Sunday morning Joey Frank lied to Mama saying he didn’t feel well and he wanted to stay home from church. His plans were to take the money to Ernie’s home. He thought the sooner the Browns got the money; the sooner Ernie would be able to see.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown attended church regularly, and he hoped they wouldn’t be home today. Ernie would be there, of course, because he seldom ever left his room anymore. Joey Frank planned to be very careful not to let anyone hear him when he arrived. He would leave the money without Ernie or his parents ever knowing where it came from. He was sure they would use the money for the operation, assuming it came from a “Good Samaritan” for that purpose.
After Mama and Gloria left the house for church, Joey Frank watched them leave from the doorway until they had gone out of sight down the little winding road. He ran to his bedroom got the money from under his mattress, stuck it into his front pocket, and rushed from the house to go to Ernie’s.
It would take awhile longer to go the back way to the Browns’ home through the fields and woods. Joey Frank decided to take that route rather than the road, so he wouldn’t be seen by anyone. He didn’t want someone to tell Mama that he was seen walking the roads and goofing off during church hours.
There were some people around Ruby Creek who could spread news quicker than a fast-moving locomotive. Joey Frank remembered his Pa saying that Miss Mattie Hogan had everybody beat when it came to spreading gossip. He said her tongue was long enough to out-talk the whole state of Georgia and then some. Pa told Joey Frank that when God was working on Miss Mattie’s tongue, he must have got an important message and forgot to “let up” on the molding.
Soon Joey Frank was in view of Ernie’s home, and he could see Mr. Browns’ wagon was gone from its usual place, making it certain that he and Mrs. Brown had gone to church. The families’ old dog, the Browns called “Ringeye” was lying by the closed door on the front porch. The animal knew Joey Frank well, so he didn’t worry about him making a fuss when he saw him.
Ringeye was crippled and never ventured too far from the Browns’ home.
As Joey Frank crept up the steps, Ringeye got up and hobbled over to greet him. Joey Frank gave him a little pat on the head, so he lay back down to rest.
Joey Frank looked around the porch for a place to put the money where Ernie’s parents would be sure to find it when they arrived from church. He didn’t think the flowerpots would be a good place, because Mrs. Brown wouldn’t water her petunias on Sunday. He didn’t like the idea of putting it on the porch swing or the chairs, because the wind could blow it away.
He looked at the door jam with a crack that was big enough to stick the money into. He thought that would be the ideal place, because as the Browns reached for the doorknob, the money would be right at their fingertips. There was no way they could miss seeing it.
Joey Frank took the roll of bills from his pocket, and stuck them securely into the crack of the door. Although Rene Tolbert had not offered to give a penny toward Ernie’s eye surgery, the money that had been forcefully taken from her was now in its proper place. If everything went well with theoperation, then Ernie Brown would surely see again. It would be only a few more days that he would have to endure the awful darkness, caused by the Widow Tolbert, which made him withdraw from his happy world.
Joey Frank Cooper had become a one-time bank robber, and without his realizing it, he had become the young hero he wanted to be. If his love for Ernie Brown could be measured in the hero that he was, then there would be love so strong it could rip open the earth and bury whatever might stand in the way of Ernie regaining his eyesight.