The Witch of Hebron by James Howard Kunstler

Author:James Howard Kunstler [Kunstler, James Howard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Pre Post Apocalyptic
ISBN: 9780802119612
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Published: 2010-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-FIVE

Billy Bones woke up Jasper by jiggling the toe of his boot lightly into the boy’s rear end. Jasper wheeled around and squinted up at Billy, with sunshine pouring through the skylight beyond.

“Quit that!” Jasper barked.

“Rise and shine then, you damn slugabed! The lark is singing in the meadow! The cows are in the corn! Summer’s come back! And we’re bound for glory—or at least a fine supper with the ladies.”

“What time is it?”

“How the hell should I know? And what the hell does it matter? Pack your sack and let’s get gone.”

They were back on the road in a matter of minutes. Billy gnawed the shriveled remnants of his roast goat meat as they marched west up Goose Island Road. It was already a warm morning, and their way was mostly uphill, with woods and overgrown fields on each side. When they stopped to fill their water bottles in a little brook that trickled out of the Gavottes, Jasper said, “Do you have any idea where we’re going?”

“’Course I do,” Billy said. “Anyway, we ain’t in any hurry.”

“The sooner we get there the happier I’ll be.”

“Don’t you take no joy in life, Johnny? What the hell’s the matter with you?”

Jasper didn’t reply.

“I never have seen such a fine October day. Look at the color in these hills! The blue of the sky! The smell of the woods! It’s a song of beauty in itself. How can a person not take some happiness from all that?”

“Nobody’s stopping you from feeling happy,” Jasper said.

“Ain’t there nothing that would make you happy?”

Jasper sat down on a rock beside the stream and reflected a moment.

“Having my dog, Willie, back, alive again,” he said and burst out weeping.

“Aw,” Billy said. “I guess you really loved him.”

“More than anything,” Jasper wailed.

“I’ll get you another pup. There’s lots of stray pups in this world that need love.”

“I don’t want another pup.” Jasper shrieked and beat his fists against his own ears. “I want Willie.”

Billy let Jasper wail until his torments subsided.

“Say, maybe another gallant act of banditry would perk you up.”

“There’s nothing gallant about robbing people,” Jasper said, getting up off his rock and swinging his pack on again.

“Sure there is. I’m setting matters to right. Do you know the ruin of this country of ours was brought about by the rich?”

“The folks you robbed yesterday were poor.”

“Compared to who? They had a farm, didn’t they? A big house. Goats. If they put more effort in it, they might get something out of that land. Fruits of the vine and whatnot. They’s what’s called slovenly farmers. Lazy good-for-nothing gomers.”

“What if that woman you tied up can’t get loose?”

“Quit wasting your worry on that old hag. I rigged her up with the Billy Bones special slipknot. It’s ancient Chinese magic, showed to me by a Chinaman himself. Once you give up the struggle, you discover you were free the whole time. Remind me to show you how to do it as part of your training.”

They resumed marching

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