Timmy John told Hattie Mae, “I’m collectin eggs and will be there right soon.” The hen house was built by John Joseph and was over off to the other side of the porch from the outhouse. It looked like a cute dollhouse, painted pink, blue and yellow. There were three different entrances fer the chickens and one fer the person collectin the eggs. If you didn’t know it was a hen house, you would think it was apartments fer little people! After John Joseph finished it, everybody on their side of the mountain had to come and gawk at it! Nobody had ever seen a henhouse like that! Daddy and Mama never did figure out where John got the paint! Oh the chickens are mighty proud of it too!!
Timmy and Hattie climbed into the old truck with their daddy and the three set out to find just the right spot fer their new still. Earl told them while they drove, “ The spot we are lookin fer has to be by fresh, cool water that won’t run dry and be back fur enough in the woods that the revenooers won’t be able to find us.” Timmy set up front with his daddy since he was older and Hattie sat in the back. She was havin fun goin over the bumpy dirt roads, bouncin up and down on those old springy seats!
Hattie Mae said, “Daddy we have the best spring water in the hills. Everybody says so that comes over. They always have to have a drink of it. Why don’t we set up the still right there by the house? It would be a lot easier, wouldn’t it?”
“Well, Hattie Mae, the law looks at moonshine different like than we do. We would have trouble if we did that.”
Hattie Mae didn’t know what that meant, but she figured the law men put on special glasses to look at the moonshine and none of her family had any glasses. How it caused trouble, she didn’t know, but she trusted her daddy that he had it figured out.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
They had been off of any roads fur an hour, drivin up an old creek bed with a trickle runnin through it when Earl pulled over by a huge rock and said, “Now we git out and walk.” He grabbed a pail and gave one to each of the kids and headed over to a berry patch. Earl was lookin all around while they picked, checkin out the surroundins. In the middle of pickin, Earl took off through the woods. It was hard going, with his bum leg, but he was determined to find the water source and find out if it would work. He found the head of the spring and it was cold as ice! When they had all filled their pails with huge blackberries it was time to head back.
Their daddy was real happy. “I don’t think any man’s been out to this here spot, but we’ll have to watch fer bears this time instead of revenooers. I’ll take that any time!”
Timmy John yelled, “Git in the truck! Thar’s a bear comin this way!”
Hattie Mae shrieked and her daddy grabbed her, pushed her in the truck and started it up as Timmy John raised his gun, just in case. They took off like a shot of white lightnin!! Well, as fast as an old truck, drivin thru the woods could go!
Cora Sue had cooked up a pot of navy beans and cornbread and turnip greens and hadn’t made any dessert, but when she saw her favorite food, huge blackberries, come into the kitchen in 3 big pails, she changed her tune. There were 2 big blackberry pies put into the oven quick as a wink! Her mama smiled approvingly, as she came up the steps with a basket of fresh laundry that had dried on the line.
Hattie Mae was in the kitchen saying, “And there was that old bear chasin after our truck and daddy saved us by drivin us away. Oh and Timmy John shot over his head to scare him off, so he went back to the blackberry patch and left us alone.
Earl looked at Lucy and said, “We found it, honey. This is the best durn spot I ever saw! I don’t think nary a man’s been back there before!!”