Free The Sharecropper Prodigy by David Lee Malone

the tobacco on the ground, but he finally managed to get a cigarette rolled. Rube had managed to sober up considerably from all the physical activity and the puking. He quickly smoked his cigarette and got back up.
                  Rachel was pulled perhaps another fifty yards or so. When Rube stopped, he sat down once more to rest. Rachel could barely raise her head, but she now recognized her surroundings. She hadn’t been to this place in years. It was where one of the sharecropper shacks used to stand that had burned several years ago. Rube had stopped right beside the old well. She couldn’t see what he was doing, but she smelled the smoke from another cigarette. Then he was on his knees, straddling her. She could see the reflection of a thin ray of sun that had penetrated the thick trees on the stainless steel knife blade he was holding.
                  The look on Rube’s face gave away nothing. He could have just as well been busy at some mundane task.
                  “I’m sorry to have to do dis, Miss Rachel. But I can’t let nobody find out what I done.”
                  Rachel was praying silently, as fast as the words could move through her mind. She knew she was going to die and there was nothing she could do to stop it. The way she felt right now, she didn’t care anyway. Just let it come quickly.
                  Rachel thought the blurry figure she saw behind Rube was an apparition. Maybe it was her mother, ready to welcome her and lead her away with her. Then she heard a swishing sound, like someone swinging a scythe or maybe a baseball bat. Then a sound like someone thumping a ripe watermelon, only much louder. She heard Rube let out a yell and felt the weight of his body that was sitting on top of her shift. Then another loud thump, and he fell completely off of her. She could hear a voice calling her name, but it was as if it were coming from the far end of a long tunnel. She saw a familiar face, leaning in close to her own. It was Ben. He was saying something about staying put until he could get back.
                  Ben tied his unconscious papa to a tree with a piece of rope he carried with him at all times. He made sure it was tight enough that it would be impossible for him to free himself. He had looked at Rachel and assessed the situation. Ben was strong for his size, but he didn’t weigh much more than she did. If he tried to carry her, he would have to stop too many times to rest. He decided the best thing to do was run to the house and hitch the mule to the wagon. That was the reason he’d tied Rube to the tree, far away from where Rachel was lying.
    *****
                  Ben had run the old mule a lot faster that he and the old rickety wagon were accustomed to traveling. He knew Rachel probably didn’t need the bumpy ride, but he also knew she needed medical attention as soon as possible. Ben pulled the wagon right up to the front door, although many people had been severely admonished for driving on George Winston’s immaculate lawn. He ran to the door and didn’t bother knocking, instead running in and yelling for Rachel’s father as loud as he could. After the third time, Mr. Winston came running down the stairs, buttoning his shirt. He saw Ben and knew that something terrible must have happened for him to come bursting into his house this way.
                  “What’s the matter Ben? Is there trouble out at your place?” Mr. Winston asked, his eyes wide with surprise.
                  “It’s Miss Rachel, sir. She’s been hurt bad. We have to get her to a doctor quick.”
                  “Where is she now?” Winston asked.
                  “In the back of our wagon, sir. I drove her over here as fast as I could get our old mule to run. She may need a hospital instead of a doctor. I don’t know exactly how bad she’s