Mama said, “You can explain the stones later, honey. What else is in the box?”
She grabbed a bundle of papers at the bottom and unwrapped it.
Someone whistled.
LillieBeth shrugged. “Here Daddy, this is for you.”
Grissom looked over her father’s shoulder, “Art, it looks close to a thousand dollars.”
Daddy turned and without a word walked to Nicholetta’s Cadillac, followed by most of the crowd.
LillieBeth looked at the little chest. She pulled out the last two items. It did not seem like much to sum up a man’s life. “He left a button from a Confederate States uniform. And an old picture that has ‘Emmaline Wallanski Hoffman on her wedding, 1847’ written on the back. This must be his mother.”
She looked at the remnants of the crowd. “That was all he left.” She carefully touched each stone. She put the button and picture back in the box with the stones, closing the lid softly.
Everyone turned as the maroon car sped out of the glade and down the road.
Daddy returned holding a paper high in his hands. “I got it. I bought Hoffman’s place. Clayton, what say I ride along with you to Galena tomorrow? I need to get my new place recorded in the land office at the courthouse.”
Sheriff Grissom nodded. “I don’t expect any problems with those two knot-heads I have to take to Galena, but I will be glad of the company.” He pointed at the signed deed. “Seems you got a right good deal there, Art. $420 is half a fortune, but land is cheap at ten times that price.”
Art laughed, “I got Hoffman’s cousin down to $400 for the lock, stock and barrel. He went lower because we would have to build a house on it.”
LillieBeth looked up from her seat on the ground, “But, Daddy, Mr. Nicholetta asked how Fletcher lived and I told him the truth. He did not ask if there was a house. There is a real pretty white and green painted house. Fletcher built it and no one has ever lived there since. It is empty and just waiting for us to move in.”
The End
Glossary (books one, two and three)
AIRTIGHTS – tin cans of food or jars of homemade goods, such as preserves, vegetables and canned meats.
BALD KNOBBER – northern sympathizers after the Civil War.
BAZOO - mouth
CALIFORNIA PRAYER BOOK – deck of cards
CALIFORNIA WIDOW – a woman separated from her husband when he went west, but not divorced.
CHIPPIE – woman of loose morals (see floozie)
COME CALLING – to court, to sit on the porch and get to know one another
COTTONWOOD BLOSSOMS – a man hung from a tree limb
CROSS GRAINED – rough and splintered
COURTING – to come calling with the intention of developing a marriage relationship
DEVIL’S BREW – alcohol (see moonshine, pop scull, red disturbance, scamper juice, scorpion juice, shine, squeezin’s, who-hit-john)
DOXOLOGY FACTORY - church
EQUALIZER - handgun
FILL A BLANKET – roll a handmade cigarette
FIRE FACTORY – hell, the underworld (see old scratch’s own lair)
FISH GEAR – rain coats and rain hats
FIVE BEANS IN THE WHEEL – five cartridges in a six shot revolver
FLOOZIE – woman of loose morals (see chippie)
FOO-FORAH – extravagant silliness
GIRLS OF THE LINE – prostitutes who work in a brothel (see painted lady, soiled doves)
GRAND HURRAH – hazing the new guy
GREAT WAR TO END ALL WARS – World War I
HOBBLE YOUR LIP – shut your mouth
HOG LEG – large revolver
HOLLOW – a small shallow valley
HURRAH – a good natured brawl
IRONS - handguns
JUMPED THE BROOM – get married by holding hands and jumping over a broomstick
KIN – relative, either distant or close
KLAN – This group started as southern sympathizers after the Civil War protecting people from the carpetbagger’s excesses.
LEAD PUSHER – any gun
MOONSHINE – homemade corn whiskey (see devil’s brew, pop scull, red disturbance, scamper juice, scorpion juice, shine, squeezin’s, who-hit-john)
MUDSILL – uneducated low-life and a disreputable person
OLD SCRATCH – the devil
OLD SCRATCH’S OWN LAIR – hell, the underworld (see fire factory)
OUTHOUSE – a small building built over a deep hole in the ground used as a toilet.
PAINTED LADY - prostitute (see girls of the line, soiled doves)
PIE EATER – uneducated country boy
PIECE OF CALICO – fancy girlfriend
POLECAT - skunk
POP SKULL – moonshine, whiskey (see devil’s brew, moonshine, red disturbance, scamper juice, scorpion juice, shine, squeezin’s, who-hit-john)
POSSIBLES BAG – saddlebags
POX PASSER - penis
QUILTING BEE – a social gathering designed around the sewing and manufacturing of a quilt.
RED DISTURBANCE – alcohol (see devil’s brew, moonshine, pop scull, scamper juice, scorpion juice, shine, squeezin’s, who-hit-john)
ROAD APPLES – horse manure
ROOSTERED – drunk and rowdy, strutting with self importance
SCAMP – a worthless fellow
SCAMPER JUICE – alcohol (see devil’s brew, moonshine, pop scull, red disturbance, scorpion juice, shine, squeezin’s, who-hit-john)
SCORPION JUICE – alcohol (see devil’s brew, moonshine, pop scull, red disturbance, scamper juice, shine, squeezin’s, who-hit-john)
SCUT – someone who performs monotonous menial tasks.
