Otis asked.
Booger shook the box a little.
“Well, heavens to Betsy,” he says. “Listen. It sort of gurgles. You reckon it’s surp, or perfume, or something? Maybe it’s Channel Number Five he’s taking to one of his lady friends.” He thought for a minute, and then slapped his hands together. “No. I know what it is. I bet Mr. Noonan has got some spare gasoline in this here box.”
Uncle Sagamore scratched his left leg with his right toenail again.
“Why, shucks, boys,” he says. “That there’s just some of my tannery solution. I was gonna send it to the Gov’ment to have it analyzed.”
Booger and Otis straightened up. “Well, what do you know about that?” they says. “Tannery solution. Who would of thought it?”
“Sure,” Uncle Sagamore says. “That’s all it is, boys.” Then he looks down inside the hood at the motor again and points a finger and says to Pop, “Hey, Sam, how about that there loose wire? You reckon that could be causin’—”
“Well, I’ll be dad-burned,” Pop says. “That’s it for sure. Now, why didn’t I see it before?” He bent over the fender and reached in under the hood. Then he straightened up. “Well, she’ll run now.”
Uncle Sagamore patted the bald spot on his head again with the handkerchief. “Well, we’re sure obliged to you boys for stoppin’ to help,” he says. “Reckon we’ll run along.”
“Oh, don’t rush off, Mr. Noonan,” Booger says. He winked at Otis and they both grinned.
Otis reached into the cardboard box and brought out one of the jars of tannery juice. He held it up to the light and squinted at it.
“Hmmmm,” he says. “Sure is a purty color. I reckon Mr. Noonan has been puttin’ a little burnt sugar in his tannery solution, Booger. Gives it that aged-in-the-wood look, just like Old Grandpaw.”
Ten
They looked at each other real solemn, but you could see they was having trouble keeping their faces straight. Then Otis snickered. And then Booger snickered. They busted into a regular guffaw. Next thing, they’re having to hold each other up, they’re laughing so hard.
Booger wiped the tears out of his eyes. “Tannery solution!” he says, and then doubled up and started to howl again. They both leaned against the car, just whooping. You could of heard ‘em a mile.
At last they get control of theirselves again, and Booger says, “Well, I reckon we better get going. We’ll leave her right in there so they can confiscate the car too. You get in the back seat and ride in with them, Otis, and I’ll foller in the other car.”
Pop jumped up like he’d been stung. “Hey what are you fellers talkin’ about? Confiscate the car? This is my car.”
Otis stared at him. “Well, mister, you sure picked a hell of a poor time to say that.”
“Now, look, boys,” Uncle Sagamore says, “you’re makin’ a big mistake. I tell you that’s just tannery solution I’m sendin’ to the Gov’ment.”
Booger just shook his head. He was too weak to laugh any more. “Wait till the sheriff hears that one,” he says. “Boy, I can hardly wait to see his face when we drive up. All these years he’s been tryin’—”
It seemed to me like the joke had gone far enough, whatever it was. I couldn’t figure why they wouldn’t believe Uncle Sagamore, but somebody ought to straighten ‘em out. “But, look, Mr. Booger,” I says, “it is tannery juice.”
Pop and Uncle Sagamore whirled around real fast and looked at me. “That’s right, Billy,” Uncle Sagamore says. “Maybe they’ll listen to you. Tell ‘em just what I told—I mean, how you seen us take that right out of them tannery tubs. You rememeber.”
“Why, of course, I remember.”
“You see there?” Uncle Sagamore says to Booger. “This here boy hisself had just told you. He seen us take it out of the tubs.”
Booger and Otis stared at me and then at each other, sort of disgusted. “Ain’t it awful?” Otis says. “A young boy like that. They ort to take him away from ‘em.”
“You’re makin’ a mistake, boys,” Uncle Sagamore says, but it didn’t do any good.
They just motioned for us to get back in. Otis climbed in the back with me. When Pop stepped on the starter this time, the motor started right up, and we took off. Booger followed right close behind us in the sheriff car.
When we passed Mr. Jimerson’s house he was lying on the front porch in the shade with his bare feet sticking out towards the road. He raised his