The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush

Everybody in Darling knew Baby, and liked him, too, for his easygoing, affable ways and big heart. Charlie had once seen him go into the Five and Dime, buy a painted wooden whirligig, and give it to the little boy who’d been staring longingly at the very same toy in the window.

But Baby’s guileless, trusting nature also made him the butt of jokes. Charlie had watched him playing pool with Len Wheeler and Baby’s cousin Freddie Mann at Pete’s Pool Parlor not long ago, and had seen Len and Freddie making fun of the way he was mooning over Jessellyn, Pete’s eighteen-year-old daughter. Afterward, Charlie felt that he should have stepped in and stopped them. It was rotten to take advantage of that young man’s na?ve good nature. Of course, if Baby had wanted to retaliate, he could have mopped up the floor with both of them, since he was twice their size and strong as an ox. But if it bothered him, he didn’t show it.

Mrs. Mann had more to say, and the rest of it came out in a tumble of words. “I know Purley’s a little slow, Mr. Dickens, but once he gets the hang of a job, he’s a real steady worker. I thought since Zipper Haydon quit, you might need somebody to . . . well, sweep up around here.” Her eyes went to the untidy stack of papers on the shelf behind the counter. “Neaten things up a bit. He might help out with the press, too. He’s good with . . . things like that.”

Things like that. Mrs. Mann must be talking about Baby’s proficiency as a moonshiner. Charlie failed to see how a newspaper press was like a whiskey still, but he had to admit that the place was a mess. Zipper had left the previous summer and it hadn’t been cleaned since then. Charlie always said he didn’t have time to do it, and he hated to ask Ophelia Snow to sweep and dust and wipe off the counter. She already did triple duty as reporter and ad saleswoman and Linotype operator.

But there was a good reason to stay clear of Baby. “Purley’s working for Mickey LeDoux, isn’t he?” Charlie asked. He didn’t want to get crosswise of Mickey, who wielded a lot of clout in Cypress County and beyond. And anyway, a person who already had a job would have to be crazy to leave it just now, with things the way they were. Mickey probably paid pretty good money, since managing a still was a perilous business. The fire had to be watched constantly, for if it got too hot, the steam could build up and the still could explode. More than one shiner had been dispatched to meet his Maker by a carelessly caused and unexpected fiery blast. And of course there was Chester P. Kinnard and his boys, who were always on the lookout for shiners. The Feds had a habit of shooting first and taking names later, especially if they suspected that the shiner was carrying a derringer in the pocket of his overalls.

“Well, he was working for Mickey,” Mrs. Mann said. “Up until day before yesterday.”

“Oh?” Charlie asked, more than a little interested.

Mrs. Mann nodded. “Mickey’s youngest brother, Rider, is of an age to work now, and Mrs. LeDoux said it seemed right to bring him into the business—keep it closer in the family, you know. Anyway, it came down to a choice between Purley and Tom-Boy, and Mickey kept Tom-Boy and let Purley go. Not that I objected in the slightest,” she added hurriedly. “I never let on that I worried, but it didn’t seem right that a young man as gentle as Purley ought to be out there working with . . . well, that rowdy bunch.”

“There’s something to that,” Charlie allowed.

“Purley, he thought so, too, after him and Jessellyn went to that revival meeting last Friday night and heard Rev’rend Craig preach on the sins of the bottle. Purley came home a changed boy. He even got my mama’s old Bible out and started readin’ it. He said he was glad when Mickey told him about Rider. He’s ready for a new start.”