and things like that which are very nice, you know, made out of stone, and thereâs . . . say, how long have you been out here, Sonny? You all alone? Did I tell you, you sure give me a fright? I thought you was a bear! You want a ride anywhere?â
âUm,â I said, trying to decide which question to answer first, âIâm with my dad.â
Bill turned his round head one way and the other, looking everywhere, and said, âI donât see your dad. What is he, froze under the snow?â
âHeâs in our tent, back there,â I said. âWeâre looking for Indian relics,â I added.
He looked surprised and scratched at his nose with a pudgy red hand. âTell you the truth, itâs not such a great time to look for Indian relics. I heard of arrowheads and things like that scattered here and there, but with the snow and all, itâs a little hard to spot them. Say, what did you say your name was? Anyways
thereâs Blackwood too. Did I mention Blackwood? Thatâs a town thatâs got an auction house I got me a radio for six dollars and a broken pair of pliers. Didnât know the darn thing was broke. Well I says to Stan who was next to me, âStan,â I says, âthat whole box thatâs going for fifty cents is got a pair of pliers worth five dollars in it so Iâmâa bid on it.â And Stan he saysââ
âUm,â I said, getting an idea, âis there a town with an Indian museum?â
âShore!â he said. âThere shore is. Itâs about thirty, thirty-five miles up the road, itâs called Stockton and that museum has a lot of books and old pictures and arrows and things like that, very pretty, I took my son there once, heâs more interested in other things, he says, âDad,â he says, âthey got a museum for Power Rangers?â Can you beat that? Thatâs what he says!â The man opened his eyes and his mouth again and laughed hard at me. I thought he was a very jolly person, but a little hard to talk to.
Then his face changed and his hair seemed to stand up on his head. He stared over my shoulder and said, âBy God, kid, you better jump in the truck as fast as you can, thereâs a bear behind you. It et your dad, Iâm afraid. Hop in quick, before it eats you too!â
âThat is my dad,â I said. I looked over my shoulder
just to make sure, because I didnât want to get eaten by a bear. Sure enough, my dad was climbing out of the tent hole, and a load of snow had fallen in his eyes and he was staggering around trying to brush it out.
I had a clever idea. I stepped up to the truck and said in a low voice, âMy dadâs an Indian. I mean, a Native American. Heâs an elder in the, um, Otchig tribe. Thatâs his ceremonial outfit. Heâs real nice, youâll like him. But donât mention to him that I told you about his tribe, because he doesnât like to talk about it.â
âAh ha!â Bill said, and put his finger over his lips and winked as if he was telling me that he could keep a secret. âThe things you do see! All in one day. Iâmâa go home and tell Gladys I saw a coon and a bear and an Indian all on the side of the road. Amazing things a snowstorm does bring out. That is one amazing suit! Get me one of them, Iâd stay warm in the deep freeze! Howâd he get it on? It seems to sort of fit real snug all around. I donât see no zipper or nothing. Say, Mister, you want a ride anywhere?â
My dad had shambled up through the snow and reached us.
âDad,â I said, âthis man says thereâs an Indian museum nearby.â
âShore is,â Bill said. âAbout thirty, thirty-five miles up the road.â Bill looked my father up and
down. âThat shore is some suit. You want a ride? I can give you a ride. Take me a while cause the plowing goes slow, but youâll get there quicker than