by Leah Pileggi
I knew that man. “You’s the old beard man I come in with.”
“That’s right, Jake.”
I stepped close to the bars. “Why you in here, Mr. Nance? ‘Cause you got more than one wife?”
Mr. Nance made a sound like he was losing air. “Something like that.”
I couldn’t make sense of it. Pa didn’t even have one wife since Ma died ‘fore I was big enough to remember. So maybe having more than one was good just in case. “But you didn’t hurt no one, did you, Mr. Nance?”
“No, Jake. I would never hurt anyone.”
“Well, I did. They say I shot somebody, though I don’t know that’s what I really wanted to do. It just happened.” Then I shut up. I didn’t feel like talking ‘bout it no more with Mr. Nance. I just felt like, I don’t know, doing nothing. And that’s ‘bout what I did ‘cept for using the honey bucket cell when Henry come by. Guess I got used to the stink pretty quick ‘cause it didn’t much bother me no more. Henry asked did I want to wash up. Now that was punishment. “Heck, no,” I told him, and went back to my cell and slept right on through ‘til daylight.
THREE
Next morning I could hardly believe what I was hearing. It was time to eat again. Walking on down the steps in a line, we men headed through a doorway to the eating room. Some of the men was wearing cuffs, like that Mr. Meecham. But still, I was thinking that in two days I got more food than I ever got in my whole life. Maybe I was in heaven instead of jail.
Breakfast weren’t no big meal like supper. We got a bowl of mashed-up stuff—coulda been wheat or barley or tree leaves swimming around in some sorta ooze. I didn’t never figure it out exactly. And it was just barely enough to stop starvation for the men who was headed out to do work. But that weren’t the worst thing. The worst thing was all us men had to sit together at tables and eat, and we was not allowed to talk. Not one word.
Red Face the guard—turned out his name was Miles—him and his no-talking self fit right in.
I was setting in my spot, shoveling the slop into my mouth. Nudge. The man setting next to me jabbed me in the side with his elbow. I just kept on slurping. Nudge. There it come again. I give him a look. His eyes was popped out and wide like somebody who seen the devil. He was grinning, and he started giggling, real low and crazy-like.
I’d heard tell ‘bout the rule. Oh, I’d heard it good. No talking means no talking. But sometimes a man gets to ya and ya gotta let him have it. My mouth didn’t pay no attention to the rules. I looked right at that crazy man and asked, “What are you lookin’ at?”
That made him grin even more. And then he quick reached out and grabbed at my throat.
I broke free and jumped up, knocking over my bowl. “You son of a—” But then he had his two hands coming at my neck. I kneed him in the chest. He yelped and doubled on over.
The men was all cheering us on.
“You gawddam loon!” I’d heard Pa use them words, and they seemed like good ones right then. Me and the guy was on the floor, and I believe I was getting the best of him.
And then he spit in my face.
I punched at him, but Miles had me up in the air, my arms behind my back. Henry and another guard had the spitting loon by his arms. And outside the cellblock we all went.
Miles and me, with my arms squeezed into the crook of one fat elbow, headed for the Warden’s Building. The other three went out through the gate. Toward the Hole.
I tried to yank free. “You’s hurtin’ my arms!”
Miles said nothing and just kept pulling me along.
“Let go!” But he wouldn’t let go, and I couldn’t get loose.
And then we was in the Warden’s Building, and there was the Mountain, setting at that desk, looking down at me again.
“Jake. You haven’t even been here one entire day.” Mr. Norton set back with his tree-trunk arms crossed over his chest.
Miles let go of me.
I told the Mountain, “He grabbed me.” That come out sounding baby-like. “I mean he tried to strangle me.”
Still didn’t get a rise outta him.
“That man’s crazy,” I said. “His eyes was gonna pop right outta his head. How come I had to set next to him?”
The Mountain just set there.
I wasn’t done. I crossed my own arms. “I coulda took him.”
The Mountain picked something out of a back tooth with a twig. Then he opened a big old book on his desk.
