cover or two. But they stood straight, and Grandma touched her fingers to the backs of the nearest ones gently.
âLibraryâweâve got a library to our ownselves. Me anâ Luther, weâve read nigh every single one of these here. âCourse thâ library truck comes around twice a month, down to thâ Forks. But it ainât always easy to get down there, not in winter. Thâ country men, they cleans off thâ main road, but in winter thâ laneâs sometimes too snowed up to make it. But we ainât without books, even if we canât git down to the truck.â
Crock inspected the shelves. âTheyâre real old, some of them, arenât they?â
âGuess so. Miss Sarah, she takes those the library can use, but thereâs a lot left over. Magazines, too. So we got ourselves a library anâ itâs a good thing to pass thâ time when itâs winter anâ we ainât got much business with thâ junk. I found me a parcel oâ books about herbs. Them I keep right to hand âcause I try things they tell aboutâthey being old anâ sorta forgot in these days. Thereâs some books for youngâuns, too. But mind you, treat âem right. Books should be real treasures, I always think. A lotta thinkinâ anâ hard work must go into writinâ a book.
âNow then.â She returned to the table. âMrs. Dale is bringinâ out those Cubs of hers after school, so we have to git everything smartened up a bit. Luther, you anâ Crockett here, why donât you go anâ see as how things back in the toy stall are loosened up a mite so as they can crawl around anâ look at âem good. Weâll just clear way these here dishesââ
A little to her own surprise, Holly found herself with a dish towel made from an old sack in one hand, using it on the warm plates, mugs, and bowls that emerged from the big tin pan in which Grandma vigorously plunged them, while Judy took them when dry to stack on the proper shelf.
âMany hands make light work,â Grandma said. âThatâs an old sayinâ anâ it is a true one. Iâm glad Mrs. Dale is cominâ, gives you youngâuns a chance to meet her. She teaches fifth grade at thâ big schoolââ
âIâm in fifth grade,â Judy broke in eagerly. âWill she be my teacher?â
âThat she will. Now you, Holly, youâll probably have Mrs. Finch. Sheâs a lot olderân Mrs. Dale. Some folks think sheâs strict. But sheâs fair anâ she treats you right. Only sheâll expect you to try hardââ
âHolly got an honor report card last time,â Judy supplied. âMom let her choose a prize and she chose going to the moviesâall of us. We saw a Walt Disney, about Bambi. It was an old picture, but weâd never seen it before, only a little bit of it on the TV. It was good, all about a baby deer.â
âWas it now? Well, come a little later youâll maybe get to see a real deer. Luther, he takes kindly to animals. He puts out hay when thâ weather turns bad. Thâ deer come in last yearââ
âGrandmaââ Judy turned to look at the hearthââthe kitten, what happened to the kitten?â
âHe dried hisself off after heâd had a good feed. Then he went explorinâ, likely to turn up most anywheres about. Cats is like that, they is curious, want to know all about a place âfore they settle in. There nowâhe might have known we was talkinâ about him.â
The gray cat appeared, as if he were a shadow able to detach himself from the other shadows, to sit before his very empty, well-polished plate on the hearth. When he saw that they were watching him, he opened his mouth as if he were mewing, only Holly could not hear a sound. Certainly he did not look as bedraggled as when Grandpa had brought him in.
Learning to Kill: Stories