Our End Of The Lake: Surviving After The 2012 Solar Storm (Prepper Trilogy) by Ron Foster Page B

“Think it can still run, now do you, after what just happened?” Phil shrewdly inquired.
    “It might still work, you referring to that old Hoyt Clagwell looking thing you probably got off Mr. Haney on Green Acres?” Ray said drawing his victim in and working on driving down the price.
    “Hey, that’s a crank start 1950 Massey Ferguson; they don’t make them like that anymore!” Phil objected.
    “They don’t make them like that any more for a reason!” looking at his prey wolfishly and then carrying on.
    “Did that old rust bucket run when you parked it to the side of the road?” Ray said mentally licking his chops.
    “ Now, see here, that’s a valuable antique, I admit its condition needs some paint, but I ain’t taking less than $900 for it as is and it will crank.” Phil huffed.
    “How are you going to get home Phil, you thought about that yet?” Making the old reprobate realize he had been had, hook line and sinker.
    “What are you saying, Ray?” Phil said irately.
    “I am saying I got a proposition for you that you can’t refuse.” and commenced to tell him the deal I had struck to get that god awful bike and that I might just be willing to ride him home on it, if I got a tractor out of the deal, and sat back smugly knowing he had the winning hand.
    “Shit, you a hard trader Ray, there’s no way I can make it back the 7 miles to my place by foot after the ordeal I done been through.” He said with lighting bolts coming out of his old grey blue eyes.
    “I ain’t done with you, yet.” Ray said hitching his fingers under the straps of his overalls and toying with his quarry.
    “ You going to get Davies’s bike out of the deal and we ain’t traded for that yet, nor the cost of your upkeep while residing on my place, oops, our place.” casting a glance at an intrigued, but correcting Martha.
    “You’re gouging me, going too far.” Philburn said, apparently outraged, while trying to direct the conversation back towards a more palatable deal for himself.
    “You have been screwing every one around here for years.” Martha looked at him intently. “’Fair will be fair’, as we see it or move on.” she said reproachfully and looking pointedly towards the road.
    “Ok, name your terms.” a defeated Phil said.
    Ray started counting on his fingers, “For a ride home, David gets the tractor and it better run.” he said looking at the misbegotten old man.
    “It does, but uses oil.” Phil offered a bit cowed.
    “Two,” Ray ticked off on his fingers, remembering how many times this old codger had got him on a deal or a loan payment. “My time or my money is not free, as you have been known to say so many times, we pay for convenience or we can go to the bank, as you used to like to remind me regarding interest rates or repayment schedules.” He spoke towards a thoroughly trapped loan shark and enjoying every minute of it.
    A long pause occurred, as the two eyed each other, then Philburn busted out laughing and dug for his wallet saying, “Ok, now how much for the bike.” and grinning at Martha.
    Dump had wandered back by now and had heard bits and pieces of the conversation. Phil noticed him coming up in back of him and said, “Damn Ray, you didn’t need to call the bouncer, I was agreeing.” he said jovially and extending his aged hand towards Truck.
    “What did I miss?’ Dump asked softly, taking the man’s hand and looking towards Martha and Ray for explanations.
    “Your friend might be riding home on a tractor, if this scalawag is telling me the truth.” Ray said leaning back in his chair and sharing a moment of mutual respect with what once was a feared bill collector.
    “Oh, she runs, I guarantee that, or did. I don’t really understand how the Sun can affect technology yet, but you got my word that thing can drive down the road or did before this.” He said towards Ray, who was looking bemused.
    “Ok, for bike rental or sale, you need to lend me a horse, so I can