by Jeff Egerton
The boys found a creek not far from the tracks. After eating several peaches each, they took time to bathe. Afterward, lying on the bank, Catwalk said, “Those peaches sure tasted good, but they ain’t as good as Maxine’s fried chicken.”
“Yeah, she was a nice lady. I wonder if they found her body yet.”
“I don’t know. I hope someone gives her nice burial with a preacher to read over her.”
“Hey Cat, when I was at that diner the guy who drove us there heard Jones telling the people in the diner that we murdered her?”
“I ain’t surprised. It was either him or us, and he ain’t going to confess to no murder.”
“God damn it. What are we gonna do?”
“Just keep moving. There ain’t nothing else we can do.”
Deputy Alton Jones returned to the sheriff’s office, with the intent of handing in his badge and resigning so he could continue his search on his own beyond the boundaries of the county. Sheriff Tyler had other ideas.
In an unusually aggressive tone the Sheriff said, “Alton, I’m placing you under arrest for the murder of Maxine Puckett. Hand over your badge and weapon.”
Alton drew his revolver, backed away and challenged the sheriff. “You ain’t gonna arrest me, Wendell. You got no proof that I killed the whore lady. Them boys killed her just as sure as we’re standing here.”
“Jesus Christ, man. Have you gone nuts? You claim that one of the drifters shot Maxine with her forty-five. I’ve got a thirty eight slug that I took out of her wall. Now hand me your sidearm and don’t give me any trouble or I’ll add on a charge of resisting arrest.”
“Sorry, sheriff, I ain’t going to jail.”
Gene Spencer, who’d been deputized to take Jones’ place, had been listening from another room. When he heard Jones resisting, he crept up behind him and clubbed Alton over the head. They took his limp, stinking body into a cell and locked the door.
The sheriff said, “When he comes to make him take a bath. I don’t know how he got that stench but I’m not living with it in here.”
The boys slept in shifts until Catwalk heard an approaching locomotive. He woke Curly and said, “We’re in luck. It’s a Big Boy from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe.”
Curly stood up and saw the monstrous engine carrying the two white flags with red balls that marked a train carrying two tenders. He playfully punched his partner on the arm. “This is our lucky day, Cat. This baby can make a couple hundred miles before the next stop. By tonight we’ll be far away from here; we might even make it to New Mexico.”
At four in the morning, as the engine was pulling away from the water tower, they jumped through an open boxcar door. The boys hid in two empty crates and rode the entire day and into the night. For most of their trip Catwalk wondered if they’d really get far enough away that the law wasn’t looking for them. He hoped they did and smiled at the thought of finding work with no one trying to arrest, or hang him.
The next morning Catwalk heard the hiss of air brakes, meaning the train was stopping for water. He saw several groups of men waiting to board the train. He said, “There’s a bunch of men getting on, Curly. Let’s drop off.”
As they walked away from the tracks he squinted back into the sun and tried to read the name on the water tank. “Vaw-gun?”
Curly said, “Vaughn. Vaughn,, New Mexico. It looks like we made it, Cat.”
“I see the town in the distance, but I don’t think we should go there yet. Let’s head down this road and see if there’s any working farms that need help.”
“O.K. I’m watching for a chicken coop. Those peaches didn’t last long.”
The boys had been walking for an hour when they saw a farmer struggling with a plow behind a mule. They watched from the shade of a tree. Curly said, “No wonder that guy’s having trouble; his arm is in a cast. Ain’t nobody can handle a plow with just one good arm.”
“Do you think we should offer to help him?”
“He needs help, and we might get a meal out of it.”
Catwalk hopped over a stand of barbed wire and walked toward the farmer. The man was eyeing him suspiciously when he called out, “I seen you was having trouble ‘cause of your broke arm. I’ll help you.”
With his good arm, the farmer pulled a pistol out of his overalls and shouted, “Just hold it right there. Tell me what you want and remember, I ain’t against shooting if I have to.”
