The baby was no longer a secret, but it was the main topic of conversation on the lips of the townspeople.
There were no charges brought against Rene Tolbert or her daughter Alice, since there was no foul play involved. The baby was stillborn and was buried in the woods, to spare the Tolbert name any shame.
Miss Rene was very furious, blaming the dead baby’s father, Hank Eller, with all her troubles. She was beginning to let her true colors show; now that the people of Ruby Creek had learned the Tolbert family wasn’t all lily-white as they were thought to be in prior years.
One day on Main Street in front of onlookers Miss Rene cursed loudly and promised Sheriff Jamison she would kill Hank Eller if she ever caught him near her home again. The sheriff told Hank of Miss Rene’s threat, and Hank laughed about it, saying that he was glad that Rene Tolbert was eating some of the garbage that she had dished out to everyone else.
The people had stopped talking about changing the little town’s name to Tolbert Creek in honor of the “great banker” who wasn’t so great anymore, since they had learned he had tried to kill two innocent boys in an effort to keep them quiet.
If the ghost of the bawd named Ruby was actually in the old saloon building and heard the town might change its name, she could rest in peace now. More than likely the little town would continue to bear her name, forever.
Since the Tolbert scandal had been revealed, Miss Rene gave the baby a decent burial. Her remains were placed beside Banker Tolbert’s in the Baptist Church Cemetery at Ruby Creek. Her little headstone with an angel kneeling in prayer read: “Baby Tolbert. Born February 14, 1912. Born into this world but not to suffer.”
Mama was disappointed that Joey Frank didn’t confide in her about the baby and the fifty dollars that Banker Tolbert had given him. When he explained his feelings about her taking a job away from home, then she was proud of such dedication from her thirteen-year-old son.
Ernie’s parents didn’t hold any ill feelings toward anyone. Their only concern was for their son’s eyesight to be restored. Many charitable people who had learned of the Brown family’s misfortune gave what money they could spare toward the operation. The total amount in the glass jar was now sixty-eight dollars, making it four hundred and thirty-eight dollars away from the required goal.
Joey Frank continued to visit Ernie on Saturdays. On one of the visits he led Ernie through the woods and the fields to the river. That was the first time they had gone fishing since the accident. Ernie could easily bait his own hook and take the fish off, but Joey Frank kindly offered to help.
Ernie blew up, and told him bluntly that he didn’t need his help. “If I need yore help, Joey Frank Cooper, then I’ll ast for it.” he said. “Now hush up, bait yore own dang hook an’ quit worryin’ about mine.”
“What’cha wanna git all mad for, Ernie? Just ‘cause I offered to help you? That ain’t no way to be.”
“I ain’t mad, Joey Frank, I’m just tired a-folks offerin’ to help me an’ a-feelin’ sorry for me, that’s all.”
Joey Frank looked over at Ernie, staring out toward the river at nothing. He wasn’t altogether sure, but he thought that he saw him wipe a tear from the corner of his eye.
“Ernie, folks ain’t feelin’ sorry for you,” Joey Frank said. “They just wanna help you out a little ‘til you git the hang of thangs. Heck, let’m help you ‘cause it ain’t gonna be too much longer ‘til you can see agin, an’ ever’body’s gonna be after you to help them”.
Ernie turned his head slightly to the side away from Joey Frank and said, “I don’t guess I’ll ever be able to see agin, Joey Frank. I hear my Pa an’ Mama a-talkin’ sometimes when they don’t thank I hear’m. Pa cain’t sell the farm an’ there ain’t no other way they can git the money for my operation.”
The tears were obvious on the side of Ernie’s face now. He turned his head further around, hoping that Joey Frank wouldn’t detect them. He quickly wiped his eyes and the sides of his face with his hand, and then he turned his head back around and spit into the river. He went on to say, “Shucks, Joey Frank, it won’t be so bad that I’m gonna be blind. Heck, there’s two thangs that’s gonna make me happy that I cain’t see.”
“Oh yeah! What two thangs, Ernie?”
“Well, I won’t hafta go back to school an’ learn about that dumb ole war anymore, an’ somebody besides me is gonna hafta tote wood in for the heater to keep that sweet little Johnny McGraw all good an’ warm”.
