A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines

When I got home I handed my sack of fishes to Ella, and I went in the other room to phone Clatoo. Emma’s daughter Julie said Clatoo had just left the house, and asked me what was the matter. She said Miss Merle had called Clatoo on the phone and Clatoo had got his old shotgun and left in his truck, and she wanted me to tell her what was the matter. I told her if Clatoo didn’t tell her anything, I couldn’t tell her anything either, and I asked her if Clatoo told her where he was going. She said he didn’t tell her nothing, but she heard him over the phone telling Miss Merle something about Mr. Billy Washington and something about Mr. Jacob Aguillard. She told me I might be able to catch him either at Silo or the old Mulatto Place, and she asked me again what was the matter.

I hung up the phone and looked up Billy Washington’s number. His wife, Selina, told me Billy had just left in the truck with Clatoo. I asked her if Billy had his gun. She said yes, matter of fact he did, but how did I know? I asked her if they said where they was going next. She said she believed they was headed toward the old Mulatto Place, because she heard them saying something about Jacob Aguillard. I asked her if Jacob had a number, and she said she didn’t know, but Leola Bovay had a phone. She told me if I hung on a minute she would get the number for me. When she came back on the phone, she gave me the number, and she asked me what was the matter. I hung up and called Leola’s house. She told me that Clatoo had just pulled up in front of Jacob’s house. She said looked like that was Billy Washington with him, and looked like both of them had shotguns. And Jacob was coming out of the house right now, and he had a shotgun, too. I told her to run out on the garry and tell Clatoo to wait a second. I heard her putting the phone down, then a little while later picking it up again. She said Clatoo was waiting. I asked her if she had a twelve-gauge shotgun that could shoot. She told me when her husband died he had left two or three old guns around there, but she couldn’t tell one gauge from another, and she asked me again what was the matter. I told her to take the guns out to Clatoo and ask Clatoo to check them, and if he found a twelve-gauge that could shoot, bring it. I asked her if she had any number five shells, and she said she didn’t know. I told her to get all the shells she had and take them out to Clatoo, and tell Clatoo to pick out some and bring them. She asked me what was the matter. I told her to tell Clatoo to tell her, because I didn’t know nothing. I hung up. When I looked around, I saw Ella standing in the door with her hands on her hips. So big she was filling up that whole door.