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Show 146 "I've been hiding here since I got home from work," Andy told him, sounding miserable. "I was hoping you'd come out so I could tell you I'm leaving." "Leaving? Where? What for?" "I would have left last night," Andy said, "only I didn't have any money, so I worked all day today and picked up my pay. There's a P and LE freight train that comes through Canaan at ten o'clock tonight. I'm gonna hop it." "Lord, Andy, come on inside the house where it's warm and tell me what this is all about." "No!" Andy shook Karl's hand off his sleeve. "I don't want anybody to know where I am or what I'm doing. Only you. I can't stand to stay in Canaan any longer." Andy turned so that he stood in shadow, but the outline of his body revealed his tension. "Last night," he said, "Harry Ward caught me kissing Virginia out by their front gate. He threw a fit, as you can imagine. Then he dragged me home to my folks, shooting off his mouth that no fresh Hunky kid was gonna mess around with Harry Ward's daughter, and if my father wanted to keep his job in the mill, he'd better lock me up tight inside the house every night." "The big sap!" Karl cried. "Did your father tell him to go fall on himself?" "My old man? Hah! Fat chance. You know, Harry Ward sure picked the right threat to scare my father gutless. No, my old man didn't say a word. He just hauled down my pants and beat my bare dupa with a belt, right in front of Harry Ward." |
