thank-you,¡± Bert answered.  He wondered how these folks were taking being ordered around by Steve, with all they had to do just to live.  Steve was being pretty demanding, especially considering he was intending to put this woman¡¯s man in prison.


    He quizzed Steve about how he knew the rescuers were moonshiners.  Steve filled him in on the still he saw and how he was on his way to break it up when he fell into the bear attack.  Bert helped Steve get up and dressed and helped him hobble out to the car.  The sun hadn¡¯t come up yet and they could still get to the still and break it up early and catch the moonshiners in the act!!


    Lucy walked in with Steve¡¯s special ordered breakfast, emphasis on ordered.  Steve said,   ¡°No time to eat.  I got a moonshiner to catch,¡± and then walked out with Bert and got into the car.


    Lucy was beside herself, first because they were after her man and there was nothing she could do to stop them.  Secondly, because Steve ordered her around and then wasn¡¯t going to eat the food she had made!


    Earl woke the boys up and said, ¡°I¡¯ve got a feelin.  We need to leave now!¡±  They took off and half way down the creek, turned to travel through the woods to a back road to the coal mine

 34. You Pull Over Earl Higgins; You Are Under Arrest

    Earl and the boys left in the middle of the night, Earl having a feelin that all was not right.  They traveled down the creek bed a ways and then Earl turned and drove through the woods to a back road that led to an old deserted mine.  Then  a half a mile from the road, he stopped and cut his engine and turned off the headlights.  Earl and the boys were on a slight bluff and could see into the creek below.  A car was creepin up their creek bed!  It must be the revenooer!  Steve was on their trail!


    ¡°Pa, we ain¡¯t loaded up the still!¡±  Timmy whispered, because sound carried purty good around these open rocks.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, Timmy, that ship has sailed.  Let¡¯s be glad we got out with our moonshine and nobody is goin to prison!¡±  Earl was countin his blessins!


    After the revenooers¡¯ car was out of sight, Earl¡¯s crew made their way back to the creek bed and down to Donna¡¯s house, while the feds were occupied breakin  up the still.  They got all of the jars unloaded and stored in her root cellar and left Donna three rabbits all ready fur cookin.  John managed to put plenty of her mason jars of food in front of the mason jars of moonshine to hide them.


    Earl left Donna¡¯s and ambled on down the hill to their house, when a car come roaring up behind them.  Bert yelled, ¡°You pull over Earl Higgins!¡±  and Steve yelled, ¡°You¡¯re under arrest!¡±


    Earl was more glad than he¡¯d ever been in his life that they had gotten the moonshine into a safe place.  He pulled over and the three policemen swaggered up to his car.  ¡°Ok, you can all get out.  We need to check the contents of this here car!¡± Steve said all importantly to impress Bert.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Earl, Timmy and John got out and stood over to the side, while the revenooers checked out the contents of the car.  ¡°Twenty seven rabbits all skinned and ready to cook, five skinny ol squirrels and a deer, all cut up!¡± said Bert Wintergreen.  ¡°Why this ain¡¯t nuthin but a huntin trip!  Where¡¯s the moonshine, Earl?¡±


    ¡° I ain¡¯t got none,¡±  Earl said.


    Steve started in again, ¡°Earl Higgins, we done busted up your still.  Where is the moonshine?¡±  ¡°Ow, ow ow, my head is killin me! Sorry Burt, I gotta sit down in the car.  I¡¯m feelin weak.¡±


    Burt explained to Earl that since he didn¡¯t have any moonshine on him and since Earl  and the boys weren¡¯t by the still that he had no grounds to arrest him.  ¡°But¡¯ don¡¯t leave yet,  we will wait till yore car has cooled down and check the radiator.  I want to see if you are transportin moonshine in there!  So we will just sit down here on the ground and have us a chat till then!¡±


    It was found after the engine cooled down that there was no moonshine in the radiator, but honey mixed in with the water, actin as a coolant!  Bert said, ¡°You are free to go, Earl.  Our agent was a little loopy in the head, what with those injuries and the medicine he drunk so I don¡¯t know if you was runnin that still by yore huntin cabin or not, but we will have our eyes on you!¡±


    ¡°Speakin of yore agent, what are you thinkin about Steve, Bert?  Do you want him to stay with us fer a spell?¡± Earl asked.


    Bert chuckled, ¡°I seen up close how ornery Steve has been to you guys.  So, I appreciate yore offer, but he needs to go to town to get his bites  checked out and I believe he has someone to take care of him down in town. Tell yore wife I admire her but am not goin to try her Christian graces any further!¡±


    Earl watched the agents drive off and breathed a sigh of relief.

 35. Earl’s Moonshine is Found

    The little family enjoyed playing instruments together after dinner that night.  Music was a big part of their entertainment in the hills. Earl and John took turns playing the jug.  Earl would play till he started feeling lightheaded from hyperventilating and then pass the jug to John.  Carl played the fiddle and he was pretty amazing at it!  It was those Scots- Irish roots showing up.  The Scots- Irish brought not only their instruments, but stories in song to the Appalachians.  Timmy played the guitar and Cora and Karen sang like angels!  Ma was teaching Hattie to play the washboard and when there was a square dance, nobody called it better than ma!


    They started out with ¡°She¡¯ll be coming round the mountain when she comes!¡±  Then they went right into   ¡°Chickens are Crowin on Sourwood Mountain¡±.  Hattie said, when they finished that tune, ¡°Please can we play ¡°The Devil Went Down to Georgia?¡± And so they did.  Lucy eventually said, ¡°Ok it¡¯s time to hit the sack.  We have church in the morning.¡±


    Earl asked Carl, after church the next day to go for a drive with him.  He wanted to bring the dryed out skins back for Lucy to sew and figured he would check on the still at the same time to see if anything was salvageable.  Earl and Carl talked on the way up the creek-bed about what they would do next with their business.  ¡°We got some customers clamorin fur some shine, so on the way home we need to stop at Donna¡¯s house and pick up a bunch of jars,¡± Earl said.


    ¡°Should we take them all, pa?¡± Carl asked.


    ¡°I think we should only take the ones we have sold, fer now,¡± Earl said.


    They loaded up the rabbit skins and then walked up to the still site.  About the only thing salvageable was the copper coil and the two mash barrels.  It was disappointing.  Carl asked, ¡°Should we carry the good parts with us, pa?¡±


    ¡°No, there could be someone watching, out in the woods.  We can come back fur it later when everything has had a chance to die down.  We can¡¯t get in no trouble fur just lookin, but if we pick it up and carry it off, they kin sure git us fur that,¡± Earl replied.


    The guys walked back down to the cabin and  tidied it up  and left fur Donna¡¯s house.  When they pulled up to the house, the children were playing outside, as usual.  Donna walked out with the baby when she heard them drive up.  ¡°Hey, Earl and Carl!  How are you guys?¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    A man walked out of the barn toward them, wobbling as he walked.  Earl said, ¡°Donna, do you know that man who just came out of yore barn?¡±


    ¡°Shoot yeah!  That¡¯s my cousin, Pete.  He come down to help me and the kids.  My family sent him over from  Bassett Creek.¡± Donna answered.


    Pete came up to them, holding an almost empty mason jar.  ¡°Are you guys botherin my cuz, here?  Don¡¯t be given her a hard time or I just might have to do somethin about it!¡±  He leaned over and then fell down on the ground.  ¡°Ok, whose the wise guy who knocked me down?¡±


    Earl and Donna helped Pete back into the house over to the couch.  Earl asked Carl to go outside with him.  ¡°I want to check the root cellar; it looks like Pete has been into our moonshine.¡±  They went down into the root cellar and over to where the moonshine had been hidden behind the jars of food and with one look could tell three of their jars were missing!


    ¡°I think we had best load up the rest of our shine before Pete drinks up all of our profits, Carl.  Could you take care of that while I visit with Donna and Pete, please?¡± Earl asked.


    ¡°Sure, pa,¡± Carl said and got right on it.


    Earl walked back to the house, wonderin if this cousin was actually goin to help Donna or just be a lazy good-fer-nothin!  ¡°Honey, is this cousin of yores helpin around here?  Does it feel safe fer you and yore young-uns?¡±


    ¡°Earl, we are fine.  Pete has only been here a few days and he has made hisself useful, choppin wood and feedin the animals.¡±  Donna said.


    ¡°Well, ok, if you say so.  We will be back in a week or less to check on you, Donna.¡±  Earl told her.


    Pete woke up and followed Earl outside.  Carl had finished loading up the car and walked over to them.  Pete said, ¡°Earl, I need a way to make some money, do you know of a good place I can make some moonshine?¡±


    ¡°No, Pete, buddy, I can¡¯t ritely think of a good place.  You know them revenooers is just itchin to git some moonshiners put in jail, so I¡¯d be mighty keerful right about now.  Maybe wait a while fur things to blow over would be my suggestion.¡±  Earl told him.


    Earl and Carl said their good-byes to the children and Donna and gave them hugs.  Pete burst into the house like an angry bear, rantin and ravin about people takin advantage of a neighbor¡¯s hospitality and glarin at Earl.  ¡°Did you take our shine out of the root cellar?  You all is actin all friendly like and you stole our shine right out from under us!  Well, you can just give it back!  I oughtta get out my shotgun!¡±

 36. That’s a Hangin’ Offense

    Donna heard Pete¡¯s accusations and walked over to where he was standin and said, ¡°Pete you shut up!  These is the nicest people in the world.  When my husband died, they took care of me and the kids in every way possible!  We would have died without their help!  Why are you yellin at them anyway?¡±


    Pete said, ¡°They done broke the laws of the mountains and stole all of our shine out of the root cellar!  That¡¯s  a hangin offence!  Why are you protecting them, Donna?¡±


    ¡°Pete, have you been drinkin the moonshine in the root cellar?  Why that not only isn¡¯t yores, it isn¡¯t mine neither.  That moonshine belongs to the Higgins!  They made it to give their family an income after Earl got banged up in the coal mine!¡±  Donna said, setting Pete straight.


    ¡°Then why was it in our root cellar?  Processun is the law!¡±  Pete said.


    ¡°What in the world are you sayin?  That don¡¯t make no sense, Pete!¡±  Donna argued with him.


    ¡°I think he is tryin to say, possession is nine tenths of the law,¡± Earl said.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s it.  It was here, in our root cellar, it¡¯s ours!!¡± Pete stubbornly continued.


    ¡°You done lost that argument, Pete!  This is over; the shine is gone and that¡¯s all there is to that!  You just make yore own shine if you is wantin¡¯ some.¡±  Donna chastised him, as she switched her baby to the other hip.


    ¡°And that¡¯s the other thing.  I asked them where I can cook my own shine and they won¡¯t help me!¡± Pete whined, looking pathetic.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Donna rolled her eyes and said, ¡°Well, tough luck!  Earl ain¡¯t yore dad and don¡¯t have to tell you nuthin!¡±


    Pete caught sight of the rabbit skins in the back of Earl¡¯s car and asked, ¡°Have you guys been hunting?  I¡¯d sure like to go on a hunting trip.  When are you goin agin?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine.  You can get food fur Donna¡¯s family and skins fur clothes.  Yes, we kin take you with us.  A week from today we leave.  We will pick you up directly after breakfast,¡± Earl said, anxious to  get away from Donna¡¯s annoying cousin.


    He and Carl managed to find a place to sit around the rabbit skins and the shine and drove off.  They looked at each other and laughed.  Carl said, ¡°I have to wonder if Donna¡¯s family sent Pete to help Donna or if they were trying to get him out of their hair!¡±


    Earl laughed, ¡°What do you think of taking Pete up to the huntin cabin?  I think if he has made shine before he will start thinkin about explorin and if he finds our busted up still he will put it to use.  That should get him out of our hair fur a while.¡±


    ¡°Pa, you¡¯ve got a mean streak to ya!  He¡¯s liable to get arrested by Steve or whoever is workin with him!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± Earl said, all innocent like!


    Both guys died laughing and both were imaginin Steve sayin, ¡°You are under arrest, Petey- boy!¡±  Once they got home, they showed the rabbit skins to Lucy, who rushed them off to hide them in her room.


    ¡°I think I can git two rite purty coats out of those skins fur the little girls.  Thank-you Earl and Carl fur bringin me these here skins!¡±  Lucy was delighted with them.  She didn¡¯t tell anyone, but she had been workin on makin all of her boys some knee high deer skin boots for Christmas and butterflies jumped in her stomach every time she thought of the surprise!  The coats would make perfect gifts fur the girls, too!  She didn¡¯t know yet what she would make fur Cora.  Cora was growin up so fast and wasn¡¯t a little girl anymore.


    Lucy was able to work on the boots while the boys were out hunting and selling their shine and she would work on the coats while the girls were at school.  She was awfully glad the little family had gotten all of the harvest put away and the fields plowed under before the kids went back to school!

 Petey Boy gits Schooled

    Monday arrived with an inch of snow on the ground.  Lucy had gotten up and fixed a pot of oatmeal, fried eggs, bacon and steaming hot coffee.  The kids got off to school and Earl and Carl left for Donna¡¯s house to pick up their favorite person¡­Pete!  Earl checked with Pete to make sure he had his gun and shells for huntin and sleepin gear, too.


    It was still early and thankfully Pete was half asleep, so he was quiet most of the way to the cabin.  After arriving and before unloading, Earl grabbed his gun and said, ¡°Carl and Pete, let¡¯s get some huntin in while it is still early.  The animals will be feedin and some will be gathered around the pond that¡¯s sittin about a half mile away.¡±


    The guys walked quietly to the pond and to their surprise, came up on a breakfast party of animals.  They figured they would each get one shot before the noise scared all of the other animals away.  They whispered and decided which animal each one would take down.


    Carl said, ¡°Okay, I will count down from three to one and we shoot after one.  Everybody clear?  Three, two, one¡±


    ¡°Kablam, Kapow, boom!¡±  All of the animals fled, except fur the three laying dead on the ground.  Carl had gotten a beautiful cat right between the eyes.  Earl had brought down a one year old brown bear and just as he walked up to it, it stood up!  Earl raised his shotgun and plugged it right in the heart to topple it over for good this time!  Pete ran up to his kill and turned over a pretty little deer.


    Earl said, ¡°That was so fast it feels like we was cheatin!  Well, let''s gut them here and then tote them back to the cabin.¡±  They carefully each cut a slit down the belly of their respective animals, making sure not to perforate the  intestines, which would contaminate the meat.  The intestines were left on the ground by the pond, as they knew it would feed animals later in the day and they could come back fur round two!If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Walkin back to the cabin, the guys were a lot more talkative.  ¡°That venison is goin to feed those kids and give us some fine skin fur clothes.  Kin you show me how to prepare the skin when we git back?  I ain¡¯t never done it before.¡±


    ¡°Sure, Petey, we kin show you,¡± Carl said. ¡°I¡¯m aimin to fix us a delicious cat stew as soon as we git back, so it will have to wait a good minute.  Do you like spicy food?¡±


    ¡°I sure do.  Spicy is a favorite!  Say, where do we store the meat while we is up here to keep it safe from anything gittin into it?¡±


    ¡°We generally cut it up, bag it  and then hoist it up into the trees right after a hunt,¡±  Earl said.


    ¡°You will find a big ol rope under the overhang that you can use.¡±


    ¡°Well alright.  But I think I will take me a little nap first and try out your cabin.  Why don¡¯t you hoist my deer up while you put yore bear in that tree?¡± Pete said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Petey.  You are goin to have to take keer of yore own meat and pull yore own weight.  You need to help with the cookin and fire-makin and whatever else goes on here,¡± Earl said, puttin him in his place.


    Pete sighed, ¡°You ain¡¯t bein very hospitable to yore guest, Earl.  You got a lot to learn!¡±


    Earl laughed, ¡°You ain¡¯t my guest, Petey!  You invited yourself and this ain¡¯t no tea party!  You are plenty welcome to have a huntin party with us,  but we ain¡¯t got room fur no guests!¡±


    Pete was a little embarrassed and said, ¡°I¡¯m goin on a walk till you are done with the axe,¡± He took off through the woods.


    Carl built and lit the fire and started cuttin up the meat fur lunch.  ¡°I¡¯m afraid we are in fur  an annoyin time this week with Pete, Pa.  He is not my favorite person to be around.¡±


    ¡°Ha ha ha,¡± Pa laughed at Carl¡¯s miseries!  ¡°I¡¯ve got his number and am goin to have a little fun with him!¡±

 Aarg! Are You Tryig to Kill a Body?

    Earl was pretty confident Pete would find the still site on his walk.  There was a path worn from the cabin to the site.  He was not planning on making anymore moonshine until the spring and it would keep Pete busy and out of their hair, letting him do what he was going to do anyway.


    Earl chuckled to himself, ¡°I sure hope that ain¡¯t bein cruel.  That ain¡¯t my intention.  And I don¡¯t think Donna will miss his help too much, if he does encounter Steve.  As far as I kin tell, he ain¡¯t helped her none.  She probably is happy to have some company, though.   We will have to make sure we visit her often.¡±


    Carl interrupted his thoughts, saying, ¡°Lunch is ready, Pa.¡±


    There was no sign of Pete, so Earl and Carl grabbed their bowls and dug in after a prayer for the food.  ¡°You¡¯ve outdone yourself, Carl,¡± Earl said, ¡°Yore ma better watch out or you will take over her job!¡±


    Carl snorted, ¡°Yeah, like that¡¯s goin to happen!¡±


    Carl and Earl had finished up cleaning up from lunch and were preparing fur a late afternoon hunt when Pete showed up.


    ¡°There¡¯s  a bowl of lunch fur you,¡± Carl said.


    Pete grabbed his bowl and ate quietly and thoughtfully.


