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Show in my father's house/ 238 well enough to keep quiet, Jeannie. I've got to go." He tousled my hair. "Keep your fingers crossed for us. We're going to need all the luck we can get." "Be careful." My mother and I followed him to the door. We watched him drive away between two slumping shoulders of sagebrush. Toward morning he returned, and at breakfast we heard his account of 'the fiasco,' as he called it. "For people who live in poverty, they sure have their share of belongings!" he began. "Of course, it's mostly junk. Mama, what would Aunt Elsa do with a box full of empty milk cartons? And old tuna fish cans?" "Now, Saul. She makes all her own gifts." She grinned. "And you know Elsa's motto: 'If I don't have it, you don't need it.'" "Well, what happened?" Danny broke in, impatiently. "I've gotta go to school." "Well, it took us two hours to load Aunt Elsa's things, alone. And then Aunt Rachel's. When we got there, we found a police car was parked in front of the house. So we drove around awhile, hoping the patrolman would get bored and leave. But he didn't. Finally we drove down an alley and into the back yard. We had to move everything in the dark, in absolute silence. You can imagine what that tfas like, with all those kids running around." Saul sighed. "After about twenty minutes, my nerves were Like Mexican jumping beans. And everytime I looked out the window, :here was that cop, smoking one cigarette after another, not taking ds eyes off the house. I arranged with Harvey - you know, Cousin tarvey?" he explained to Danny, "- to drive Aunt Rachel and her rood in the truck. And Aunt Elsa insisted on driving her own car. |