SHINE – moonshine (see devil’s brew, moonshine, pop scull, red disturbance, scamper juice, scorpion juice, squeezin’s, who-hit-john)
SICK OF A MORNING - sick in the mornings
SOILED DOVES - prostitutes (see girls of the line, painted lady)
SPOONING – hugging and kissing
SQUEEZIN’S – corn liquor (see devil’s brew, moonshine, pop scull, red disturbance, scamper juice, scorpion juice, shine, who-hit-john)
SUNSET DOOR – western door
TARADITTLES – lies, mostly small and useless little lies
THUNDER MUG – chamber pot, a container with a lid for using as a toilet in a bed chamber on cold or rainy nights
TIN – tin can
TRACE – not a regular road, but a path or track
UNION SUITS – long underwear
VICTUALS – food stuffs
WE’UNS – all of us together
WHEEL GUN - revolver
WHO-HIT-JOHN – moonshine, whiskey (see devil’s brew, moonshine, pop scull, red disturbance, scamper juice, scorpion juice, squeezins’, shine)
WIGGLE ON – hurry
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Connect with the author
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alan-Black-Paperback-Writer/259372705810
Author’s biography
Alan Black has been writing novels since 1997 when he started 'Eye on The Prize'. His writing tastes are as eclectic as his reading preferences. Alan admits that he loves writing much more than editing and the whole publishing process. Marketing of his work leaves him as baffled as the whole string theory thing.
Alan was born in central Kansas, but grew up in Gladstone, Missouri, graduating from Oak Park Senior High School and eventually earned a degree from Longview Community College. He spent most of his adult life in the Kansas City area (with the exception of a few years in the U.S. Air Force), but he and his wife now live in sunny Arizona. He says the dry desert air stimulates his creativity more than the juicy air in Missouri (pronounced here as 'misery').
His desire to write started in the second grade. He was given an assignment to write a short story about Greek mythology. His teacher took the time to call his parents. Al
though neither his father or his mother remember the incident, it had an impact on him eventually leading him to finally write (and most importantly finish) his first manuscript. It took two years to complete 'Eye on The Prize'. He has gotten faster since then, completing the last manuscript in three weeks.
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Other Books
By
Alan Black
General Fiction
Chasing Harpo
With Bernice Black
An Ozark Mountain series
The Friendship Stones (book one)
The Granite Heart (book two) - available soon
The Heaviest Rock (book three) - available soon
Historical Action/Adventure
Eye on the Prize - available soon
Science Fiction
Metal Boxes
Chewing Rocks
Steel Walls and Dirt Drops - available soon
Titanium Texicans - available soon
Larry Goes to Space - available soon
A Planet with No Name - available soon
Non-Fiction
How to Start, Write and Finish Your First Novel - available soon
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Praise for other books:
Chasing Harpo by Alan Black
Chasing Harpo - When an orangutan goes on the lam, anything can happen. Chasing Harpo, by Arizona author Alan Black hosts an intriguing cast of quirky characters you'd like to visit with longer. Including the star, Harpo -- an orangutan who believes humans are here purely for his entertainment and, of course, to deliver his food.
A fun ride and a great adventure for all ages, as Harpo and his trusty servant, Carl, try to outwit the zoo security team, the police, the attorney general and a gang of drug dealers.
October 1, 2013 by CITYSunTimes Scottsdale, Arizona by Melanie Tighe at new.CITYSunTime.com
Losing Sleep - Once again, Mr. Black has written a (story) that I could not put down. The characters and storyline are compelling and fresh. Harpo's point of view is well conceived and at times hilarious. Good read, over all. Thank you, Alan Black. Looking forward to your next work!
By Michael Rittermeyer
Metal Boxes by Alan Black
Thoroughly entertaining - Found I actually lost track of time when I was reading. Has been awhile since a book has taken me there.
By Mike Proffitt
Loved it - I have not read many Sci.Fi books. I finished the author's other book "Chasing Harpo" and I was so thoroughly entertained by it so much so I had a hard time putting it down. So for this one I was a little skeptical that I could follow along but boy was I wrong. The author has a exceptional way of bringing all the characters to life with a believability so you are able to relate to them. When a author can put you into the storyline like that you know it is gonna be a great ride with all the twists and turns and ups and downs. It is clever, funny and engages you. I definitely look forward to this author’s next book whatever it is!!!!!
By Tammie
Great Book! - Great read. The flow of the book was well thought out and engaging. At times it was like I was there watching it all through Stone’s eyes. Very good read. Would like to see more stories on this character in future books. They’d be worth the read as I couldn’t put this eBook away!
By Brian A.
A fun evening - Highly enjoyable military juvenile coming of age SF. A little gem in the genre and a great night off from heavy reading, recommended as fun, adventurous and leaving you with the pleasant glow of finishing a Flash Gordon arc.
an extended combat of attrition and its culture a little light but again within the sub genre all of this is to be expected.
I would read another in the same setting happily.
By Robert Casey
Chewing Rocks by Alan Black
A Place to Escape To - Mr. Black's heroine is again a highly competent if somewhat unusually designed person. Highly competent women are not the usual thing in Sci Fi, although it is getting more popular.
The story line is easy to follow and you will be rooting for the good guys all the way and hoping the villains get their just rewards. You won't be disappointed. You will also find a couple of nice bits of technology to deal with.
A fast reader could get through this in one sitting and it will be worth your while to do so.
By David P. Frankel (author of ‘The Third Person’)
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