    Earl said, ¡°Well, how was yore walk?¡±


    Pete looked like he was trying to decide whether to tell Earl what he had found, or not.  ¡°Earl, I found a still in the woods. Part of it has seen an axe, but I think I can fix it up.¡±


    ¡°And just how are you goin to do that?¡± Earl asked.


    ¡°Well, I got some work with copper under my belt and figure I can fix up them holes and make her as good as new.  With you and Carl helping me with the solderin and then you can use yore car to go pick up supplies fur me, I think we can make a purty good team!¡±  Pete explained.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Earl said firmly. ¡°The revenooers are lookin in earnest to make some arrests.  I ain¡¯t gittin involved in no hootch makin right now!, Besides, a still is likely to blow up when you do repairs on it  and I got a family to think of.


    ¡°But Earl, you owe it to me.  You took all that shine out of our root cellar and I don¡¯t have none left.  We could get the repairs done today and git the hootch started tomorrow.  What do you say?¡±  Pete just wouldn¡¯t leave it alone!


    ¡°Petey, you got cotton in yore ears?  I said we ain¡¯t doin it!¡± Earl said forcefully.


    ¡°What are you sayin, Earl?  Are you sayin you ain¡¯t goin to help me?  Ain¡¯t you bein a little bit selfish?¡±  Pete asked.


    Earl was gittin mad about now.  ¡°I ain¡¯t helpin you.  I ain''t goin to jail and I ain¡¯t goin shoppin in town!  Now if you want to risk yore freedom, you can go right ahead, but I ain¡¯t helpin you!  This is a huntin trip.   We are headed out huntin.  You can come if you want to.¡± And he .


    stormed out the door.


    Carl followed him and they headed to the pond.  Pete stayed behind.  While they was out huntin, Pete snooped around the cabin and let out a war whoop when he found a huge bag of sugar and some corn under one of the beds and, believe it or not, some mason jars still in their box!!  He dragged the sugar and corn, with a mighty effort and a lot of groanin and complainin up to the still site and hid them under a bunch of leaves and logs.  ¡°There that¡¯ll fix ol non-helpful, selfish, Earl!¡±  He proceeded to washin out a huge barrel that he would soak the mash in, with a lot of complainin and remarkin about how if Earl and Carl had only listened to him and were helpin  him, they could be doin this preparin, instead of him!


    Meanwhile, Earl had already bagged two more real purty wild cats and Carl had happened up on a huge brown bear feastin on the entrails they had left behind and given him what fur!  They were mighty happy with their kills and deentrailed them and drug them back to the cabin.  The rest of the day was spent skinnin the critters and stretchin them on the frames they had left behind from the last trip.  They had several pots boilin over the fire with brains in them so they could tan the hides.  While the brains were boilin, the guys got the meat all cut up and hung up in the tree.


    Pete came ambling down the path and walked right over to one of the pots on the fire, grabbed a spoon and took a big bite.  ¡°Aarg, are you tryin to kill a body?  What is that Carl?  You ain¡¯t got no business cookin horrible stuff like that!!¡±


    Carl and Earl burst out laughing!  ¡°I done heard of tannin someone¡¯s hide, but I ain¡¯t never heard tale of tannin someone¡¯s insides!  Thems brains we use to tan the animals¡¯ hides!  I ain¡¯t never seen someone eat it!¡±  And they burst out laughin again!

 Patchin the Still

    Pete walked over to the bucket of water, grabbed the ladle and took a big swig to rinse out his mouth. ¡° Why didn¡¯t you stop me?  That stuff is nasty!  When will the real food be ready; I¡¯m starved!¡±


    Earl said, ¡°It is yore turn to cook, Petey.  What are you cookin tonite?¡±


    ¡°I ain¡¯t cookin nothin.  That¡¯s women folks¡¯ work.¡±  Pete was quick to reply.


    ¡°Well, I guess we will have to go without tonight.  Carl and I are goin to be too busy tannin the animals¡¯ hides to cook.  You probably need to get yore meat cut up and hung in the tree afore some critter comes to eat it.  And if you want to take home the deerskin to Donna, you¡¯d best be tannin yore hide too!¡±  Earl told him.


    Pete walked off murmuring to hisself, ¡°This ain¡¯t goin the way this trip was supposed to.  They ain¡¯t helpin with the still and they want me to do women¡¯s work.  Why, if it wasn¡¯t fur that mash soakin, I would just go home.  I can just taste that fine shine!  Lordy, I¡¯m so hungry.  Ok, I kin cook this once.  Gotta keep up my energy, sose I have energy to make the shine.¡±  He wandered back and said, ¡°I reckon I kin help out this time.  What should I cook?¡±


    Carl said, ¡°How about some of that deer you shot this morning?  We got some green beans you kin warm up too and some potatoes you kin put in the fire.  The potatoes will taste fine with the butter we brought.¡±


    ¡°That deer is to take home to Donna.  Besides, I ain''t cut it up yet.  How about some of yore meat.  You hunted twice and have a lot more meat than I do,¡°  Pete explained.


    Earl rolled his eyes and looked over at Carl.  ¡°I¡¯m about ready to cut this huntin trip short.  How would you feel about one more trip down to the pond and then after wrappin things up, we head home tomorrow evening? ¡°Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I say yes!  I can¡¯t take much more of Pete¡¯s selfishness,¡± Carl replied.


    Pete had walked inside the cabin while they were talking.  Carl went after him and found him sawing logs.  He went back outside, disgusted.  ¡°Pa, can we leave tonight after gettin the skins finished?  That man is hopeless!¡±


    Earl talked Carl into waiting till morning.  Carl got the water on early for coffee and oatmeal.  He heard his stomach rumbling loud enough to wake the dead!  He went over to the food box and said, ¡°Where¡¯s the oats?¡±


    Pete came out of the cabin and stretched real big.  ¡°When¡¯s breakfast?  I¡¯m hungry enough to eat a horse!¡±


    Carl asked, ¡°Pete, do you know where the oats are? I¡¯m fixin breakfast, but can¡¯t find the food!!¡±


    ¡°Oh, you were goin to cook them oats?  I done hauled them up to the still and patched the holes with it.  It¡¯s goin to make a fine still,¡± Pete confessed.


    Carl was so mad he could¡¯ve spit nails!  ¡°You lazy good-fur-nuthin excuse fur a man!  Do you ever think of anyone but yourself? You are stayin at the house we built, eatin the food we hunted and cooked, you rode in our car and so far you have stayed at Donna¡¯s house DRUNK on the moonshine we made!  I¡¯ve had it with you!  Pa, let¡¯s go home and eat with Ma!  I¡¯ll load up the meat; you put the skins under the lean-to so they don¡¯t get wet.


    ¡°Wait, you are leaving?  What about  me?  I gotta run the still,¡± Pete whined.


    Earl said, ¡°Pete we are leaving fur home.  You can ride with us to Donna¡¯s house or you kin stay here.  It¡¯s yore decision.  And by the way, that oatmeal mixture is good for seams, but for big patchin up, it¡¯s not likely to hold and you are goin to have a big explosion.¡±


    ¡°But Earl, It¡¯s gonna take me a week or so.  You gotta stay and help me,¡± Pete said.


    ¡°That¡¯s where you are wrong, Petey-boy.  Climb in Carl.  Are you comin, Petey?¡±  Earl asked.


    ¡°No, I am stayin right here, Earl,¡± Pete stubbornly said.


    ¡°Suit yourself,¡° Earl said and they drove off, leavin Petey with his mouth hangin open!

 Watch out! Shes Goin to Blow!

    As Earl and Carl drove off from the cabin and Petey, Carl visibly relaxed.  ¡°Pa, how kin a man live with hisself like that?  I just don¡¯t get it.¡±


    Earl said, ¡°You just gotta let it go, Carl.  He¡¯s not goin to change and we aren¡¯t goin to have to deal with him.  We are goin home.¡±  They stopped by Donna¡¯s house to let her know what was happening and to give her some of their meat they had gotten on their hunt.


    Donna was concerned that Pete hadn¡¯t listened to Earl and felt like he was making a serious mistake.  ¡°He never has been any good at listenin to nobody.  Earl, I¡¯m afraid he might go to jail¡­or worse!¡±


    ¡°Donna, I hate to worry you like this, but I think he is making a fool mistake, trying to patch up an axe-whipped copper still with only oatmeal paste.  That stuff is fine fur patchin up the seams of copper, but fur a hole in the side of a thin piece of copper¡­well, let¡¯s just say he might be diggin his grave.  If you look up that a way, you just might be able to see the steam rising from the still if he gets it burnin.  I don¡¯t think you could hear from here though if it explodes.¡±


    ¡°Earl, could you go check on him in a few days, please?  I feel mighty responsible fur him and I sure would be obliged,¡± Donna begged him.,


    ¡°Donna,  he is an ornery cuss and I¡¯d rather not have anything else to do with him, but honey, I cain¡¯t say no to you.  We will go back and check on him in a few days,¡± Earl agreed.  They went on home and the little family worked together on puttin up the meat.  Part of it was canned (in glass jars) and part of it was put in a barrel with a LOT of salt.  Carl was so happy to be home, he went around askin all his family if he could help them with anything, almost like he -was tryin to erase Petey¡¯s selfishness from his memory by doin somethin good.


    Earl had another client of Clement¡¯s dad that he needed to meet to sell him some of their moonshine.  He took 10 mason jars with him and they had arranged to meet at the little store where he had first met Steve.  When Earl pulled in, he got the heebie-jeebies.  He couldn¡¯t tell if it was current heebie-jeebies or just left over ones from before, but he decided to cover the jars in the car and go in like as if he was shoppin.  So he did.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Earl walked into the store and said ¡°Howdy¡± to everybody.  He bought a sody-pop and sat by the ol pot-bellied stove to watch and listen.  Ed Smith and Charlie Ogleby were playin checkers on a barrel top.  He watched that game fur a while.  There was a little uneasiness in the air.  He glanced outside and saw two men talkin.  One was the man he had come to meet.  He could tell because he had on a blue and white striped shirt.  The man he was talkin to was¡­..Steve!  ¡°Ok,¡± Earl told himself, ¡°time to make a different plan.¡±


    Earl walked up to the counter and asked the clerk fur some packaged jello and crackers and some aspirin.  ¡°Baby aspirin would be best.  It¡¯s fur my young-un, Hattie.  She has a time gettin regular aspirin down,¡±  He heard the man he was to meet walk in, but he didn¡¯t turn around.  He paid fur the supplies, said he needed to be gettin them home to his young-un and turned to leave.  The man in the striped shirt follered him outside and asked, ¡°Hey don¡¯t you have a delivery fur me?¡±


    Earl was shakin on the inside.  How was he goin to get out of this one?  It was obviously a set-up.  At that moment, Steve jumped in his car and pealed out of the parkin lot, sprayin gravel everywhere!  Earl and the striped shirt man looked up, startled!  Steve yelled out the window, ¡°There¡¯s a big explosion reported up the creek up on the mountain.  I think we done caught ourselves a real live moonshiner in progress!  Sorry, gotta go!¡±


    Earl told the striped shirt man that he was mistaken, that he was just there to get medicine fur his sick child, got in his car and drove home.  He told Lucy, ¡°That was a close one, honey.  I thought the people on Clement¡¯s dads list were tried and proven, but it looks like we had a turn-coat.  I am goin to have to be a lot more keerful from now on.¡±


    Lucy felt sick to her stomach, knowing Earl could¡¯ve just gone to jail and it most likely would¡¯ve happened if that emergency hadn¡¯t come over the police radio.¡±Earl, do you think it was Pete?¡±


    ¡°Most likely.  I can¡¯t go check on him now, because I  cain¡¯t show my face around there with Steve aimin to arrest someone.  We will just have to wait it out.¡±  Earl, Carl and Lucy went about their business, but their minds were on business goin on up the creekbed.

 Party Line

    Earl and Lucy had decided to talk out things the following morning with Carl after the children left fur school.  They were wondering if it was a wise decision to be moonshinin fur their main income or if they should reconsider.  They  wanted to sleep on it overnight and then be able to talk about it without a bunch of little pitchers with big ears around.  Along about 9:00 that night, their phone rang.


    Phone lines had been strung up their holler the year before and their phone actually began workin two months previously.  It was all done on a party line.  This meant that each household in the area was given a paper with their number of rings on it and what the neighbors¡¯ number of rings was.  When someone called the Higgins, for instance, there were three long rings and two short ones, so they knew the call was fur them.  Everybody in the holler could pick up the phone and listen in to the call, since they was on the party line, but everybody knew that call was fur them.  Donna¡¯s phone was two shorts and one long.  And everybody had their own combination like that.


    You had to really think about what you was sayin on the phone.  It was like the game of gossip¡­you didn¡¯t know who was listenin  and who knew yore business!  Well, Earl picked up the phone and it was Donna callin them.  She was all excited!  ¡°Earl, Earl, I did just what you said and the kids and I was outside and I saw the stream of smoke just in the direction you said and then  a huge plume of a smoke cloud raised up from there real quick like and then nothin!  Hurry!  Cousin Pete is in trouble!¡±


    ¡°Now, calm down honey.  Catch yore breathe.  What are you tryin to say?¡±  Earl said in a puzzled way.


    ¡°Earl, the kids just went to bed and it was the first chance I had to call you and let you know.  I think the still Pete has was workin earlier, cause I saw the smoke risin just where you said it would.  But then (and her voice rose and got squeaky) I think it may have blown up because It was no longer a stream of smoke, but a huge cloud!  Is that what happens when a still blows up?  And I¡¯m worried about Pete. Kin you go check on him?¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Earl tried to pacify her and said, ¡°I ain¡¯t never seen no still blow up, Donna.  I don¡¯t know if that is what is goin on or not.¡±


    Margie interjected, ¡°Yep, that¡¯s what it looks like.¡±


    Donna said, ¡°You hang up Margie.  This call is fur Earl, not you!  Git off of this party line!¡±


    Margie said, ¡°Well quit hoggin the phone; I need to make a call!  Some folks just ain¡¯t considerate!¡±


    Earl asked ¡°Are you shore of what you saw, Donna?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am!  Oh and that¡¯s not all.  I forgot.  After, I heard a police siren and saw a car racin up the hill that way!  I just know they is after cousin Pete!  What are we goin to do, Earl?¡±  Donna was just beside herself!


    Earl said, ¡°If¡¯n what you said is goin on, the police will take keer of Petey.  I mean git him to the hospital if he¡¯s hurt.  There¡¯s really not anything I kin do tonite fur him.  I tried to tell him that oatmeal paste is not goin to seal up a busted still, but he is so bull-headed, he wouldn¡¯t listen to me.  He was goin to do what he was goin to do!  Now, I kin go tomorrow to see what is goin on.¡±


    ¡°Oh, would you please, Earl?  I¡¯d be much obliged!¡±  Donna said, relieved.


    ¡°You just git some shut-eye tonight and quit worryin.  Borryin tomorrow¡¯s problems never helped no one, Donna.  You got them young-uns to take keer of tomorrow and you need yore strength.¡±  Earl said comfortin-like.


    ¡°You are right Earl.  Thank you.  I¡¯m so glad to have neighbors like you and Lucy!  I¡¯m goin right to bed.  Good-night¡±  And Donna hung up the phone.


    Margie said, ¡°Good-night Donna, Good-night Earl.¡±


    ¡°Confound it Margie!  Cain¡¯t a body have no privacy? Good-night!¡±  and Earl slammed down the phone.

 Oh No! Its Trashed

    The followin mornin, Lucy got the kids off to school and she and Earl sat down to talk with Carl.  ¡°Well, we have us a predicament here,¡±  Earl started off.  ¡°The mines are real dangerous around here and I don¡¯t see them gittin any better.   We have gotten some income from the moonshine and it would be enough to keep us financially, but we have had some trouble too.¡±


    About that time, little Hattie came through the front door and the screen door slammed shut.  ¡°Oh, sorry, ma.  I didn¡¯t mean to slam the door,¡± Hattie said.


    ¡°Land sakes Hattie, what are you doin here?  You are supposed to be at school!¡± her mother exclaimed.


    ¡°Oh, I was already there, but I don¡¯t like the cipherin.  I just don¡¯t git all them numbers.  I look at them and it is like a bunch of crawlin ants all over the blackboard and I don¡¯t know what to do with them!  So, rather than  waste my time, I come on home!¡±  Hattie explained.


    ¡°Well, you just march yourself on back to school!¡±  Lucy said.  ¡°Earl, you and Carl go on without me.  I think I will walk Hattie back to school and have a talk with the teacher.¡±


    Earl said, ¡°I promised Donna I would check on ol Petey-boy so I think Carl and I will go on back up to the huntin cabin.  We need to bring the skins back down anyway.  We should be home tonight, Lucy and it¡¯ll give us some more time to think about the future.  Bye Honey,¡± and he kissed her before he and Carl went out the door.


    Lucy got dressed in her outside clothes and headed back to school with Hattie.


    ¡°Laws a mercy, Miss Higgins, where did you come from?¡± Miss Louisa, Hattie¡¯s teacher said as she and Hattie walked in the door of the classroom.  ¡°Hattie where did you go?¡±


    ¡°I went home, Miss Louisa.  That cipherin don¡¯t make no sense to me, so I went home to do something that did!¡±  Hattie said.


    ¡°Now Hattie, you cain¡¯t just go runnin off every time things don¡¯t make no sense!  That¡¯s why you come to school; so you can learn to make sense of those things!  You just hang on  and I will show you magic from them numbers!¡±  her teacher explained.


    Lucy went back home when she saw Hattie delvin in to her studies.


    Earl and Carl  didn¡¯t plan on stayin at the cabin more than a couple of hours this time so they didn¡¯t take supplies with them.  ¡°I¡¯m gettin right tired of this drive, although I could probably do it in my sleep by now, so I will be pretty glad to get this Pete thing over with.¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    ¡°I¡¯m with you, pa.  I¡¯m ready to get on with whatever comes next,¡±  Carl agreed.


