"I'll think of something." Mama looked out across the yard toward the grove of black walnut trees in front of our house and at the ones growing by the barns and wagon shelter. The trees were nearly naked. They still had a handful of brown and yellow leaves flipping in the wind, but all their walnuts were lying on the ground, their thick green hulls already shriveling up and turning from green to black.
"I know the very thing, Bandershanks. You can pick up walnuts. We'll make some chocolate candy with—"
"Mama, look coming! Yonder's Mierd and Wiley! What're they running for?"
"My sakes! Mister Shepherd must've turned school out early!"
"Mama! Guess what! School's out! We're getting a holiday!'' Wiley yelled, long before he and Mierd got to the gate. "Teacher said we ought'a celebrate stopping the war! November 'leven's gonna be a big day to remember! Always!"
"Yeah, Mama!" Mierd hollered. "Mister Shepherd said they'll put it in the history book! But he assigned us so much arithmetic it ain't gonna be no holiday a-tall! Me and Wiley'll be up till midnight!"
"Mama, I gotta run tell Grandpa the war's over! He won't have to save no more peach seeds!"
"Son, he knows it. Your papa phoned us the news just a few minutes ago."
"Peach seeds? What's Grandpa and peach seeds got to do with the Armistice?"
"Good grannies, Mierd, you heard Grandpa talking 'bout saving 'em not long ago. The Government wanted folks to all start saving up peach seeds and nut hulls for the soldiers."
"No, silly. They was gonna use seeds to get carbon for them gas masks—that's what soldiers wear on the front line."
Mierd didn't seem very much bothered about things soldiers put over their heads. She dumped her school books and dinner bucket on the edge of the porch and went off to play in the yard.
Most nights, after supper, Papa sat by the fire and counted his store money. But that night, when I got into the fireplace room, I saw his striped money sack was still hanging over the back of his chair. Papa was sitting there in his rocker, frowning and looking into the fire. So I knew he was thinking about Mister Ward. Mama had told Papa a hundred times to quit thinking of that man, but Papa said that was impossible.