“‘You may think you’re organized.’ I said, ‘but I’m the best organizer they is and you aint met me yet.’

“About then, I pulled out my pistol and pointed it at that door. ‘I’ll tell you what,’ I said. ‘Before yall suck my blood, yall got to come through that door and git me. Now I got me a gun in here. First booger man comes in that door, I’m going to shoot. Second booger man through, I’ll likely shoot too. Wont be until the third booger man comes through that somebody gits to suck my blood. So you got to git together. You got to git organized. You got to decide which booger men will be the first ones through that door, because them will be dead booger men.’

“Well, I heard them shuffling around and muttering out there. I waited and waited. After while, I hollered, ‘Booger men. Oh, booger men. Yall got organized yet? Ifn I aint organized you, I’ll be mortal disappointed.’

“Then I heard this buzzing and squeaking, you know how booger men do when they’re just so riled they’re like to bust. And I heard them bang back down them stairs and drive away in that car. And I knew I hadnt been able to git them booger men organized. But sons, I’ll tell you, I lit out of Trinidad right now.”

He leaned back, looked slyly at me. “And that there is my story. Git your Aunt Carrie to tell you about how she saved an organizer from booger men over at Vulcan.”

“Tell us!” they clamored. I said lamely that he was pulling their legs, and glared at him. He grinned back at me.

Ben took him into the front room after supper, like he always did with guests, while I helped Aunt Becka stack the dirty dishes. Through the doorway I saw Ben draw close to Rondal, speak to him. Rondal looked at him, nodded his head. A few more words passed between them, then they stared at one another briefly, before Ben motioned that they should sit down.

Flora came in from taking the children to the outhouse. They headed straight for the front room.

“Dont pester that poor man,” she warned them.

Aunt Becka poured a pail of boiling water into the washtub. “That there is a rascal ifn I ever seen one.” She waved her dishrag at me. “Go on in there with them. Me and Florrie will take care of this here.”

“I might walk up and fetch that banjer,” I said.

When I told Rondal where I was going, he insisted on coming along. “I want to see where you live,” he said.

“I want to go,” Luke cried.

“Stay here!” Ben said sharply.

We strolled along the edge of the cornfield. Rondal kept looking toward the river.

“Damn, I’d love to fish that thing,” he said.

“What did Ben say to you?”

“When?”

“In the setting room. I seen him talking to you.”