“I hope you enjoyed your breakfast, Jake.” His face didn’t change. He said, “Bread and water, Miles. Three days.”
Miles nodded.
“Bread and water?” I couldn’t believe it. “That’s all that crazy man’s gonna get? I thought he was headin’ for the Hole.”
Mr. Norton smiled and give a jerk of his head like Get him outta here. Miles grabbed at my crooked arm, and we was headed on out.
Then I got it. It was me getting just bread and water for three days. Damn.
FOUR
Locked back up in my cell, I walked one end to the other to the other to the other. Couldn’t hardly stretch out my legs. All that walking, I got to thinking how Mr. Nance said I could talk to him if need be.
I leaned against the bars. “Mr. Nance? You there?”
I didn’t get no answer from him. Instead, a squeaky voice down aways yelled, “He’s haulin’ wood today, ya little sissy.”
That burned me. I’da liked to put that old squeaky-voiced man in my own prison. A secret prison. I imagined him smaller than me and with a head of nothing but mouth.
You ain’t even getting’ bread, you old Mouth. You just stay on in there and rot.
And then I felt a whole lot better.
Every day after dinner, we men was supposed to have ninety minutes out in the yard, rain or shine, that’s what they said. Well, the next day, for the first time in ‘bout a year, it rained so hard like to float the penitentiary clean away. Had to wait it out. Finally the rain stopped and the sun come out and so did we.
Mr. Nance, his beard all shaved off, stood close by me. And that Chinaman, Shin Han, he weren’t far off neither. Men was talking and moving around in the mud, and somebody pulled out a mouth organ. He was a tall, skinny guy, way skinnier than even me. Heard him called Slim. He played a tune I’d heard before, kinda light and happy.
I started out walking around the inside of that high wall, dragging my fingers along the stone and then the wood section, going nowhere in particular but forward. ‘Fore I knew it, there was a guy walking along behind me. We was just walking in a great big square, the ground drying out in the sun. Then I seen a beetle bug swimming in a puddle ahead and I reached down to look closer and the guy run right into me.
“Damn kid.” He kinda kicked at me while I was hunched on over. “What’re you doin’ in here anyway?”
I stood up, and the guy punched me with his fist, right in my gut.
There weren’t no air left in me, and my throat closed up tight. I flapped my arms like I was trying to fly, but really I was just trying to breathe.
Then Henry was there, had the guy’s arms pinned behind him and was hauling him across the yard.
Mr. Nance was looking on, but I was sucking at the air and couldn’t get enough to talk to nobody.
I got a bunch of looks from the other men who was talking then, but they wasn’t talking ‘bout me. They was talking ‘bout what was gonna happen to the guy that punched me.
“Gonna lose five good days,” I heard.
“Ain’t enough for solitary.”
“Wanna bet? See what Norton says.”
Finally, I got a whole big breath. Stars was flying around in front of my eyes.
“Walk it off,” said Mr. Nance.
Shin Han nodded at me and started out. I walked along with him.
I tried my voice. It sounded kinda rough, but it was still there. “You hurt somebody, Mr. Han? That why you in here?” I rubbed at my punched belly.
Shin Han didn’t answer right away. But then he
said, “Protect my store.”
“Was someone robbing you?”
“Yes. Drunk man, mean man.”
“A Chinaman?”
He nodded.
“Is he in here?”
Shin Han shook his head. “I hit back. He take away quick. Step in front of horse.”
“The horse run him down?”
He nodded again, and we kept on walking.
“I tell secret, Jake,” said Shin Han.
I said, “Don’t know I’m good at keeping secrets, but I’ll try.”
“In China, Shin is last name. No Han.”
I got it. “So you’s Mr. Shin, not Mr. Han. Is that right?”
He nodded and smiled and we walked two more times around inside that whole big fence, and then it was time to go back in. We all dragged our damp selves across the yard, and I was ready to head on up to my cell and take me a nap. But then there come the Mountain, heading straight for me.