    Pullin up to the huntin cabin, Earl and Carl were disappointed to see how trashy it looked.  The fire that they usually cooked on was littered with empty cans and the pans sittin there were encrusted with food.  It appeared the deer Pete had killed when they were together had never gotten cut up, nor raised up in the trees, as the carcass lay a few yards from the fire and had obviously been gnawed on by  wild beasts.  The door to the cabin lay open and there were articles of clothing in the doorway on the ground.  As they went toward the door, a squirrel ran out with a bag of nuts in his mouth.  Startled, he dropped the nuts and ran up the closest tree.  He sat on a branch and scolded Carl and Earl for scaring him!


    They spent a few minutes cleaning up the area and then decided to go on a walk.  ¡°Well, Carl, you¡¯ll be gettin married and leavin home before too long.  I¡¯m glad you have gotten to meet Pete and see what happens when one is lazy and selfish.  You are a wonderful young man and I am awfully proud of you.  I hope seein these situations stays with you fur the rest of yore life and you never decide to indulge in them.  We kin always give of ourselves no matter how poor we are.  Remember that!¡±  Earl dispersed his wisdom to his oldest.


    ¡°Thank-you for those kind words, pa.  I hope I never disappoint you,¡± Carl said.


    As they stepped past the old cedar tree and the still site came into view, pa let out a low whistle.  ¡°Hellfire and Brimstone!  It looks like a bomb went off here!  I never seen a bomb go off, but this is what I suspect it might look like,¡±  Earl said.


    ¡°We can forget salvagin anything from the still, pa,¡± Carl remarked.


    The coil they were goin to use agin was busted in half with part of it in the creek and part of it in a nearby tree.  The mash barrels had both rolled away and one had a nosy raccoon in it.  He looked out and chittered at them.  Their copper pot  was blown into a million pieces,


    After surveyin everything, Earl said, ¡°Should we look around fur Petey-boy, or do you figure they took him away?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s anywhere around here, pa,¡±  Carl said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve gotta agree with you, Carl.  He¡¯d be long gone, either with the revenooers or runnin.  It¡¯s probably the best exercise he¡¯s had a long time!¡±  Earl said.


    They both enjoyed a good laugh!  They went back to the cabin and loaded up the skins, after finishin cleanin up the whole area.They had a quiet ride back to Donna¡¯s house, where they stopped and let her know what they had found.  ¡°You might want to telephone down to the city to see if he is in jail or the hospital, Donna,¡± Earl suggested.


    ¡°Thank-you for checkin on him and thank-you fur the suggestion.  I think I will do just that.  I will call you if I find him,¡±  Donna said.

 Peteys Burns and Hospitalization

    Lucy walked out to the car with Earl to look at the skins.  ¡°Oh Earl,  these are the most beautiful skins I ever did see!  Can I use them for Cora?  This will be the most beautiful coat she ever had!  Thank-you fur doin the huntin!¡±


    Earl¡¯s chest swelled with pride as he answered, ¡°Yore sure welcome, Lucy!¡±


    Just then the phone rang, ¡°Hello!¡±  Earl said, ¡°Oh, hey there Donna.  Oh, you found him!  He¡¯s where?¡±


    ¡°Earl, he is in the hospital.  I wasn¡¯t able to talk with him, but with the police.  They  said he was pretty bad off when they found him.  Knowing an ambulance wouldn¡¯t make it up the creekbed, the police carefully moved him into the patrol car and took him themselves to the hospital.They said they wouldn¡¯t normally move an injured person, but it was the only chance of saving his life!  He has burns all over his face and hands and is going to be in the hospital for a long time.  I need to get word to our family and they don¡¯t have any telephones over in their holler.  Is there any way I could get someone to watch my kids and someone else to drive me over to the holler?  I know that¡¯s askin a lot,¡± she asked hopefully.


    ¡°Of course we¡¯ll help you, honey.  Will tomorrow work for you?¡± Earl asked soothingly.


    ¡°Oh, thank-you Earl!  I¡¯ll get started preparing.  I will take the baby with me since she isn¡¯t weaned yet.  We should be able to get there and back in one day, don¡¯t you think?¡± Donna asked, relieved.


    Earl¡¯s wheels in his head started turning before he got off of the phone.  Two of Clement¡¯s father¡¯s customers were from the holler where Donna¡¯s family lived and he thought, with Petey caught, Steve might be a little more subdued and it might be worth satisfyin some customers¡¯ thirsts.  After the kids got home from school, Lucy had a picnic supper fixed and they loaded up in the wagon and went over to the lone chestnut tree.  John said, ¡°Pa, that ring is all the way around that chestnut tree!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this is our last harvest and it looks like we have a jewel of a harvest.  I don¡¯t know if we will have enough room for all of the chestnuts and all of us too in the wagon!  It is a great problem to have!!¡±  Earl said, happily, glad that his plan was working.


    Hattie and Karen spread out the blanket on the ground for the picnic and started laying out the food, while everyone else was gatherin chestnuts.  ¡°Oh, ma brought a lemon pound cake!¡± Hattie said excitedly!


    Karen said, ¡°We have left over bar-b-cue meat and homemade buns and cole slaw!  I wonder what we brought to drink?  Mmmm, lemonade!  Git the plates, Hattie and I will get the cups and spoons.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Timmy and John had a good system going.  Timmy would shovel up  some chestnuts and John would hold the sack open for him to put the chestnuts in.  They were about three times faster than the other teams!  By the time the food was all laid out, they had filled up four sacks of chestnuts and loaded them in the wagon!


    The younger girls gathered up the remains and got the little picnic cleaned up and repacked while the rest of the chestnuts were picked and packed.  It was turning dark so the little family headed home.  Once home, the guys unloaded most of the chestnuts and Earl packed some moonshine up under the wagon seat and packed it well, then put sacks of chestnuts all around it.  These would be a nice treat to take to Donna¡¯s family.


    Earl and Donna had an uneventful ride to Happy Toe Holler.  Donna went to her Aunt¡¯s house first to give her the news about Pete.  ¡°That good-fur-nuthin boy!¡±  His mother exclaimed.  ¡°I thought it might help him to grow up, sendin him to help you and yore young-uns.  I see I was wrong!  So you say, after he recovers, he will go to prison.  I expected this sooner or later.  I¡¯m sorry honey that you had to come all the way out here to bring us this news.  My man will go and see him in the hospital.  You better go see yore ma while you are here, her health  ain¡¯t so good anymore.  Well, thank-you for lettin us know about Pete.  Have a safe drive home!¡±


    Earl follered Donna¡¯s directions and took her and the baby to her mother¡¯s house.  He told her he would return in three hours.  He went to his  customer¡¯s house to see if he was home.  His wife answered and was real friendly when he told her he had driven Donna to see her ma and that he was Clement¡¯s family¡¯s friend.  She said her husband should be back within the hour and invited him in to have some lunch.  Earl was eatin some egg custard pie when Thomas walked in with a quizzical look on his face at seein a strange man in the kitchen with his wife!


    ¡°What are you doin here and who are you?¡± he asked ferociously.


    ¡°Hold it just a minute,¡± Earl pleaded.  ¡°I am a friend of Clement¡¯s family and he said you wus a customer of his pa.  I made some moonshine and thought you might be wantin some.¡±


    Thomas got much more friendly and suggested they step outside to talk.  He sure did want some moonshine and when he found out Clement¡¯s family wouldn¡¯t be sellin it anymore, he realized a golden opportunity had just driven up to his front door.  ¡°I ain¡¯t got much money right now, but could pay full price fur half of the liquor I want.  What I want to ask you is would you do some barterin fur the rest?¡±


    Earl asked, ¡°What have you got?¡±


    Thomas took him to the barn and showed him five sacks.  ¡°What we got here is some fine corn that¡¯ll git you all set up fur the next run of liquor.  Are you interested?¡±


    Earl figured real quick what the corn wuz worth and what the liquor wuz worth and came up with a deal that they wuz both real happy about!  They started totin the corn and the squeezin¡¯s back and forth, until Thomas caught sight of the chestnuts when one of the bags fell over.  ¡°Laws a mercy!  You got chestnuts!  Kin I buy them all, no, wait.  How much are you askin fur them?¡±  Thomas said excitedly!  ¡°I got some bags of rye and barley if you are interested.¡±


    They worked out a deal and were both just as pleased as puddin!  Earl looked at the time and said he needed to pick up Donna.  Thomas asked if Earl would bring him a bunch of shine when he made the next batch.  This was what Earl had been lookin fur¡­a regular customer who was eager to buy his moonshine!

 All Dried Up

    Donna was ready and waitin when Earl got back to her family¡¯s place.  ¡°We need to hit the road Earl.  I don¡¯t know if we will make it back before dark,¡±  she said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Donna.  We will be fine.¡±   Earl spoke calmly.  He helped her load up and handed her the baby.  ¡°What have you got here?  He asked as he handed her up a paper bag with a delicious aroma coming out of it.


    ¡°Oh, that is our supper.  We¡¯ve got fried chicken, carrot sticks, home fries and some iced tea.  Are you ready to eat, Earl?¡±  Donna explained.


    ¡°Let me get these guys out on the main road and then I kin use my hands to eat.¡± Earl said.  He guided the horses through the ruts and out onto the main road (which was mostly a dirt road). ¡° How was yore ma?  I heard yore aunt say she wasn¡¯t feelin so good.¡±


    ¡°She looks purty good, maybe a little pale, but the doctor says she¡¯s got cancer in her breast.  She still seems to be gettin around good and is still cookin and doin housework.  I ain¡¯t too worried yet,¡±  Donna handed Earl a chicken leg and put some of the home fries on a sack between them on the wagon seat.


    ¡°This chicken is mighty good, Donna.  Did you make it?¡±


    ¡°  Yes, I rounded up some food while the baby took a nap.  Are you ready fur another piece of chicken or a sip of some tea, Earl?¡±


    ¡°I think I could put away another piece of chicken.  Thank-you Donna.¡±  Earl said.  They talked about children and gardening and the winter comin up.  Then the subject turned to Earl makin moonshine.


    ¡°How is that goin fur you, Earl?  Are you goin to continue makin it?  It seems to be kinda risky, what with Pete havin a still blow up on him and the revenooers seemin to be targetin you.  Have you thought about goin back to the coal mines?¡±  Donna queried.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Yes, Lucy and I have been tossin  around about what to do.  I wus mighty encouraged a while ago in yore hometown.  One of the men who used to be Clement¡¯s family¡¯s customer is real interested in my shine and I think he probably will sell a bunch of it to neighbors.  He has already asked me to stop by next time I am in town.  That kinda changes the way I am lookin at things.  I think we might stand a chance of makin it work,¡±  Earl said.  ¡°Kin you pass me some of that iced tea, please?  Yeah, the more I think about it, we are goin to be fine.  Those mines are a death trap.¡±


    ¡° You lost yore husband and I like to lost my leg and many of our neighbors have lost their lives too. The people in charge of the mines take too  many shortcuts and don¡¯t make their decisions around the health and well-being of the workers in the mines.  Lucy and I talked about it when that big explosion happened and made our decision then to stay away from the mines and we just need to stick to it and believe things will work out,¡±  Earl thought out loud.


    ¡°Oh, I keep meaning to tell you that the cow has dried up,¡± Donna said.  ¡°She has been such a blessing while the baby was small.  If you are thinking of breeding her so her milk will come back, I heard that Tom Covington has a purty virile bull and he has been known to breed a few cows.¡±


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t that beat all!  We have been just talkin about that very subject!¡±  Earl exclaimed.  ¡°Thinkin ahead, if we process the new calf, we will have the stomach from it to be able to make cheese.  It¡¯s been a long time since we had some good ol home made cheese!¡±


    They pulled into Donna¡¯s property and Earl helped Donna get down from the wagon seat, as he held her baby.  Earl was in a hurry to get home before the last rays of sunlight.  He herded  Cora and Karen, who had been watching Donna¡¯s other children,  out to the wagon and they rushed home.


    After the evening chores were completed and they had cleaned up from supper, and put the kids to bed, Earl had a chance to tell Lucy the good news about their eager customer!  She was very happy, but with reservations.  ¡°Earl, we don¡¯t have any of the equipment you would need to make any more moonshine,¡± Lucy said.


    ¡°Unfortunately, you are right.  I¡¯m not sure how we will get started again, but I think losing the equipment is probably a good thing.  As time goes on and Steve sees we are not doing anything about purchasing more copper and all, he will likely leave us alone!¡±  Earl said.  ¡°Then, come springtime, we will just have to make a trip to a town further away to get our supplies!¡±  Earl was not as confident as he sounded, but had a few months to work up the confidence!

 Could Any Good Come From a Seizure?

    The next morning, Earl wasted no time in going to Donna¡¯s to pick up the cow and then took her directly over to Tom Covington¡¯s farm.  She was really good about following the wagon, as she was tied to it, but she was as slow as Christmas and they didn¡¯t get there until dinner time.  Tom¡¯s wife, Gloria, invited him to stay for dinner and to visit.  He accepted and Gloria served a favorite in the hills, turnip greens, cornbread, and some squirrel cooked over the open fire!  They arranged for Earl to return in 6 weeks, giving their bull, Romeo time to breed her.


    Tom said, ¡°I see you brought yore wagon.  I was wonderin if you might be able to haul off some metal trash I got down on the back 40.  I ain¡¯t got no use fur it and need it gone sose I kin git that area all plowed up.  I know we ain¡¯t discussed no fee fur the breedin and wus wonderin if you might do that in exchange fur it?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Earl hesitated, ¡°How heavy is it?  My back ain¡¯t the best.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a walk with me and see what you think?¡± Tom asked.


    Earl agreed and they had a pleasant walk down to the back 40. Just past the field was a beautiful, bubbling creek which afforded wonderful water fur the crops that would be growin in that field.  When Earl caught sight of the metal, sitting in the overgrowth of weeds, his eyes grew as round as saucers.  He went over to examine the metal closely.


    ¡°This is copper!¡± Earl said and let out a low whistle.  ¡°This is a valuable copper still!¡±  He examined it further and found the coil, the pot and the rest of the still in perfect shape!  Earl wasn¡¯t especially close to Tom and his wife,  although there was no bad blood between them, but he had to wonder if it was safe to take this still or if it could possibly be a set-up. ¡°What is this doin here, Tom?¡±


    ¡°Well, about 5 years ago, my brother-in-law,  Harold, decided to make some moonshine.  He hadn¡¯t poured the mash into the still, yet and had an accident.  He had a seizure and fell face first into the creek and drowned!  I don¡¯t make moonshine, don¡¯t have nuthin agin it either, but I have no use fur this here still and don¡¯t fancy havin it on my property where those high-falutin, citified, self-proclaimed law man might come nosin around.  You would be doin me a big ol favor if you got it all out of here!¡±


    Earl thought about it for a minute and then decided to take the risk.  ¡°Ok, Tom, you got a deal.  I will haul this off in exchange fur my cow gettin bred.  Will it work fur you if I drive my team down here so I don¡¯t have to tote it so fur?¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Tom agreed.  Earl wasted no time loadin up and gettin home.  He thought as he drove home, about what a queer thing that was, how he had come about gettin back in business!  He drove into the yard singin.


    Earl figured he would keep it a secret until it wus off of his property.  The following day, Earl and Carl got up earlier than usual and went to look fur a new site fur their business.  They took the car, so they weren¡¯t luggin the equipment around.  Earl had taken a liking to the creek near Tom¡¯s place, so headed that way.  They passed his place and went a few more miles to a heavily wooded place.  They parked and took a hike through the woods.  Carl and Earl listened carefully as they walked, wanting to know if there were any people nearby.  When they got to the creek, Earl said, ¡°Why looky there.  There is milkweed growin by the creek.  That means the water will make some fine shine!¡±


    They looked around at the lay of the land and found a pretty level place to put their equipment.  ¡°We will have to come back with our machete so we kin chop all of the weeds,¡±  Earl said excitedly.


    Carl said, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±  The noise of someone hammering drifted through the woods.


    Carl and Earl looked at each other.  ¡°This is a perfect place.  No, I have to admit, it¡¯s not.  We cain¡¯t be near people.  They will see our smoke.  I feel disappointed, Carl.  Actually, we just eliminated one place that won¡¯t work, so we are one place closer to findin our still site!  We got to be positive.  Let¡¯s get back on the road and find our spot!¡±  Earl said.


    The guys drove further down the road, parallel to the creek, hopin to find  another spot on the same creek.  Earl stopped the car and told Carl to listen.  ¡°I¡¯m listenin, pa, but I don¡¯t hear nothing except birds singin,¡±  Carl said after they had listened fur a few minutes.


    ¡°Exactly!  I think this could be it, Carl! There are no sounds of people!  Let¡¯s take a walk  and take a gander at the site here,¡±  Earl said.


    They had quite a time getting through the tangle of weeds and grapevines.  It was slow goin.  Earl was smilin pretty big when they finally got to the water.  ¡°Well, it¡¯s hard to get to and that is a plus fur us.  There is no noise and that is a plus.  Let¡¯s taste it and make sure there ain¡¯t any animals up water from us.¡±  That passed too and the water was cold and sweet.  ¡°What do you think, Carl?¡±


    ¡°I think this just might be it, Pa.  What do you think?¡± Carl asked cautiously.


    ¡°How about we eat our lunch here so we can get a feel fur this area?  They ate their sandwiches and enjoyed the outdoors, before drivin home.  ¡°Honey, we¡¯re home and with good news.  Carl and I found the new still site today.  Oh, I forgot to tell you that we got our equipment given to us!¡±  Earl explained the supply miracle to his wife and they locked arms and did a dance around the livin room!