Joey Frank realized that Ernie was trying to fool him. He went along with his act, faking a laugh, saying “Yeah, that’s somethin’ to be glad about Ernie, but I just hope I ain’t gonna hafta be the one that totes all that wood in for the sweet thang to keep warm. That’s one heap of a job for a fella.”
“Well, you just better be a-gittin’ ready, Joey Frank Cooper, ‘cause it’s a-comin’ for shore. Yore gonna be the very one that’ll hafta to do it, an’ you’ll hafta do it all by yoreself too ‘cause I won’t be there to help you. That sweet little Johnny McGraw won’t he helpin’ out none ‘cause he might git dirt on them fine clothes of his’n.”
Suddenly Joey Frank felt sick all over. His fishing pole gave a jerk, but he didn’t bother to bring it in. He didn’t care if the biggest fish in the river had swallowed the hook. He felt so bewildered for his buddy.
Joey Frank laid the pole down, not caring to fish. He lay back on the ground and put his hands under his head. He looked up at the sky, and his mind began to wander. He thought of Johnny McGraw and his family. They owned the dry goods store in Ruby Creek and it was a very progressive business. Money was no object for him and his family. They owned a spacious home outside of town with a bathroom. Johnny could take a warm bath and change into different clothes everyday if he wanted to. He didn’t have to walk to school either. Mr. McGraw always brought Johnny to school in his new buggy and dropped him off right at the school door. He had never in his life had to wade through water puddles in the cold winter to get to school as Joey Frank and Ernie had done.
As Joey Frank continued to look up at the blue sky, he thought of Rene Tolbert with all her money and luxuries. She knew very well what kind of conditions the Brown family endured, yet she had not offered to contribute the first penny towards Ernie’s eye surgery.
He thought about his Pa and a story that he had told him about the young outlaw, Jesse James, who was given credit for robbing from the rich to give to the poor.
As Joey Frank was remembering the story, he couldn’t see anything wrong with Jesse’s robbing from the rich folk to give to the poor, especially if the poor were in a predicament like the Brown family.
Ernie interrupted Joey Frank’s thoughts when he asked, “Have you got a bite yit, Joey Frank?”
“I ain’t yit, Ernie,” he answered as if he had been fishing all along. “I reckin they all takin’ a nap or off a-visitin’ down stream somewhere.”
Joey Frank couldn’t bring himself to pick up his pole again. He continued to lie back on the riverbank deep in thought. Every now and then, he would look over at Ernie holding on to his fishing pole staring out toward the river, and his heart ached for him. He wanted to cry; he wanted to scream. He felt so guilty because he had been the one who caused Ernie to go to Rene Tolbert’s home in the first place. He felt that if he hadn’t thrown the words “chicken blood” in his buddy’s face he wouldn’t be blind today.
Tears had filled Joey Frank’s eyes by now, and they wouldn’t stop coming. They were big, hot tears that had been building up for a long time because he wouldn’t let himself breakdown. He wanted to stay strong for Ernie. The tears wouldn’t stop flowing, he finally gave in to them, saying to himself, “Heck, go on an’ cry, Joey Frank Cooper. Let it all out, an’ git it over with. Ernie’s blind an’ cain’t see you makin’ a big baby outta yoreself. You better be careful though an’ not make no noise, ‘cause he’ll ketch on that yore cryin’ an’ you’ll never hear the end of it.”
After Joey Frank had finished silently crying, he got up, not bothering to wipe away the tears from his face that Ernie wasn’t able to see. He picked up his fishing pole and pulled the line from the water to check his bait. He put a fresh worm on the hook and dropped it back into the water. He was going to try to be his normal self now.
“Did you git one, Joey Frank?”
“No, I wuz just puttin’ frash bait on my hook.”
“We must be in a bad spot. Do you wanna change places?”
“We will if you want to, Ernie.”
“You sound like yore head is commencin’ to stop up Joey Frank. Are you ketchin’ a cold?”
“I may be; you know them thangs’ll sprang on you before you know it.”
“Yeah, they will. My Mama says that goin’ barefooted on rainy days will cause a fella to come down with a cold. You oughta wear them ole brogans of mine when it’s a-rainin’. Heck, I ain’t gonna need’m anymore. What little I’m gonna be a-walkin,’ not goin’ to school an’ all, or workin’ in the fields, my new shoes will last me for no tellin’ how long.”