The note was written in a scrawl

Chapter 26) River Boy talks to Harold
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River Boy and Billy's friend Harold were at the river with another boy.
The warm sun felt good as they sat on the grass along the bank. The river smelled of late summer with the water slowed by lack of rain.

River Boy wanted to know why Billy helped Spade shoot Arkadelphia.

He was trying to find out if Top Hat still owed payments to Crooks Tail or whether those guys wanted somebody else to take over the gambling and rents. Rents included a piece of the back room girls laying for sale, but also the monthly payment for your house, and then of course debts and loans.
Grandpa built his house on property that was open to squatters. He owned it free, as long as a white man didn't claim it.
Most in Blacktown were living in old slave houses owned by a white master, and when they paid on time, you could argue they were the good house Negro.

Top Hat ran things pretty smooth, but he was soft when people were behind.
Crackling warned him, but payments to Crooks Tail fell short nearly every week.
Top Hat fought back. Spade was stealing and the law beating up men. How can a man pay rent if he got a broken arm? And with tractors taking over, the men were getting thrown off the land. People were moving away, but the payments kept going up.

People in Blacktown didn't know which way it was going, but if Harold could tell River Boy more about the shooting, then he might be able to tell Top Hat what was what.
Both Billy and Spade were dead, so Harold was their best chance.

Two white boys were coming up the river in a boat.
They had guns and were shooting off in the woods.
It was good chance they would shoot a Negro without much thought, so River Boy, Harold and the other boy moved back and hid behind some trees.
Then another boat came from upriver.
River Boy could hear what they were saying.
These were older men and a bit gruff.
They said, you guys put your rifles away right now.
There’s not going to be any shooting on the river, the Commissioner says so.
You get crosswise and there’s going to be trouble, you understand?
The two boys said yes sir, yes sir, we understand.

There’s not going to be any shooting here, or anywhere around here.
We got that fishing tournament coming up, and that’s no excuse to be shooting Negroes at the river.
Oh no, we not shooting anyone sir ... we uh ...
We know what you're doin.' You boys clear out. You want to do some fishing, that's fine, but you not going to be carrying guns and shooting people. You understand?
You not going to be scaring Negroes either.

Yes sir, we understand. Yes sir, we going back home right now.
Where you boys from?
Oh we from down there, you know, down around...
Where's that? Speak up.
Yes sir ... uh, yes ... well my daddy ... he works here in Trinity and we came along with him today.
He drive over from uh, you know, uh there in Needville, you know where I’m talking about?
Yeah, we know Needville. Y'all from Needville you say, then you boys get outta here and don’t come back on this river.
We see you again, there’s going to be trouble, you understand me? We gonna take your guns and anything else you got.
And you get word around.
You got that?

We understand sir, we right there. Yes sir, we leaving right now.
Ok. You tell folks over there in Needville, the Commissioner telling you to stay home. There's nothing for you here. Got that?
Yes sir. We gonna tell folks.

The two boats were floating back toward Trinity and River Boy couldn't hear them anymore.

River Boy, Harold, and the other boy were leaning with backs against three giant river-bottom sycamores. They were wide and beautiful with white trunks and brown bark.

Harold called over and said, you hear that River Boy? You got the Commissioner to stop dem boys from shooting at us, you think? How you do that?
The other boy was Harold's friend. He didn't much care about the conversation. He was tall and skinny like Harold, except he went to school and was planning to go north to Chicago as soon as money arrived from his uncle.

You think it's safe now? Is the Klan coming or not?

River Boy said, I don’t know. But those guys from Needville are bashers. Remember a couple years ago when they went to Top Hat’s  and tore up the pool table and broke the sticks. They were yelling and throwing stuff until Tony Mute showed up with the gamblers. There were 6 or 7 of them against those greasers.

Harold said, they should have mopped the deck with those guys.
Naw, River Boy said, it was smart to let em leave.
Yeah, they'd probably come back with more guys.

River Boy said, hey Harold, you remember Spade, right?
Sure, he got what was coming.
Well, how come Billy help Spade?
Billy's stupid.
The other boy laughed, saying that guy wore his pants inside out one time. Remember that?
The three of them laughed hard. It was true. Billy was an idiot, but he always did what he was told and he liked Top Hat.
The burst of laughter caused River Boy to peek around the tree at the river.
It was ok. Nobody heard them.
Harold said, if they're telling us to stop fishing and get off the river, then lot of people gonna be without food until the fish come back.

The other boy said, yeah, if the tournament take all the fish like last year, it will be weeks before we catch anything.
Harold said, that's right. What are we gonna do River Boy?

