Buddies Read Free

on which way that we gonna go, let’s sit down here an’ eat that tater an’ biscuits. I’m a-starvin’.”
    “Wait a minute, Ernie, looka yonder! Somebody is a-comin’ this way!”
    “Danged if they ain’t. We’d better git back up here in the woods an’ hide ‘cause it could be somebody that ole Miss Lester’s got out a-lookin’ for us.”
    The boys went quickly back into the woods. They hid behind some bushes and watched as a shiny black surrey pulled by a well-groomed horse slowly approached. It stopped close enough for the eager-eyed boys to peek through the bushes and see a well-dressed man and woman get out. The man had a box in his arms, and the woman had a shovel. The couple looked up and down the road as if to make sure no one was in sight then walked up into the woods close by where the boys were hidden.
    “What’cha reckin they’re gonna do, Ernie?” Joey Frank whispered.
    “I wudn’t know but we’re gonna find out for shore. Let’s squat down here to watch an’ see what they gonna do.”
    The boys separated the bushes to get a better look. Ernie whispered, “Joey Frank, them folks looks like Banker Tolbert an’ Miss Rene, don’t they?”
    “Yeah, I believe that’s them. What’cha reckin Banker Tolbert’s a-diggin’ that hole for?”
    “To bury that box in; that’s what for.”
    “What’cha reckin he’s got in it?”
    “Beats the devil outta me, less’n it’s money.”
    “They must have a heap of money if that big bank of theirs won’t hold it all.”
    When the banker had finished digging, he laid the shovel to the side and took the box from his wife and put it in the hole.
    Joey Frank whispered, “Ernie, look at Miss Rene, she’s a-startin’ to cry. What’cha reckin she’s doin’ that for?”
    “’Cause she loves money, I guess; some folks is crazy about that stuff; an’ look at her now. She’s down on her knees like she’s a-prayin’.”
    When Miss Rene arose, Banker Tolbert began to shovel the dirt in over the box. When he finished, he packed the loose soil down firmly with his feet, gathered up a large handful of dead leaves and bark then sprinkled them over the new dirt. He took Miss Rene by the arm as they walked back to their surrey.
    Ernie said, “Joey Frank, we’ll give’m time to git outta sight good, an’ then we’ll go over there an’ find out how much money they went an’ buried in that box.”
    “Don’t you wanna eat first, Ernie? You said back yonder that you wuz hungry. I could eat some myself.”
    “This ain’t no time to thank about grub, Joey Frank, when there’s work to be done. Now come on, they’ve had time to be outta sight. Let’s git over there an’ dig-up that box.”
    “An’ just what in the heck are we gonna dig with?”
    “We gonna dig with these two thangs that we got a-hangin’ right here from our arms. That’s what! Now let’s git started; we ain’t got all day.”
    The boys went over to the spot where Banker Tolbert had dug. They got down on their knees and began to scratch away the dirt from the hole. After awhile Ernie felt the top of the box. “Here it is, Joey Frank,” he screamed “now you git a-hold on that end an’ I’ll git this side, an’ we’ll lift it out.”
    Before Joey Frank got hold of the box, he looked back toward the road and said, “I shore hope Banker Tolbert an’ Miss Rene don’t decide to come back an’ ketch us a-doin this. There ain’t no tellin’ what they might do to us.”
    “They ain’t gonna come back, Joey Frank. Now will you hush up an’ let’s git this thang outta here.”
    The boys worked the box out of the hole. Ernie said, “Whow! This dang thang’s heavy as lead. There must be a heap of money in here, an’ it must be all bills, too, ‘cause I don’t hear no change rollin’ around in there, do you?”
    Joey Frank looking back toward the road answered “No.”
    “Do you wanna open it, Joey Frank, or do you want meto?”
    “You go on an’ open it,