SO WE WENT ROUND a’picking up all a’o’Wasskums Paints and Brushes and Scraps a’Stabbed Up Pitchurs and put em up on his o’Donkey Pete where they come off from. You Live round here, he said. No Sir, Papa said, I don’t know xactly where I Live. Well where’s your Momma and Daddy Live, Mister Yancy said. They don’t Live no wheres, Papa said, they both gone on to the Other Side now. But I run off from my Home any how, I said. Yes I run off from my Home too, o’Wasskum said, but that was many long years ago. Oh so many, he said, Oh so very many. You ever think bout going back and saying Hidy Momma and Daddy how yall been a’doing. Well I did go Back bout twenty years ago, he said, and when Daddy seen me he said Well Wasskum tell me what all you’ve accomplished so far in your Life and I had to say Not one thing that I know of, Daddy. Not One, My Daddy said, Not One. My Daddy wouldn’t a’never a’cared nothing bout it one way or the other, Papa said. Well may be you the Lucky One there, Wasskum said, Some times the Father’s Hand on you is the one Heavier’n any other and you just gotta bow you Neck and try to get on out from under it Best you can. That’s what you done huh Mister Yancy, Papa said, Just bowed you Neck and Run on out from Under it huh. Yes Sir and went out cross the World a’Looking ever wheres for my Muse but No Sir never did find her and don’t reckon I ever will now with all these years a’piling up on me like Bricks. Well where’s she Live, Papa said, You tell me where she Lives and I bet me and o’Calley can go find her for you. O’Wasskum give his Chest a litte Tap with his Finger then, Papa said, and said Here Right Here’s where she Lives cep she ain’t never Home when I go to knocking on the Door. You just trying to Tease me now ain’t you Mister Yancy, Papa said, That’s what you a’doing ain’t it. No Sir I am not, he said. If a Artist ain’t got him a Muse bout the Only Thing he can do with his Life is set over there in the Shade under a Tree and scratch his o’Ass like that little Dog a’yours is a’doing.
NEXT DAY, Papa said, me and Mister Yancy and Fritz come a’riding in on o’Edward back to camp with o’Pete a’follering long behind. Who you got here, Calley said, I didn’t know you was bringing Company. Mister Yancy, Papa said, He’s a Artist. Wasskum Yancy Sir, o’Wasskum said, and tipped his Hat. What kind a’Artist are you Mister Yancy o’Calley said and Wasskum said That is xactly what I do not yet know my self and give him a little Smile bout it and shaked his Hand and I could tell, Papa said, they was gonna be Friends from here on out and then, he said, o’Wasskum looked over there and seen Little Missey a’Petting on o’Possum sleeping there in her Lap. That’s Little Missey and o’Possum, Papa said. She been in a Cave all her Life and o’Possum bout got his self shot to Death over in San Antoneya the other day when we was all having a Fight. Hello Ma’am, Mister Yancy said and tipped his Hat again, I hope you and Mister O Possum are having a nice day. She don’t talk much, Papa said, but she draws Pitchurs up on the Wall some time to say what been going on in her Life. A Fellow Artist then, o’Wasskum said and went over there and shaked her Boney Hand bout it and she give him a Snaggle Tooth Grin back and then o’Possum give him a Lick like they always been good Friends too. He give you a Lick, Calley said, but he just give me a Bite. How you figgur that Mister Yancy, he said. You’d have to ask him, o’Wasskum said. I wouldn’t know how to ask a Dog a question for you. Then, Papa said, Why o’Fritz stepped up and give o’Possum a Sniff on his Behind to see how he was a’doing and Mister Yancy said Course if I was to ask Mister O Possum a question for you I’d most likely go round to the Front End to ask it and Oh then we all had us a good Laugh even if Little Missey didn’t have no idea what bout. Here’s some thing ain’t Funny, Papa said, o’Arlon come up on Mister Yancy out there in the Woods and cut all his Pitchurs up for him. What’d he have a’gainst you Pitchurs to go and do such a Thing, Calley said. I think he was just made that way, Wasskum said. I don’t know it was any thing particular to my Pitchurs. Lucky it wadn’t you he come at with his Knife Mister Yancy, Calley said, He ain’t shy when it comes to stabbing People from what we hear bout him these days. Wouldn’t hurt you to camp here with us a few days for your Health. I will and I thank you for the Invitation, Mister Yancy said, Soons I get back from San Antoneya with some new Canvases to paint on and maybe a new Dress for this Little Lady while I’m at it.
