The night we was chasing the sheriff's siren, grandpa let me drive that. I could even though I was only fourteen 'cause the law was kinda laxed for us young'ns 'cause of the farm kids who had to drive. I pulled grandpa's old Packard right up to where the sheriff's car was parked with the red light still flashing. He must just got there 'cause the aerial on his car was still swishing back and forth. Deputy Silas Schultz was standing there and signaled us to park down the street. We did and walked up. On the way, my friend Willie caught up with us. He wanted to stay with us cause he was, and still is, an Afro-American and the law warn't gonna say nothing to him when grandpa was there.
When we got up close to the action we seen it was all taking place in the house of Dr. Marvin McKinley. Now, Dr. McKinley moved to Harper from Michigan and talked like any Yankee you ever heard. Sounded real different in Harper so they got him to do the color for the local football team, the Harper Hooligans, on the radio and on the P.A. system at the football field. His wife was from Michigan too and was a real knockout. Silas came up to us. As usual he had a toothpick in his mouth and was moving it from one side to the other. Somebody asked him one day how often he changed his toothpick and he said every day, just like he was talking about his underwear or something, don't you know?
When we asked Silas what was going on he wouldn't tell us nothing. Not a single word. Well, from then on we called him Silence. Silence Schultz. I reckon the only time after that anybody referred to him as Silas was on his tombstone.
Tomorrow: The Doctor's Wife
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