And she guessed she knew why the little...
And she guessed she knew why the little ones
were scairt of Charley; there might be mysteries
on Duma now, but that ain't one of emThat was
her own fault, although she meant wellvii
"Charley!" I said"His name's Charley!"
Noveen cawed her laughing assent
I took the other pad out of the food-sack - almost
ripped it out - and threw back the cover so
savagely that I tore it half offI groped among
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the pencils and found the stub of Libbit's black
I wanted black for this side-drawing, and there
was just enough to pinch between my thumb and
finger
"Edgar," Wireman said"For a minute there I
thought I sawit looked like-"
"Shut up!" Noveen cried"Ne'mine no mojo arm! You
gone want to see this, I bet!"
I drew quickly, and the jockey came out of the
white like a figure out of heavy fogIt was quick,
the strokes careless and rolex uk hurried, but the essence
was there: the knowing eyes and the broad lips
that might have been grinning with either mirth or
malevolenceI had no time to color the shirt and
the breeches, but I fumbled for the pencil stamped
Plain Red (one of mine) along its barrel and added
the awful cap, scribbling it inAnd once the cap
was there you knew what that grin really was: a
nightmare
"Show me!" Noveen cried"I want to see if y'got
it right!"
I held the picture up to the doll, who now sat
straight on Jack's leg while Jack slumped against
995
the wall beside the staircase, looking off into
the parlor"That's the bugger who scared
Melda's girls
"What - ?" Wireman began, and shook his head
"Melda seen the frog, too," Noveen said"The one
the babbies call the big boy
That's when Melda finally corner Libbit in
d'kitchen
"At first cartier replica watch ladies santos 100 steel Melda thought the stuff about Charley
was just little kids scaring each other, didn't
she?"
Noveen cawed again, but her shoebutton eyes stared
with what could have been horrorOf course, eyes
like that can look like anything you want them to,
can't they? "That's right, sugarBut when she
seen ole Big Boy down there at the foot of the
lawn, crossin the driveway and goin into the
trees
Jack's hand flexedNoveen's head shook slowly
back and forth, indicating the collapse of Nan
Melda's defenses
996
I shuffled the pad with Charley the jockey on it
to the bottom and went back to the picture of the
kitchen: Nan Melda looking down, the little girl
looking up with her finger on her lips - Shhhh! -
and the doll bearing silent witness from her place
against the breadbox"Do you see it?" I asked
Wireman"Do you understand?"
"Sort gucci men wallet of
"Sugar-candy was mos'ly done, once she was out,"
Noveen said"Thass what it come down to
"Maybe at first Melda thought Shannington was
moving the lawn jockey around as a kind of joke -
because he knew the three little girls were scared
of it
"Why in God's name would they be?" Wireman asked
Noveen said nothing, so I passed my missing hand
over the Noveen in my drawing - the Noveen leaning
against the breadbox - and then the one on Jack's
knee spoke upAs I sort of knew she would
"Nanny din' mean nothin badShe knew they 'us
scairt of Charley - this 'us befo the bad things
started - an so she tole em a bedtime story to try
an make it betterMade it worse instead, as
sometimes happens with small chirrunThen the bad
997
woman come - the bad white woman from the sea - n
dat bitch made it worse stillShe made Libbit
draw rolex air king automatic watch Charley alive, for a jokeShe had other
jokes, too
I threw back the sheet with Libbit going Shhhh,
seized my Burnt Umber from my pack - now it didn't
seem to matter whose pencils I used - and sketched
the kitchen againHere was the table, with Noveen
lying on her side, one arm cast up over her head,
as if in supplicationHere was Libbit, now
wearing a sundress and an expression of dismay
achieved in no more than half a dozen racing lines
And here was Nan Melda, backing away from the open
breadbox and screaming, because inside -
"Is that a rat?" Wireman asked
"Big ole blind woodchuck," Noveen said"Same
thing as Charley, reallyShe got Libbit to draw
it in the breadbox, and it was in the breadboxLibbit 'us sorry, but the bad water-woman?
Nuh-uh
"And Elizabeth - Libbit - had to draw," I said
"Didn't she?"
"You know dat," Noveen gucci bag black