Reivers, The - William Faulkner [31]
She heard us too. Nor were we the first; she told us that we were the thirteenth automobile to pass there in the last two years, five of them in the last forty days; she had already lost two hens and would probably have to begin keeping everything penned up, even the hounds. She and the cook and a Negro man were already on the front gallery, shading their eyes against the ghostly flicker of our headlights as we drove up. She not only knew Boon of old, she recognised the automobile first; already, even after only thirteen of them, her eye for individual cars was that good.
"So you really did make it to Jefferson, after all," she said.
"In a year?" Boon said. "Lord, Miss Ballenbaugh, this automobile has been a hundred times farther than Jefferson since then. A thousand times. You might as well give you got to get used to automobiles like everybody else." That was when she told us about the thirteen cars in two years, and the two hens.
"At least they got a ride on an automobile for a little piece anyway," she said. "Which is more than I can say."
"You mean to say you ain't never rode in one?" Boon said. "Here, Ned," he said, "jump out of there and get them grips out too. Loosh, let Miss Ballenbaugh set up in front where she can see out."
"Wait," Miss Ballenbaugh said. "I must tell Alice about supper."
"Supper can wait," Boon said. "I bet Alice aint never had a car ride neither. Come on, Alice. Who's that with you? Your husband?"
"I aint studying no husband," the cook said. "And I wouldn't be studying Ephum even if I was."
"Bring him on anyway," Boon said. The cook and the man came and got in too, into the back seat with the gasoline can and the folded tarpaulin. Ned and I stood in the lamplight from the open door and watched the automobile, the red tail lamp, move on up the rokd, then stop and back and turn and come back past us, Boon blowing the horn now, Miss Ballenbaugh sitting erect and a little tense in the front seat, Alice and Ephum in the back seat waving to us as they passed.
"Whooee, boy," Ephum shouted at Ned. "Git a horse!"
"Showing off," Ned said; he meant Boon. "He better be sho proud Boss Priest aint standing here too. He'd show him off." The car stopped and backed and turned again and came back to us and stopped. After a moment Miss Ballenbaugh said,
"Well." Then she moved; she said briskly: "All right, Alice." So we have supper. And I knew why the hunters and fishermen came back. Then Ned went off with Ephum and I made my manners to Miss Ballenbaugh and, Boon carrying the lamp, we went upstairs to the loft above the store.
"Didn't you bring nothing?" Boon said. "Not even a clean handkerchief?"
"I wont need anything," I said.
"Well, you cant sleep like that. Look at them clean sheets. At least take off your shoes and pants. And your maw would make you brush your teeth too."
"No she wouldn't," I said. "She couldn't. I aint got anything to brush them with."
"That wouldn't stop her, and you know it. If you couldn't find something, you'd make something to do it with or know the reason why."
"All right," I said. I was already on my mattress. "Good night." He stood with his hand up to blow out the lamp.
"You all right?" he said.
"Shut up," I said.
"Say the word. We'll go back home. Not now but in the morning."
"Did you wait this long to get scared?" I said. "Good night," he said.