Free These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon Page B

minor league baseball.”
    “Nobody else did, except his mama and daddy, and maybe his wife.”
    “Journalism at its best!” announced Mule.
    Percy poured a round of coffee and eyed J.C. “What’ll it be?”
    “Give me a bowl of Wheaties, skim milk, a cup of yogurt, and dry toast ... whole wheat.”
    There was a stunned silence. “Call nine-one-one!” said Mule.
    Percy dug a finger in his ear. “Am I goin‘ deef?”
    “And snap to it,” said J.C. “I could eat a horse.”
    Mule blew on his coffee. “You’ll have to drink a saucer of grease to let your stomach know it’s you.”
    “Why didn’t you come to the Feast?” asked the rector.
    “Too much carryin‘ on.”
    “You could use a little carrying on, if you ask me.”
    “I didn’t ask you,” said J.C.
    One thing he could say for his collar—it never earned him any respect at the Grill.
    After breakfast, he walked out with Mule and untied Barnabas from the bench.
    “I don’t get it,” said the Realtor. “Clean tie. Haircut ...”
    “Dry toast. Skim milk ...” mused the rector, shaking his head.

    “I just thought ... we’ve been wondering ... is anything going on at school that we should know about? Dooley’s not himself, not at all.”
    “Glad you asked,” said the headmaster, who promised he didn’t mind being rung up on a holiday. “I thought the trip home might do him good, so I didn’t say anything.”
    “Say anything about what?” He was afraid to know.
    “About what happened. He made friends with one of the boys, one of the ... disadvantaged boys, if you will, and he talked to him about his family, about his mother and what happened to his brothers and sisters. I think it was hard for him to talk to someone about this. I think it plagues him a good deal. The bottom line is, Dooley spilled his guts to the boy, and the boy betrayed him. He told it around school.”
    Dear God. So that was what had chilled Dooley to the bone and hardened his heart all over again.
    “While we’re at it,” said the headmaster, “Dooley was caught smoking on the grounds. This put his name on a roster that’s posted in the hall for all to see. He’s also skipped chapel a couple of times. Not a good start. He mustn’t think that’s a way to make a name for himself around here. I’ve spent a bit of time with him, Father, he’s got strong potential. But there may be equally strong liabilities.”
    “What can I do?”
    “Well, for one thing, you can increase his allowance, if it seems appropriate. Even with the few students from lower economic backgrounds, this is a school for the privileged, and there’s no getting around it. He sees the boys buy expensive school sweatshirts or take off on weekend field trips to Washington, and his allowance doesn’t stretch that far. Perhaps the generous woman who’s sending him here would—”
    “What kind of money are we talking about?”
    “A hundred and fifty dollars a month. I think that’s fair.”
    “Consider it done,” he said.
    After the phone conversation, he stared out his office window. He had to hand it to Dooley Barlowe. The boy had never once complained about his allowance, and only once had he asked for money.
    He took his checkbook out of his jacket and sighed. Then he called home. Dooley answered.
    “I’m taking you to Wesley for a cheeseburger,” he said.
    “I don’t want a cheeseburger.”
    “I’ll pick you up in ten minutes. Flat.”
    Shelling out a hundred and fifty bucks a month did not put him in the mood to mince words.
    Sitting in the fast-food restaurant, he laid the check on the table and went over the program.
    “Get caught smoking again, and you’re back to what you’ve been getting. Got it?”
    No answer.
    “Got it?”
    “Yeah.”
    “No yeah.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Another thing. Skip chapel again and you blow off seventy-five bucks a month. Period.”
    Dooley looked at him.
    “I’ve talked with Dr. Fleming and I know what happened. Hear me on this. Your