"Henry Kuttner - See You Later" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kuttner Henry)

"No harm done," Yancey said, cackling again.
"Maw sent her apologies, and what do you want done with the remains? I got to take the wheelbarrow
back home."

"Take 'em away. I don't want 'em. Good riddance to bad rubbish," old Yancey said, so I said all right
and started off. But then he yelled out and told me he'd changed his mind. Told me to dump 'em where
they was. From what I could make out, which wasn't much because he was laughing so hard, he wanted
to come down and kick 'em.

So I done like he said and then went back home and told Maw, over a mess of catfish and beans and
pot-likker. She made some hush puppies, too. They was good. I sat back, figgering I'd earned a rest,
and thunk a mite, feeling warm and nice around the middle. I was trying to figger what a bean would feel
like, down in my tummy. But it didn't seem to have no feelings.

It couldn't of been more than a half hour later when the pig yelled outside like he was getting kicked, and
then somebody knocked on the door. It was Yancey. Minute he come hi, he pulled a bandanna out of his
britches and started sniffling. I looked at Maw, wide-eyed. I couldn't tell her nothing.

Paw and Uncle Les was drinking corn in a corner, and giggling a mite. I could tell they was feeling good
because of the way the table kept rocking, the one be-



tween them. It wasn't touching neither one, but it kept jiggling, trying to step fust on Paw's toes and then
on Uncle Les's. They was doing it inside their haids, trying to ketch the other one off guard.

It was up to Maw, and she invited old Yancey to set down a spell and have some beans. He just
sobbed.

"Something wrong, neighbor?" Maw asked, polite.

"It sure is," Yancey said, sniffling. "I'm a real old man."

"You surely are," Maw told him. "Mebbe not as old as Saunk here, but you look awful old."

"Hey?" Yancey said, staring at her. "Saunk? Saunk ain't more'n seventeen, big as he is."

Maw near looked embarrassed. "Did I say Saunk?" she covered up, quick-like. "I meant this Saunk's
grand-paw. His name's Saunk too." It wasn't; even Grandpaw don't remember what his name was first,
it's been so long. But in his time he's used a lot of names like Elijah and so forth. I ain't even sure they had
names in Atlantis, where Grandpaw come from in the first place. Numbers or something. It don't signify,
anyhow.

Well, seems like qld Yancey kept snuffling and groaning and moaning, and made out like we'd kilt his
eight boys and he was all alone in the world. He hadn't cared a mite half an hour ago, though, and I said
so. But he pointed out he hadn't rightly understood what I was talking about then, and for me to shet up.

"Ought to had a bigger family," he said. "They used to be two more boys, Zeb and Robbie, but I shot 'em
one time. Didn't like the way they was looking ory-eyed at me. The point is, you Hogbens ain't got no