Lucy walked out to the car with Earl to look at the skins. “Oh Earl, these are the most beautiful skins I ever did see! Can I use them for Cora? This will be the most beautiful coat she ever had! Thank-you fur doin the huntin!”

  Earl’s chest swelled with pride as he answered, “Yore sure welcome, Lucy!”

  Just then the phone rang, “Hello!” Earl said, “Oh, hey there Donna. Oh, you found him! He’s where?”

  “Earl, he is in the hospital. I wasn’t able to talk with him, but with the police. They said he was pretty bad off when they found him. Knowing an ambulance wouldn’t make it up the creekbed, the police carefully moved him into the patrol car and took him themselves to the hospital.They said they wouldn’t normally move an injured person, but it was the only chance of saving his life! He has burns all over his face and hands and is going to be in the hospital for a long time. I need to get word to our family and they don’t have any telephones over in their holler. Is there any way I could get someone to watch my kids and someone else to drive me over to the holler? I know that’s askin a lot,” she asked hopefully.

  “Of course we’ll help you, honey. Will tomorrow work for you?” Earl asked soothingly.

  “Oh, thank-you Earl! I’ll get started preparing. I will take the baby with me since she isn’t weaned yet. We should be able to get there and back in one day, don’t you think?” Donna asked, relieved.

  Earl’s wheels in his head started turning before he got off of the phone. Two of Clement’s father’s customers were from the holler where Donna’s family lived and he thought, with Petey caught, Steve might be a little more subdued and it might be worth satisfyin some customers’ thirsts. After the kids got home from school, Lucy had a picnic supper fixed and they loaded up in the wagon and went over to the lone chestnut tree. John said, “Pa, that ring is all the way around that chestnut tree!”

  “Yeah, this is our last harvest and it looks like we have a jewel of a harvest. I don’t know if we will have enough room for all of the chestnuts and all of us too in the wagon! It is a great problem to have!!” Earl said, happily, glad that his plan was working.

  Hattie and Karen spread out the blanket on the ground for the picnic and started laying out the food, while everyone else was gatherin chestnuts. “Oh, ma brought a lemon pound cake!” Hattie said excitedly!

  Karen said, “We have left over bar-b-cue meat and homemade buns and cole slaw! I wonder what we brought to drink? Mmmm, lemonade! Git the plates, Hattie and I will get the cups and spoons.”

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  Timmy and John had a good system going. Timmy would shovel up some chestnuts and John would hold the sack open for him to put the chestnuts in. They were about three times faster than the other teams! By the time the food was all laid out, they had filled up four sacks of chestnuts and loaded them in the wagon!

  The younger girls gathered up the remains and got the little picnic cleaned up and repacked while the rest of the chestnuts were picked and packed. It was turning dark so the little family headed home. Once home, the guys unloaded most of the chestnuts and Earl packed some moonshine up under the wagon seat and packed it well, then put sacks of chestnuts all around it. These would be a nice treat to take to Donna’s family.

  Earl and Donna had an uneventful ride to Happy Toe Holler. Donna went to her Aunt’s house first to give her the news about Pete. “That good-fur-nuthin boy!” His mother exclaimed. “I thought it might help him to grow up, sendin him to help you and yore young-uns. I see I was wrong! So you say, after he recovers, he will go to prison. I expected this sooner or later. I’m sorry honey that you had to come all the way out here to bring us this news. My man will go and see him in the hospital. You better go see yore ma while you are here, her health ain’t so good anymore. Well, thank-you for lettin us know about Pete. Have a safe drive home!”

  Earl follered Donna’s directions and took her and the baby to her mother’s house. He told her he would return in three hours. He went to his customer’s house to see if he was home. His wife answered and was real friendly when he told her he had driven Donna to see her ma and that he was Clement’s family’s friend. She said her husband should be back within the hour and invited him in to have some lunch. Earl was eatin some egg custard pie when Thomas walked in with a quizzical look on his face at seein a strange man in the kitchen with his wife!

  “What are you doin here and who are you?” he asked ferociously.

  “Hold it just a minute,” Earl pleaded. “I am a friend of Clement’s family and he said you wus a customer of his pa. I made some moonshine and thought you might be wantin some.”

  Thomas got much more friendly and suggested they step outside to talk. He sure did want some moonshine and when he found out Clement’s family wouldn’t be sellin it anymore, he realized a golden opportunity had just driven up to his front door. “I ain’t got much money right now, but could pay full price fur half of the liquor I want. What I want to ask you is would you do some barterin fur the rest?”

  Earl asked, “What have you got?”

  Thomas took him to the barn and showed him five sacks. “What we got here is some fine corn that’ll git you all set up fur the next run of liquor. Are you interested?”

  Earl figured real quick what the corn wuz worth and what the liquor wuz worth and came up with a deal that they wuz both real happy about! They started totin the corn and the squeezin’s back and forth, until Thomas caught sight of the chestnuts when one of the bags fell over. “Laws a mercy! You got chestnuts! Kin I buy them all, no, wait. How much are you askin fur them?” Thomas said excitedly! “I got some bags of rye and barley if you are interested.”

  They worked out a deal and were both just as pleased as puddin! Earl looked at the time and said he needed to pick up Donna. Thomas asked if Earl would bring him a bunch of shine when he made the next batch. This was what Earl had been lookin fur…a regular customer who was eager to buy his moonshine!