Hardly is a day's work in all that

Pa sat on the doorstep and looked at the pigs hanging in the lantern light. The scraping was done now, and only a few drops of blood continued to fall from the carcasses into the black pool on the ground. Pa got up and went to the pigs and felt them with his hand, and then he sat down again. Granma and Grampa went toward the barn to sleep, and Grampa carried a candle lantern in his hand. The rest of the family sat quietly about the doorstep, Connie and Al and Tom on the ground, leaning their backs against the house wall, Uncle John on a box, Pa in the doorway. Only Ma and Rose of Sharon continued to move about. Ruthie and Winfield were sleepy now, but fighting it off. They quarreled sleepily out in the darkness, Noah and the preacher squatted side by side, facing the house. Pa scratched himself nervously, and took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. "Tomorra we'll get that pork salted early in the morning, an' then we'll get the truck loaded, all but the beds, an' nex' morning off we'll go.  he said uneasily .































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Tom broke in, "We'll be moonin' aroun' all day, lookin' for somepin to do." The group stirred uneasily. "We could get ready by daylight an' go," Tom suggested. Pa rubbed his knee with his hand. And the restiveness spread to all of them.































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Noah said, "Prob'ly wouldn't hurt that meat to git her right down in salt. Cut her up, she'd cool quicker anyways."































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































It was Uncle John who broke over the edge, his pressures too great. "What we hangin' aroun' for? I want to get shut of this. Now we're goin', why don't we go?" And the revulsion spread to the rest . "Whyn't we go? Get sleep on the way." And a sense of hurry crept into them.































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Pa said, "They say it's two thousan' miles. That's a hell of a long ways. We oughta go. Noah, you an' me can get that meat cut up an' we can put all the stuff in the truck."































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Ma put her head out of the door. "How about if we forgit somepin, not seein' it in the dark?"































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































"We could look 'round after daylight," said Noah. They sat still then, thinking about it. But in a moment Noah got up and began to sharpen the bow-bladed knife on his little worn stone. "Ma," he said, "git that table cleared." And he stepped to a pig, cut a line down one side of the backbone and began peeling the meat forward, off the ribs.































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Pa stood up excitedly. "We got to get the stuff together," he said. "Come on , you fellas."