THE GRAVE 11

later that day shug walked to the end of town and up the slope to the grave yard. stepping to the foot of his fathers grave he stood there a moment. he took his hat off. then with a sigh he quietly said " for what its worth ime stepping into the whitemans world. ive been keeping a eye on carrie for you. i like her too. she is trying hard to settle in. i dont know how long i can stick it out here in town. but i will try. the white man has some different ways of seeing things. but i will try to learn" shug put his hat back on and turned on his heel and ran right into a man standing there who had walked up behind him. "excuse me, i didnt hear you walk up." shug said as he side stepped around the man. " not many white men talk to their dead family like that. you sir have my respect." the man said shug looked down at his feet" thank you, we believe the old ones guide us in life. it makes me feel better to talk to him even tho he dont speak back." the man stood there and watched shug walk back down the hill towards town." and they call them savages." the man shook his head then turned and walked over to a grave next to the fence, a small stool was there and he pulled it up close." ime back darlin.i still havent found the man yet who put you here but ill keep looking " back in town shug walked along the street until he came to the dress shop he leaned against the wall and watched the folks going and comming along the street. he wasnt sure yet if this was what he wanted, but he knew carrie needed some back up, his father wanted her to have that. to be safe. that evening shug had walked carrie home with no incident. she saw the badge but didnt coment on it. while she was cooking supper he cut wood for her stove. he built up a good sized pile , enough to last a while. after supper he looked at carrie. " how did you get to know my father?" he asked. " i was orphaned at a young age. a man claiming to be a relative took me in. he fed and clothed my but worked the flesh from my bones. and if you complained he used a black snake whip on you.he told folks i owed him.he got in a card game with your father and lost me to him. your father never laid a hand on me. he fed and clothed me and never asked for anything in return."carrie told her story. shug listened and nodded." he was a good man for sure. i never knew him much but he always treated me well when i was little. i guess we just got each other thanks to him."