Catwalk stopped and held up his hands. “We could use a meal, and I’ll finish your plowing to earn it. Honest, I’m not going to do anything except plow. We don’t mean no harm.”
“You want to help me finish this plowing?”
“Yes sir, I spent lots of time behind a plow. I can finish this field by sunset.”
“How ‘bout your friend, what’s he do?”
Curly shouted back, “I can feed your livestock, repair machinery, shoe your horses, butcher a hog or milk your cows.”
The farmer took off his straw hat, revealing a head of dark hair going grey. He was a strapping man, well over six feet and in spite of his suspicious greeting, had friendly eyes. He wiped his brow and waved the boys over. “O.K. You can work ‘til sundown and I’ll feed you. If you do good work and don’t steal anything, I might keep you on.”
Catwalk said, “Mister, we just want to work for our dinner.”
“OK, finish plowing this section.” He then motioned to Curly, “You can repair the door on the chicken coop. Dang wolf almost tore the thing off trying to get at my hens last night.”
“Yes sir.” Catwalk said as he hung the plow harness over his shoulder. After the events of the past few days, it felt good to be working. He didn’t blame the farmer for being cautious and in spite of that, there was something about the guy that he liked. He hoped they’d be able to stay on and work for him. Maybe they’d even be able to write his Momma that letter soon. With a smile on his face, he laid the whip to the mule.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Catwalk silently ate his third helping of beef stew. After a full day’s work it tasted wonderful and he hoped the farmer, whose name was Barney, would keep them around. He’d seen the farmer’s look of appreciation at their work and in spite of his broken arm, Barney didn’t sit down and watch. He worked harder than most men with two arms.
Their fourth day on the farm found Catwalk mending fences and Curly butchering a hog so Barney could take a ham to the soup kitchen for the transients. Over a lunch of soup and ham sandwiches, Catwalk said, “Curly, we’ve gone to heaven. Steady work, sleeping under a roof and regular meals, this is great.”
“It beats walkin’ down the road with your stomach growling. We’ll probably get fat like that lady I seen in the circus.”
Catwalk laughed and said, “I think this guy’s pretty rich. This is a big spread and he don’t seem to be wanting for anything.”
“I know. He’s got two new Ford trucks in that garage and he said he’s buying a new tractor. What do you suppose is in that big building out by the field?”
“I don’t know; must be more machinery. What’s a tractor? I never heard of a tractor before.”
“It’s kind of like a truck, with a motor and all, but it’s used to pull your farm machinery. You can even put a plow behind it so you don’t have to plow with a mule.”
“No kidding.” Catwalk said behind a smile. “If a guy had one of those you could plow a whole section in a day.”
Two weeks later Barney invited the boys to join him and his housekeeper on the porch one evening. A cool breeze rustling through the chinaberry bushes and the thrashers constant chirping made for a relaxing setting. Catwalk took a long sip of lemonade; it tasted so good.
Barney handed both boys three ten dollar bills and said, “This is your first two week’s wages. I held off paying you until I was sure you earned your pay without stealing anything. I like the way you work and you can stick around if you have a mind to.”
This was more money than Catwalk had ever seen. Tears filled his ey
es as he said, “Thank you, Mr. Barney. I’m going to send my Momma twenty dollars, first thing.” He smiled, thinking of the joy his Mother would feel when she got the money.
Barney said, “She’ll be real proud of that, Catwalk.”
Curly said, “We like working for ya’ and we’ll stick around as long as there’s work to do.”
Barney said, “I was skeptical because the last two guys I hired, stole from me. One took off with a mare, so I didn’t figure to hire anyone else, but when I broke my arm things changed.”
Curly asked, “How long you had this place?”
“About four years. I used to be in the oil business back in Odessa. Back then, a small producer with a few wells pumping could make a lot of money, and I did. A few years back I thought the economy was going take a plunge, so I got out of that and bought three farms. Then my wife died in the spring of ’29. She’d been sickly for a year or so. That’s another reason I got out of the oil business, so I could take care of her. Turns out I didn’t have to for long.”
