Show w f I THE FICTION CORNER THE RIFLE RILE I By DANIEL F. F LINDSAY o lc ONLY 30 The clerk smiled down at Jud as he handed slim aim the rifle Uh Jud hesitated for a moI mo- mo I nent as his trembling fingers ran along Uong the dull barrel I 1 haven't jot got ot that much Sorry son He took it back fud's wistful eyes followed him as ase jc e sat it in the rack and hurried lown lawn the counter Thirty dollars Ie de had a sick feeling as he heI I out of the store Why ted led never even had his liis hands oh on that hat much money As ASI he walked lawn lown the street he swung the bag tf f salt saIt from hand to hand If a rifle cost that much think how much that house must have cost Enough to buy all the rifles in the world Reaching the edge of town he started up the tyis twisted d mountain mounta road load Unconsciously his bare calloused cal cal- bused loused feet avoided the blistering lot tot rocks Any other day he would lave ave walked close to the jagged ut jut formed by the road Today he care about the cool shade His mind was still back at the ittle ittIe store Maybe his Pa would ret fet it anyway The thought made maden lim n half run As he rounded the curve he could see his mother for him in the doorway You sure made a quick trip fud rude What you so excited about I got to talk to Pa He handed jer ter the bag of salt and went inside tor or a drink of water She followed lim tun with amused eyes What about son He hung the lap tup back on its hook and shook his Mead lead Man talk mom Oh I see she ducked her lead Well hes he's out in in the upper pasture H He rushed outside again Pa he shouted as he reached he fie e edge of the tree ringed field Its tIts down at the store down at the store son Sis His eyes were affectionate as he watched Jud gallop toward him The end of the world done up in ink ribbons I No Pa His young face was I serious jerious as he slid to a stop My Mye rifle e. e The one I want 1 Oh Pa looked away way You sure its it's the one rou sou want How he had dreaded his rus day All AU winter long they had talked of guns particularly the theme theme theme me Jud would get some day Each Ime fule they went to the store Jud would rould rush eagerly over to the liny gun case but they never him Gradually it had cached the maybe someday stage Pa had been glad Sure Pa I went down for a bag af of salt and there it was His ryes lyes were shining You ought to toe towe we see e it How much did they say it was wn JOn Mentally he braced himI him- him I self elf Well his face fell a trifle it Uit was vas 30 I see Pa took his hand well have to talk about it later Right now I want you to help me vend some fences Slowly the afternoon passed for rude fug Every minute seemed a year He lIe watched his fathers father's set face ut tut of the corner of his eye By the me they started back down the jath aUl toward the house his heart was heavy Whenever Pa acted tike like this it meant they didn't have havene he ne money Silently he ate his super super super sup- sup er and went to bed It was several hours before he ell lell asleep He listened closely to the rise and fall of his fathers father's foice straining to make out the words It was useless The walls of the old log cabin weren't built for eavesdropping After a awhile awhile awhile while he heard the sounds of their going to bed and the house was silent He lay there staring miserably miserably miserably miser miser- ably at atthe the ceiling his mind filled with the deep aching and despair that goes with wanting the Finally his tired little brain could stand no more and he fell into a restless sleep The early morning sunlight streaming across his his' face woke him He started to jump up then remembered the rifle and sank back The sounds of hungry animals animals ani ani- ni- ni mals edged around his conscious conscious- ness He could hear Pete Blackie and Joe his lame sheep bleating for him At least he shrugged his shoulders Ive I've got them Son his mother came in from II the kitchen As soon as youre you're outside Jud sat down at the swallowing the lump in his throat His mother filled his plate with pancakes s. s He didn't even know the they were there Through the screen door he could hear his sheep being loaded into the battered old truck A rifle was better anyway his fa father ther tooted the horn he got up solemn faced and kissed his mother All AU the way to town he kept his eyes away from the back of the truck Just as they came to the slaughter house he could stand it no longer Pa he burst out They wont won't hurt long will they No son his fathers father's eyes shone kindly never know what happened All AU right He stared out of the window while his father sold them When the man took them away he be swallowed hard then shook his hish h head ad His father handed him the money and they drove off Want me to come in too son Pa smiled as they came to the store Jud shook his head and hurrIed hurried hurried hur hur- ried up the rickety steps Half a minute later he came back out outwearing outwearing wearing a proud smile Say Jud that's some iron His t g f 1 t r Sure Pa I went down for a eyes were shining You ought U to 1 dressed your Pa wants to talk to you All AU right He hurried into his pants and shirt At least he would know for sure His father smiled as he entered Good morning Jud Morning Pa His eyes searched his fathers father's face for a sign Your mom and I talked about the rifle last night son Jud just stood there And we dont don't think we can spare the money right now Okay Pa his face fell 30 is a lot of money But his bis father continued we did think of a way you could get the rifle if you wanted it bad enough Oh I 1 do Pa His face was one broad smile I want it more than anything in the world Enough to sell your sheep J JUD UD pushed open the screen door and walked outside without an an- His mother and father exchanged glances and went on with their breakfast Once away from the house Jud hurried to the little pen The sheep hobbled over to his side He slipped one arm around Petes Pete's neck and his mind went back to the day he had crawled down into the ravine in search of him He stood there along a along along long time while a chain of memories memories memories mem mem- ories passed over him Finally he wiped a tear on his shirt sleeve and went back inside the house I want the rifle Pa He held his sturdy little body stiff All right son Its It's up to you His father got to his feet and went bag of salt and there it was was His ills see it it father put the box of shells on the seat between them Why its it's even mine It sure is a Pa He held it upright between his legs all the way home All AU afternoon they could hear the crack of the new rifle echoing down the range Then toward evening there was a long period of silence When they called him for supper he pushed open the screen door and shuffled inside His sigh was heavy Pa looked up with an understanding understanding understanding un un- smile Regret your bargain son No uNo he shook his head but I miss my lame uns I know son Growing up is tough Yes Pa He ran his fingers along the dull barrel He tried hard not to think about Pete Blackie and Joe |