A PAIR A’BRITCHES AND A SHIRT might be better, Calley said. Little Missey don’t need to be going through this Country round here wearing a Dress. How bout I take this Boy long with me, o’Wasskum said. I wouldn’t mind having some Company long on my Trip and it ain’t but a Short One any how. You wanna go, o’Calley said, and I said, Papa said, Yes Sir I reckon I do wanna go. They’s some Places in San Antoneya I wouldn’t want you to take him to, Calley said, you know what I’m talking bout. Oh listen here, Mister Yancy said, They’s some places in San Antoneya I wouldn’t wanna take my self in. Why they’s One got a woman in there’ll take all her clothes off for a Nickle he said then grinned and wiggled his Eye Brow all up and down at Calley like some o’Loonie in the Booby Hatch and Oh Calley give him a Look back and said I wouldn’t wanna never hear you took this Boy in a Place like that you hear me. Oh No Sir, the o’Artist said, I wouldn’t never take no Boy in a Place like that or my self neither one. I wouldn’t wanna have to run you off from here, Calley said, but I would. You don’t have to worry bout me, Wasskum said, Oh No Sir. I know Artists got they own Views on such matters, Calley said, but when it comes Time for this Boy to see things like that I don’t want it to be a’some o’Gal’d show her self to just any body comes a’walking through the door and got a Nickle on him. I’d a’never even brought it up, Wasskum said, cep I been out there in the Country all by my self too long. A man can only paint just so many Pitchurs a’Cactuses and Rocks in his Life, he said, then his mind goes to thinking bout things got two legs on em. Well he don’t need to know nothing bout them things at his age, Calley said. Well he’s bout the Age to hear bout em soon nough any how I reckon, Wasskum said. Not from you he ain’t, o’Calley said, Then give him that Look one more time. No Sir, o’Wasskum said, not from me he ain’t. No Sir, o’Calley said. No Sir, o’Wasskum said. And then later, Papa said, when o’Calley was over there a’helping me get ready to go I said What was you getting so Mad at Mister Yancy bout here a minute ago and Calley said No I wadn’t getting Mad at him I was just trying to show him he didn’t never want me a’getting Mad at him was all.
. . . me and Mister Yancy and Fritz come a’riding in on o’Edward back to camp . . .
I LEFT FRITZ A’SETTING THERE with Little Missey a’petting on him and a’Doctoring on o’Possum both, Papa said, and me and Mister Yancy rode on off Double on o’Edward back towards San Antoneya. Keep a Good Eye as you go o’Calley hollered when we was already bout gone, Papa said, then hollered And don’t Tarry a’getting on back here neither. He looks after you like a Mother Hen don’t he, Mister Yancy said. He just don’t want us running into Trouble is all, Papa said. He’d a’come with us cep they’s Men in San Antoneya a’looking to do him Bad Harm for some thing he done the other day and he don’t wanna have to fool with em right now. He don’t have to worry bout Trouble, o’Wasskum said then pulled this little Two Shot Sissy Pistol out his Pants. Not long as I got this, he said. You better put that little thing a’way, Papa said, They’s People round here’d shoot you and throw you in the River for even carrying some thing like that on you. You know, o’Wasskum said, when I first come down here to Texas that was xactly what I was a’looking for. What, Papa said, you mean Some Body to shoot you. Yes Sir Some Body to shoot me and I figgured Yes Sir Texas is the Best Place in the World to find Some Body to do that. You got a Sad Story back behind you ain’t you Mister Yancy, Papa said. Yes I suppose I do o’Wasskum said. Well, Papa said, I hope it ain’t so Sad you ain’t never gonna get over it. Well I ain’t got over it yet I don’t reckon, o’Wasskum said, then went on and told me.
