Cornelia whispered to him. “Had to burn them clothes a hers. I’ve been wiping her down with cool cloths. Been able to get a tiny bit of water in her. She swallered a time or two, then got choked, but I’m doing it often as I can, though she can’t take in but a small amount. I been putting a bit a sugar in it. She’s got a fever, but for now, it’s all I know to do.”
Del said, “You know more’n me. Thank you.”
Cornelia folded her arms and shook her head in amazement. “If she makes it, it’ll be a wonder, as much as I hate to say it.”
Del said, “If there’s anything she needs, I’ll pay for it.”
“Ain’t no need of that.”
Otis appeared like magic in the doorway, his hair stuck up on one side.
“Dammitall, Cornelia! How stupid can you be?” To Del, he said, “Hell yeah, if something costs, you’re gonna pay. It ain’t like we running some free-for-all here.”
Del said, “I ain’t got no problem with that.”
“Damn right, you ain’t.”
Del held back. There was no need to get into a competition of last words with Otis. What a pair him and Crow were. Del couldn’t imagine what made people like them so hateful.
Del said, “I’ll come back by around dinnertime and check on her.”
Cornelia said, “You’re welcome to eat with us if you want.” Del wouldn’t have minded a good home-cooked meal, but not while sitting at the same table with Otis, who was as congenial as a snarling bear. “We barely got enough for ourselves.”
Cornelia said, “Oh, Otis . . . we have plenty. We always have leftovers.”
Otis opened his mouth, and Del was quick to politely decline and start making his way out.
“I ’preciate it, but I won’t have the time nohow.”
Otis said, “Oh, sure, sure. He’s a big boss man now. Real important and all. Ain’t got time to eat with us common folk.”
Otis reminded him of the bad smells he’d tried to get rid of, unsuccessfully, back at number forty-two. No matter how hard he tried, they remained, steadfast and annoying. He couldn’t imagine how an attractive woman like Cornelia got tangled up with the likes of him. It wasn’t that he was ugly, only his ways. Maybe he’d charmed her, until she’d married him, and then changed. It happened. He gave Cornelia an understanding look, while Otis demanded his breakfast. Del backed out of the room, and took his leave. He wanted to catch Peewee anyway, if he could, and his timing couldn’t have been better. Peewee was in the process of unlocking the office door and turned around in surprise at the sight of Del.
“Thought you’d be in the woods about now.”
Del said, “Do you know what Crow did? He tell you?”
He said, “What now?”
Del unloaded. “Let’s just say I found out where Cobb went. To add to the problem, Cobb’s a woman. That bastard put her in the sweatbox for three days, and we all know why. He thinks he’s running this place. You got to do something about him.”
“Wait, whoa, wait. Cobb’s . . . he ain’t a he?”
“No.”
“I knew something won’t right about that situation. How’d you find out?”
Del said, “It don’t matter. Back to Crow, he can’t keep getting away doing this to them workers, leaving’em to die, or come close to it. You need to tell him he’s done here.”
Peewee said, “Is she alive?”
“Barely. Since I been here, he’s put three people in that sweatbox, including me. If it hadn’t been for Ballard, he’d have left me there till I was done for.”
“I didn’t know about that. He gets carried away, granted. But he’s a knowledgeable woods rider, despite his shortcomings.”
“Shortcomings.”
“Look. I can’t be losing no more men. We’re already short. I got one crew down by three. Birdie, Ballard, and now Cobb. You takin’ Ballard’s job makes Crow short, ’cause he lost a man a while back. Woodall’s lost a couple too.”
“If Crow’s got anything to do with what goes on around here, you can expect to lose more.”
Peewee narrowed his eyes against the glare of the sun and mumbled about what was ahead.
“I expect the rest of this summer’s gonna be hell. I got to send word we need’n to hire more men. Got to be somebody wanting work in these tough times.”
“You ain’t gonna get any if they know what goes on.”
“Hell, this place ain’t no different than any other.”
“I been in’em before, and it won’t nothing like what’s going on here.”
“Wait just a dang minute. You saying I ain’t a good operator?”
Del was angry, and now Peewee was too. They quit talking and stood there, neither one looking at the other, at odds. After a few seconds of silence, Del walked to his horse.
He said, “Mark my words. It ain’t gonna get any better if you don’t take care of it.”
He mounted and rode off. He had to get his day started. He was late, and as soon as he got into the woods, and the men saw him, the call names started coming fast, and he spent the rest of the morning it seemed trying to catch up. Right before the dinner break, Nolan Brown came into their work area, bark hack in hand.
Del said, “Hey there, Nolan, what’s going on? What’re you doing?”
Nolan said, “Boss man, he told me to come give y’all a hand. Said you was short.”
Del said, “We are, but ain’t he needing you?”
“I reckon, but he sent me on anyhow.”
What was Crow up to?
Del said, “Come on, I’ll show you where you can start.”
He went into the woods with Nolan. After a few minutes they came to the drift Cobb had been working.
Del said, “This is partly worked. Start here, keep going that way.”
“Sure thing, boss man.”
Del said, “You ain’t got to call me that. Call me Del. Or Butler.”
“Naw suh, can’t do it.”
Del said, “You don’t give in, do you?”
Nolan exhaled and said, “It’s jes how things is. Why you got to question it?”
Del shrugged, pulled out his tally book, and added “Long Gone” to the list of call names, which consisted of Preacher, Big’Un, Sweet Thang, and Juke-n-Juice. Long Gone disappeared into the woods, and within seconds, Del had made a couple marks for him. He sure was fast. He’d catch up Cobb’s drift and be ready to start a new one before day’s end. While Del weaved in and out of the work areas, he thought it a curious turn of events for Crow to send on a worker, but who could figure what went through his head? Nolan had said when his mama showed up, he got real different, and he’d sure proven it.
By five o’clock the men had done the day’s work. They still had a few hours of daylight, but he called quitting time. They acted like they still couldn’t believe this could happen, and some kept working until Del made them stop. Nolan tossed him the same dubious look he’d given him when Del said he didn’t drink. After the woods had cleared out, he heard a couple squirrels in the trees above his head. He eased his shotgun out of the holder and aimed. He got them both because the second one got confused by the noise and the disappearance of his buddy. He gathered them up and trotted Ruby to the hang-up ground where the men were crawling into the back of the wagon. He gave one to Preacher and the other to Big’Un.
Del said, “Ain’t nothing better’n stewed squirrel.”
Preacher agreed. “Don’t you know it. This here’s a fine one.”
Big’Un held his up by its tail, admiring it while Nolan gave Del a look like he was trying too hard. Nolan sure wasn’t an easy one to win over.
Del followed the wagon out of the woods, wondering how Ray Cobb had fared, and hoped since nobody came to get him, that meant good news. Once he arrived at the Riddles, Cornelia must have been on the lookout because she opened their door right away, looking relieved.
“You ain’t gonna believe this. She woke up.”
Surprised by this outcome, he said, “She did?”
“Um-hmm. Opened them big green eyes of hers a couple hours ago. I ain’t been able to talk to her much ’cause she went right back to sleep afterward, but she’s awake again.”
She motioned for him to follow her into the room, and there sat Cobb, as she still was to him. She laid propped against some pillows, looking like death still hovered, but Cornelia was seeing to things, and one was a tempting glass of fresh lemonade on the table beside the bed.