'How long have you been saving this?' he asked.
'A long time, Grandpa,' I said.
'How long?' he asked.
I told him, 'Two years.'
His mouth flew open and in a loud voice he said, 'Two years!'
I nodded my head.
The way my grandfather stared at me made me uneasy. I was on needles and pins. Taking his eyes from me, he glanced back at the money. He saw the faded yellow piece of paper sticking out from the coins. He worked it out, asking as he did, 'What's this?'
I told him it was the ad, telling where to order my dogs.
He read it, turned it over, and glanced at the other side.
I saw the astonishment leave his eyes and the friendly-old-grandfather look come back. I felt much better.
Dropping the paper back on the money, he turned, picked up an old turkey-feather duster, and started dusting where there was no dust. He kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye as he walked slowly down to the other end of the store, dusting here and there.
He put the duster down, came from behind the counter, and walked up to me. Laying a friendly old work- calloused hand on my head, he changed the conversation altogether, saying, 'Son, you need a haircut.'
I told him I didn't mind. I didn't like my hair short; flies and mosquitoes bothered me.
He glanced down at my bare feet and asked, 'How come your feet are cut and scratched like that?'
I told him it was pretty tough picking blackberries barefoot.
He nodded his head.
It was too much for my grandfather. He turned and walked away. I saw the glasses come off, and the old red handkerchief come out. I heard the good excuse of blowing his nose. He stood for several seconds with his back toward me. When he turned around, I noticed his eyes were moist.
In a quavering voice, he said, 'Well, Son, it's your money. You worked for it, and you worked hard. You got it honestly, and you want some dogs. We're going to get those dogs. Be damned! Be damned!'
That was as near as I ever came to hearing my grandfather curse, if you can call it cursing.
He walked over and picked up the ad again, asking, 'Is this two years old, too?'
I nodded.
'Well,' he said, 'the first thing we have to do is write this outfit. There may not even be a place like this in Kentucky any more. After all, a lot of things can happen in two years.'
Seeing that I was worried, he said, 'Now you go on home. I'll write to these kennels and I'll let you know when I get an answer. If we can't get the dogs there, we can get them someplace else. And I don't think, if I were you, I'd let my Pa know anything about this right now. I happen to know he wants to buy that red mule from Old Man Potter.'
I told him I wouldn't, and turned to leave the store.
As I reached the door, my grandfather said in a loud voice, 'Say, it's been a long time since you've had any candy, hasn't it?'
I nodded my head.
He asked, 'How long?'
I told him, 'A long time.'