 Visitors in the Night

    The silence of the night was interrupted by the phone ringing, which never happened.  Lucy was instantly awake and when her senses came to her and she realized what woke her up, she counted the rings and realized the phone call was for her family.  She asked Earl to go to the phone, because she felt a middle of the night call might be important.  Earl answered, amid a cacophony of ¡®hello¡¯s¡¯ from other party liners.


    ¡°It¡¯s three in the mornin, what is this all about?¡± Frank Hardie said.


    ¡°Hello. Who¡¯s there?¡± Julie Jennings said.


    ¡°Hello, is everyone ok?¡± Reverend Smith asked.


    ¡°Who¡¯s callin, I recognized the rings as belongin to us,¡± Earl said.


    ¡°Oh hey Earl.  This is Mildred, Clement¡¯s mom.  I needed to talk with you.¡±  Mildred said.


    ¡°Are you and Clement ok, Mildred?¡± Reverend Smith asked.


    ¡°We are fine, Reverend; you can go back to bed  and get yore rest,¡± Mildred said.


    ¡°What¡¯s this all about, Mildred?  Why are you wakin everybody up in the middle of the night?  Is there some kind of emergency?¡±  nosy Margie asked.


    ¡°No, Margie,¡± Mildred said, ¡°I just had to tell the Higgins something.  Go on back to bed.¡±


    Earl said, ¡°You can go back to bed, too, Julie and Frank.  We got this covered.¡±


    After a bunch of clicks from sleepy party liners hangin up, Mildred said, ¡°Earl, we got a visit last night from someone we both know.  We are fine, but I think you might want to tidy up before daylight.¡±


    Earl  said, ¡°Well, I thank you for yore warnin, Mildred.  That¡¯s mighty useful.  And I hope you get a good rest.  Good night.¡±


    ¡°Good night Earl,¡±  Mildred said as she and Earl hung up.


    Lucy fixed Earl a pot of coffee and he thought about the course of action as he drank a cup of Joe.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    He realized Mildred was warnin him about the revenooers heading his way and he had his equipment stashed in the bed of the wagon.  That would be one of the first places they would look.  What to do?  Earl talked over with Lucy a couple of different options and headed out the door.  Rather than wake up the horses and hitch them up to the wagon in the darkness, he woke up all of his boys and had them follow him out to the wagon.  With the extra help, they made short work of movin all of the equipment.  They moved everything out of the spring house, put the still equipment in the back and started disguisin it putin all of the spring house storage around it and on top of it to where you couldn¡¯t see any of the still at all!  Of course it was pitch black, bein night, but Earl knew nothin would be visible in the daytime, as well.


    As they walked back to the house,  Earl said, with a big yawn, ¡°I¡¯m shore glad we ain¡¯t got no snow yet so our tracks don¡¯t show up come daytime.  Well, let¡¯s get back to bed and try to get some sleep, boys.  Good night.¡±


    When mornin came and they realized they hadn¡¯t had any middle of the night visitors, Earl and Lucy let out a sigh of relief.  However, durin breakfast, there was a knock at the door.  Sure enough, it was the revenooers, askin if they could have a look-see around the property.  ¡°Well you sure must¡¯ve taken a liken to our property, Steve, cause you just looked over our place last month!  Sure, knock yourself out.  Look where you want to.  Would you guys care fur a cup of coffee, before you get started?¡±  Earl said.


    The officers took him up on the coffee.  Lucy set out some of her good ol zucchini bread and home churned butter.  The kids all came to the table too and by the time the bread was gone, Lucy had set out some hickory smoked bacon and scrambled eggs with cheese.  ¡°I could use some more of that delicious coffee, if you don¡¯t mind ma¡¯am,¡± Steve said and everyone agreed.  After breakfast, with a thin light of the sun shining through the trees, the search fur the still began.


    Steve Cordoba said, ¡°They have the sweetest spring water here, so cold!  I think we should look around the spring first.  That would make the most sense,¡±  And Steve headed toward the spring.


    Bert Wintergreen said, ¡°I doubt we will find any equipment since his still blew up.  He is a small time operator and it would be surprising to find anything more around here.  But, we will look anyway.¡±


    The men got to the door of the spring house and opened it.  They no longer needed the flashlight, since the sun had come up and they were able to see  what was in the spring house.  Steve pushed aside the butter churn and saw three crates of empty milk bottles stacked up.  Bert had looked in the other corner of the little house and seen a milking stool, and racks fur the cheese.  He said, ¡° there ain¡¯t nuthin here, Steve.  Let¡¯s look in back of the chicken coop.¡±


    They checked the back of the coop, all around the house and the barn.  Then it was time to look in the plowed under corn field.  After satisfying their curiosity, the men left and Earl and Lucy let out the breath they had been holdin.  ¡°It shore wuz a good thing you and the boys got that stuff put away, Earl.  Next time we see Mildred, I need to take her a cake and thank her!¡±

 Runnin the Shine

    Before Bert and Steve left, they went inside the house again fur some more coffee.  ¡°Would you boys like to take a little zucchini bread fur later?¡± Lucy asked them with a smile.


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± Bert answered quickly.  ¡°That is if¡¯n it ain¡¯t too much trouble,¡± and he smiled back at her.


    Lucy packed them up some bread and made them a couple of sandwiches, too!  ¡°I¡¯ve been missing yore good cookin, Lucy,¡± Steve said.  Steve and Bert said good-bye and were on their way.


    As they drove off, Steve took up a new matter with Bert.  ¡°Bert, I¡¯m goin to let you in on a dream of mine.  Now, don¡¯t laugh.  I want to be the sheriff.  It¡¯s always been something I wanted.¡±


    Bert said in reply, ¡°Well, Steve you kin be just about whatever you want to be.  You are a real go-getter!  However, are you ready to give up bein a federal officer?¡±


    ¡°No, why?¡± Steve asked.


    ¡°Becuz you can¡¯t be both a federal officer and a local officer at the same time.  You will have to decide what you want the most,¡±  Bert explained.


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t that beat all!  How come I never thought of that?¡± Steve said.  ¡°That does tend to change things, Bert!  I guess I will just stick with what I know and forget bein a sheriff,¡±  They drove to their next farm to inspect fur illegal liquor.


    A few weeks later, Earl said one morning, just after the kids left fur school, ¡°Lucy, I think I¡¯ll go break up the romance between Romeo and Rosie and bring her on home before the snow flies.¡±


    ¡°Ok Earl, have you got the stall ready fur her in the barn?¡±  Lucy asked.


    ¡°Oh, I almost furgot!  Could you git John to muck it out and git it all ready, please?¡±  Earl requested.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be glad to.  It will sure be good to have fresh milk again.  Some things you just can¡¯t fix without milk,¡±  Lucy said thoughtfully.


    Earl got Blackie and Youngster all harnessed up to the wagon and Lucy brought him out a bag of assorted goodies.  She had made a lunch of leftover meatloaf in a sandwich, some of her home-fried potato chips, especially thin and crispy, a big slice of apple pie and a bottle of lemonade.  Just as she handed it up to Earl, Carl came runnin out.  ¡°Pa, I¡¯m goin.  You know how Rosie is when she is carryin.  She is apt to be downright ornery and it will help to have me walkin behind her proddin her with a stick every now and again.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Well, son, welcome aboard!  I wasn¡¯t thinkin about Rosie¡¯s peculiarities and I¡¯m glad you wus.  Ma only made enough food fur one¡­¡±  Earl said


    Carl interrupted, holding up a poke (paper bag), ¡°I done made my own, Pa,¡±  He hopped up after giving his ma a kiss on the cheek and the guys were off.


    Lucy went inside to put the finishin touches on the homemade Christmas presents and then gathered up the dirty clothes fur laundry day.  She interrupted John to have him set the big kettles on boilin outside fur the washin.  Thataway, after she finished sewin, she could have the water ready to do the wash.


    Earl and Carl were on an uphill stretch when Earl said, ¡°the wagon feels a mite shaky.  I''m gonna stop the horses and check on it.¡±  He pulled the horses to a stop and jumped down.  He walked around the wagon, checkin that the nails holdin it together hadn¡¯t come out and findin that satisfactory, checked the harnessin.  It all checked out ok.  He climbed back up in the wagon and said,  ¡°Well, maybe it was my imagination,¡±  Earl let off the brake and just as the horses crested the hill and started down the other side, Earl and Carl saw a lop-sided wagon wheel rollin down the hill, passin them!  ¡°What in the world?¡±  Earl said and just as he said it, the front right side of the wagon clunked down on the road and made the worst racket, draggin until Earl brought the horses to a stop.


    ¡°Well, pa, we got ourselves a little delay.  I¡¯ll grab the wheel and take it back home and fix it,¡± Carl said.  He was the blacksmith of the little farm.  He made all of their axes, shovels, nails, knives and anything else that needed to be forged.  ¡°I got an extra wheel in the shop and it only will need a little modifyin to be the right size fur the wagon.  Give me an hour fur walkin there an back and an hour to fix the wheel and I¡¯ll be back.  He took off walkin and Earl put on the brake and went fur a walk in the woods.  He knew he might find some of Lucy¡¯s herbs she used fur doctorin and he sure wasn¡¯t goin to twiddle his fingers sittin in the wagon fur two hours!


    Carl started off walkin home, enjoyin the birds singin an the warm sun.  Both would be gone soon, with winter comin on.  He hadn¡¯t gone but ? a mile when he heard a low rumblin.  It got closer and he saw a whirl of dust risin and then Bobby Brown pulled up beside him.  ¡°Hey, Carl, where are you goin?  You want a ride?¡±


    Carl put his wheel in the backseat, well, behind the front seat, cause the backseat wasn¡¯t there!  Just a bunch of tarps on the top of whatever was there.  He climbed in beside Bobby an they were off like lightning!  He was home almost before his rear-end sat on the seat!  ¡°A feller could get used to this; drivin like the wind!¡± Carl said.


    Bobby asked him what he wus doin and said he had passed Earl and the horses.  He asked if Carl needed a ride back to his pa.


    ¡°It sure would save me time, Bobby, but it looks like you are in the middle of some important business.  I got to get a good fire started soze I kin fix this wheel.  It would delay you, as I couldn¡¯t be ready to leave agin fur a little bit,¡±  Carl explained.


    ¡°I kin wait.  My bizness ain¡¯t out in the open yet.  Nobody suspects, so I got time,¡± Bobby said proudly.


    ¡°Would you mind tellin me how you got that car runnin so fast while I work on this wheel?¡± Carl asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be glad to, Carl,¡± Bobby answered.

 The Chase is on

    Bobby stood over by Carl where he could hand over any tools Carl might need.  Carl got the fire good and hot.  He pulled out the spokes from the broken wheel that fell off of the wagon and then fixed them onto the new wheel.  It wasn¡¯t the first time, putin together a wheel, so it went fairly fast and the guys were on the road agin.  Bobby had told Carl about findin a 1932 Ford at the dump down in town and brought it home to soup up.  He bought that old car fur $100.  He got a flathead v-8 and took about a year puttin it all together.  ¡°I done put special heavy back springs on the back and shocks to hold the car level when it is loaded down,¡±  Bobby continued to talk while they took the wheel out and handed it to Earl.


    ¡°You can see how level it is now and I got her pretty well loaded.  Oh, looky here.  See this here knob?  When you give it a pull, it is attached to the back of the car and it causes a bucket of oil to spill all over the road.  When you are bein chased, it is guaranteed to let you run free!  I ain¡¯t had cause to use it, but it is ready!¡±


    Earl had replaced the wagon wheel by that time and walked over to where the boys were talkin.  ¡°Well, Bobby, it looks like you are all set up fur runnin  moonshine.  This is a fine car, a fine car!  Have you had occasion to use her?¡±


    ¡°Not yet, Mr. Higgins.  Well, actually she¡¯s loaded up and ready to go now and I better make hay while the sun shines.  This¡¯ll be my first run!  Wish me well!¡±  and with that Bobby was off!


    Earl and Carl took off too, but considerably slower.  Just before they got to the Covington place, they heard police sirens and could tell they were coming from the switchback goin down the way Bobby had just gone  by the way the sirens sounded.  Then they heard a screech in the distance and a crash.  ¡°I bet Bobby used the oil switch and sent those officers over in the ditch!  God speed Bobby!¡± Carl said.


    Earl and Carl went up to the house, when they got to the Covingtons place and Tom seen them driving in and moseyed up there himself.  Mrs. Covington put on a pot of coffee  they had that together with some conversation and the pie Lucy had sent over.  She also sent over a jar of sorghum molasses.  Tom said proudly that his bull had done the deed and he knew it took because the cow and bull were no longer talkin to one another!


    There was nothin left to do but tie Rosie to the back of the wagon and head out toward home because it was goin to take them till dinner time to get home the way Rosie took her time!  With pie and coffee under their belts and a pregnant cow,  the men couldn¡¯t be happier!  Mrs. Covington came runnin out to the wagon with a big ol poke and said, ¡°I almost forgot.  Yore wife is a doctorin woman and I came across somethin she could use.  This here¡¯s a poke full of ginger root!  It¡¯s mighty nice fur upset stomachs and all sorts of gripe and colds and coughs!  Give it to her with my blessings!¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Why thank you  kindly, Mrs. Covington!  Lucy will be mighty grateful.  We ain¡¯t discovered no ginger around our place lately and Lucy is about out!  That was rite thoughtful of you!¡±  Earl said.


    Carl said, ¡°That is a fine commodity and if¡¯n you find another patch of ginger growin, you might want to take it into town and sell it.  I hear the Trading Post is payin some purty good money fur it!¡±


    Mrs. Covington thanked Carl fur the information and said good bye till next time.


    Tom told his wife, ¡°Those are some fine menfolk!  Did you see when Carl went out to the outhouse and was gone so long?  Well, he saw the wood I had chopped dumped over by the woodpile and he went and stacked the whole thing fur me and didn¡¯t say a word!  He¡¯s well-trained and got the manners of a preacher man!¡±


    She laughed, ¡°I noticed he was gone a long time.  I was meaning to offer him some mineral oil, cuz I figured he was havin a hard time ¡®goin¡¯ but it plum slipped my mind with us talkin and all!¡±


    Earl was sure glad he took Carl with him when, just after crossin Bell¡¯s bridge,  Rosie decided to take a break and just stopped, nearly pullin the wagon backwards when the slack on her rope tightened up!  Carl had expected this behaviour, knowin how obstinate Rosie could be when she was expectin!  He had brought some molasses oats for her.  He jumped out  and went around to her, pattin her on the head while he offered her some grain.  He held it out and walked forward., with Rosie follerin him.  Earl was able to make some progress toward home before Rosie repeated herself.  After the 10th time, Earl¡¯s patience was bein tried.  He told Carl, ¡°The next time she stops, take a stick and give her a whack on the rear!¡±  They both laughed and Rosie must¡¯ve been listenin on the party line, because they didn¡¯t have another lick of trouble out of her on the way home!


    As they drove the last 100 yards or so to the house, they felt a low rumble and looked at each other.  ¡°That must be Bobby returnin from his run,¡± Carl said.  ¡°I guess his run must¡¯ve gone purty good if he is back already!¡±


    Bobby pulled into their driveway and yelled over to Earl.  ¡°Mr. Earl, help me quick.  Steve is on my tail!¡±


    Earl said, ¡°Well he cain¡¯t do nuthin if you done delivered yore product.  There¡¯s nuthin he can do.¡±


    ¡°If¡¯n I got a full load he sure can!  If the contact didn¡¯t show up and get his product and I am left with a full car of moonshine, he can put me away fur good!  Please help me Mr. Earl!¡±  Bobby pleaded.


    Earl told Carl, ¡°Jump in now!¡±  and then, ¡°Take us to the church, Bobby!¡±


    Bobby lit out with the sirens gettin closer and closer!  It didn¡¯t take ten minutes fur that ol souped up car to git it¡¯s load to the church.  ¡°Mr. Earl, I don¡¯t mean to be disrespectful, but what are we goin to do?  They is almost here!¡±

 Hide the Liquor

    ¡°No time to talk.  Unload the car out in back of the church as fast as you can.¡±  Earl said.  The three men had that car unloaded in 4 minutes flat.  Now the flats of moonshine-loaded mason jars was stacked neatly by the church.  ¡°Git in yore car and drive, Bobby Brown!  It will take them away from here and we kin hide the liquor!¡±


    Bobby jumped into the car and took off like some greased lightnin!  He pulled out onto the road just as Steve came roaring around the corner with his sirens screamin and his horn blowin and the lights flashin!  Bobby took him on a wild goose chase all around the holler.  Meanwhile, Earl was passin the flats of moonshine to Carl who was under the church which was built up on cinder blocks.  ¡°Pa, there is some pigs under here.¡±


    As he passed another flat of moonshine to Carl, Earl asked, ¡°Is they givin you any trouble?¡±


    As Carl took that flat from Earl he said, ¡°No, they is sleepin, although I don¡¯t know how any creature kin sleep through the noise of that police car!¡±


    Meanwhile, Bobby had cut through the Smith¡¯s cornfield and was thinkin what a bad idea that wuz, as he wuz bouncin all over and had to slow down.  Of course, Steve had to slow down too so it didn¡¯t git him any closer!  He grabbed the loud-speaker and announced, ¡°Pull over Bobby Brown.  You is under arrest! ¡­Bobby are you payin attention?  Pull over!¡±  By this time Bobby had gotten out of the cornfield and was headed toward the gravel quarry.


    Bobby had driven this quarry ever since he started drivin.  In fact, he cut his eye teeth drivin right here in this quarry!  Just as he approached the clump of laurel bushes he slammed on his brakes and cut to the left real quick.  He made the turn but Steve didn¡¯t.  Steve slammed on his brakes and cut sharply to the right to avoid going down in the big hole in the ground.  He cursed up a blue streak, backed up and headed up the way Bobby went.  Bobby was laughin, as he thought of his next trick.  He slowed down a little bit so Steve could get closer to him.  He knew he needed to keep Steve busy so the Higgins could get his moonshine hidden.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Bobby put his pedal to the metal and zoomed around the quarry in a blurr until he had come full circle and pulled up behind Steve.  Steve looked in his rear-view mirror and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Bobby.  He threw on his brakes and got out, goin back to Bobby.


