Alabama Moon Read Online Free PDF Page B

about getting to Alaska. Even though my instincts were against it, I stood and followed him.
    Once we entered the lodge, I saw Mr. Wellington better in the light. He wore fancy hunting pants and a hat with a turkey feather in it. His face was tight and clean for someone his age. The only way you could tell he was older than Pap was by his eyes. They looked tired past his silver hair.
    The lodge was warm inside and smelled of cut cedar and pine. The ceiling was high and I saw the second story was just windows halfway up the wall. I followed him into the kitchen, where he gave me a napkin and the sweet roll off the counter. I bit into it and the sugar tasted so good that I almost closed my eyes while I chewed.
    I followed him into a larger room just outside the kitchen. “Sit down in that chair over there,” he said. His hand pointed to a wood chair against the wall. I was disappointed that it wasn’t one of the soft chairs in the middle of the room, but I went over to it and sat. Mr. Wellington walked around in front of me and pulled up another, more comfortable chair and sat down. He crossed his arms on his chest.
    I finished the sweet roll and looked around at the light fixtures and the nature paintings on the walls.
    â€œI talked to that friend of yours who owns the store up theroad and he said you all have been out there for about eight years.”
    â€œHe’s not my friend,” I said.
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œPap said you’d run us off,” I said.
    â€œWell, I just wanted to find out who was living on my property.”
    I studied a painting of an Indian kneeling by a waterfall and didn’t respond.
    â€œThe surveyors said they found a primitive dwelling of some sort. I suppose that was yours.”
    â€œIt’s a shelter. It’s built like that so people won’t find it.”
    â€œI see. What kind of pants are those?”
    â€œBeaver britches.”
    â€œDid your father make those for you?”
    â€œNossir, I made ’em. Made a deerskin hat, too, but I left it at home.”
    â€œInteresting.”
    Mr. Wellington must have seen me look over at his television, because he said, “Would you like me to turn it on for you?”
    I watched his face to see if I could read anything in it. I thought about how lonely it was back at the shelter. I thought about how warm and dry it felt inside the lodge. “You gonna call the constable on me if I stay?”
    Mr. Wellington paused for a moment. “No, I’m not going to call the constable. I’m not sure I like his kind.”
    â€œCan you tell me how to get to Alaska?”
    â€œI probably can. I may have some maps in one of thoseback rooms. Why don’t you sit in this chair right here while I see what I can find.”
    I looked at the soft chair he was pointing to. “Okay.”
    Mr. Wellington turned on the television and then walked away. “I’ll be back shortly,” he said.
    I’d only seen television a few times. Mr. Abroscotto had a set in his store over the counter. I got up and moved over to the cushion chair and sank down until my chin touched my chest. I’d never felt a more comfortable chair in my life. There was a show about lions playing. I’d only seen them in picture books and couldn’t take my eyes off them. Daylight soon slipped through the windows and I grew groggy and lazy.
    An hour must have gone by when I heard someone knocking on the door. Mr. Wellington walked out of one of the back rooms and went to answer the knock. When he opened the door, I saw a man in a suit standing there. I knew right away that he was there to get me. It was how he looked at me when he stepped inside. I leaped from my chair and ran towards the back rooms where Mr. Wellington had gone earlier. But as soon as I reached the hall, a man in overalls stepped out and grabbed me from behind. He pulled me to his chest and bear-hugged me so that I couldn’t do anything but