Barney looked off into the distance. Catwalk knew he was thinking of his late wife and he felt sorry for the man’s loss. He liked Barney and thoroughly enjoyed his new home.
Barney continued, “Oh, there ain’t nothin’ I like more than working the land and having a good crop year. I paid cash for all my property and put the rest of my money in a foreign bank. When all the American banks had to close, I was still O.K. I sold one of the farms, but I got this one and another up north by Cimarron. A couple of my hands, Sam and Julio stay up there and run the place. I consider myself fortunate because I’ve seen what happened to the rest of the country and it’s about as sad a state of affairs as I can imagine.”
Catwalk asked, “Will the President make things better so they can open the schools?”
“I think so, son. He’s talking about forming a Civilian Conservation Corps to create jobs and that should help. Do you want to go back to school?”
Catwalk said, “I’d like that better than anything. My Momma would be so proud . Curly said he’d teach me to read letters as soon as we found some books.”
“Son, that’s good that you want to learn, but you don’t have to be in school to learn things. If you keep your eyes open life is the greatest teacher there is. And, I’ve got a room full of books you boys can read. Say, have you boys ever seen an airplane up close?”
Both boys silently shook their heads. They’d seen a few planes flying over during their travels, but never dreamed of seeing one up close. Barney lit a lantern and told them to follow him as he walked to a large building off by itself that looked like a barn. Both boys were speechless when they saw a real airplane parked in the building.
Barney said, “This is a Curtis Jenny biplane. It was built in 1918 and used by the Air Service Corps for training pilots during the big war. I bought a couple of them when the Air Service sold some off. It’s got a Hisso four cylinder engine and cruises about ninety knots.”
The boys were astonished and watched with open mouths while Barney showed them the details of the airplane; how the engine and propeller worked, and how the rudder made the airplane turn. They marveled at the construction as he let them run their hands over the smooth polished curves of the wooden prop and feel the tension in the wing cables. When they’d had a good chance to look it over, he asked, “You want to go up flying one day?”
The thought of flying in a plane made Catwalk speechless. For a change he had a good feeling about their future. That night he slept well, with a full stomach, money in his pocket and dreams of flying through the clouds in a real airplane.
Two weeks later, Catwalk had finished painting the new shed when Barney asked him, “Are you ready to go flying?”
“Yes sir, but what about Curly?”
“I can only take one of you up at a time. He’s got to finish churning the butter, then it’s his turn. Here, put this helmet and goggles on.”
Barney pulled the airplane out and told Catwalk to get in the front seat, while he started the engine. On the third pull of the prop, the engine started and Barney climbed into the rear seat. When they taxied out to the takeoff field, Catwalk felt a thrill he’d never known before.
Barney took off and flew around the area, scaring sheep and buzzing windmills. With the wind in his face and the sound of the engine purring along, Catwalk was mesmerized. He felt free as a bird, sailing through the sky, and the best part would be writing to his Momma to tell her that he rode in an airplane.
After they landed, Barney said, “Would you like to learn how to fly, Catwalk?”
Hands in his pockets Catwalk shook his head and said, “I don’t know if I could do that.”
“Sure ya’ can. You learned to drive the truck real fast and this is easier than driving. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll teach you guys how the plane works and then I’ll teach you how to fly it.”
Catwalk broke out in a wide grin, but couldn’t find words to express his excitement.
Two days later Catwalk wrote a letter to his Momma, telling her how well Barney was treating them, that he’d learned to drive a truck and about his airplane ride. He didn’t mention his experiences with the deputy back in Texas.
For the next two months Catwalk and Curly worked like men possessed. Every few days Barney taught them a little more about the Jenny and the theory of flight. They soaked up the information and spent most of their evenings at the hangar, marveling at the plane and sharing their dreams about learning to fly it.
