had a lot of money in that bidness. Where’d it go?’
‘Tribble,’ he says.
‘Mister Tribble!’
‘Yeah, that sombitch run off with it. I mean, he must have, cause he was the only one who could have. He had all the accounts an all, an after your mama died, he was runnin the whole show. One day he says to everybody that there ain’t enough money to meet the payroll this week, but to stick around an there will be, an the next week, that sombitch is gone!’
‘I can’t believe it. Why, Mister Tribble was honest as the day is long!’
‘Yeah – a chessman. I reckon you might believe so. But I think he’s a crook. You know, Forrest, you got some good sides to you, but your main problem is, you trust everybody. You don’t think there are people out there who are gonna screw you any chance they get. They take one look at you, an they say “sucker.” An your big dumb ass don’t know the difference. You treat everybody like they are your friend. It ain’t that way in the world, Forrest. A lot of people ain’t your friend. They are just lookin at you the way a banker looks at somebody comes in for a loan – How I’m gonna fleece this rube? That’s the way it is, Forrest. That’s the way it is.’
Then Dan, he commenced to start coughin again, an finally he gone on to sleep. I got my head out of the icebox crate, an the sky have cleared an it is cold an still, an the stars are all shinin, an I am just about asleep when they is like a warm mist come above me an all of a sudden, there is Jenny, sort of smilin an lookin at me!
‘Well, you sure did it this time, didn’t you?’
‘Yup, I reckon I did.’
‘You had it right in your hand, didn’t you? And then you get so excited about the ceremony that you forget to release the pressure valve – and look what happens.’
‘I know.’
‘And what about little Forrest? How’s he gonna take this?’
‘I dunno.’
‘Well, I can imagine,’ Jenny says, ‘that he’s gonna be real disappointed. After all, all that stuff was his idea in the first place.’
‘Yup.’
‘So don’t you think you ought to tell him? After all, he was gonna come up there and spend Christmas with you, right?’
‘It’s what I was gonna do tomorrow. It ain’t like I have had much time.’
‘Yeah, well, I think you better get it done.’
I could tell she was sort of mad, an I wadn’t feelin too good about things mysef.
‘I guess I done made a fool of mysef again, huh?’
‘Well, let me say this, you was a sight, runnin across those fields covered in pig shit, bein chased by that mob an all them hogs, too.’
‘Yup, I spose I was, but you know, I kinda figgered you might of been able to help me out there a little – You know what I mean?’
‘Forrest,’ she says, ‘it wadn’t my turn to watch after you.’
An then the mist sort of dissolved an I was lookin at the sky again, an a big ole silver cloud sailed across the stars, an the last thing I remember was Wanda done give out a big ole grunt from Dan’s icebox carton.
Next mornin, I got up early an found a pay phone an called Mrs Curran’s number. Little Forrest had alreadygone off to school, but I tole her what had happened. She seemed kinda confused by it all, an so I said I would call again that night.
When I get back to Lafayette Park, I seen Lieutenant Dan in some kinda argument with a man in a marine’s uniform. I couldn’t hear what they was sayin, but I figgered it was a argument because Dan was givin the man the finger an the man was givin the finger back. When I get up to our boxes, Dan sees me an says to the feller, ‘And if you don’t like it, my friend Forrest, here, will whip you ass!’
The marine turn around an look at me, up an down, an all of a sudden he gets a sort of shit-eatin smile on his face, an I can see he has got picket teeth in front an he is a officer an is carryin a briefcase.
‘I am Colonel Oliver North,’ he says to me, ‘and who are you, gonna whip my
‘Tribble,’ he says.
‘Mister Tribble!’
‘Yeah, that sombitch run off with it. I mean, he must have, cause he was the only one who could have. He had all the accounts an all, an after your mama died, he was runnin the whole show. One day he says to everybody that there ain’t enough money to meet the payroll this week, but to stick around an there will be, an the next week, that sombitch is gone!’
‘I can’t believe it. Why, Mister Tribble was honest as the day is long!’
‘Yeah – a chessman. I reckon you might believe so. But I think he’s a crook. You know, Forrest, you got some good sides to you, but your main problem is, you trust everybody. You don’t think there are people out there who are gonna screw you any chance they get. They take one look at you, an they say “sucker.” An your big dumb ass don’t know the difference. You treat everybody like they are your friend. It ain’t that way in the world, Forrest. A lot of people ain’t your friend. They are just lookin at you the way a banker looks at somebody comes in for a loan – How I’m gonna fleece this rube? That’s the way it is, Forrest. That’s the way it is.’
Then Dan, he commenced to start coughin again, an finally he gone on to sleep. I got my head out of the icebox crate, an the sky have cleared an it is cold an still, an the stars are all shinin, an I am just about asleep when they is like a warm mist come above me an all of a sudden, there is Jenny, sort of smilin an lookin at me!
‘Well, you sure did it this time, didn’t you?’
‘Yup, I reckon I did.’
‘You had it right in your hand, didn’t you? And then you get so excited about the ceremony that you forget to release the pressure valve – and look what happens.’
‘I know.’
‘And what about little Forrest? How’s he gonna take this?’
‘I dunno.’
‘Well, I can imagine,’ Jenny says, ‘that he’s gonna be real disappointed. After all, all that stuff was his idea in the first place.’
‘Yup.’
‘So don’t you think you ought to tell him? After all, he was gonna come up there and spend Christmas with you, right?’
‘It’s what I was gonna do tomorrow. It ain’t like I have had much time.’
‘Yeah, well, I think you better get it done.’
I could tell she was sort of mad, an I wadn’t feelin too good about things mysef.
‘I guess I done made a fool of mysef again, huh?’
‘Well, let me say this, you was a sight, runnin across those fields covered in pig shit, bein chased by that mob an all them hogs, too.’
‘Yup, I spose I was, but you know, I kinda figgered you might of been able to help me out there a little – You know what I mean?’
‘Forrest,’ she says, ‘it wadn’t my turn to watch after you.’
An then the mist sort of dissolved an I was lookin at the sky again, an a big ole silver cloud sailed across the stars, an the last thing I remember was Wanda done give out a big ole grunt from Dan’s icebox carton.
Next mornin, I got up early an found a pay phone an called Mrs Curran’s number. Little Forrest had alreadygone off to school, but I tole her what had happened. She seemed kinda confused by it all, an so I said I would call again that night.
When I get back to Lafayette Park, I seen Lieutenant Dan in some kinda argument with a man in a marine’s uniform. I couldn’t hear what they was sayin, but I figgered it was a argument because Dan was givin the man the finger an the man was givin the finger back. When I get up to our boxes, Dan sees me an says to the feller, ‘And if you don’t like it, my friend Forrest, here, will whip you ass!’
The marine turn around an look at me, up an down, an all of a sudden he gets a sort of shit-eatin smile on his face, an I can see he has got picket teeth in front an he is a officer an is carryin a briefcase.
‘I am Colonel Oliver North,’ he says to me, ‘and who are you, gonna whip my
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