“Jake,” said Mr. Norton. “Warden Johnson would like to see you in his office.”
The warden. Damn.
“Yes, sir,” I said. But I’m thinking if they take away my bread and water, I might as well just curl up in the corner and die.
FIVE
Henry was standing right there beside the Mountain. He didn’t cuff me or nothing. Then we three men just hiked on over to see the warden. We was through the door and walking loud together down the wood hallway, like marching, on into the Mountain’s office, past his desk, and right on up to the warden’s door.
The Mountain knocked. I heard a quiet voice from inside, not a loud hollering voice like I expected. But my heart was jumping around in my chest anyways. The Mountain cleared his giant throat, opened the door, and let me and Henry walk past him and right on in.
An old man was setting at the warden’s desk. His long white beard and mustache was so bushy they looked like snow animals.
“Jake,” said White Beard, “I’m Warden Johnson.”
I asked, “Are you sure?”
He laughed, and I could see that Henry was kinda smiling, too. The Mountain just stood there.
“Yes, Jake, I’m certain that I am Warden Johnson.”
“I just thought maybe you’d be bigger.”
He nodded toward the Mountain. “You mean bigger than Mr. Norton?”
I didn’t really know what I meant. My face sorta stung.
“There aren’t many men who are bigger than Mr. Norton, Jake. Around here, that’s a good thing, don’t you think?”
I decided I would agree with everything he said. I nodded my head a good long time.
“You’re not in trouble this time, Jake. I assume that’s what you were thinking on your walk over here.”
I was nodding the truth then.
“The man who punched you will serve time in solitary. Five days. And he will not be allowed in the yard with the other inmates for a while.”
“Why’d he do that?” I asked. “Why’d he punch me? Alls I was doing was looking at a bug.”
“I don’t know why men do a lot of the things they do. It’s easy for a grown man, a coward like him, to pick on someone like you. And that’s what we were afraid might happen.”
Afraid?
White Beard kept talking. “When we got your court papers, we thought your age was written down wrong. We really aren’t set up here to house someone like you.”
“But I got my own place now. And food… .”
“Two more days, Jake, and you’ll get that dinner tray back.”
I couldn’t help myself. “That breakfast man, he deserved that, Warden.”
“Rules are rules, Jake. And punishment is punishment.” He tugged at his beard. “Two days will go by quickly.”
I kept my mouth shut and nodded again.
“Don’t worry about food,” he said. “The governor will see to it that you will always have your meals.”
Then I was real confused. “But I don’t know the governor.”
“No, Jake. But he has set up a fund—money to pay the expenses for young offenders who have no other support.”
No other support. “I guess Pa don’t have nothing to give.”
“It doesn’t matter, Jake,” said White Beard. “You will eat.”
And then I didn’t know if I should ask, but I did anyways. “Is Pa coming around here? To see me?”
Warden Johnson smoothed the whiskers around his mouth. “You’re a pretty tough kid, Jake. I think it’s only fair to tell you that it’s unlikely.”
“So,” I said, “he won’t be waiting around for me when I get out.”
A big old silence filled up the room. Then I remembered. “Hey, I got five years in here. I’ll be growed up by then.”
“Yes, well,” said the warden. “I’m not sure you’ll be in here for the full five years.”
They was gonna throw me out on my own. Figured.
“We don’t know how long you’ll be here, Jake, but I will keep you informed.” He cleared his throat sorta lady-like. “Jake, have you had any schooling?”
“Me? No, sir. Don’t know as I ever seen a school.”
“There’s an inmate here who has volunteered to teach you.”
“Teach me what?”
This time he smoothed his whole beard. “Teach you to read.”
I let out a snort. “I’m too dumb to read.” That’s what Pa always said.
“That might not be true, Jake. So you will work with Brother Nance each afternoon.”
“Does Brother Nance know Mr. Nance?”
White Beard smiled. “They’re the same man, Jake. Some of us call him Brother Nance, out of respect.”
“But wait, if y’all respect him, how come he’s in here?”
