Show r F FICTION I 1 CORNER THE BARGAIN by AIRS MRS W E ABBOTT emma haines wakened with dian culty from her early morning sleep that boisel noise what was it it was like water swirling rapidly down a dram drain her brain cleared and she heaved her great bulk out of bed only one thing sounded like that the outlaw pig belonging to ed was raiding her garden again probably wanted more of her prize watermelons she d show heri herl hastily she thrust her feet into slip pers put a house dress over her nightgown and started for the door there she was wax the demon she shed d know that bony stubborn figure anywhere get out of there you ornery crea creature emma picked up the nearest stone and threw it with all her strength at the skinny sow the pig grunted and ran toward the hole under the garden fence which she had prepared for herself she squeezed her gaunt frame under the wire grunting noisily emma threw another stone and the sow trotted off down the road toward home emma sputtered to seth all dur ing breakfast about the sow shea she s against everything I 1 ve ever seen in nature complained emma eats watermelons of all things 1 of all the truck I 1 have in my garden those melons are the things I 1 prize most and doesn doean t that cussed pig know that she makes for the melons every time seth didn dian t say much after all he was more than ordinarily fond of pigs all pigs he loved to raise them see them grow large and con tented from good feeding anyone had only to look at his fifty fat hogs to know seth enjoyed caring for them emma sighed I 1 d go over to see today if I 1 didn t have so much to do try to go tomorrow it 3 simply got to those trashy swamp folk will have to learn to keep their stock to homel homet it was three days before emma found time to visit the erlys it was two miles back to their shack at the edge of the swamp but emma was a hearty fifty year old woman and she loved the walk through the fields and wood lots several of the children were playing around the cabin they were handsome children in spite of their dirty unkempt ap bearance pe arance where a your dad said emma shortly to the oldest boy pawl yelled the boy ed appeared at the door of a shed behind the house he was a small wizened man emma had never seen him when he wasn gasn t chewing tobacco she walked to wards him over his shoulder she looked inside the shed there hung a butchered pig oh she said that mat your pig ed yes ma am be he replied I 1 was aimin to give you a piece of that meat emma softened she walked in side and looked at the meat it looked good watermelons must make good hog feed muttered emma to herself ma am said ed I 1 said that would be nice replied emma wed we d love having some fresh meat it a very kind of you with the help of one of the boys ed took the pig down from the hook and cut off one of the hams for emma that a too much she said firmly no ma am he said I 1 have a lot of young uns and they eat hearty but the weather Is warm leave her be ill be do down ian A moment later 1 b appeared in the yard his overalls drawn hastily over las his pajamas he looked sheepish its it s all right emma he said that at s our pig now ours cried emma oh no not that seth ran his hands nervously through his hair you see I 1 just t bear seeing that hog look ing the way she did all run down and thin and neglected so I 1 traded one of our pigs to tor for he her that gave them meat and I 1 thought I 1 could maybe fatten her up emma stared at him open mouthed although I 1 gotta admit she Is an outlaw said seth may have to get rid of I 1 her after all may have tol to cried emma may have to indeed what about my watermelons water melons you certainly will have to I 1 seth grinned and wiggled his toes in the grass like a small boy whatever you say emma he 1 0 KJ zi eg i 0 0 I 1 ka Z 4 get out of there you ornery creature emma picked up the nearest stone and threw it with all her strength at the skinny sow meat won t keep too long you take it right along home that s mighty fine of you ed said emma her con science was beginning to hurt emma carried the ham all the way home and put it in the re friger ator to cool meat was expensive and the thought of a roast of fresh ham made her happy she was at peace with the world when she went to bed that night early the next morning she woke up in contusion confusion that peculiar sound again water going rapidly round and round in a drain no nol it couldn coulden t bet bel she sat up there wasn gasn t another pig anywhere that sounded quite like that she bounded out of bed and bit hit the floor with a thud slippers the house dress over her nightgown the flying trip to the garden she rubbed her eyes it was s there couldn coulden t be two such pigs in m all the world dazedly she picked up a stone to throw at the creature emma seth s voice was call ing from the bedroom window said meekly whatever you say my dear seth been married thirty years for nothing he knew the value of silence he knew with dainty that this was not the time to mention that he had promised the erlys a dozen of emma a prize watermelons as soon as they were ripe to complete the deal |