    After the last of the moonshine wuz hidden and hopefully safe, Earl straightened up and rubbed his back and said to Carl, ¡°Let¡¯s start walkin home.¡±  He peeked under the church and said, ¡°You piggies keep a watch on our shine and don¡¯t let no human piggies git it!¡±  He laughed at his own humor!


    Carl just shook his head and started walkin.  As they walked they could hear the sirens windin around the holler and then the sound seemed to come from one place, like they had stopped.  Bobby figured he had given Earl and Carl enough time to hide the shine and had stopped fur the officer.


    Steve walked up to the hot rod and said, ¡°Git out of the car and put yore hands on the hood of the car,¡±  all bossy like!


    Steve put handcuffs on Bobby and told him to stay put.  He started lookin through the car and found the backseat had been removed.  He climbed up under the car and took a gander at the shocks.  Then he opened up the hood  and whistled!  ¡°Why you done got all the bells and whistles!  This is a bonafide moonshinin car but without the moonshine!  What did you do with the shine, Bobby Brown?¡±


    ¡°I ain''t got no shine, Mr. Steve.  I just like fast cars,¡± Bobby said.  He knew there was nothin Steve could do with no evidence, so it gave him some confidence.


    Steve was a little hot under the coller.  After all Bobby wus the cause of his car goin into the ditch with the oil he spilt out over the road durin the first chase.  And once more there was no shine so he could arrest Bobby.  However, he could think of a few tickets to hand out.


    Steve took off the handcuffs and said, ¡°You think you are so smart.  Here is a ticket fur speedin and you are goin to clean up the oil spill on the road down in front of Mimi Connors place.  I don¡¯t keer how you do it, just do a good job!¡±  He handed Bobby the ticket and said, ¡°I will check up on it the middle of next week and there better not be so much as a spot of oil on that road!¡±


    ¡°Yes sir,¡±   Bobby said meekly.  He was thinking how glad he was that  Steve was distracted while Earl and Carl were gettin things done!

 Christmas, Electruc Lights and the Chase is on

    The last few days before Christmas found the Higgins family scrambling to get their final preparations all done. There were incredible smells coming from the kitchen of all kinds of pies; blackberry, blueberry, mincemeat, and egg custard. You could smell the nutmeg in the eggnog that Karen was making. Cora had made cornbread and was cuttin up the onions and celery fur the stuffin. Earl had butchered the 24 pound turkey and plucked it and it was in the kitchen sink with Lucy prepping it. She had rinsed it really well and put it onto the oven tray with the big lip on it so it could hold all of the juices fur makin gravy. She was seasonin it with sage and butter, salt and pepper and garlic and onions. The boys kept driftin through the kitchen, smellin and wishin it was done so they could have a taste!


    Lucy had a solution fur the boys hangin out in the kitchen. The next time John walked in she grabbed him, put an apron over his head and tied it around his waist and drafted him to wash , peel and cut up the potatoes fur mashed potatoes! Timmy was snappin green beans fur the green bean casserole.


    Carl and Hattie had gone up the mountain to get a Christmas tree and were expected back within the next hour. Earl had disappeared after bringin in the turkey and Lucy was startin to worry about what he was up to. It wasn¡¯t long before the front door opened and a big blast of snow blew in with the Christmas tree and Carl and Hattie. Carl stood it upright and shook it. It was the most beautiful blue spruce and must¡¯ve been all of 8 feet tall. Hattie had gone out to the barn and gotten the Christmas tree stand that Earl had made a few years ago and brought it to Carl.


    ¡° Why thank-you Hattie. You are such a good helper!¡± Carl said. He smiled at his little sister. He thought how it was especially nice to have brothers and sisters and parents at Christmastime. ¡°Pa, what do you think about havin Donna and the kids over fur Christmas? I don¡¯t want to think of them bein alone. It¡¯s a time fur family.¡±


    Earl said, ¡°Carl, you have a big heart! Donna is actually over with her family. They came over and picked her up a couple of days ago.¡±


    Hattie was sittin down with a needle and thread and a bowl full of cranberries. She took the first cranberry and put the needle through it from end to end and pulled the cranberry all the way down to the knot in the thread. She looked at it satisfied and picked up another cranberry and did it all over again. Hattie kept repeatin this motion until the string was full and tied it off. She told Carl lovingly, ¡°The first string of cranberries is finished, Carl. Can you put it on the tree?¡±


    Hattie threaded the needle again and knotted the end and began stringin another cheerful cranberry strand for the tree.


    Lucy was popping popcorn on the stove for Hattie to use to make more decorative strings. She was washin her hands after checkin the turkey, when when she heard the popcorn liftin up the lid on the pan. She ran over to the stove and turned off the burner and moved the pan to a pot holder so the popcorn wouldn¡¯t burn. She got out a big bowl and poured the popcorn into it and placed it beside Hattie.


    Carl went back to the barn and returned with 2 big boxes full of the decorations they had been accumulating since Earl and Lucy had been married. Everyone stopped what they were doing and carefully unpacked the box, with accompanied commentaries. Cora picked up a smaller box of items that looked like cookies, but were much harder. She said, ¡°Oh, do you remember makin these ornaments? Oh, lookie here, there¡¯s the santa claus I made and look Hattie; there¡¯s the wreath you made; it¡¯s so pretty. Oh and the stars; they are so bright yellow! And look ma, remember startin with a styrofoam ball and those long pins and the pretty beads they held on the ball? Lookin at that pretty decoration, you would never believe what it looked like before you made it!¡± They carried on and talked and decorated the tree for the next hour.


    After decoratin the tree, the little family had their Christmas eve meal along with the yummy eggnog! Besides the turkey, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes, they had candied yams with marshmallows on top, cole slaw, and ambrosia for dessert. Lucy always made the ambrosia with pineapples, mandarin oranges, shredded coconut and raisins. After supper, the kitchen and dining room had never been cleaned up quicker! They left it clean as a whistle so it would be ready for the celebration first thing in the mornin!


    Earl had been actin a little strange when he had returned from town a couple of days ago. Lucy had asked him what he had in the box he had tucked up under his arm, but he just looked at her and winked! Try as she would, Lucy couldn¡¯t weasel it out of him. So, come Christmas mornin, Earl was up before the kids and Lucy and even the animals, workin on his surprise. His heart was skippin beats, he was so excited! As soon as the youngest, Hattie saw a peep of sunrise, it woke her up and she went through the house shoutin, ¡°It¡¯s Christmas mornin! Time to get up and open presents! Hurry up you lazy bones! If you¡¯re quick enough we might catch santa claus!¡± She clomped down the stairs and popped into the living room. Her eyes lit on a cute little rocking horse that had been hand-carved and even had a real mane and tail made from hair from their horses. She ran to it and sat on it and rocked so hard the wooden floor was thunderin like a real horse was in the room! At least that¡¯s what she thought was happenin. It did the trick and everybody trickled into the room, rubbin the sleep out of their eyes.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Now when Lucy walked into the room, she let out a little cry of surprise! ¡°Why Earl, there are pretty colored lights on the tree! How in tarnashun did you do that? Oh it is just like fairy lights; it¡¯s so pretty!¡± Now the electric company had been workin its way up the mountain, installin electricity, but Lucy hadn¡¯t expected their electricity to be connected fur another month. Lucy was so happy at the sight that she grabbed Earl¡¯s arm and danced him around the room! The other children walked in just then and overcome by the electric lights, their parents dancin and Hattie rockin just as fast as she could, they all started laughin!


    All of the children pulled up chairs and sat down, preparin fur their Christmas ritual. Lucy put on the coffee and came in to sit down too. Their ritual consisted of the youngest takin a present to each person in turn. Then they took turns openin up their presents so everyone got to enjoy each present!


    Karen was first to open her present. She carefully pulled back the tape, takin her time to make her surprise last. When she finally folded away the wrappin paper, there was the softest, prettiest rabbit fur coat she had ever seen or felt! Timmy said, ¡°we boys killed the rabbits and dressed them out. Pa helped with the tannin of the hides and Ma sewed the rabbit skins into a fine coat!¡± Karen thanked them all and rubbed the rabbit coat softly over her face.


    Goin from youngest to oldest, the kids opened their presents. Cora got a wildcat coat! Timmy, John and Carl got knee high deer boots and immediately put them on and paraded all over the livin room! John said, ¡°Ma, I didn¡¯t even know you were makin these! This is a fine surprise!¡±


    You should have seen Earl¡¯s face when he opened his! Unbeknownst to him, Lucy had made him gorgeous bear boots! She had wanted to make them with the claws on them, but figured it was impractical, because the claws would stick down in the mud everytime he took a step! Earl¡¯s jaw dropped and he ran his hands over the boots and said, ¡°I always did want a pair of bear boots but never suspected you were makin my dream come true Lucy! Thank you honey!¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t have done it without you all bein such fine shots and takin yore time cleanin and guttin them and tannin their hides! I¡¯m awfully proud of all of my boys!¡± Lucy said, beamin. ¡°I¡¯m awful proud of my girls too!¡± Karen and Cora had snuck out after openin their presents and started on the Christmas breakfast of bacon, fried eggs, homemade biscuits, hash browns and hot chocolate and coffee! They came into the livin room now and announced that breakfast was ready. The Higgins enjoyed a relaxin breakfast together.


    When breakfast was over, they sat around the table with their coffee and hot chocolate while Earl told them the story of how baby Jesus was born. After cleanin up the dishes, the Higgins made their way to church for the special Christmas celebration. They all sat together in the same pew, except for John and Carl sat with their sweethearts. Earl had been up all night, gettin the electric lights fixed, so along about halfway through the sermon, he drifted off to sleep and his head nodded back. When a lone fly lit on his nose, he woke up with a snort! The preacher stopped and the whole crowd laughed! Earl¡¯s face turned a bright red!


    In just a few minutes, you could feel a rumblin through the seats and in your feet. Next thing you know, Bobby Brown walked in quietly and sat beside Carl. Carl looked at him and Bobby held up his finger to his mouth for Carl to be quiet. When the preachin was over and all the people stood up to shake hands, Bobby asked Carl to come outside with him. Carl excused himself from his girlfriend and followed Bobby.


    Bobby said when they got outside, ¡°Carl, I got a delivery and was wonderin if you would like to go with me and share in the delivery profits. I could use a good lookout. Also we need to load up the liquor under the church. What do you think?¡±


    Carl was up fur some fun and excitement. ¡°I say yes!¡± He went in and explained to his parents what he was doing with Bobby and then they visited with folks until they were all gone and the church locked up. Carl climbed under the church to check on their stash. He came back out and told Bobby that it was all fine. They took a ride out one way from the church and then out the other way makin sure the coast was clear before they started haulin the shine from under the church.


    Carl climbed back under the church and started pushin the boxes toward the open space between some cinder blocks that the church was propped up on. He heard a car drive up and Bobby talkin to someone and he held very still so they couldn¡¯t hear him under the church. Carl did a tummy crawl closer to where Bobby and the unknown person were talkin.


    Carl saw the local sheriff talkin with Bobby. He was glad the shadows made it dark under the church, so the sheriff couldn¡¯t see either him or the liquor. He heard, ¡°Well Bobby you didn¡¯t show up fur yore sentencin, so I gotta bring you in. I figured you would be here at church on Christmas, so I came to git you.¡±


    ¡°Well, sheriff, it done slipped my mind, but I have every intention of comin in fur my sentencin. Could I just request bein able to spend Christmas with my folks and then I will come in to your office tomorrow, real early?¡± Bobby asked.


    ¡°Well, Bobby Brown, I could say no and take you with me now. I¡¯m feelin mighty Christmassy right now though and I am goin to grant you yore request. You just better show up tomorrow or there won¡¯t be any more nice guy!¡± The sheriff got into his car and drove away down the mountain. Bobby and Carl waited a few more minutes to make sure it wasn¡¯t a trap and when they heard the police siren come on and get further away, they figured they could go on with their plan. With Carl pushin and shovin the boxes to the openin and Bobby pickin them up and loadin them into the fast car, they made short work of it and were soon loaded up. They jumped in and took off.


    Just as they pulled out of the church parkin lot, a car pulled out of the bushes, turned on its lights and siren and the chase was on!

 Thats Steve, the Fed

    Bobby said as he put on the gas, ¡°I heard the sheriff go down the hill; it couldn¡¯t be him!¡±


    Carl said, ¡°That¡¯s Steve, the fed.  His car is goin faster than it used to.  What the heck?!¡±


    Bobby said, ¡°Do you mean Steve Cordoba?¡±  and he looked in his rear-view mirror.  To his surprise he saw the car he had been helpin to git  souped up!  ¡°It was a man named Bert who told me he needed a good car to be able to run moonshine, Carl!  I didn¡¯t know he was a revenooer, workin with Steve  and was going to use it to run moonshiners to prison!  Hold on, we¡¯re goin to lose him around this corner and go up the switchback beside the creek.  If we can run in the creekbed just a short way he won¡¯t see our dust  and it will take him a few minutes to figure out where we have gone!


    They pulled ahead, rounded the corner and turned sharply to the left and then braked enough so they could enter the creek without turnin over!  Steve raced on by, barely controllin the fast car, concentratin on that so much it took him a mile to realize there was no dust in front of him anymore and they must have turned off somewhere.  By this time, Bobby was back on the main road and rushin roward the state line. ¡° If we kin just git over the state line and hide, we should be golden.  We kin hide somewhere and wait fur him to quit chasin us and then be on our merry way!¡± Bobby said.


    Bobby and Carl didn¡¯t count on Steve figurin them out and even with them goin fast, it wasn¡¯t fast enough.  Bobby was tellin Carl all about soupin up Steve¡¯s car, when somethin caught his eye and he looked in the rearview mirror.  Steve was only a hundred yards away and gainin.  Bobby got serious and hit the gas.  Carl was plastered against the seat, holdin on fur dear life!  Bobby whipped around the next curve a little too fast and gravel flew everywhere.  Carl gasped as it looked like the tires were goin to leave the ground.  They made it and found themselves still on the ground.  Steve, havin watched them, slowed way down so he could make the curve so they pulled way ahead!


    Bobby used Steve¡¯s  hesitation, to propel himself and Carl way ahead of Steve.  Bobby had to cross an overflowed creek and didn¡¯t know how deep it was, so he slowed way down.  The car did great and the creek was only about a foot deep, but it cost them valuable time.  Steve didn¡¯t have to test the depth, after watchin them, but he did have to slow down some.  He was much closer than before, after crossin the stream and Bobby got a worried look on his face.  ¡°Carl, reach that knob right there that says ¡®pull me¡¯ and pull it and then look out the back window and tell me what happens. ¡° Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    When Carl pulled the knob, thick nails abut 3 inches long went all over the road behind them.  Steve ran right over them and Carl heard a loud pop and then another and another, until all of the revenooers tires were popped.  Steve tried to slow down, but those popped tires cost him the control of the car and he spun around in a circle!  The last the boys saw of him fur a while, Steve was climbin out of the car and heavin on the side of the road.


    Carl shouted, ¡°OOOhwee! Well, I guess that stopped him, Bobby!  Good thinkin, installin those nails!¡±


    Bobby laughed,¡±I ain¡¯t never come so close to gettin caught before with moonshine in the back.   I tell you, I¡¯m awful glad to be away from him!  He settled back into goin the speed limit, so as not to attract attention from any other law men.  Bobby and Carl made it over the border and found a  place to lay low for a couple of days, just in case Steve managed to call over the border to advise police to watch fur them.


    After makin their drop off, they headed back on home and Carl said, ¡°I ain¡¯t never had so much fun or been so scared in all my born days!  When is our next run?¡±


    Bobby laughed, ¡°Ha ha ha!  I don¡¯t rightly know, but it sure is good to see you all fired up!  I need to get home and go over this car and replace the nails and oil.¡±  It needs to be in tip top shape so it is ready at any time fur another run.¡±


    Carl said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind helpin you work on the car in my spare time.  Then I could learn how to fix up my car when I get one!  This is excitin and dangerous stuff!¡±


    As Bobby was drivin him back home, Carl realized he had missed the rest of Christmas and it hadn¡¯t occurred to him until just now!  Bobby and Carl made plans to meet at Bobby¡¯s house later that week to work on Bobby¡¯s car.  When Carl got home he had an excitin story to tell his family!

 The Missing Chestnut Trees

    Carl told his family of his adventure with Bobby Brown and there was cheerin and whoopin as they sat around the cracklin fire!  After Carl¡¯s story, Earl said he had a story to tell them, too.  He had picked out a calm story so everybody could start calmin down before bed.  ¡°I told you a while back that these woods were full of chestnut trees.  Well, it wasn¡¯t just our woods, but all of the woods from Georgia up to West Virginia.  The whole Appalachian Mountains was full of these trees.  Every fourth tree was a chestnut tree.  Now these trees were not just regular trees, but like I told you before, many of them were 100 feet tall and ten feet around!  They were huge!  They were a treasure fur our relatives and the other folks who lived in the Appalachians.  Most people would turn hogs loose to forage so they could fatten up fur market and the hogs loved chestnuts.  The people loved to eat them too!  The taste was amazin when they was roasted over a fire.  The people of the hills also bagged them up and sold them.  There weren¡¯t no trees better fur makin split rail fences.  They was used fur loggin, too and buildin all kinds of buildings.  I guess you could say they was the backbone of the Appalachian people¡¯s economy.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s economy, pa?¡± Hattie May asked.


    ¡°Well, Hattie, that means that that is where they got their income from.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we see those trees anymore, pa?¡± asked Karen.


