Bring the Boys Home by Gilbert L. Morris

the saloon.
    Falor stayed just a moment to give the farmer a hard look, but his words were to Tom. “I wouldn’t make it a habit of comin’ to town. We don’t need Rebels here. Why don’t you go back down South where you belong?” He turned and walked inside.
    Tom found himself half carried to Jud’s wagon. The farmer helped him onto the seat, where he tried to clean the blood off his face with trembling hands.
    Mullins spoke to the horses, and the wagon moved. When they were out of town, he said quietly, “Not everybody in this town is like those three. I wouldn’t judge Pineville by them.”
    Tom was too nauseated to speak. He simply nodded and for the rest of the way home thought only of how he could keep his father from hearing about what had happened. There would be trouble. Onthe other hand, he knew it would be impossible to keep such news. Pineville loved its gossip.
    He thought grimly,
Everyone in the county will know a Majors got beat up by Dewitt Falor
.

10
The Courting
    A s the Majors family settled down into their rather precarious shack, the most exciting activities around Pineville seemed to be the courtship of two couples.
    Actually, both Royal and Rosie were taken by surprise. Each young man considered that he had already done a sufficient amount of courting back in Tennessee. They were soon, however, enlightened by their prospective brides.
    Rosie was the first to discover that he had not fulfilled Charlie’s expectation of what a young man should do. He’d come out to the Carter house several times and sat on the front porch with his fiancée. Then suddenly, one evening after supper, the roof seemed to fall in on him.
    Rosie had managed to devour a large part of a huge turkey, alternating huge bites of the delicious white and dark meat with complaints of how easily his stomach got upset. Staggering out to the front porch afterward, he collapsed into a cane-bottom rocker.
    He was joined almost at once by Charlene Satterfield. She sat in a chair beside him and listened to him moan about his health for some time, but she said nothing. She was an attractive girl, especially now that she had learned to wear dresses. When Drake and Rosie had first met her in Atlanta, she had dressed like a man, having been raised much like a boy.
    Tonight Charlie wore an apricot-colored dress that Lori had helped her with. Her hair was carefully arranged, and obviously she had gone to great lengths to make herself as pretty as possible.
    Rosie turned his head and looked at her. “What’s the matter, Charlie? You’re not saying anything.”
    “How can I say anything?” Charlie said. “You’re groaning like a pig that’s eaten too much corn.”
    “Well, that was a good supper. I just hope it don’t discombobulate my digestion.” He looked over again and said, “You seem out of sorts. Are you feeling peaked?”
    “I feel fine!” Charlie’s voice, however, was sharp, and suddenly she turned on him. “You may as well go on home if all you’re going to do is sit there and groan!”
    Her sudden anger took Rosie off guard. Charlie Satterfield was one of the best tempered girls he had ever met, which was one reason he wanted to marry her. He straightened up and said, “I can tell you’re upset. What is it? Tell old Rosie—he’ll fix it.”
    Suddenly Charlie was on her feet. “All right! I’ll tell you! All you’ve done since you got back from the army is come here and eat and set on this porch!” She was almost crying.
    Rosie rose to his feet. He was very fond of this young woman. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Well, now, dog my cats!” he muttered. “Something’s wrong. Just tell me what it is.”
    Charlie looked up at him. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong! You treat me like a piece of furniture, not like a woman!”
    “What’s that you say?”
    “You never dress up to come out and see me. You never notice when I put on a new dress, orwhen I fix my hair. You never say anything romantic to me.