'How far are we from Houston?' I did not even know where I was.
'Mebbe hundred miles.'
That far! I said, 'Tell him to use helicopters he'll have them.'
'An' tell him to come to my place,' said Dade.
'He sure knows where it is. Then come back an' bring a pair of Chuck's sneakers so as Tom here can walk comfortable.'
'Sure,' said Sherry-Lou, and turned away.
I watched her run up the hill until she was lost to sight among the trees, then I turned to look about.
'Where is thi s place?'
'You don't know?' said Dade, surprised.
'Close to Big Thicket country.' He pointed down the hill to the right.
'Neches River down there.' His arm swung in an arc.
'Big Thicket that way, an' Kountze.'
His thumb jerked over his shoulder.
'Beaumont back there.'
I had never heard of any of it, but it seemed I had just come out of Big Thicket.
Dade said, 'Seems I remember Debbie Cunningham marryin' a Britisher a few months back. That you?'
'Yes.'
'Then it's Debbie Leroy's got,' he said ruminatively.
'I think you'd better talk.'
'75 'So had you,' I said.
'What have you got against Cunninghams?'
'The sons of bitches have been tryin' to run me of fen my own land ever since I can rememfcer. Tried to run my Paw off, too. Been tryin' a long time. They fenced off our land an' big city sportsmen came in an' shot our hogs. They reckoned they was wild; we said they belonged to people us people. We tore down their fences an' built our own, an' defended 'em with guns. They ran a lot of folks of fen their land, but not us Perkinses.'
'The Cunninghams don't want your land just to hunt pigs, do they?'
'Naw. They want to bring in bulldozers an' strip the land. A lot of prime hardwood around here. Then they replant with softwoods right tidy, like a regiment of soldiers marchin' down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington like I seen on TV once. Ruinin' this country.'
Dade waved his arm.
'Big Thicket was three million acres once. Not much left now an' we want to keep it the way it is. Sure, I cut my timber, but I do it right an' try not to make too many big changes.'
I said, 'I can promise you won't have trouble with the Cunninghams ever again.'
He shook his head.
'You'll never get that past Jack Cunningham he's as stubborn as a mule. He'll never let go while there's a dollar to be made outta Big Thicket.'
'Jack will be no trouble; he had a heart attack a couple of days ago.'
'That so?' said Dade uninterestedly.
'Then it's Billy One that old bastard's just as bad.'
'I promised,' I said stubbornly.
'It'll hold, Dade.'
I could see he was sceptical. He merely grunted and changed the subject.
'How come you tangled with Leroy Ainslee?'
'Debbie was kidnapped from Houston,' I said.
'So was I. Next thing I knew I was at the Ainslee place locked up in a hut with Leroy on guard with a shotgun. That one,' I added, pointing to the shotgun leaning against the tree where Sherry-Lou had left it.
'Kidnappin'!' said Dade blankly. He shook his head.
'Ainslees have mighty bad habits, but that ain't one of'em.'
'They didn't organize it. There was an Englishman; called himself Robinson, but I doubt if that's his real name. I think all the Ainslees provided was muscle and a place to hide. Who are they, anyway?'
'A no account family of white trash,' said Dade.
'No one around here likes 'em. An' they breed too damn fast. Those Ainslee women pop out brats like shelling peas.' He scratched his jaw.
'How much did they ask for ransom?'
'They didn't tell me.' I was not about to go into details with Dade; he would never believe me.
'Did you really kill Earl? An' gut Tukey?'
'Yes.' I told him how I had done it and he whistled softly. I said, 'And Debbie was screaming all the time and I couldn't get near her.'
I found myself shaking.
Dade put his hand on my arm.
'Take it easy, son; we'll get her out of there.' He looked down at my feet.
'Think you can walk a piece?'
'I can try.'
He looked down the hill.
'Them Ainslees might take it into their ha ids to come back. We'll go over the rise an' find us a better place to be.' He picked up Leroy's shotgun and examined it.
'Nice gun,' he said appreciatively.
'You can have it,' I said.
'I doubt if Leroy will come calling for it.'
Dade chuckled.
'Ain't that so.'
Just over an hour later Dade nudged me.
'Here's Sherry-Lou. Got Chuck with her, too.' He put two fingers in his mouth and uttered a peculiar warbling whistle, and the two distant figures changed course and came towards the tumble of rocks where Dade and I were sitting.
Sherry-Lou had brought more than footwear. She produced a paper bag full of chunky pork sandwiches and I 'So had you,' I said.
'What have you got against Cunninghams?'
'The sons of bitches have been tryin' 10 run me often my own land ever since I can remember. Tried to run my Paw off, too. Been tryin' a long time. They fenced off our land an' big city sportsmen came in an' shot our hogs. They reckoned they was wild; we said they belonged to people us people. We tore down their fences an' built our own, an' defended 'em with guns. They ran a lot of folks of fen their land, but not us Perkinses.'
'The Cunninghams don't want your land just to hunt pigs, do they?'
'Naw. They want to bring in bulldozers an' strip the land. A lot of prime hardwood around here. Then they replant with softwoods right tidy, like a regiment of soldiers marchin' down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington like I seen on TV once. Ruinin' this country.'
Dade waved his arm.
'Big Thicket was three million acres once. Not much left now an' we want to keep it the way it is. Sure, I cut my timber, but I do it right an' try not to make too many big changes.'
I said, 'I can promise you won't have trouble with the Cunninghams ever again.'
He shook his head.
'You'll never get that past Jack Cunningham he's as stubborn as a mule. He'll never let go while there's a dollar to be made outta Big Thicket.'
'Jack will be no trouble; he had a heart attack a couple of days ago.'
'That so?' said Dade uninterestedly.
'Then it's Billy One that old bastard's just as bad.'
'I promised,' I said stubbornly.
'It'll hold, Dade.'
