God's Little Acre Read Online Free PDF

going into my pockets, at least my share of it. I wouldn’t be giving it to the preacher at the church.”
    “We ought to give up that piece of ground till we can dig on it and make sure,” Shaw said. “God’s not in need of it, and the first thing you know, we’re going to strike a lode on it. I’ll be dog-goned if I’m going to dig for nuggets and see that preacher get them. I’m in favor of shifting that piece of land till we can see what’s in it.”
    “All right, boys,” Ty Ty agreed, “I’ll move it again, but I ain’t aiming to do away with God’s little acre altogether. It’s His and I can’t take it away from Him after twenty-seven years. That wouldn’t be right. But there ain’t nothing wrong with shifting it a little, if need be. It would be a heathen shame to strike the lode on it, to be sure, the first thing, and I reckon I’d better shift it so we won’t be bothered.”
    “Why don’t you put it over here where the house and barn are, Pa?” Griselda suggested. “There’s nothing under this house, and you can’t be digging under it, anyway.”
    “I never thought of doing that, Griselda,” Ty Ty said, “but it sure sounds fine to me. I reckon I’ll shift it over here. Now, I’m pretty much glad to get that off my mind.”
    Pluto turned his head and looked at Ty Ty.
    “You haven’t shifted it already, have you, Ty Ty?” he asked.
    “Shifted it already? Why, sure. This is God’s little acre we’re sitting on right now. I moved it from over yonder to right here.”
    “You’re the quickest man of action I’ve ever heard about,” Pluto said, shaking his head. “And that’s a fact.”
    Buck and Griselda went around the corner of the house out of sight. Shaw started to follow them, but he changed his mind and rolled a cigarette instead. He was ready to go on the trip, and he did not wish to delay the start any longer. He knew, though, that Ty Ty would not leave until he became tired of sitting still.
    Pluto sat on the steps thinking of Darling Jill and wondering where she was. He wished she would return so he could sit beside her and put his arms around her. Sometimes she would let him sit beside her, and at other times she would not. She was as inconsistent about that as she was about everything else she did. Pluto did not know what to do about it; she was that kind of girl, and he knew of no way to change her. But as long as she would sit still and let him hug her, he was completely satisfied; it was when she slapped him on the face and hit him in the belly with her fists that he was wholly displeased.
    An automobile passed the house in a cloud of red dust, powdering the roadside until the weeds and trees looked more dead than ever. Pluto glanced at the car, but he quickly saw that Darling Jill was not driving it, and he had no further interest in it. The car went out of sight around the bend in the road, but the dust lingered in the air long after it had gone.
    The last time he had seen Darling Jill she had made him leave five minutes after he got there. It hurt Pluto, and he went back home and got into bed. He had come to see her for the evening that time, confidently expecting to be with her for several hours at least, but five minutes after he reached the house he was on his way home again. Darling Jill had told him to go roll his hoop. On top of that she slapped him on the face and hit him in the belly with her fists. Now he hoped that if there was a law of averages, or even a law of compensation, his meeting of her this time would be wholly different. This time she should, if there was any justice, be glad to see him; she should even let him hug her and, to make up for the previous visit, allow him to kiss her several times. Darling Jill should do all of that, but whether she would or not was something he did not know. Darling Jill was as uncertain as were his chances of being elected sheriff that fall.
    The thought of the coming election stirred Pluto. He made as though