I was a’little Rich Fat Boy, he said, and ever body made Sport a’me all day long. Even my own Daddy, Wasskum said, so I went a’looking for some thing I might could do to p
lease him. First Thing I remember, he said, was to Run and Jump but bout ever time I jumped Why I fell down and it just made him Mad me being so awkward like that so then I went to riding Horses cause my Daddy liked to ride Horses and I thought when I learn to ride good as he can Well then we just gonna go to riding Horses ever where together but I never got good enough at it to where he ever ask me to go riding with him. I don’t like your o’Daddy worth a Lick, Papa said. Then I went to reading Books, Mister Yancy said, cause my Father would go in his Library after suppers ever evening and light up his Pipe and read Books and I thought Here’s some thing I can do with my Daddy but if I turned a Page too loud Why he’d just run me out cause he said he couldn’t think on his Reading with all that racket going on. It was bout then, he said, I remembered all these Pitchurs he had a’hanging on the Wall in our House and I thought Well Daddy might like it if his own Son could paint a Pitchur good enough to hang on the Wall like all these here. Oh I was bout to cry, Papa said, Mister Yancy’s story was so Sad to me. So I told Washington to send for Brushes and Paints and whatnot, o’Wasskum said, and when they came Why I just went to painting Pitchurs of my own even if they was really just like the Pitchurs my Daddy already had up there on the Wall. But, he said, a Funny Thing happened while I was a’doing it cause Wadn’t long and I was starting to like Painting Pitchurs even moren I liked to Sleep and Eat and then One Day it come to me I wadn’t Painting Pitchurs to please my Daddy no more but now I was painting Pitchurs just cause I wanted to Paint Pitchurs and then it come to me I didn’t care if my Daddy liked em or not no more. But course the problem was, he said, I didn’t have no Idea what I liked neither so I snitched one a’my Daddy’s pistols and run off from my Home and told my self I was either gonna find the Artist in me if they was One or by god I was just gonna dispatch my self to the other Realms with a Pop from this little pistol I got here in my pocket and be done with it. That’s a Sad Story ain’t it Mister Yancy, Papa said. Is to me, o’Wasskum said. Maybe you just ain’t waited long nough yet, Papa said. How bout that. Waited long nough for what, he said. Well I said, Papa said, Mister Pearsall is always a’saying What Ever you a’looking for out there in the World is out there some wheres in the World a’looking for you too. Maybe you just ain’t waited long nough for it to come find you is all. Well I’ll keep my Eye open for when it does o’Wasskum said but I could tell he didn’t have no belief bout it, Papa said.
FIRST THING WE SEEN when we come a’riding into San Antoneya, Papa said, was this o’Gal a’setting out on a Barrel a’Pickles and a’smoking her a Pipe in front a’this Saloon where they had a little Black Bear tied to the Hitching Rail. I reckon that o’Gal’d take her clothes off for a Nickle don’t you, o’Wasskum said. I wouldn’t wanna see it even if she does, Papa said. What if it was Less’n a Nickle, he said, What bout that. I thought you was needing some thing to Paint your Pitchurs on, Papa said, I didn’t know you was just wanting to see some o’Gal take her clothes off. You gonna get you self in all kinds a’Trouble with Mister Pearsall you go to taking me in a Place like this after you give him your Word you wouldn’t never. Oh No I ain’t a’taking you in there if that’s what you was thinking, o’Wasskum said, we just a’passing by ain’t we. I don’t see no Reason to even mention we come by here do you. Why you wanna see that o’Gal take all her clothes off any how, Papa said. I’m a Artist, the o’Artist said, It’s my Job to go see Neckid Ladies and paint Pitchurs of em so ever body else can see what they look like when they ain’t got they clothes on that’s Why he said. What if they don’t wanna see em, Papa said. Well been my xperience they wanna see Pitchurs a’Neckid Ladies moren they wanna see Pitchurs a’Trees and Birds, o’Wasskum said. I reckon that’s just Human Nature if you ask me ain’t it. Oh and then bout that time, Papa said, that little Bear went to crying for his Momma and it made me and o’Wasskum so Sad to hear it we went over there and undone the knot and tole him he was Free as a Bird now but right then, he said, here come this Man a’wearing him a High Hat out the saloon couldn’t hardly walk him a step. I believe that Man is Drunk on some thing from in there don’t you I said and o’Wasskum said Well either that or his sore leg is a’bothering him one or the other. And then, Papa said, that Man reached over and give that little Bear a Good Hard poke with his walking stick just to be mean and when he did, Papa said, Why that little Bear took a swat at him and knocked his High Hat off his Head then took off a’Running down the Street like his Pants was on Fire and then that Man and bout a hunderd and six other Men from all up and down the Street went to laughing and chasing him back in the Woods where he come from in the First Place.
