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Chapter 13
"Well,yas’posewecouldcampdown’longside?"Theleanmanlookedpuzzled."Wedon’townit,"hesaid."Weon’ystoppedhere’causethisgoddamnol’trapwouldn’gonofurther."Tominsisted."Anywaysyou’reherean’weain’t.Yougotarighttosayifyouwan’neighborsornot."
Theappealtohospitalityhadaninstanteffect.Theleanfacebrokeintoasmile."Why,sure,comeonofftheroad.Proudtohaveya."Andhecalled,"Sairy,there’ssomefolksgoin’tastaywithus.Comeonoutan’sayhowd’yado.Sairyain’twell,"headded.Thetentflapsopenedandawizenedwomancameout—afacewrinkledasadriedleafandeyesthatseemedtoflameinherface,blackeyesthatseemedtolookoutofawellofhorror.Shewassmallandshuddering.Sheheldherselfuprightbyatentflap,andthehandholdingontothecanvaswasaskeletoncoveredwithwrinkledskin.
Whenshespokehervoicehadabeautifullowtimbre,softandmodulated,andyetwithringingovertones."Tell’emwelcome,"shesaid."Tell’emgoodan’welcome."
Tomdroveofftheroadandbroughthistruckintothefieldandlineditupwiththetouringcar.Andpeopleboileddownfromthetruck;RuthieandWinfieldtooquickly,sothattheirlegsgavewayandtheyshriekedatthepinsandneedlesthatranthroughtheirlimbs.Mawentquicklytowork.Sheuntiedthethree-gallonbucketfromthebackofthetruckandapproachedthesquealingchildren."Nowyougogitwater—rightdownthere.Asknice.
