The Saints of Swallow Hill(50)

“Where’s Cobb?”

He looked at each of them. He couldn’t read their faces, he didn’t know them well enough, and besides, most coloreds were used to hiding their thoughts and feelings. Their faces were like staring at an empty glass.

He asked another way. “Won’t he picked up by Clyde?”

Ah, there, a barely noticeable twitch from the one called Birdie.

He homed in on him and said, “Can’t nobody tell me if he got picked up or not?”

Birdie rubbed his face and said, “He won’t waiting for a ride this morning.”

“Where’s Clyde?” Del asked.

“He gone to haul the gum.”

Del began to think Cobb was either sick or he’d run off. He scanned over the work hands once more. No one offered more. No one would meet his eyes. He decided to go on and let them get to their work.

“Y’all be sure to start small fires near to where you’re working. Anybody need’n anything ’fore we get started?”

A collective, “No suh!” rang out.

“All right. Let’s get to work, then.”

As the men left, Del called out, “Where’s the water boy, Georgie, at?”

The small boy came from behind one of the trees and eased up to Del like he was afraid.

“How old are you, Georgie?”

Trembling a little and big-eyed, the boy said, “Nine, suh.”

He remembered this kid, or at least his scars. Georgie was the one who’d seen a taste of the whip.

“Georgie, will you go check on Mr. Cobb for me?”

“Yessuh.”

“Go to number forty-four. Knock on the door good and hard. If he answers, ask if he’s sick, and come right back and tell me.”

“Yessuh.”

Georgie didn’t move.

Del said, “Go on, be quick.”

He still didn’t move.

Del said, “What’s wrong?”

The boy twisted the hem of his torn burlap shirt and focused on some spot to Del’s right.

He mumbled, “I ain’t knowin’ what a forty-four looks like.”

Del said, “Hang on.”

He reached into his pocket for his tally book, ripped a piece of paper out of the back, and on it he wrote in big numbers, 44.

He showed it to Georgie. “See this?”

Georgie nodded.

Del said, “This here is what number forty-four looks like. Here. Take this paper with you. Go back into camp and go by the cooper’s shed. You know where that is?” Georgie took the piece of paper, nodded again, and Del continued. “Stay straight and keep going to the back end of camp. Know where I mean?”

Georgie said, “Yessuh.”

“The second well you come to, start looking for this number over the doors. Got it?”

“Yessuh.”

“Be quick as you can.”

Georgie took off, scarred legs pumping. Del watched until he disappeared around the curve in the path, small dust clouds puffing up under the pink soles of his churning feet. After Georgie was gone, Del realized he hadn’t thought to check if Cobb’s truck was still by the shed, although somebody was bound to have heard him start it up and seen him drive off with all the main buildings right there together. He’d see about that later. He got back up on Ruby and began his first day as a woods rider.

Del was busy making marks by call names when he felt a tap on his boot and looked down to see Georgie.

He smiled at him and said, “What’d you find out for me, Georgie?”

“Won’t nobody there, Mr. Boss Man.”

“You sure?”

“Yessuh. I banged on the door like you said. The missus who works in the store? She come by too.”

“What’d she say?”

“She say, ‘What you think you doing, boy!’”

“I said I’se looking Mr. Cobb. So she banged on the door herself, then she opened it. Said ain’t nobody there. Said he working. I didn’t say nothing else, only, yessum, and I run back quick, like you said.”

It was puzzling, but right now, he had to keep up with his men, and on his first day, he couldn’t afford to miss counts and make it look bad on himself, or all of them.

He said, “Thank you, Georgie. Here you go.”

Del reached into his pocket and gave him a piece of peppermint. Georgie’s eyes lit up as he took it. Del had the idea he’d never had a peppermint candy before.

Del said, “These men need a drink. Will you get them some water?”

“Yessuh!”

After Georgie started water rounds, Del got busier, as the calls came in fast and furious. It was going good by his calculations, and if it hadn’t been for Cobb’s disappearance nagging at him, he’d have felt like he was having one of his best days since coming here. Part of it had to do with the fact he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Crow. He’d been sure the man would come and run his mouth about something asinine, as usual. Dinner break came and Del’s workers, despite doing well all morning, were subdued. There was none of the usual carrying on and storytelling.

Del ate amongst them, and when he was done, he said, “Rest another thirty. We start again at one o’clock sharp.”

They stretched out on the ground or sat on old stumps, heads hanging, scratching at bites, swatting at insects, still quiet. He mounted Ruby and cantered toward Cobb’s shanty. It took him only minutes, and once he was there, he dismounted and went up onto the porch. It was possible Cobb had been in the privy out back when Cornelia and Georgie came by, so he banged on the door again and waited. All he heard was the shouting of children in another section of the camp. Del shoved the door open and stood on the threshold. A small green lizard sitting on the windowsill, its throat billowing into a quick red bubble before collapsing, pegged him with tiny golden eyes, then disappeared into a crevice.