BooksBarbecue
Back Beulah Land Save as PDF
Chapters (153)
  1. Beulah Land
  2. Dedication
  3. PART ONE
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. PART TWO
  27. 1
  28. 2
  29. 3
  30. 4
  31. 5
  32. 6
  33. 7
  34. 8
  35. 9
  36. 10
  37. 11
  38. 12
  39. 13
  40. 14
  41. 15
  42. 16
  43. 17
  44. 18
  45. 19
  46. 20
  47. 21
  48. 22
  49. 23
  50. PART THREE
  51. 1
  52. 2
  53. 3
  54. 4
  55. 5
  56. 6
  57. 7
  58. 8
  59. 9
  60. 10
  61. 11
  62. 12
  63. 13
  64. 14
  65. 15
  66. 16
  67. 17
  68. 18
  69. 19
  70. 20
  71. 21
  72. 22
  73. 23
  74. 24
  75. PART FOUR
  76. 1
  77. 2
  78. 3
  79. 4
  80. 5
  81. 6
  82. 7
  83. 8
  84. 9
  85. 10
  86. 11
  87. 12
  88. 13
  89. 14
  90. 15
  91. 16
  92. 17
  93. 18
  94. 19
  95. 20
  96. 21
  97. 22
  98. 23
  99. 24
  100. PART FIVE
  101. 1
  102. 2
  103. 3
  104. 4
  105. 5
  106. 6
  107. 7
  108. 8
  109. 9
  110. 10
  111. 11
  112. 12
  113. 13
  114. 14
  115. 15
  116. 16
  117. 17
  118. 18
  119. 19
  120. 20
  121. 21
  122. 22
  123. PART SIX
  124. 1
  125. 2
  126. 3
  127. 4
  128. 5
  129. 6
  130. 7
  131. 8
  132. 9
  133. 10
  134. 11
  135. 12
  136. 13
  137. 14
  138. 15
  139. 16
  140. 17
  141. 18
  142. 19
  143. PART SEVEN
  144. 1
  145. 2
  146. 3
  147. 4
  148. 5
  149. 6
  150. 7
  151. 8
  152. Copyright
  153. Books by Lonnie Coleman published by Classica Libris (digital editions)

It had turned colder, and Leon walked with a quick, stiff-legged stride. Mist lay close over the creek, and his breath steamed in the air. With his thoughts what they were, it was natural for him to go to the creek bank at what he remembered as the place he and Floyd had first encountered Clovis on that day thirty-three years ago. As he stood, he heard a movement in the dry brush behind him and turning saw a hound dog emerge from the cover of woods. The dog whined as if he knew or at least needed him; and then he knew the dog. The animal looked wild and lost as he staggered into the clearing. When Leon went toward him, the dog stopped, and then came on again, every step an effort. Leon touched his head, found the ragged ear, and said, “Sunup?”

The dog whimpered and fell exhausted to the ground. Leon knelt and examined him. His coat had a few breaks in the skin, and some burrs and dry mud, but he was otherwise whole. The dog gave a whine of relief as Leon scooped him up in his arms. He trembled, but he was no longer afraid, for he turned his eyes to see the man’s face. Leon held the dog close to him all the way back to Beulah Land.

In a couple of days, with regular feeding, a warm place to sleep, and the broken places on his coat treated with some of Pauline’s special salve made from one of Ezra’s recipes, Sunup recovered. Leon gave him into Joe-Tom’s keeping, but the dog would be no one’s but Leon’s. Not allowed into the big house at first, he waited at the door for Leon to emerge, and when he did, followed him everywhere. Gradually, it became an accepted thing for him to go with Leon into and about the house. He was well-behaved, making no fuss or games indoors, but he would not leave the man; he even slept on the floor beside Leon’s bed. Leon never said where he had come from.

19

Christmas would be soon, and as people will do at the end of a year, those at Beulah Land, especially the older women, weighed the character of the year, Penelope speaking perhaps for all of them when she observed that it had truly been a year the Angel of Death had hovered over them.