46
PARTIS.1N REVIEW
III
McFarlane drove Gordon up the hill road before the town
stirred
to
life. He was worried. Yesterday they had smashed
half his glasses in the bar, jawed of cleaning out the hills. Gor–
don looked at him and realized McFarlane in town could help
a lot with the work.
Six miles up a wagon track sliced the road. Gordon got
out, shouldered his gun, and cut up the wagon track. The fields
were bare and ribbed with snow, stubble, rock. When he reached
the farmhouse after a long tramp, the little sunlight fired over
the hills was gone. It had turned bitter cold.
He knocked, finally pushed in. Found himself in a long
kitchen full of smoke, sharp smells, and children. A woman
hurried from the other room, a baby saddled on her belly.
A
small turkey hen of a woman with her dress torn in back as if
from heavy treading. "Hub's tending to the sick horse with
Nettie. L'l be in soon. Maybe Pa'll talk."
One of the boys dashed barefooted out to the barn. The
old gobbler lay in the next room under a pile of horse blankets.
There was an old-fashioned cackstool in the corner with a pan,
filth floating around like boats. The children played near it.
Hone blinked leaky eyes. "Shoo, the kicker." He fumbled
with his swollen hand. "So, they got us in the bullrushes, fast."
No furniture but bed and stool. The yellow walls were
covered with pictures of Coolidge and Lincoln. Lincoln with a
big wart, and the other with a wart-face.
The old man gasped, "Nettie's been reading the papers to
me. It's something to scratch the devil out. There was the war.
A Democrat Wilson fired that. There was Teddy killed,
younger than Hub. Belly shot out and spread like a frog in a
French lot. And now this Democrat Rosyvelt ..."
Gordon looked at the door desperately. He walked over
t~
the window and let the cold air paw his face while the old
man droned on. At last Hub tramped inside blowing.
Hub's face had grown harder. He shook hands. His
haitds were bloody. One of the horses with the blind staggers
and they were bleeding a vein.
Gordon said, "I came. I came to cop couple pheasants."
"Sure, we got to git some meat ourselves. The old man's
