Echo Tree by Henry Dumas

Author:Henry Dumas [Dumas, Henry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Coffee House Press
Published: 2021-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

Rope of Wind

Aint no water wave, he thought, that’s a baby cat bitin my line. The cork in the water danced against the tiny waves, and the waves moved it toward the shadow of the cypress log that stretched like a cannon out from the bank. He waited. The cork began to sink, slowly…. He held his breath, balanced himself there on the muddy bank as if waiting for the right moment, and jerked the pole upwards. The line hung in the water for seconds, but carried upwards as the wind caught it. He slung the fish with the wind … breathing out … got him! Becha even Hoodoo Brown cant catch this many fish.

He got another worm, hooked it, and threw his line into the water. Overhead, clouds moved across the sun. Where you hurryin off to, Sky, he thought, and watched as the clouds seemed to dip in over the acres of September cotton, brush the land, and hurry away. We bout need some rain. Papa be glad if it do come a rain. Mr. Westland, too, with all that new land he got.

Watching the cork and the slight movement of the tall cotton and the trees that sat here and there along the road, he thought that if he were a speck of dust in the wind, he could easily sail around and see everything and everybody, and then come back even before he got another bite. Wouldnt he have a lot to tell, and besides nobody would ever know he was there, being a speck of dust on somebody’s shoulder. He’d like to ride Hoodoo Brown’s shoulder and one day see why Hoodoo told so many lies.

Maybe then he’d get on Jubal’s father’s shoulder, and Mr. Westland would show him how he made the white men sell him that land. Then he could go and tell his Pa how Mr. Westland did it, and his Pa would get some land; even though his Pa was too old now to think bout workin any land. But that wouldnt stop him. He and Jenkins and Coalnite would work that land. While crazy Roscoe was off getting drunk; but then, with him helpin and doin Roscoe’s part, and even Coalnite’s sometimes, since Coalnite was married to Honeysue. And then sometimes when Jenkins was helpin round the house and all, he, just him, Johnny B, would do everybody’s part, and he’d clear that land, plant it, work it, and drive off any white suckerhead that come lopin around to take what a poor nigger aint never had. Yes, he would. Johnny B do that….

And he slung up another fish.

A narrow thread leaped up into the sky miles across the fields and spread out slowly, racing along the edge of the sky like a string unraveling from a rag. He watched it and noted that it was somewhere in the vicinity of Hoodoo Brown’s house. Must be John Brown. He the only one got a car go that fast down here, he thought.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.