She abandoned her bucket quickly and picked into her apron.
When the sun went down they had picked twenty boxes.
Tom set the twentieth box down.
“A buck,” he said. “How long do we work?”
“Work till dark, long as you can see.”
“Well, can we get credit now?
Ma oughta go in an’ buy some stuff to eat.”
“Sure.
I’ll give you a slip for a dollar now.” He wrote on a strip of paper and handed it to Tom.
He took it to Ma.
“Here you are.
You can get a dollar’s worth of stuff at the store.”
Ma put down her bucket and straightened her shoulders.
“Gets you, the first time, don’t it?”
“Sure.
We’ll all get used to it right off.
Roll on in an’ get some food.”
Ma said,
“What’ll you like to eat?”
“Meat,” said Tom. “Meat an’ bread an’ a big pot a coffee with sugar in.
Great big piece a meat.”
Ruthie wailed,
“Ma, we’re tar’d.”
“Better come along in, then.”
“They was tar’d when they started,” Pa said. “Wild as rabbits they’re a-gettin’.
Ain’t gonna be no good at all ’less we can pin ’em down.”
“Soon’s we get set down, they’ll go to school,” said Ma.
She trudged away, and Ruthie and Winfield timidly followed her.
“We got to work ever’ day?” Winfield asked.
Ma stopped and waited.
She took his hand and walked along holding it.
“It ain’t hard work,” she said. “Be good for you.
An’ you’re helpin’ us.
If we all work, purty soon we’ll live in a nice house.
We all got to help.”
“But I got so tar’d.”
“I know. I got tar’d too.
Ever’body gets wore out.
Got to think about other stuff.
Think about when you’ll go to school.”
“I don’t wanta go to no school.
Ruthie don’t, neither.
Them kids that goes to school, we seen ’em, Ma.
Snots!
Calls us Okies.
We seen ’em.
I ain’t a-goin’.”
Ma looked pityingly down on his straw hair.
“Don’ give us no trouble right now,” she begged. “Soon’s we get on our feet, you can be bad.
But not now.