OCR Text |
Show 137. Bill t r i e d to get into his old routine, but he dragged through the days either chilling or perspiring. His arms and legs ached and xrere so s t i f f in the morning that he could hardly get moving-especially his leg xrith the old shot xround in i t. The heavy sweet earthy smell of carrots mingled with the smell of B i l l ' s home made soap as he xrashed up l i t t le B i l l ' s diapers. Finally one night Bill said. "We'll have to ration our flour. I ' l l s t i l l bake three times a day, but I ' ll only mix a half pound of flour instead of the usual pound." Olaf nodded. "Rigor mortis has set in here Bill. Don't need much food xrhen you don't move." Then turning to L i t t l e Bill he said. "What have you got to smile about. Just showing somebody up for being an onery old cuss?" Sunny picked L i t t l e Bill up and threw him in the a i r, higher and higher, until the baby's screams f i l l e d the cabin, and he'd leave Sunny's big hands as he tossed him u n t i l he f i n a l l y nearly hit the r a f t e r s . When he put him back in his crib he started baxrling. Weasel came in from the lean-to, stood behind the stove, and xras told of the rationing. They a l l huddled around the stove a lot now, because Bill xras saving xrood xrhen he could; in the back of everyone's mind res the question of xrhether even the p-reen wood from the coxr shed could outlast this bloxr. Bill |