The Adventures of Jack and Billy Joe Read Online Free PDF Page A

Billy Joe went for the bait. “We been to every fishing hole around here and as far as I can see, we ain’t got no way to go to them that are far off.”
    “I don’t know,” Jack cryptically continued. “Tomorrow could change that if we work it right.”
    “What’cha doin’ tomorrow?” Billy Joe asked, knowing that he and Jack would probably be doing the same as always, biking, hiking or fishing.
    “My Uncle Red and Aunt Bert are comin’ in this afternoon so I suspect we’ll be sittin’ around talkin’ to them,” Jack replied.
    “You can’t get out of that?”
    “I don’t wanna get out of it,” Jack said. “My Uncle Red is a traveling salesman for a wholesale hardware company out of New Orleans. He covers Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. Lots of strange things happen to him and I love to hear him tell about it.”
    “Why haven’t I ever met your Uncle Red?”
    “When he comes, it’s usually after dark and the next day he leaves early to see some more customers or he goes fishing.”
    “Goes fishing?” Billy Joe questioned.
    “Yeah—he owns a fishin’ camp at Wilkerson’s Ferry on the Pascagoula River and another one on the locks up at Demopolis, Alabama. He loves to fish. I think he must be the best fisherman in the world.”
    “Prob’ly not,” Billy Joe offered, “but I’d like to meet him and talk about fishin’.”
    “Maybe you could come over tonight for a little while,” Jack suggested, “and you can meet him. He and Daddy usually talk about pipe and fixtures and other hardware but Uncle Red’s favorite thing to do is fish.”
    “Your daddy doesn’t fish so I’ll bet we can get your Uncle Red talkin’ on fishin’ with us for a while.”
    “My daddy does go to Red’s camp at Wilkerson’s Ferry sometimes but that’s just so he can talk to Red, I think.”
    “When I’m a grown man, I’m gonna have a fishing camp everywhere there’s good fishin’,” Billy Joe declared.
    “Yeah, me too,” Jack seconded the thought. “You just keep reading those comic books. I’m gonna ask Momma if you can come over tonight to meet my Uncle Red.”
    He left Billy Joe in his bedroom reading Captain Marvel and went to find his mother. He found her in the kitchen talking to his daddy.
    “What’s goin’ on, Jack?” his father asked. “Where’s Billy Joe?”
    “He’s in my room reading comic books. Can he come over tonight to meet Uncle Red?”
    “Do you mean for supper or to spend the night or what?” his mother asked.
    “I just meant, just come over and meet Red and then go home,” Jack said, “but if he could eat supper and spend the night that would be really good.”
    Jack’s mother and father looked at each other and laughed.
    “You stepped into that one, Millie,” his father said.
    “Well, I don’t care,” she said. “We’re havin’ a platter of chicken fried cubed steaks, mashed potatoes and vegetables. There ought to be plenty.”
    “There you go, Jack,” his father ended the discussion. “Go tell Billy Joe to ask his mother if it’s all right with her.”
    “Helen will call me to see if it’s okay or I may call her first so she’ll know Billy Joe has, indeed, been asked.”
    “Thank you, ma’am, sir,” Jack said, leaving the room before they could change their minds.
    “My momma’s gonna call your momma and ask if you can have supper with us and spend the night,” Jack said, entering his bedroom where Billy Joe was still perched on one of the twin beds reading a comic book.
    “Hot dog!” Billy Joe said. “This is workin’ out good. Momma will prob’ly let me spend the night but I doubt if she was gonna let me come over here after dark to meet your Uncle Red.”
    The bedroom door opened and Jack’s mother came in.
    “I just talked to your momma, Billy Joe. She said you can have supper and spend the night but she wants you to come home first to clean up and get some pajamas and your toothbrush.”
    “Yes, ma’am. Thank you,” Billy Joe