    ¡°That is what my story is about today, Karen.  You know how sometimes people order things from other countries?¡± Earl asked.


    ¡°Uh huh,¡± Karen replied.


    ¡°Well, a man in New York ordered  some Chinese chestnuts.  They make a pretty decoration.  What he didn¡¯t know was besides being a pretty decoration, these Chinese Chestnuts also brought a disease with them.  Now, the Chinese Chestnuts were resistant to this disease,¡± Pa said.


    ¡°What does resistant mean, pa?¡± Hattie asked.


    ¡° It means the Chinese Chestnut could recover from the disease.  It wasn¡¯t killed by it,¡± her pa explained.  ¡°But after a few years, it was discovered that the American Chestnut trees were not resistant to the disease and the chestnut trees in New York were starting to die from the disease.  They would get a ring around the trunk of the tree and once it encircled the whole tree, the tree would die,¡± Pa told them.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°Well, this disease started killing all of the American Chestnut trees in New York and then started moving south, killing trees as it went.  It took about 45 years to kill off all of the chestnut trees all of the way down to Georgia!  As you can imagine, this was bad news for the Appalachian people, since they could not sell chestnuts anymore, or raise their hogs as easily, or eat chestnuts themselves, or log big trees, because they were not reproducing.  They couldn¡¯t make fences that would last nearly as long, with the trees gone and it changed their lives!¡± Earl said, sadly.


    ¡°However, their roots were still alive.  But every time the trees would try growing again, the disease would stop them before they got very big.  Now, what do you think of that?¡±  their father asked.


    Cora asked, ¡°Did it really happen like that, pa?  This isn¡¯t just a made up tale?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Cora, this story is as true as birds flying or corn growin,¡± Earl answered.


    ¡°Why we could have bacon every day if there were still chestnut trees,¡± Timmy said.


    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be forced to take up moonshinin, if there were still so many trees,¡± John stated.


    Lucy said, ¡°Our house was built a number of years ago and it was American Chestnut wood that it was built out of.  That wood lasts so well that it will probably be around a good many more years.  Which reminds me, the chimneys need a good cleaning so the house doesn¡¯t burn down!¡±


    Everybody laughed.  Carl said, ¡°I wish I could build me a house out of chestnut wood!¡±


    Karen said, ¡°Why Carl, we already have a house!  Why would you need to build a house?¡±


    Earl explained that all of the kids would be moving out and living on their own, getting married and startin their own family eventually.


    Hattie started crying, ¡°I don¡¯t want none of our family to move away!


    Her Mama went over and put her arms around Hattie and pulled her close, ¡°Hattie, it¡¯ll be ok.  Don¡¯t worry about the things to come and just love your brothers and sisters whilst they are here.¡±


    Hattie snuggled into her ma¡¯s arms and got a smile on her face.  If her ma said it would be ok, then it would!  She fell asleep while the story tellin went on fur a spell.

 Buried

    The next mornin started like any other mornin, with bacon fryin and coffee perkin and the whole house smellin like the finest Bistro in New York!  That is until John roused himself to go feed the animals.  He grabbed his warm boots and coat and muffler, got fixed up and headed for the door.  He wrestled with it fur a few minutes and then huffed in to his pa and said, ¡°Pa, did you put a new lock on the door?  It won¡¯t open!  I cain¡¯t get out to the animals!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± his father said.  ¡°No, I didn¡¯t do anything to it.  Maybe one of your brothers is playin a prank on you.  Go ask them.¡±


    John went to Carl and Timmy, woke them up and gave them what for!  ¡°Ok who¡¯s the wise guy and made the door so it won¡¯t open?  How am I supposed to get to the animals to feed them this mornin?¡±  He was all steamed up!


    Carl and Timmy both got up, yawnin and stretchin and Cal followed him to the front door and said, ¡°Nobody¡¯s trickin you, John.  Sometimes the door just gets stuck.  Just grab it like so and


    give it a little hit by the knob and there you go!¡±


    Nothing happened.  Carl hit the door harder and tried again.  ¡°The knob is turnin, but the door won¡¯t open!  What is goin on?¡±


    Karen ran in to the room, shoutin,¡±The snow is buryin us! Look out the window!   No, you have to go upstairs; you cain¡¯t see out the window down here!¡±


    Her brothers looked at each other  and then ran up the stairs!!  They gawked out the window with their mouths hangin open enough to catch a fly, if it hadn¡¯t of been winter and there had been any around!


    Timmy was the first to say anything.  ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be!¡±


    Carl said, ¡°I ain¡¯t never seen anything like it!  We ain¡¯t never had so much snow!  I knew it was snowin hard yesterday, but this beats all!  Well, brothers, we are just goin to have to improvise.  Ok, we can jump from up here, but whoever does is goin to sink, so we have to go prepared to dig our way to the front door.¡±


    By this time the whole family had heard the news and were all upstairs gaspin and gawkin out the window!This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Pa said, ¡°Well, I never!¡±


    Cora and Karen were already puttin on their snow gear and Timmy was openin the window to jump.  Pa said, ¡°What do you have to dig with, in case the snow goes over your head, Timmy?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah, hand me that chamber pot, John,¡±  Timmy said.


    ¡°You ain¡¯t thinkin clearly!¡±  John said.  ¡°If¡¯n you jump with that old chamber pot, you are goin to have pee and poop splashin all over you!¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah, you are right.  Thanks fur savin me findin that out the hard way, John!¡±  Timmy said sheepishly.


    Pa brought out a big ol shovel he hadn¡¯t had time to break in yet that he was plannin on usin to clear away underbrush  at the new moonshine spot and handed it to Timmy.


    Timmy grabbed it up and jumped out the two story window and promptly sank in the snow till he was sittin on the ground and had to look up to see the top of the snow!  John and Carl followed him and laughin, all three started diggin toward the front door!  Pa watched all of this goin on and said to Lucy, ¡°Now honey, this is why I should have made that wraparound porch to include the front doorway.  I had the doorway stand alone cuz it seemed easier to get outside just goin through one door, rather than goin through the front door and then through the door on the screened in porch!  Well, it¡¯s worked up till now, but today is a mite different!¡±


    Hattie had gotten dressed and grabbed her little beach shovel that she had never had occasion to use, not having ever been to the beach and was sittin on the window ledge when her mother caught her.  ¡°Land Sakes, child!  Don¡¯t jump!  We won¡¯t find you till spring when the snow melts!  Karen come over here and be ready to dig Hattie out after she jumps!¡±


    When Hattie did jump, she jumped waaaay out into a pile of snow her siblings hadn¡¯t touched   and ended up with her little bottom down and her arms and legs stretched up, all folded in half!  Karen rushed over and started diggin like crazy and Cora helped too!  Hattie was laughin and helpin to dig herself out, too!


    Once Hattie was upright, the girls started diggin their own path to the henhouse!  The race was on!  It was the boys diggin to the barn and the girls to the henhouse!  Carl had gotten all of the snow away from the front door so it could open again.  Every once in a while Lucy came to the front door and called them all in for hot chocolate and to warm themselves by the fireplace.  She was vigilant, makin sure nobody got frostbite.  None of them were used to this deep snow and frostbite could sneak up on you.  Lucy remembered her grandfather had his foot amputated because of frostbite.


    After a very active mornin, gettin to the animals in the barn and the hens in the henhouse,  and feedin everyone, the excited but weary Higgins family made their way to lunch.  As they had more hot chocolate with bologna sandwiches, the chatterin drove Earl and Lucy to their room fur a little peace!


    After cleanin up, the kids went out to the field and dug tunnels just fur fun!

 Carl is Nervous

    Lucy had more trouble getting the kids to come in to warm up!  They were having so much fun playing in the snow tunnels.  The boys even enjoyed it!  They never got snow like this  and they sure weren¡¯t going to let it go to waste!  She smiled as she watched them playing hide and seek in the snow tunnels in the corn field!  They all had a hardy supper that night.  The kids were eating like they were half starved, they had played so hard!


    The next week, things were back to normal, with most of the snow melted.  Carl got to thinking about what the sheriff had said to Bobby Brown.  He turned to John, while they were working side-by-side, getting the best seeds ready for planting in the spring and said, ¡° I just remembered Bobby promised the sheriff that he would go in to the court the day after Christmas and we stayed over the border a couple of days.  I wonder if he ever went in and if so how late he was and how his court date went.¡±


    ¡°Did I forget to tell you Bobby done called last Wednesday and said to tell you he got two nights in jail but he was already out and he said he was going to cover those oil spots with gravel and pick up all of the nails.  He said he was just going to use those nails again!¡±  John said to his brother.¡±


    ¡°Well, I wish you would¡¯ve let me know sooner so I could¡¯ve gone and helped him.  Oh well, no harm done and I¡¯m glad things turned out well for him,¡± Carl said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m goin to go in and talk with Pa.  We got some things to work out.¡±


    John knew things seemed to be gettin more serious with Carl and his girl, Molly Jones, so he figured it had to do with her.  He knew Carl would talk with him about it all when he was good and ready and probably after Carl had worked things out with pa.


    ¡°Pa, can I have a word with you?¡±  asked a nervous Carl.


    ¡°Shore, how about we talk out on the front porch?  We haven¡¯t got to use that swing fur a while now with the all of the snow we had.  It¡¯s nice to see the grass agin!¡± Earl said.


    They each took a cup of coffee with them and sat down.  ¡°What have you got on your mind, Carl?¡± His father asked.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Carl dove right in before he could change his mind.  He was so nervous!  ¡°You know ol man Henry¡¯s wife died not long ago and his kids have all moved into town, so he is lookin to sell his piece of land.  He¡¯s got 40 acres on some pretty fertile land and it comes with water.  I took Molly down to look at it.  She likes it as good as I do.  Pa, I want to ask her to marry me and I want your blessin.  And I want to ask what you think about Henry¡¯s land and what do you think I should do?¡±  Carl ran his words together, he was so nervous!


    Earl asked him what the price was Henry was askin and how much he had saved.  All the while he was feelin pretty nervous, too, but tryin not to show it.  Why this would be his first child to leave the nest and Earl felt pretty responsible to help Carl make it work.  What should he say?


    Carl said, ¡°I have enough money saved to pay fur a quarter of the land and I need to talk with him and see if he will let me pay the rest of the price off on time.¡±


    Earl said, ¡°I see.  What kind of work do you aim to do to support yourselves, Carl?¡±


    Carl said, ¡°We have talked about becoming tobacco farmers, pa.  There is a big ol barn where we can dry out the tobacco and plenty of flat land to grow it on.  We will have a house, spring house, barn, henhouse and plenty of fencin already up.  That¡¯s goin to save me a lot of time not havin to build all of that!  What do you think,pa?¡±


    ¡°Well, Carl, you always did have a good head on yore shoulders.  It seems like you are off to a good start.  You have my blessin.  I think you¡¯d better tell yore ma, though and see what she has to say.¡±


    His ma shed a few tears, not wanting to part with any of her children, but came around to Carl¡¯s point of view.  He was pretty convincing!


    Later that evening, Earl and Lucy had a chance to talk alone.  ¡°I¡¯ve got a little bit of corn and some rye and barley that I got from that man down by Donna¡¯s folk¡¯s place that I¡¯ve been savin.  I checked the farmer¡¯s almanac while you and Carl were talkin and realized we was to have some unseasonably warm weather the first couple of weeks of March.  We aren¡¯t dependin on any money from shine this time of year since we are well set on supplies, food, seed, etc.  Moonshine should be at a premium since it is not the season to run it right now.  Lucy, what I¡¯m tryin to say is we could run a batch and surprise Carl with a weddin present to help buy that land.¡±


    Lucy was so happy with Earl¡¯s suggestion that she started cryin agin.  These was tears of joy, tho!

 Preparin fur the Weddin

    Earl and Lucy had decided not to tell anyone about the wedding gift until after Carl talked with Mr. Jones and asked fur Molly¡¯s hand.  Carl was plannin to talk to Mr. Jones the next Sunday.


    He and his pa set out the next mornin to go do some clearin of the land by the creek up near Romeo¡¯s place where Rosie had got bred,  so they had a reasonable place to make their moonshine.  They  also took the big ol barrel to put the grain on to soak and the grain, as well and got the whole process started.  The followin day, they hauled their moonshine makin equipment through the tall grass and over the rocks and around the trees, through the weeds until they were plumb wore out with the effort.  The excitement of runnin their shine when nobody else was, was enough excitement to give them the energy to keep goin!


    Carl and Earl spent the better part of the next day puttin the still together.  Earl said to Carl, ¡°you know the rye and barley are goin to give the likker a different flavor.  I kin almost taste it.¡±


    Carl said, ¡°I think it will be even better than our previous batches, pa!¡±


    ¡°Well, we will know, soon.  Have you got your speech ready fur Mr. Jones, Carl?¡± his father asked.


    ¡°Pa, I¡¯m about as nervous as a long tail cat in a room full of rockin chairs.  I got it wrote but facin him is goin to be one of the hardest things I ever had to do!¡±  Carl explained.


    ¡°Well Carl, I understand that.  I still to this day, remember facin yore Ma¡¯s parents and feelin about as big as an ant and just knowin my face was as red as a tomato!  Remember this tho, Mr. Jones has been a hankerin to get Molly married off fur a while so don¡¯t let him intimidate you.  I mean, have plenty of respect fur him, but know he¡¯s a wanting the same thang as you so he should be purty agreeable!¡±  Earl told him.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°While this mash is soakin, let¡¯s ride by Clement¡¯s place and see if he¡¯s heard of anybody feelin thirsty- like.  On the way over to Clement¡¯s, the two reminisced about Carl¡¯s childhood and his growin up.


    Clement came out to meet them as they pulled into his driveway.  ¡°Hey, guys, what¡¯s goin  on?¡± He asked.


    ¡°We just come callin, Clement.¡± Carl said.


    Clement said, ¡°I was just thinkin about you all and here you are!  You know, a few years back we had warm weather come in and my pa said that even tho it was still technically winter, the mash would work fur some whiskey if it stayed warm fur a few days.  He tried it and it was one of his best runs of likker he ever did.  Have you thought about given it a try Mr. Higgins?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re thinkin alike, Clement!  It¡¯s already started and we will be runnin it in the next few days, Lord willin and the creek don¡¯t rise!¡±  Earl said.


    ¡°Well good, cuz I done had 3 different people askin where they could get somethin to drink.  You know Alfred Missions?  He¡¯s one of them three.¡±  Clement said.


    ¡°Isn;t he the one I was supposed to meet and he showed up there with Steve?¡± Earl asked.


    ¡°Oh, I forgot.  Yeah, that sure could¡¯ve been a mess if it weren¡¯t fur yore quick thinkin, Earl and the fact that Steve had to go respond to that call fur Petey!¡±


    ¡°Now the two others are to be trusted but they don¡¯t want too much.  So that will help some, but maybe you know of some other people yourself?¡± Clement said.


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll be ok.  We were thinkin of goin back over to Donna¡¯s holler and I believe the man who traded us this rye and barley will be ready fur more.¡±  Earl said.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you all come in fur a spell?¡± Clement asked.


    ¡°Thank you kindly, Clement, but we need to git on back home.  It was sure good to see you and we will be back soon.¡± Earl said.

 Trouble Comes Thru the Door

    ¡°Shoot, they ain¡¯t any mason jars left!¡± Earl said after diggin through the root cellar and the spring house!  ¡°I ain¡¯t relishin goin shoppin fur jars, cause I¡¯ll stick out like a sore thumb with nobody cannin this time of the year!  No moonshiners or kitchen gals either one!  What should we do, Carl?  Ol Steve or Bert would sure enough hear about it through the grapevine if we bought some jars around here.¡±


    ¡°I think you done come up with the solution, pa!  Carl exclaimed.  ¡°Let¡¯s take a little road trip and get us some mason jars somewheres else!  I¡¯m thinkin our excuse is we are startin our winter garden and we will be plantin plenty extra to can.  Ma¡¯s spinach always turns out the best in the area and our family never can get enough sweet peas.  Yea, I think this might work, pa.¡±


    ¡°Carl, you got a good head on yore shoulders!   We need to pack a lunch and set out right away so we are back in time to run that mash.  If it sets too long, we cain¡¯t use it.  I think we better take the horse and wagon cause the old car is usin way too much oil now and a long trip just might do her in.  Can you get us a mess of lunch made while I harness up the horses?¡±  Earl asked.


    ¡°Sure, pa, I¡¯ll git right on it,¡± Carl agreed.


    A new Tradin Post had just opened up a couple of towns over, so they agreed to head over there.  As they set out, the sun was just peekin its head over the nearest ridge.  The air was crisp but not cold and the horses were steppin lively!  Carl could hear a neighbor choppin wood and the stream was gurgling happily as they drove beside it.  Earl said, ¡°I would like to spend a few minutes thankin the Great Creator fur all He¡¯s done fur us.  Want to join in, Carl?¡±


    Carl said, ¡°Sure.¡±


    Earl said, ¡°Thank you Lord fur giving us the blue sky and warm weather fur our shine run and my beautiful wife and wonderful kids and a farm and a house and our animals.¡±


    Carl said, ¡°Thank you fur my parents and Molly and my brothers and sisters and fur a chance to travel!¡±


    Earl said, ¡°I pray fur a safe journey and that you would watch over us, keepin the wagon and horses safe and us too.¡±


    Carl prayed, ¡°Please bless our goin out and our comin in and supply the mason jars we need, cause if we cain¡¯t get those, we will be in a real bind.  In Jesus name we pray.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    When they stopped by the stream fur lunch, Carl went over in the bushes to relieve himself and happened to spy a plant that he recognized.  Of course, havin a healin ma, he had been taught to keep his eyes open in the woods fur these plants and always did, so he had something to take home to his ma to help fill up her medicine cabinet.  He went back to the car and got the gloves and pokes he had brought fur this very business.


