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Chapter 18
Maybeinthenight,whenhe’sa-sleepin’—whenhewakedup,itwon’tbesobad."
"YouwantIshouldstaywithyouan’notgoon?"
"No,"shesaid."No.WhenIwasalittlegirlIuse’tasing.Folksroun’aboutuse’tasayIsungasniceasJennyLind.Folksuse’tacomean’listenwhenIsung.An’—whentheystood—an’mea-singin’,why,mean’themwastogethermore’nyoucouldeverknow.Iwasthankful.Thereain’tsomanyfolkscanfeelsofullup,soclose,an’themfolksstandin’therean’mea-singin’.ThoughtmaybeI’dsingintheaters,butIneverdoneit.An’I’mglad.Theywasn’tnothin’gotinbetweenmean’them.An’—that’swhyIwantedyoutopray.Iwantedtofeelthatclostness,oncetmore.It’sthesamething,singin’an’prayin’,jus’thesamething.Iwishtyoucoulda-heerdmesing."
Helookeddownather,intohereyes."Good-by,"hesaid.
Sheshookherheadslowlybackandforthandclosedherlipstight.Andthepreacherwentoutoftheduskytentintotheblindinglight.
Themenwereloadingupthetruck.UncleJohnontop,whiletheotherspassedequipmentuptohim.Hestoweditcarefully,keepingthesurfacelevel.Maemptiedthequarterofakegofsaltporkintoapan,andTomandAltookbothlittlebarrelstotheriverandwashedthem.Theytiedthemtotherunningboardsandcarriedwaterinbucketstofillthem.Thenoverthetopstheytiedcanvastokeepthemfromsloppingthewaterout.OnlythetarpaulinandGranma’smattresswerelefttoputon.