One Saturday Barney told the boys he’d take them into Vaughn, so they could buy some new clothes and go to the ice cream shop. Looking forward to another treat in their new lives, they climbed in the back of the truck.
At the dry goods store, they bought new Oshkosh B’Gosh overalls, denim work shirts, a cotton dress shirt, new long johns and two pairs of Red Wing work boots. When Catwalk tried on his new work clothes, he told Curly, “These are the first new clothes I’ve ever worn. My Momma sewed me new shirts on my birthday, but I never had any good work clothes like these.”
Curly admitted, “I haven’t had any new clothes since my tenth birthday. Cat, we really lucked into it and now we gotta work extra hard, so Barney keeps us around.”
“I have been working extra hard, haven’t you noticed?”
”You was laying down by the creek yesterday,” Curly said as he laced up his new work boots.
“That’s because I finished mucking out the barn and then dressed out the deer that Barney shot, all before noon.”
Curly smiled. He knew how proud Cat was about the work he performed and he enjoyed joshing him whenever he got the chance, even though he realized that his pal could work rings around him most of the time.
After buying their new clothes, they walked across the street to the ice cream shop. The boys devoured chocolate sundaes while Barney talked to a neighbor. When it was time to head back to the farm, Catwalk wore a permanent smile. For the first time in a year he was eating regular and for the first time in his life he had new clothes on his back. And, he was going to learn how to fly an airplane. He felt bad because in his limited vocabulary, he couldn’t thank Barney enough. He decided to show his appreciation by doing some extra work on Sundays, rather than reading or fishing down at the creek.
Three days later Catwalk and Curly were out on the west side of the spread mending fences. Barney was collecting eggs when he saw a police car drive up. Vaughn Police Chief Zane Thomas stepped out.
The chief sounded sociable, but his face said this was all business. “Morning Barney, how’s that arm feeling?”
“It’s a nuisance, Zane. Doc Bowman says the cast’ll come off in a couple days.”
“That’s good to hear. Say, I heard you hired a couple new hands recently.”
“Yes, I did. A couple drifters come by. I wasn’t thinking of hiring anyone, but they had a good look about them. They’re young, but they’re hard workers.”
“Well, I’m glad they’re working out for you, but
they might be running from the law. Has the colored boy got a burn mark on his left cheek?”
“Yes, he does.”
“The other one about five ten with curly hair?”
“Yeah, in fact he calls himself Curly.”
“We got a message a while back about two guys that fit their description who murdered two hoboes back in Texas.”
Barney kicked at a clod of dirt. He would have bet money that Catwalk and Curly weren’t murderers, but their descriptions couldn’t be denied. He thought about the desperate times they were living in, and how good people were driven to criminal acts. Because of the way they might be treated, he hated the thought of handing the boys over to the sheriff. He said, “These boys aren’t murderers, Zane. They’re just a couple young fellows looking to work for three squares a day.”
“I need to talk to them, Barney. Are they around?”
“No, they’re out by river mending fences right now. Won’t be back until the morning. How about I bring them in tomorrow to talk to you.”
“That’ll be fine Barney. I appreciate it.”
Thomas drove off and Barney breathed a sigh of relief. He knew what he had to do. He filled his truck with gas, then drove across his spread to find the boys.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Barney found the boys cutting new fence posts off an oak tree. Speaking as if the words were hard to say, he confronted them, “I had a visit from the police chief today. He read me the description of two boys who are wanted by the law for killing a couple hoboes back in Texas. It sounded like you two, but I don’t think you’re killers. You want to tell me about it?”
Throwing his hat on the ground, Curly yelled, “God damn it!”
Catwalk spoke up. “The law might be looking for us, but we only did it in self-defense.”
Again Barney said, “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”
Catwalk and Curly told the story.
Barney said nothing until they finished, then said, “I didn’t think you were murderers, but if you surrender, they’ll send you back to Texas and all you have is your word. There ain’t anybody who will stand up for you, so you’re in a bad way.”