I asked directly. He lowered his hands slowly. “About $2,000.
“With their interest and penalties, maybe it’s over $2,500 by now.” I nodded. It was a lot of money, but not the kind of amount a man should lose his life over.
They had come for the land because the land was worth more. And because the man in front of them looked beaten. “All right,” I said evenly.
“Now listen carefully. Tomorrow you do not speak to them alone. You do not go out into the yard without me.
“And you do not take another paper into your hands. Not one.” My father looked at me for a long moment. Like he was only just beginning to believe I was really home.
Then he nodded slowly. Outside, it was getting dark. For the first time that day, there was some order in the house. The rest we had to deal with before morning.
Night settled over the town almost without notice. The dull gray light faded, leaving only the reflection of the lamp in the window. My father got up, flipped the switch, and the kitchen felt a little warmer.
Yellow light fell across the old cabinet and the ashtray full of cigarette butts. It lit up the wrinkled bills and the folder of documents. Everything in that house pointed to a long, quiet kind of trouble.
My father stayed silent for a long time. Then he went to the window, pulled the curtain back a little, and let it fall again. As if even looking out at the road was hard for him.
“They’ve been around here a while,” he said without turning. “Not just coming after me. They’ve worked over half this road.
“One man’s old tractor. Somebody else’s timber. They’re quick to find the weak spot.” I sat at the table and listened.
“And everybody keeps their head down. What else are they supposed to do? At first some of the local men tried to make noise. Some argued. Some said they’d go to the sheriff.
“Then they figured out it only made things worse. They’d come by at night. Smash a window. Leave a message without saying much at all.
“People here aren’t cowards. They’re just trying to hold onto what they’ve got. When you know help isn’t coming, you protect what’s left.” He sat down again and rubbed his face.
“The county deputy came by a couple times too. Stood at the gate, talked, nodded like he understood. Didn’t change a thing.
“Two days later it started again, only rougher. After that, folks around here got quiet.” Outside, a dog barked once, then another answered farther off.
The town wasn’t asleep. It was pretending to be. I went to the door, opened it, and stepped onto the porch. The night air was damp and cool.
In two houses across the road, lights were still on. A curtain shifted in one window and then went still. People were watching our yard very carefully.
They were waiting to see whether tomorrow would bring another family’s trouble into the open. “They’ll come back in the morning with more men,” my father said behind me.
“The bald one will bring people who are used to finishing things fast.” I turned slowly. “You know them?” I asked.