YOU DIDN’T LIKE IT that Man Poking that little Bear like that did you Mister Yancy, Papa said. No Sir didn’t like it, o’Wasskum said. Been Poked a few times my self that’s Why. Why’d Some Body wanna go and poke you, Papa said. People just like to poke Artists I reckon, he said, I never could see no particular reason Why. You ain’t gonna be a Artist you self are you. If you are I better go on and give you a Poke or two with a Stick now so you can get usted to it. No Sir, Papa said, I’m gonna be a Horn Man and play Music over in Fischer Hall for ever body to Dance to. Well we just a’like then, o’Wasskum said, cep its my Pitchurs I want ever body to Dance to not some Horn. Your Pitchurs, Papa said, Why I never heared a’no Body a’Dancing to a Pitchur. Well that’s what I want, he said, Yes sir when they step up to have a Look at one a’my Pitchurs I want em to Whoop and Holler and just go to Dancing right there in they tracks they like it so much. Oh we had us a good laugh bout that, Papa said, then went on down the Street and in this Store where they had clothes for Men and Womens both and this Man come out from some wheres and said Can I help you. Yes Sir you can, Wasskum said, we a’looking for a Pretty Dress and a Pair a’Button Shoes for a Lady Friend a’ours. What size is your Friend the Man said, Papa said, and Mister Yancy said Well she’s just bout the size a’this Boy here but maybe just a tad smaller I’m not sure and then the Man give me a Good Look all up and down and said well we’ll just have to try some Dresses on him and see what Fits. I ain’t a’wearing no Dress, Papa said. No Sir not me. You don’t have to wear it, Wasskum said, you just got to try it on so we can get the right size fits Little Missey. I ain’t asking you to parade down the Street in it on Saturday morning if that’s what got you worried. I ain’t wearing no Dress even if you close all the Winders and Double Lock the Doors, Papa said, No Sir I ain’t. I have an Assistant bout the same size as this Boy here, the Man said, I think you’ll find her satisfactory then he hollered Annie Annie and went off in the back some wheres to fetch her and when he did Why o’Wasskum went to grabbing Dresses right and left and a’piling em up on me like I was some o’Donkey or some thing. Just say when you see one you like he said, Papa said, then here come the Man back and he said They’s a Trying On Room back there in the Back just take all them Dresses in there and Annie’ll try em on for you to see. So, Papa said, Wasskum throwed another one or two on me and I went on back there couldn’t hardly see for all the Dresses piled up on me and then I pushed the Curtain back to the Trying On Room and Oh, he said, Oh they was a Girl in there a’taking her clothes off had her Back to me and I said Oh. And when I said Oh Why that Girl turned round to look at me and she said Oh too and then I said Oh again, he said, cause it wadn’t no body in this World cep Annie Oster from that time me and o’Calley lived in her Daddy’s Barn after the Hail Storm and Oh Oh Oh she was a’standing there Neckid as a Jay Bird and Oh Boy Hidy, Papa said, I wadn’t never just a Little Boy ever again after I seen that.
DID YOU EVER FIND YOUR MOMMA Annie said and I said yes Annie I did find my Momma, Papa said, but by the time I did my mean o’Daddy’d already gone and Murdered her. I lost my Daddy too since we last met, Annie said, did you know that. No I been all over the Country since then Annie and didn’t have no way to know, Papa said. Well I did lose him, she said, Life just got too hard for him after what them two Men done to my Momma and he just went on out of it soons he could manage. They’s terrible thin
gs all round in this Life ain’t they Annie, Papa said, I reckon you and me know that bout much as Any Body don’t we. Yes Annie said, Papa said, then here we just couldn’t help it and give each other a Hug with her not hardly wearing a stitch a’Clothes on her but No the Hug wadn’t bout nothing like that. I don’t know why you’d be in here a’buying a Dress for some body else Annie said and I had to tell her all I could bout Little Missey and after I did, Papa said, Why she picked the Prettiest Dress in the Bunch she could find and put it on for all us to see. That’s the One, o’Wasskum said. Just makes you smile to see it don’t it. Granny’s gonna be mad if you don’t come see her now that you in town, Annie said and Mister Yancy said, Yes go on and have you a Visit while I’m a’shopping for Canvases down at the Wagon Yard and the Man said, Yes go on Annie if it ain’t for all Day.
The Devil's Sinkhole Page 12
