Splinter (standard:mystery, 2161 words)
Author: stanley mcqueen kentucky backwoods writer	Added: Apr 26 2007	Views/Reads: 4140/2392	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
short backwood story

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

his pipe and Irvin rolled him a cirgarrett and Irvin told us of how he 
would try and recall where he has lost that knief all those years and 
never could figure it out, and then pa spoke up , well Irvin that year 
was along about tobacco suckering time and if i recall right  you told 
me that you was going to help old man morries cut the blossums out of 
his tobacco crop , if i was a betting man i think you lost that knief 
some place on the morris farm, try and recall that day you helped him 
pa said “ well now that you mention it that right i do recall that now, 
well that been a long time back , but i think that evening we hung a 
load of tobacco that he had cut the week before and now it is coming 
back, old man morris said he had one load of tobacco to hang in the 
barn , and that evening we did load that tobacco up and hung it in the 
barn that set beside his house Irvin recalls”try and think back to 
hanging that load of tobacco , pa told him , take your time and try 
hard pa,added, Irvin seems to be in deep thought no word is said for a 
moment, and then Irvin said, i rember that the tobacco sticks had 
splinter on them they were new tobacco sticks and i rember getting a 
slpinter in my hand while i was up on the top rail of the barn, and i 
asked old man morris to have the bottom rail men to stop for moment for 
so i could dig a splinter our of my hand i do rember that he said and 
stopped talking at that point.. then pa said well now that gives me and 
idea you had to use that new knife to dig out that splinter out of your 
hand, i bet that knief is somewhere in that barn pa said with and 
excited look on his face.,, tomarrow we will go and look about in that 
barn and see if we can find it ,,maybe you missed your pocket and it 
dropped down threw all that tobacco and you never heared it hit and 
likewise the men on the rails below you never noticed it falling pa 
suggest, chances is if  that would be so that it would be so rusted and 
decayed now that it would do no good if we did find it Irvin said”: 
well what have we got to lose either way pa said” so that will be 
tomarrow chore we will drive to the morris farm and asked old man 
morris to search his barn pa said' he is a good old fellow and a friend 
of mine pa said' when morning come me and pa and Irvin went to the 
morris farm and we found old man morris setting on his porch and he 
seen Irvin with us and come and greeted him with a strong hand 
shake...its so good to see you Irvin, good to be out of prison he 
remarks”well Irvin i never did believe you kill no body man morris said 
, i knowed you a long time and found you to be a good honest man for my 
part morris tells him” we like to look around in your barn for a pocket 
knief that might of been lost eight years back pa explains to morris. 
be my quest morris said look all you want the old barn is empty of 
tobacco for the time being he said and a good time to cyper threw and 
look morris said, and boys i look along with you fellows if that be ok 
morris asked? we four made our way to the barn and all went to kicking 
around in the drive way part, thinking we might uncover the lost knief 
after all these years of time passing it seem unlikely . after much 
plundering around and looking, pa told me to climb up on the top rail 
and looks around up their, and i climbed up there and was looks about 
along the rails and then  i seen it there sticking on the very top rail 
was the knife, the blade was rusty and the speckled handles were still 
new looking , i hollowed you fellow want believe me but here is the 
knief ... dont touch it son pa shouted up at me leave it be so we can 
have the sheriff come and see it just as it is and this will clear 
Irvin name.. i did as pa requested and Irvin had the biggest smile i 
ever seen on a man face , he went to danceing around that old barn shed 
stireing up dust and carrying on something awful  , morris said boys 
call the sheriff and have him come out here to the farm and morris 
hurried to his house to call the sheriff, it was not long till the 
sheriff come along with some other law men and one of the young law 
climbed up and took a picture of the knife, and then the knife was 
pulled out by the young lawmen, and he climbed down and the sheriff 
took the knife , and said the Irvin im at a lost for words ..and im so 
sorry i made a fatal mistake toward your conviction.. how can i say im 
sorry that just isn,t enought says the sheriff , Muddy fork owes you a 
lot the sheriff says and i will see the county repays you from this 
terriable mistake i done on my part as a lawman. .. please forgive me 
the sheriff says , and then Irvin said it was and honest mistake on 
your part, and forget it Irvin shook the lawman hand and said now i can 
live here with my name cleared and be a free man forever, and we was at 
this point the happyest men in Muddy Fork county.... pa and me and 
Irvin followed the sheriff car into muddy Fork and compared the knife 
with the one that had been saved from the murder seen and it was  a 
perfect twin to the knife that Irvin had bought eight years back... the 
county of Muddy fork districk bought back Irvin farm and give him fifty 
thousand dollar to boot., now Irvin can walk down the main road of our 
little township called Muddy Fork a free and cleared man...Irvin bought 
me a saddle horse and paw a brand new pickup truck, and things just 
couldn,t get no better here in Muddy fork county>>>>the end 


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