The Valley of the Moon

bed in their little room in San Jose tha

t to say is there's some pretty nice people in this world after all

"and not a bit ashamed to work at far

an' daughter, an' her own nephew. It gets me. Ten acres! Why, my father never talked less'n one hundred an' sixty acr

st when we were tired and wondering how much farther to San Jose. We weren't expecting it at all. And she didn't treat us as if we were tramping.

good," Bil

s call atmosphere. I didn't know what they meant b

nice underthing

body sweet and clean and beautiful. It's to h

hat house was not expensive. It wasn't the cost. It was the way. The wood was ordinary wood you can buy in any lumber yard. Why, our house on P

ngalow they had just left, repea

y. Saxon's limp had increased. Beginning with a burst blister, her heel was skinning rapidly. Billy remembered h

soon as we're clear of town. An' we might as well go easy for a couple of days. Now, if I could get

the county road and went up a long driveway to

nin', two dollars a day an' board myself. It'd been a dollar an' a half if he furnished the board. I told 'm I liked the other way best, an' that

xon asked, as they cast about

I'll tell you all about it

lt, and a pot of beans boiling did Billy t

ok at 'm. He's up to date, sharp as tacks, talks an' acts like a business man. I could see that

u plow?'

hing,' I

w hor

ed in a box-s

ur-horse load of machinery that com

r horses?' he a

e 'm to a plow, a sewin' ma

an' sharp, not wastin' seconds. 'See that shed. Go 'r

es of manure just thrown outa the barn an' not hauled away yet. But I wasn't lettin' on nothin'. The driver gave me the lines, an' I could see he was grinnin', sure I'd make a mess of it. I bet he couldn't a-done it himself. I never let on, an away we went, me not even knowin' the horses-but, say, if you'd seen me throw them leaders clean to the top of the manure till t

nson says. 'That

ndifferent as hell. 'Gim

s an' und

orses. The road ain't no place for you. You must be a good man gone wrong.

he wasn't. I hadn't

l on the blankets-the canister of sugar, the condensed milk tin, the sliced corned beef, the lettuce salad

th! Think of that beautiful table and that beautiful house last night, and then look at this. Why, we could have lived a thousand years on end

ll, he freely admitted that there was more in plowing than he had thought.

t I'd take a whack at plowin'. An', you know, the ground has a regular good smell to it, a-turnin' over an' turnin' over. Gosh, it's good enough to eat, that smell. An' it just goes on, turnin

he evening with a small roll of old canvas he had borrowed, which he proceeded to arrange over their bed on a framework so as to shed rain. Several times he complained about the little finger o

arn falling to decay on the opposite bank of the creek. Upon the boards he heaped dry leaves for a matt

d little interest. His finger was hurting too much, he said. Neither he no

run-around,"

t's

ed it, I think. And I remember she dressed it with some kind of salve. It got awful bad, and finished by her losi

tlessly wide awake. A few minutes afterward, roused by a heavy blast of wind and rain on the canvas, she heard Billy softly groaning. She raised her

not see, but by feeling she ascertained his strange position. He was outside the blankets and

in the mountains, an' the man with 'm got mauled by a grizzly-clean clawed to the bones all over. An' they was outa grub an' had to travel. Two times outa three, when my father put 'm on the horse, he'd faint away. Had to be tied on. An' that l

guys, collapsed the framework, and for a moment buried them under the canvas. The next moment canvas, fr

d in her ear. "-Gather up the th

hey managed to find a dry space on which to spread their anything but dry bedding. Billy's pain was heart-rending to Saxon. An hour was required to subdue him to a doze, and only by continuou

the open doorway came a flash of electric light, like a tiny searchlight, which quested abo

got you! Com

e voice behind the light was approaching and re

up?" Bil

swer; "an' wide

ee nothing on account of the light, which was intermittent, frequentl

ice went on. "Roll up your blank

are you?" B

constable

hat do y

urse, the p

at

e. I ain't goin' to

illy advised. "I ain't

d the constable; "but you can tell all t

an. "Turn the light on yourself. I want to see what kind of an ugly mug you got. P

leaded. "Don't make trou

onstable approved, "l

r as such," Billy warned. "Now get out,

stable retorted. "An' I've got my lit

thing apart, self-existent, with no corporeal attachment, and it appeared and disappeared like an apparition as the thumb-pressure wavered on the swit

u'll come," the

er guess comin

. Both Billy and the constable fumbled for it, but Billy found it and flashed it on the other. They saw a gray-bearded man clad in str

at stick,"

eered a

a hole through

b on the switch did not waver, and they could see the

as lions when it comes to pullin' miserable, broken-spirited bindle stiffs, but as leery as a yellow dog when you face a

explosive "BOO!" and Saxon giggled involuntar

d through his teeth. "Turn over that light-stic

she felt the old familiar thrills of admiration for Billy's courage. She could not see his face, but she knew in all

constable threatened. "I'm an old sold

Saxon broke in, "trying to shame and disg

e two of you'll go. I've sent many a tramp up for thirty days for sleepin' in this very shack. Why, it's a regular trap for 'em. I got a good glimpse

Billy answered. "Number one: you ain't goin' to pull u

ick," the constable

oot. Beat it. Pull your freight. As for you

hrew the stick as he would pitch a baseball. They were now in total

' see what'll happen to you

nd squeezed it proudly. The c

skers. I've put up with all your shenanigan I'm goin' to. Now get out or I'll thr

hear nothing. Billy rolled a cigarette. When he lig

got my run-around. It's only j

wn and receive her so

ht, we'll catch a car into San Jose, rent a room, get a hot breakfast, and go to

on," Bill

uldn't plow on account of the rain, even if your finger was well. Besides, we'll both be men