“Laws,” he said. “Laws are laws.”
“So… .” I was trying to make sense outta all that. “He broke a law, but he didn’t really hurt no one, and he’s a good man.”
“That’s about right. And he’s willing to work with you, to teach you to read.”
It weren’t like I had a load of other stuff to do around there. “Okay. What am I gonna read?”
“I assume you’ll start with the Bible. But we will be acquiring a few more books and starting a library here one of these days. Idle hands and minds lead to trouble, Jake.”
“Like that trouble this afternoon,” I said.
White Beard was looking off somewheres past me. “That’s right. It’s tough keeping them all busy right now, even with the stone work.”
I had to know. “What stone work?”
“On top of the hill, Jake, just below Table Rock. They’re cutting the sandstone to finish the fence, to replace the wood.”
They was working up high on them hills.
“I can cut up stone,” I said.
White Beard shook his head. “It’s too dangerous, Jake. They use dynamite.”
Dynamite? “Who uses dynamite?”
White Beard stared off again. “The inmates assigned to the quarry use the dynamite, Jake. We can’t afford to pay outsiders. It’s not an ideal situation, but you’ve seen the wall. It’s coming along.” He nodded. “But the men are going to have more work once the orchard is planted and the crops are put in. Right now all we’ve got to tend to is hogs and—”
“I worked with hogs a while back.”
The Mountain stepped in front of me and looked down hard. “Don’t interrupt the warden.”
I stared at my old boots.
Warden Johnson said, “You worked with hogs? Is that right? Well then, you’ll give Mr. Criswell a hand.”
Me and my big mouth.
SIX
Next morning Henry come up early to my cell. He handed me two thick slices of bread with lard. I tore into them.
“I’m to walk you over to the hogs now,” he said.
I didn’t mind one bit walking right past that eating room, even if the other men was already gone.
Me and Henry started out. The air felt nice and cool ‘cause it was early
. But it was gonna be hot, I could tell. We hiked ‘bout a mile or so, up a rise and down a rise and around past some scraggly old trees, ‘til we got to the hogs. Wasn’t no wind blowing, so I didn’t know I was there ‘til I was there.
It didn’t smell nothing like that other hog farm me and Pa worked. It weren’t bad at all.
We stood at the fence that surrounded the pen. A sea of mostly black hogs moved around inside, grunting and snuffling. One of them headed on over to me, sticking its snout through the fence, giving me a sniff. Then it went for my boot lace. I hopped up to the middle slat of the fence and stepped sideways along the rail, but that hog kept right on after my lace.
“You break it, you fix it.”
I jumped on down and stepped away from the fence. And there come the man who said those words. He was shuffling alongside the fence, all slumped over at the shoulders, like he was looking permanent at the ground. He stopped right in front of me and Henry.
Henry said to the top of the man’s head, “This here’s Jake, Mr. Criswell.”
Mr. Criswell bent his whole body back to look me up and down. His right young-looking face didn’t match with his bent-over self. His eyes was the same blue as the sky.
“You break that fence rail, you fix it. Don’t make work, Jake,” said Mr. Criswell.
“Yes, sir.”
We three men just stood looking for a minute—Henry and me at the hogs, Mr. Criswell at a spot between his feet.
He said, “Just looks like a whole bunch of pigs, doesn’t it, Jake?”
“Yes, sir,” I said, ‘cause it was just a whole bunch of pigs.
He said, “That’s a lot of cooking fat and pork meat.” He pointed over the fence past the heap of pig bodies. “That fella there is our boar.”
I couldn’t miss him. He was covered in bristly hair, mostly black with some white patches. He stood in a small pen all to hisself, and he was bigger than the bathtub in the washing cell.
Mr. Criswell said, “There’s six sows and forty-five good-sized pigs.”
I didn’t know what to say ‘bout that. I couldn’t count up that high, so I hoped that weren’t what he was getting at.
Mr. Criswell was chewing on a piece of straw. “I was told you know your way around a hog, Jake.”