The Scarecrow and Other Stories Part 2

It was getting dark. There were shadows along the ground. Blue shadows.

In the graying skies one star shone brilliantly. Beyond the mist-slurred summit of a hill the full moon grew yellow.

In front of him was the slope of wind-moved corn field, and in the center of it the dim, military figure standing waist deep in the corn.

His eyes fixed themselves to it.

"Ole--uniform--with--a--stick--into--it."

He whispered the words very low.

Still--standing there--still. The same wooden att.i.tude of it. His same, cunning watching of it.

There was a wind. He knew it was going over his face. He could feel the cool of the wind across his moistened lips.

He took a deep breath.

Down there in the shivering corn field, standing in the dark, blue shadows, the dim figure had quivered.

An arm moved--swaying to and fro. The other arm began--swaying--swaying.

A tremor ran through it. Once it pivoted. The head shook slowly from side to side. The arms rose and fell--and rose again. The head came up and down and rocked a bit to either side.

"I'm here--" he muttered involuntarily. "Here."

The arms were tossing and stretching.

He thought the head faced in his direction.

The wind had died out.

The arms went down and came up and reached.

"Benny--"

The woman seated herself on the step at his side.

"Look!" He mumbled. "Look!"

He pointed his hand at the dim figure shifting restlessly in the quiet, shadow-saturated corn field.

Her eyes followed after his.

"Oh--Benny--"

"Well--" His voice was hoa.r.s.e. "It's moving, ain't it? You can see it moving for yourself, can't you? You ain't able to say you don't see it, are you?"

"The--wind--" She stammered.

"Where's the wind?"

"Down--there."

"D'you feel a wind? Say, d'you feel a wind?"

"Mebbe--down--there."

"There ain't no wind. Not now--there ain't! And it's moving, ain't it?

Say, it's moving, ain't it?"

"It looks like it was dancing. So it does. Like as if it was--making--itself--dance--"

His eyes were still riveted on those arms that came up and down--; up and down--; and reached.

"It'll stop soon--now." He stuttered it more to himself than to her.

"Then--it'll be still. I've watched it mighty often. Mebbe it knows I watch it. Mebbe that's why--it--moves--"

"Aw--Benny--"

"Well, you see it, don't you? You thought there was something the matter with me when I come and told you how it waves--and waves. But you seen it waving, ain't you?"

"It's nothing, Ben. Look, Benny. It's stopped!"

The two of them stared down the slope at the dim, military figure standing rigid and waist deep in the corn field.

The woman gave a quick sigh of relief.

For several moments they were silent.

From somewhere in the distance came the harsh, discordant sound of bull frogs croaking. Out in the night a dog bayed at the golden, full moon climbing up over the hills. A bird circled between sky and earth hovering above the corn field. They saw its slow descent, and then for a second they caught the startled whir of its wings, as it flew blindly into the night.

"That ole scarecrow!" She muttered.

"S'pose--" He whispered. "S'pose when it starts its moving like that;--s'pose some day it walks out of that there corn field! Just naturally walks out here to me. What then, if it walks out?"

"Benny--!"

"That's what I'm thinking of all the time. If it takes it into its head to just naturally walk out here. What's going to stop it, if it wants to walk out after me; once it starts moving that way? What?"

"Benny--! It couldn't do that! It couldn't!"

"Mebbe it won't. Mebbe it'll just beckon first. Mebbe it won't come after me. Not if I go when it beckons. I kind of figure it'll beckon when it wants me. I couldn't stand the other. I couldn't wait for it to come out here after me. I kind of feel it'll beckon. When it beckons, I'll be going."

"Benny, there's sickness coming on you."

"'Tain't no sickness."

The woman's hands were clinched together in her lap.

"I wish to Gawd--" She said--"I wish I ain't never seen the day when I put that there thing up in that there corn field. But I ain't thought nothing like this could never happen. I wish to Gawd I ain't never seen the day--"