R Neighbor

110 in the Shade R Neighbor

Ten year old Ralph lives with his mother and step-father on the family farm in north central Kansas. August 1938 has been beastly hot. Ralph and his buddies, Rusty and Teag seek respite in a cool spring-fed eddy downriver, below the old Sputter place. The old Sputter place is locally renowned as haunted. Ralph is captured by bank robbers on the lam at the Sputter house and is sworn to secrecy on threat of harm to his family. Ralph is charged with keeping them apprised of local news and keeping the leader in fresh eggs. Directly across the river is the Lowdermilk place. Wildcatters are drilling for oil. Missus Lowdermilk feeds oil crews round the clock. Ralph's mother loans him to Missus Lowdermilk to help with the constant food preparation and cleanup. The gang's attractive mol, Dottie, seems out of place. Ralph has designs of rescuing her from this sordid fate. The leader, Eph, is educated and well-spoken, and has justification for his thievery worked out both intellectually and biblically. Ralph has doubts and seeks counsel from Reverend Pettigrew on biblical aspects of thievery and stewardship. The State Bank up town is robbed. Eph insists that it was not the work of his gang. Ralph is unsure, the facts just don't add up. Then he finds an empty leather State Bank satchel on the mud bank below the Sputter place and hides it. Eph persists in his defense and posits another possibility. Ralph seeks to fetch the satchel from the hiding place and finds the hidey hole planted with a nest of water moccasins and is snake bit on the face...