    He put on his gloves and picked two pokes (paper sacks) full of stinging nettle and  another of chickweed.  Carl didn¡¯t know what all of these plants were fur, but he knew the stinging nettle was one of the most nutritious plants in the world and would make a fine tea fur ma to give to ailing people needin to gather their strength.  He carefully placed the herbs under the wagon seat and told his pa they were there so they wouldn¡¯t get squished as he sat down on the blanket all spread out fur lunch!


    Earl said, ¡°I sure do like it when a man packs the lunch.  You know you are goin to eat heartily, because we men have such a huge appetite!¡±


    They both laughed, knowin it was true!  ¡°Some fresh milk sure would taste good with these chicken sandwiches, wouldn¡¯t it pa?¡± Carl asked, not lookin fur an answer.  We got kind of a late start, gettin Rosie bred, though so I¡¯m guessin the baby won¡¯t be here until right about the end of summer.  That¡¯s a long time fur Donna¡¯s baby to wait fur some cow milk.¡±


    ¡°Oh, didn¡¯t I tell you?¡± Earl started.  ¡°Donna and the kids have moved back to  Happy Toe Holler to help her ma while she¡¯s goin downhill with cancer.  She left last week.  I¡¯m sure gonna miss her and them young-uns.¡±


    ¡°Will she be comin back after her ma passes?¡± Carl asked.


    ¡°She said she don¡¯t rightly know, yet.  I noticed, while I was over there, a young man makin eyes at her, so she may have better resources fur a new husband over there.  We ain¡¯t got too many choices here anymore since the mine took some of our young men.¡±  Earl said.


    They pulled into the Trading Post a little before dark and tied up the horses.  Ma had sent a shoppin list with them so they got her items first.  They didn¡¯t want a couple of flats of mason jars to be the first thing in their shoppin cart, standin alone.  That would set off alarms in the minds of the other shoppers and the clerks, as well.  So, Earl and Carl found the onion seeds, flour, cookin oil, motor oil fur the car, plenty of sugar, coffee, salt and lastly 2 flats of mason jars.  As they stood in line to check out, they couldn¡¯t help overhearin a couple of women talkin.


    ¡°Yeah, they say we are goin to get a new school, here in Cordoba Holler.  I¡¯ll believe it when I see it!  Our kids sure do need it tho.¡±


    Earl looked at Carl and Carl looked at Earl.  ¡°Did she say Cordoba Holler?¡± Carl asked Earl.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Earl slowly said, thinkin that sounded familiar.  Then it hit him.  Steve Cordoba was from here!  They had come right to the revenooer¡¯s hometown and in tryin to avoid trouble, had


    come right to it!


    ¡°Don¡¯t look now, pa, but I think trouble just came through the door!¡± Carl warned.

 A Remourseful Coincidence

    Steve Cordoba walked through the door of the Trading Post and was lookin all around, obviously seekin someone or something!  His eyes lit on Earl and Carl and he headed right for them!


    Earl groaned, ¡°Sometimes you just cain¡¯t win fur losin!  Hi Steve.  How have you been?  We ain¡¯t seen you in a while.  How¡¯s that leg and chest of yores?¡±


    Steve opened up his shirt, right there in the grocery store to show off his scars, proudly.  ¡°They¡¯s healed up just fine!  The doctor said Lucy was just about the finest backwoods healer they seen work from.  They said I had the best mountain care.  I seen Blackie and Youngster out in the parkin lot and knew you was here!  Aha, mason jars!  And sugar.  Well, Earl, it looks like you are back in business!  Where did you get more cookin pots after Petey blew up yore others?


    You just about had me fooled after we searched yore place and didn¡¯t find nothin.  Well, watch yore back, Earl Higgins!¡±  Steve said as he walked off.


    Earl paid fur his items and they left fur home.  It was a mite slower, travellin in the dusk and then the dark  .Carl had brought  a kerosene lantern and lit it fur lightin up the road.  They talked about the big mistake, remorsin and then finally laughin.  ¡°Can you think of a more comical coincidence, pa?¡± Carl asked.  ¡°We¡¯re bein so keerful to go to another town and it turns out to be the town of the revenooer we were tryin to avoid!¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯ll be a tale fur yore grandkids, Carl!¡± Earl said, tryin to catch his breath from laughin so hard!


    When they got up the next day, Earl and Carl set up to figurin out a plan.  ¡°You can bet yore brass belt buckle that ol Steve will be follerin us around to figure out where we are set up,¡± Earl said.  ¡°Now we ain¡¯t got much time to figure this out.  The mash should be about ready.


    They walked out to the wagon.  Earl put one of the flats of mason jars into the car and then put a box of about the same size under the flat of mason jars left in the wagon so it looked like both of the flats were still in the wagon at a casual glance.  He had Carl go to the barn to get a couple of burlap bags to carry in the wagon too so it looked like Carl was headed to the secret hidey hole to cook moonshine.  Carl packed his gun and some food and took John with him.  They had a place in mind to do some huntin and would enjoy bein the decoy fur Steve!


    John and Carl pulled over to the side of the road after travellin about 5 miles and started unloadin things.  They carried them over to the creek like they were gettin ready to run some shine and then waited a few minutes.  Sure enough, they heard a car stop and it wasn¡¯t long before they were joined by a gun-brandishin Steve.  ¡°Freeze, you are under arrest!¡± Steve said.


    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    They had made a fire and cooked some cowboy coffee and offered Steve some.  His face looked crestfallen when he realized this wasn¡¯t a moonshine set up.  ¡°Would you  like to do some huntin with us, Steve?¡± John asked.  ¡°We hear the deer are thick in here in the afternoon and knowin how much you enjoyed the venison our ma cooked while you were stayin at the house, I think you will enjoy a good hunt with us!.¡±


    Steve looked dazed and then he gathered his faculties and realized what was goin on.  Earl wasn¡¯t anywhere around and Steve was pretty sure he knew what Earl was up to.  He also knew


    Earl had had enough time to have travelled to his still site, wherever it was and be in the woods out of sight, making his whiskey while the boys distracted him.  Well, he might as well make the best of things and bag himself a deer!  ¡°Do you guys have an extra gun on you? My pistol won¡¯t work fur huntin.  I sure would like to get me some venison!¡±


    ¡°Well all right!¡± John said.  ¡°Welcome to the huntin party!¡±


    Back at the house, Earl watched the boys leave and was pretty sure he saw their revenooer follow them and said, ¡°Show time boys!  Time fur me to hit the road!¡±  His car was already loaded up and he was in high spirits.  This was his chance to help his oldest son with an important part of his new life!  He sang while he travelled to the still site.


    Earl had brought a few 5 gallon buckets with him to collect the whiskey in, so he hauled them through the woods and got the still fired up.  Findin one of the seams leakin, Earl got out some of the oats, made a good paste and soon had the seam as good as new.  While the whiskey was runnin, Earl used the fire to cook up some of the smoked wildcat meat with potatoes in the fryin pan., along with some spinach for a nice one-pot meal  He would stir it and then go over to make sure the 5 gallon bucket didn¡¯t overflow.  Then he went back to stir his food.  Next was switchin the buckets.  He had to move the full one over real keerful-like so it didn¡¯t spill and git the next bucket moved under the flowin likker quick like so he didn¡¯t lose any.  This is where it would have been nice to have a helper, but he made it ok.  He was glad his helpers  were distractin Steve.  He wouldn¡¯t have had it any other way!


    Earl found it slow goin walkin through the woods with each of the buckets.  He was breathin hard and stoppin to rest every 10 feet or so by the time he got to the last bucket and was finally over the ridge and the car was in sight when a big old tree root tripped him and half of that bucket spilled, before he could get it upright again!  ¡°God damn it to hell!¡±  he shouted before he could stop himself.  It was so frustrating and disturbing to spill the likker that would help his son and daughter in law to get set up fur their new lives!


    Earl was about plum tuckered out, and thought about goin home but decided to go to Happy Toe Holler to move the moonshine along.  That way he didn¡¯t have to drive home, unload those heavy buckets and then reload, all the while chancin runnin into Steve.  Earl struggled to keep his eyes open, he was so tired, but along about dawn he reached his destination.

 Peteys Burned Face

    Earl woke with a start!  He thought, ¡°Where am I?¡±  He realized after a moment that he was at Thomas¡¯ place and must have fallen asleep right there in the driveway!


    ¡°Well I never did that before!¡± he  laughed.


    Thomas walked up and said, ¡°Well hi there Earl!  Good to see you.  I figured you must have been pretty tired to have fallen asleep out here in the driveway, so I left you alone.  Good thing we are havin a warm spell. Hope you didn¡¯t get too cold.¡±


    ¡°I feel really good, Thomas.  How have you been?¡±  Earl asked.


    ¡°Really good.  I took a gander in the back of the car and saw something I like,¡±  He said.


    ¡°I was hopin you would be ready fur some refreshments.  We did this run special, usin your rye, barley and corn to raise money fur my oldest to put into some land.  He is goin to get married!¡±  Earl explained.


    ¡°Well, congratulations!¡± Thomas said.  ¡°I¡¯ve got a home fur as much as you might have there in the wagon.  I¡¯m afraid around this time of year there isn¡¯t much chance of gettin any moonshine, so it will go like hotcakes!¡±


    Earl felt relieved at this news.  He only had 1 flat of mason jars with him, since they had used the other one for a decoy for Steve.  The moonshine was still in the 5 gallon buckets.  Thomas took the lid off of one of the buckets and tasted it.  His eyebrows raised and he said, ¡°This here stuff is strong and delicious.  Well done, Earl!¡±


    After takin care of business, Thomas offered Earl to take a nap before he started off home, but Earl said he had to mosey on.


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    Earl did take Thomas¡¯ wife up on a nice bag lunch to take with him.  He munched on it as he rode over to Donna¡¯s mother¡¯s house.  He had promised his wife that he would check in on Donna.  He didn¡¯t know what to expect, since Donna had been gone fur a couple of months.  When he arrived, the first thing he saw was the familiar sight of Donna¡¯s kids playing in the yard.  They ran toward him and yelled, ¡°Uncle Earl! Uncle Earl!¡±  Earl picked them up and swung them both around at the same time!  He handed them each a stick of peppermint that he had been savin fur them.  They squealed with delight!


    While the children sat on the porch steps eatin their candy,  Earl knocked at the door.  Who should answer the door, but Petey!  Earl was pretty shocked that Petey was back home and not in prison.  He was also taken aback by Petey¡¯s appearance.  Pete¡¯s face had obviously been repaired with new skin and his left eye was sewn shut.  Earl tried not to show how shocked he was and said, ¡°How are you feelin Pete?¡±


    ¡°Well Earl, I¡¯ve been better.  I am glad to be  out on bail.  I was just thinkin about how things might have turned out differently if you and the boys had helped me.  Did you bring me any moonshine?¡±


    ¡°Petey, you know we tried to warn you that you couldn¡¯t use that ol broken still; that oatmeal would not hold it together.  And no, I didn¡¯t bring you any shine.  It¡¯s the wrong time of the year.  I came to see how Donna is gettin along and how her ma is doin.¡± Earl explained.


    ¡°Donna¡¯s ma has taken a turn fur the worse and isn¡¯t eatin.  She¡¯s probably not goin to be with us much longer,¡±  Pete said.


    ¡°Where is Donna?¡± Earl asked


    ¡°I¡¯m watchin the kids and she and the baby are out with her new beau.  They went into town to a movie.  I think she is gettin serious about him.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you know if she is movin back our way?¡±  Earl asked.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m thinkin they will need to decide if they are gettin married first before they make that decision.¡±  Petey responded.  ¡°Are you goin to wait around fur Donna?¡±


    ¡°No, I have to get back before dark,¡±  Earl said as he walked out to the wagon.

 Earls Necessary U-Turn

    Earl thought of the flat of mason jars full of moonshine he had kept in the back seat of the car and wondered if he should¡¯ve given a jar to Petey.  He was taking some back to Clement¡¯s customers and his wife needed a few jars fur doctorin to hold her over until moonshining season came in and he wanted to set aside two for himself, but he could¡¯ve spared one fur Petey.  He absolutely didn¡¯t want to, though.  As he got into the car, he had to admit to himself that he resented Petey¡­a lot.


    Petey was lazy and selfish and didn¡¯t think of anyone but himself.  Earl felt justified in his feelings.  As he drove  off though, he felt uncomfortable  and didn¡¯t want to think about it any more.  He revved up the engine and took off, but those feelings that he was doing something wrong wouldn¡¯t leave him alone.


    Earl thought back on what the Reverend said on Sunday.  He was preachin on forgiveness and quoted the scripture that said, ¡®Judge not that ye be not judged.¡¯  That was a hard sayin fur Earl.  He was a kind man, but when he got wronged, it was hard to let go of it.  Earl just plain didn¡¯t want to forgive Petey because Petey was wrong and he was right!  But he also did not relish gettin judged when he could do something to prevent it.


    Earl prayed, ¡°Lord you know I want to have my heart right with you, but why¡¯d you have to make it so difficult to  do the right thing?  Petey just makes me so mad and he don¡¯t help others the way he should.  He expects everybody else to do whatever he dreams up, but there is nothin in return.  Isn¡¯t there somethin else I can do to obey You, instead of forgivin Petey?¡±  He continued on in silence.  This was one of those times when you hear from the Lord with strong feelings. Earl could hear the preacher¡¯s voice sayin, ¡°Do you remember what we pray in the Lord¡¯s Prayer?  ¡®Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us¡¯¡±


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    Earl thought, ¡°I have things I need to be forgiven fur.  It seems like every time I turn around, I do something I shouldn¡¯t do or are ashamed of doing  or that hurts someone.  I know I am partly responsible fur Petey¡¯s accident.  I could have stopped him and Carl knew it, but I guess I let him go ahead with it fur revenge.¡±  Earl knew what he had to do.  He turned the car around as soon as he found a place in the road wide enough.


    Arrivin back at Donna¡¯s mother¡¯s place about dark, the folks came runnin out, wonderin at Earl comin back.  He said ¡®howdy¡¯ to everybody and then asked Petey to take a walk with him.  ¡°Petey, I owe you an apology.¡±  he started.


    ¡°What fur, Earl?¡±  Petey asked surprised.


    ¡°I should have stopped you from tryin to make that moonshine.  It would have prevented yore arrest and also have stopped you from gettin hurt so bad,¡±  Earl started.


    ¡°Why Earl, you told me not to do it, not to patch up that ol still cause it was dangerous.  You told me that the revenooer was itchin to arrest someone.  I don¡¯t blame you, Earl.  Did you come all the way back here to apologize to me?¡±  Petey asked.


    ¡°Let me finish, Petey.  I could have used more conviction; hell, I could¡¯ve picked you up and said you are comin with us and put you into the car and drove off with you!

 A Horrifying Crime

    Earl figured he would drive to Clement¡¯s house to take him all of the moonshine, except for  the 3 jars fur his wife and the ones he wanted to give to Petey.   ¡°I apologize fur my bad attitude.  Now, if you will come over to the car,, I want to offer you an apology gift,¡± Earl said to Petey.


    Petey, lookin wide-eyed with surprise, followed Earl.


    Earl took out the two mason jars that he had set aside fur himself and openin one, took a big swig and passed it on to Petey.  Petey took a big ol swig, wiped his mouth and Earl could¡¯ve sworn he saw smoke comin out both of Petey¡¯s ears and a big old grin just jumped right on Petey¡¯s face!


    Earl closed up the jar and handed it and the other one to Pete.  ¡°Am I forgiven?¡± He asked Petey.


    ¡°Why sure nuf Earl.  I forgive you.  Any time you need some forgiveness, just come right over.  Twouldn¡¯t hurt a bit to bring some of this fine forgiveness juice with you, neither!¡±  Petey said.  Earl left fur home again with a clear conscience and whistled as he drove home in the dark!  So, he drove  slowly, since it was dark and he had plenty of time to think.  Who would¡¯ve thought God would require him to drive back and apologize to Petey?  All of a sudden a verse got recalled to his memory.  How did that go?  ¡°God¡¯s ways are not our ways and our ways are not God¡¯s ways.  For as the Heavens are high above the earth, so are God¡¯s ways above our ways.¡±  Earl meditated on these words fur a few minutes.


    When Earl had something goin on and needed to know what to do, he liked to think back to examples in the Bible and compare them to his life and situation.  The Reverend said the Bible is the standard that we measure everything by.  Earl thought about the story of Gideon.  He was a simple farmer and God told him to go lead an army against the enemy.  Gideon objected and said he wasn¡¯t trained fur that.  Well, God eventually had his way and Gideon went and raised up his army of 30,000  and went to fight the enemy.  That wasn¡¯t all.  God told him he had too many men even though he had way fewer than the enemy.  God had him eliminate all but 300!  And then He had Gideon send his men out in the middle of the night to fight without weapons!  All they each had was a torch with a pottery jar over the top of it and a trumpet.  They got in the middle of the Mideonites camp, blew the trumpets and smashed the pottery so their torches shone bright, wakin up the Mideonites and they were so confused that they ran away, lettin Gideon¡¯s men win the battle. Earl thought that there had probably never been a man on earth who would have planned that!!


