job in a big business operation somewhere and work my way up. I think he could find something real good in Mobile, maybe, if you helped get him started, Cyrus."
Marcia tried to head Ainesley off with a frown and slight head-shaking, but he was not to be stopped. Raff was his son too.
"Another thing that's been on my mind a lot is the military. A man can find a good life there. You won't be rich, but you get real security, like Harry and Virginia over there at Eglin Air Force Base. Course, if Scooter went that way, he ought to be darn sure he gets into Officer Training School."
Everyone seated there knew there was no way the Codys could manage much more than keeping the pickup truck and small box house they owned in Clayville. They might help out with college a little, maybe even take out a mortgage on the house. They were hoping that Raff might win a scholarship in a college somewhere. Maybe he could help by getting a job on the side or in the summer. Or get a loan. With these possibilities in mind, they had assured Raff that one way or the other he'd be okay. As far as they were concerned, he was going to go to college.
After listening to Ainesley, Cyrus said, smiling, "Let's have some coffee and, if you'd like, some dessert, maybe a little of the new liqueur I like. Scooter, I want you to go in the library and wait a little while. I have something I need to talk over privately with your mom and dad. I think we're going to have some of that pecan pie you like so much. I'll send in a piece and some cocoa while you wait."
Raff got up, ambled out the double doors of the dining room, and proceeded down the hall. He paused to examine the oil painting of his great-grandfather Joshua Semmes, resplendent in a formal World War I army uniform, the silver oak leaves of a lieutenant colonel glinting on its shoulder tabs. Raff went on into the library, flicked on the light switches, and perched on the horsehair sofa next to the fireplace. In a few minutes Ellie, the family cook, brought in a tray bearing cocoa and pecan pie. After his dessert, Raff stood up and started exploring the library. His eye fell on a row of old National Geographic magazines, and he pulled out five at random. Returning to the sofa, he began to flip through the pages. Bhutan, Asia's hidden kingdom. Romania's royal art treasures. Metallic-blue Morpho butterflies, flying jewels of the tropics. Louis Pasteur and the secret world of bacteria. The amazing wildlife of the Brazilian Pantanal. Throughout, marvelous blazing pictures of wild animals in their natural habitat. Wildlife photography, he thought, now, that's something I'd like to do. There were plenty of good subjects right there at Nokobee. And not far from Nokobee the three-hundred-square-mile swamp of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta sheltered bear and deer. It was, people said, an almost impenetrable jungle.
After about another hour Cyrus returned with Marcia and Ainesley. They drew up chairs in front of Raff. He began to feel nervous. Had they learned something about his forbidden trips to Nokobee and the Chicobee? Was this going to be an interrogation about his lies and criminal activity?
"We've been talking about you, Scooter, and your future," Cyrus said. "We're just wondering. Looking beyond college, have you ever given any thought to the possibility of law school? You know, like I went to at the University of Alabama?"
Raff felt relieved. He wasn't about to be arraigned and prosecuted after all.
"I never thought about it," he said. "I don't think I want to be a lawyer or anything like that."
"Well, now, let's look at this a little bit," Cyrus continued. "What you probably don't realize is that with a law degree you don't have to be a lawyer if you don't want to. You can use what you learn at law school to do a lot of other things. You can get a high-paying job in business. You can even go into government. You can get a commission in the military. Your dad is right about that one, Raff. And you'd be some form of adviser or legal administrator, and never have to go into combat if there's a war."
Ainesley was nodding his head and started to speak. "I've been saying to you, son--"
Cyrus stopped him by raising his hand. Then he