I returned to our hut and told old Jeb that I was going out to seek work on Amos, a neighbor’s, land. I would stay for several days. He would pay me with a load of turnips, some carrots, and a good young hen chicken. We could always use that. Two of his brown hogs were ready for butchering and his fall wheat for cutting; this would take days. I would sleep in his small barn with the dog and an old cow for warmth. Amos was not much to be trusted, but as long as I did no talking, everything would be safe.
My father looked up stonily from his straw bed with Grett. “Be careful, son,” she warned. “May Jesus go along with you and bless you with goodness and count you as one of His sons. But remember, as I tell you, the less you say—” I nodded my head. Jeb only smiled and bid me a good day and G