River Boy was getting off track, but the tournament was a bigger problem than trying to figure out what was going to happen with the payment. Maybe he and Top Hat should make the payment and see what happens, but if people don't have food, how they going to pay rent to Top Hat? Then with people scared, Arkadelphia dead, the gambling and liquor money will be short too.
If Boy Johnson really liked him like Big Mac said, he could go to Crooks Tail and maybe walk into the Lewiston hotel and sit until they call him. Or maybe somebody else should go since Crackling was on a rampage. It would be too much if Top Hat went himself. They'd kill him for convenience.
Maybe he should ask Big Mac instead of trying to figure out through Harold, except Mac disappeared for a while and had his own losses to consider. Either way, River Boy didn't know that Crackling was gone and Boy Johnson in charge.

Then Harold told the story.
Me and Billy was sitting around and Spade come over with some beer. It taste like shit. But Billy liked it.
Spade told us that Crackling said we had to go shoot Top Hat or they would come for us too.
Spade pulled a gun.
Billy was afraid because Spade was living with his sister. He was sneaking around the house and doing crazy things, talking about voices and cutting himself to get the devil out of his blood. He killed the dog, then cook it and tell everybody he got steak.
Yeah, I heard that too.

His sister tried to throw him out, but he say he gonna to kill her and her mother too.
So when he said me and Billy had to go with him, I got up and tried to get Billy to go with me, but Billy was scared.
I left and they went to shoot Top Hat.
The whole thing was stupid, just like everything Billy get into.

River Boy asked, did Spade actually say Crackling? Did he say anybody else.
No, he just said Crackling, but he said we had to do it that night. The plan was to run in real fast and shoot Top Hat.
Why that night?
That's what Spade said. He didn't say anything else. He was crazy in his eyes. He deserved to die real bad, like the way you guys got him.
River Boy said, I had nothing to do with killing him or anybody else. I don't know who did it, and I don't wanna know. Maybe Spade ran away. I just wanna know why Billy went with Spade. Got that?
Yeah ok, but what we gonna do if the Klan come and we got nothing to eat?

River Boy felt something when Harold talked about Spade. It was a deep worry about being found out, same as he felt after his stepfathers death.
Both Top Hat and Big Mac said they were trying to find a snitch. They said it was somebody real close, and River Boy just discovered it was Harold. He didn't understand how he knew, but it was true.

River Boy said, I don't think the Klan is coming. You remember the guy from Trinity said they weren't coming, and those guys in the boat said nobody was allowed on the river with guns. When you figure it, the easiest way the Klan sneak up is with a bunch of guys in boats. They probably wouldn't come in cars because the road is bad, and the springs would bust with a bunch of guys, but I don't know.
Harold said, yeah, you right. It would start with some guys shooting us along the river before everybody show up.

The other boy said, do you only talk about criminal stuff? We bigger than that. That's why I'm going to be a lawyer.
Harold laughed and said that's good, because when you a lawyer, you can talk about criminal stuff all day.
That set both boys off to laughing.

River Boy was still thinking about Crackling. Then asked, did Spade say anything about Crooks Tail?
Yeah I remember. He said that they had to do it that night or there was going to be a fight in Crooks Tail.
Why was there going to be a fight?
I dunno. There was something. I remember, he told me Crackling was mad because you were taking Top Hat's payments. Were you doing that?
No. I don't know about payments. Top Hat let me use the car for dates with my girl over in Trinity, but how you hear that?
Spade told me that you in Crooks Tail all the time. He said Crackling doesn't like you.
The other boy said, yeah, so you almost got killed too.
Billy said, I see you pretty good at this criminal stuff already, causing boys to both laugh again.

River Boy said, alright, but we still got the fishing tournament to figure out, right?
Yeah. Both boys agreed.
You got any ideas?
River Boy said, no. But maybe you tell Mons right away. Tell her the Commissioner is running off people with guns, and telling Needville to say home. That's pretty good proof the Klan is not coming, at least right now. Maybe she has an idea about the tournament because they need us to dig toilets for the white people and clean up after everybody. That means they can't start a war, besides I've been in Trinity and nobody is talking about the murders. It's like the people know what happened, but nobody is saying anything about it.

Harold asked, hey River Boy, you hear about Dack? They said he ran off to Paris. Can you believe it?
River Boy half laughed, and said, yeah, imagine that guy in Paris. Don't worry, he'll show up and beat someone before too long.
The other boy said, he beat my brother out there in the field. They were drinking when Dack jumped them. The other guys ran away, but my brother got caught. I mean, if all the guys fight back, then Dack would stop. That why I'm going to be a lawyer, you see.

River Boy said. Your family going to be grateful. We all going to be grateful if you can do it.
Harold asked, are you really the Mayor? They saying you are.
The other boy laughed and said, yeah, are you Mayor?
I don't know. It was a joke and now people calling me Mayor. I don't even know what a Mayor does, but if people say so then maybe I am.
Both the boys laughed. Yeah, you Mr Mayor. We need a Mayor, followed by more laughter.

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