    Earl had driven the car slowly all night so he didn¡¯t hit any ruts in the road and break his jars and also so that he would arrive at Clement¡¯s house along about dawn, when  Clement would be gettin up fur the day.  Clement was rite glad to see him and paid him up front fur the mason jars of white lightnin.  Earl had a cup of coffee with him, as they caught up on the local happenings.  ¡°Did you hear what happened last night over at ol man Moseby¡¯s place?¡±  Clement asked.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t reckon I did,¡± Earl responded.  ¡°Pray tell what happened.¡±


    ¡°The revenooers got wind that ol man Moseby was goin to run some likker up by his house with the warm weather we got, so they surrounded his place with a dozen men, just waitin fur their opportunity.  Steve had come back from his huntin trip just in time to join the revenooer party. The mash was already started and they were just waitin fur ol man Moseby to fire up the still.  So they waited all night and along about 4 in the mornin, they saw his kerosene lantern shinin through the trees.  They knew it wouldn¡¯t be long till he came out to the still.  And they were right, except he went over to a little mound of dirt outside the barn.  One of the officers was close enough to hear what ol man Moseby was sayin.¡±


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    He knelt down by that mound of dirt and started talkin softly, ¡°Brenda Sue, I need you to make this the best run of likker I ever did make.  You owe it to me honey.  You sure could be contrary.  I liked that chicken potpie you made me but you always burnt my meat.  I  just couldn¡¯t stand it that last time.  I done warned you lots of times not to burn the meat, but you did it again and   I just had to clobber you over the head so you didn¡¯t do it no more.  I miss you honey but you just rest and think  over what I said.  Now Brenda Sue, I reckon I could forgive you if you make this run of likker real special like.  Good bye till later.¡±  Ol man Moseby got up off of the ground,  picked up his kerosene lantern and headed over to his still.  He got all set up and lit the still.  He found a leaker so he grabbed his oatmeal mixture that he always kept by the ready and patched it up.  He examined it keerfull like, and satisfied it was not goin to leak agin, walked  over to the pipe and stuck a coon¡¯s pecker in it and started gittin his bottles ready.  The first bottle filled with the head and he poured it off in the bushes and replaced the jar.


    Bert gave the signal and all of the officers descended on ol man Moseby.  Ol man Moseby grabbed his shotgun and shot three officers just like that (he snapped his fingers) before Bert grabbed him from behind.  Bert wrestled him to the ground and Steve grabbed the shotgun.  Bert had him handcuffed before you could say, ¡®The Red Baron Flies Agin!¡±  He was put in the back of the police car and the officers who were shot were driven off to town by another officer.


    Steve said, ¡°Here comes the fun part!¡±  as the officers still on site grabbed axes and what not and started whalin on that still, of course after a ton of water had been thrown on the fire to stop the cookin!  While they were choppin up that still, an officer by the name of Bob Jefferson mentioned to Steve that ol man Moseby had been sayin some peculiar things kneelin by the mound of dirt by the barn.  Steve said, ¡°Aw everybody knows he¡¯s not right in the haid.¡±


    Bob Jefferson asked Steve, ¡°Do you know what his wife¡¯s name is?


    Steve said, ¡°Yeah, Brenda Sue.  She is a cousin of mine and the prettiest thing you ever did see.  Big ol lovely eyes and so kind.  She is always helpin everybody.  She is my cousin or else I would have proposed to her years ago.  By the way, where is she?  I¡¯ll go up to the house after we finish here and say howdy.  I never figured why such a pretty sweet thing would marry ol man Moseby.¡±


    Bob said, ¡°Steve, ol man Moseby was talkin to that mound of dirt as if it was his wife, even callin it Brenda Sue.  He asked her to make this run of likker good and complained about her cookin.  He even justified clobberin her over the haid!¡±


    Steve started gettin cold chills down his back.  He said, ¡°Can you finish up here?¡±


    Bob Jefferson said, ¡°Be pleased to!¡±


    Steve went over and interrupted Bert¡¯s fillin out the paperwork.  ¡°Bert, we may have a crime scene here.  I haven¡¯t seen ol man Moseby¡¯s wife.  She¡¯s a cousin of mine.  Will you come over to the house with me?¡±  While they walked, Steve explained to Bert what Bob had just told him.


    Bert groaned.  ¡°The handwritin¡¯s on the wall, Steve.  I don¡¯t think we are goin to find yore cousin in the house.¡±

 Murder

    Steve thought back to when he was young and used to play with Brenda down by the creek.  They had so much fun, fishing and explorin.  They had found a cave covered up by weeds and such.  This was their special picnic place.  Brenda always packed up a little lunch for them and they would sit in their cave and daydream about robbers chasin them or that they were the top coal miners of the area, or that a baby bear was hiding in the cave with them and he was their defender.  Then she got to be a teen, well he was one too, and they didn¡¯t hang out so much any more.  Gosh, he hoped Brenda was ok.


    The two revenooers walked into the biggest mess they had ever seen!  Trash was everywhere, dishes were piled up in the sink, chairs were turned over and it stunk!  Bert walked over to the table and started searchin the floor.  ¡°Steve, come look at this.  There are bloodstains all around this chair and a clump of hair.¡±  They searched the rest of the house, in vain.


    Next, Steve and Bert went out to the barn and found the mound that Bob had been  near.  As they walked around the mound, Steve saw a bony hand with flesh rottin stickin through the side of the mound!  He turned around and lost the contents of his stomach.  Bert had grabbed a shovel and was diggin.  He found a big section of head where the hair was missing.   Since there was not a coffin, the body was in bad decomposition with worms all over it.  Steve walked away.


    Steve went to the patrol car and took Bob with him fur a witness.  He asked ol man Moseby where his cousin, Brenda was.  Ol man Moseby said, ¡°She is over in that mound.  She is a lousy cook and I told her not to have any young uns and I found out she was in the family way.  She had to go.¡±


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    Steve asked, ¡°Whose baby was it?¡±


    ¡°Mine, of course.  She ain¡¯t never gone nowhere else.  She stayed here.  But I ain¡¯t got no use fur children.  They is loud and messy and I don¡¯t want none, so I got rid of it and the lousy cook. She always burnt the beef and the pork when she cooked them.  Only the chicken turned out right.¡±   Ol man Moseby said.


    ¡°Did you kill her?¡± Steve asked.


    ¡°Of course, how else would I get rid of her? But I give her a burial and I am workin on a headstone.  Don¡¯t tell the law how she died.  We can tell them she fell down,¡±  ol man Moseby said, snickerin.


    ¡°We are the law and you are under arrest fur homicide and moonshinin.  They are goin to throw away the keys, with you committin these crimes!  How could you be so cruel to torture that poor girl?¡±  Steve yelled at him.


    Bert walked back over to where Steve and Bob were standin.  ¡°Her head was bashed in and an ice pick was through her heart.  I¡¯m so sorry, Steve that you had to be here fur this,¡±  he walked off shakin his head and made arrangements fur someone to pick up Brenda Sue¡¯s remains and have her interred properly.


    Earl just stood there with his mouth hangin open when Clement finished up explainin.  ¡°If I¡¯d knowed these here things were goin on,  I would have helped that young lady.  We knew ol man Moseby was crazy, but I never figured he would do a thing like that!  Such a sad state of affairs!¡±


    Earl was real tired out from his trip and now this bad news about his neighbors just about drained the life out of him.  He left fur home so he could rest up and deal with that news better when he woke up.

 Depression

    Lucy got the kids off to school and got the older boys doin the chores.  She didn¡¯t bother Earl because he had come in late and not gotten much rest the previous two days, so she knew he was beat.  After she had gotten her early mornin chores done and Earl still hadn¡¯t come out of the bedroom, she went in to check on him.  Now, Earl was always the responsible sort, in fact, that was one of the traits that had endeared him to Lucy.  He made a wonderful husband, didn¡¯t have to be pushed to get things done, but was always takin initiative and figurin out ways to make the little farm work better.


    When she saw him still sleepin and a bottle of high proof likker almost empty by the bed, she got plumb worried.  So she did the only logical thing a worried wife would do.  She woke Earl up and asked, ¡°What¡¯s troublin you, Earl?  I ain¡¯t never seen you sleepin so late, nor drinkin in the mornin.  Lots of men are lazy, ne¡¯er do goods, but that¡¯s not yore way.  What is goin on?¡±


    Now Earl could hold his likker, he was a big man, but then agin he didn¡¯t usually drink a full bottle of high proof moonshine all by himself, neither.  He opened his eyes just a squint, to see his lovely bride sittin on the bed beside him, runnin her hand over his forehead and through his hair, lovingly, concerned like.  Earl thought about how cruel ol man Moseby was to his wife and started cryin!


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    Earl¡¯s shoulders started heaving and he was sobbing great huge sobs!  Lucy tried to comfort him and was very concerned since she had never seen him cry before!  ¡°Earl, honey, what happened?  Are you hurt?¡±


    ¡°Naw, Bbbrenda,¡±  he said and set to bawlin again.


    ¡°Who is Brenda and what happened to her?¡±  Lucy asked concernedly.


    Earl looked up at her with his eyes drooping and slurred,, ¡°more shine, Lucy.  Please?¡±


    ¡°Earl honey, you¡¯ve had enough.  What has got you in such a state and who is Brenda?¡±


    ¡°Moseby.  He killed her and I didn¡¯t know, Lucy.  He clobbered her and stabbed her and I didn¡¯t help protect her,¡±  He mumbled and started cryin again.


    ¡°What are you sayin, Earl.  Did something happen to ol man Moseby¡¯s wife, Brenda?¡± Lucy asked, tryin to make sense out of what he was mumbling.


    Earl fell back asleep and Lucy let him be so he could sleep off his drunk and figured she could find out what was goin on later.

 Carl Does Something Difficult

    Later, after dinner was fixed and afternoon chores were done and the kids had eaten, Lucy was washin dishes when she felt warm arms around her waist.  Earl planted a kiss on her cheek and turned her around and gave her a great big smack right on the mouth!


    ¡°What did I do to deserve this?¡± Lucy asked laughing.  ¡°Whatever it is, I¡¯ll do it every day if this is the result!¡±


    ¡°I just love you so much, honey and am so happy to have our wonderful family!¡±  Earl said.


    ¡°Earl, I ain¡¯t never seen you cry before.  Something terrible must have happened.  Did you have trouble with your run of moonshine or did you get robbed?¡±  Lucy asked.


    ¡°No, it was nuthin like that.  We got the money fur Carl and he will be really happy when we tell him.   Clement told me about Bert and Steve surprisin ol man Moseby just as he fired up his still, but they got more than they bargained fur.  The bust went great but there was a terrible discovery.  They found Brenda, his wife in a mound of dirt.  Her husband confessed.  He had hit her over the head with a club and then stabbed her in the heart with an icepick!  Lucy if we had known, we could have helped that girl.¡±  His voice caught and for a moment, Lucy thought he would start cryin again.


    Lucy changed the subject, sayin, ¡°When should we tell Carl the good news?¡±


    ¡°Tell me what?¡± Carl said as he walked into the kitchen at that very moment.


    ¡°Speak of the devil!¡±  Earl said.


    ¡°Pa!¡±  Carl said and grinned.


    Earl said,¡±Do you want to tell him or should I?¡±


    Lucy said, ¡°You go ahead.  You worked hard for it!¡±


    So Earl explained to Carl that the run of shine they had just done was for him and Molly to put into buyin their land!


    Carl sat down on the floor and put his head into his hands.  ¡°I can¡¯t accept this, pa and ma.  You guys need a new car.  This one is burnin oil real bad.¡±


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    Lucy said, ¡°Yes, you can and you will.  It pleasures us to be able to help you young- uns.  Look at your pa¡¯s face; do you want to wipe that smile off of it?  Accept it and keep him happy!¡±


    Carl looked at his pa and walked over and gave him a big hug!  ¡°Thanks pa, thanks ma.  This is so incredible!  I am going to go tomorrow and talk to her pa before I lose my nerve.  This has given me the courage I needed.¡±


    Next mornin, Carl got dressed in his Sunday best and drove over to talk with Molly¡¯s pa, Mr. Walters.  He rehearsed the lines he had written down all the way over to their house.  He swallowed big and walked up to their front door.  Molly¡¯s pa answered it.  ¡°Whoo doggies, you sure is dressed to kill!  What¡¯s goin on, Carl?¡±


    ¡°Could we take a walk, please?  Just the two of us?¡±  Carl squeaked out.


    ¡°Why shore nuff.  Let me grab my coat,¡±  Molly¡¯s pa said.


    He  came outside and the two of them headed down by the lake.   It sure was pretty and yellow, with the daffodils and forsythia bloomin all over.  The sky was a bright blue with powder puff clouds passin by.


    ¡°Now, what did you want to talk about?¡±  Mr. Walters  asked.


    ¡°Sir, I came to ask fur Molly¡¯s hand in marriage.  I think I will make a good husband fur her.  I¡¯m a hard worker and I love Molly,¡±  Carl started off.


    ¡°Where are you goin to live?¡±


    ¡°I have my eye on a property that comes with the  buildings, Ol man Henry¡¯s place.  My pa just did a run of moonshine and gave us the money to put down on that property.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have any job.  What do you intend to do to make a livin?¡±  Molly¡¯s pa asked.


    ¡°Well, it comes with 40 acres and has a big ol barn on it, so I was thinkin to raise tobacco.  I done had practice raisin tobacco at my pa¡¯s place and think it will go right fine.¡±


    ¡°Well, it looks like you have everything just about figured out.  You seem to be a man with a good head on his shoulders.  As long as you will take good care of my Molly, which it seems like you will, I say yes.¡±


    ¡°Thank-you sir!  I will take real good care of Molly.  Do you mind if I run and tell her the news?¡± and, not waiting for a reply, Carl took off fur the house!


    He got there out of breath and knocked as hard as he could.  As soon as he caught his breath, he started yellin fur Molly, over and over, ¡°Molly, Molly!¡±


    She quick came to the door and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, is pa ok?¡±


    Carl grabbed her in a big ol bear hug and said, ¡°Nothings wrong!  Everything is right!  Yore pa agreed to us gettin married!¡±


    Molly said, ¡°Well, ain¡¯t you goin to ask me?¡±


    Carl said, as he fell on one knee and almost knocked her over in the bargain, ¡°Molly, my sweet love, will you do me the honor of marryin me?¡±


    Molly grabbed him around the neck and said, ¡°I shore will!  What took you so long?¡±

 No More Help From Carl

    Earl woke up to a cool breeze that promised a hot day.  It was time to plow the land and prepare fur plantin corn!  He was extra happy fur plantin corn this year and had decided to fertilize with the chicken coop poop!  He talked with the boys at breakfast and assigned chores fur the day.  Timmy would hitch up the mule to the plow and get the fields started by turnin over the soil.  John would get all of the poop and wheelbarrow it out beside the field so it was ready, once the field was plowed.  The girls were still in school fur another couple of months, so Lucy was kept busy in the kitchen.  Earl had been thinkin that the small corn crop they grew was just not goin to meet the demand of the customers they had built up.  He hoped to get more customers this year, so he was goin to need more grain.  Now, he figured he could trade some shine again this year with Thomas down in Happy Toe Holler and that would help some, but he was thinkin big and that would require more.


    Earl and Carl hitched up Blackie and Youngster and started out.  ¡°Are you goin to tell me where we are goin, pa?¡±  Carl asked.  ¡°You are seemin a mite mysterious this mornin!¡±


    Earl said, ¡°We need to find some land we can grow a lot of corn on.  I have an idea where it might work and wanted you to come along with me to check out the situation.¡±


    Carl asked, ¡°Well, which way are we headed?¡±


    Earl said, ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone has moved onto the old Johnson place where we picked the apples and was thinkin we could check that out; what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I like the idea, pa, but I just heard at church on Sunday that Mark Callahan¡¯s family just bought the Johnson¡¯s place so that one is off of the plate, I¡¯m afraid.¡± Carl explained.


    ¡°Ok, well, that changes things,¡± Earl said.  ¡°The huntin cabin is not goin to work, even tho there is noone there, because there is no flat land and it would take too long to clear and level a place.  Let¡¯s try to think of somewhere else we can grow grain.¡±


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    ¡°Pa, what about on Donna¡¯s land?  She hasn¡¯t been stayin there and could probably use the money if we were to pay her rent for the land.  She has about 20 acres that has been layin fallow for two years.  What do you think about that?¡±  Carl asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s a fine idea.  Let¡¯s drive over to Happy Toe Holler to talk with her and we can visit Thomas at the same time to see how much he will commit to,¡± Earl answered.  ¡°Giddap,¡± he said to the horses and they were off.


    On the way over to Happy Toe Holler, Carl talked with his pa about his plans fur his new place.  ¡°So, pa, Molly and I want to get the house all fixed up first so we can have a place to live while we get the fences and barn and all repaired.  The roof is good, but there is a little damage from a leak before it was repaired.  There is a main wall in the livin room that is goin to have to be replaced.  The appliances are good in the kitchen, except fur the stove.  The cast iron stove that¡¯s in there is missin the oven door.  Molly wants a gas stove anyway, so we were thinkin to move the cast iron stove to the yard and Molly could use it fur a decoration planter.  I already spoke to 4 of my friends and they were willin to help me move that ol heavy thing to the yard when I offered them a moonshine party afterwards!¡±


    ¡°Good thinkin, Carl to get things done by barterin!'''' His father praised him.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinkin if you can spare me, to get started next month.¡± Carl said, hopefully.


    ¡°Well son, I am goin to have to get used to doin without yore help when you move out anyway, so go fur it!¡±  Earl encouraged him.


    By the time they got to Happy Toe Holler, they were both pretty comfortable with the details they had worked out.  Thomas¡¯s place was first, but neither he nor his wife were there, so they went on to Donna¡¯s ma¡¯s place.  As they drove up, the kids saw them and came runnin.  ¡°Uncle Earl, did you bring us some candy?¡±  the kids asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, do you have some candy fur them, Carl?¡±  Earl asked.  Carl searched his pockets and not finding any, shook his head sadly.


    The kids faces dropped, but before they dropped all the way to the ground, Earl reached into his pockets and pulled out two candy canes!  The kids whooped and hollered and came up to Earl to claim their treats!  Earl said, ¡°You gotta pay¡­you gotta pay with a kiss!¡±  The two cherubs gave Earl a shy kiss on the cheek and happily received their treats!