Continued from July 10, 2009.....
They returned back to the land after being away for a few days, only to find their place had been occupied. There were obvious indications that someone had been in the place. In a week or so they then received a $400 phone bill with calls made around the world. He brought this to the old man’s attention and he responded that we would talk it over in due time.
One morning while approaching the rental house after returning from the food coop in town, his wife looked over to the main house to see the three boys boxing on a heavy bag hanging from a tree branch. They stopped and stared at her, and evidently, Northup, the oldest, made some gesture that made her uncomfortable. She responded by giving them the finger.
That night, after dark, there was a banging on the door. When he opened it the old man requested him over to discuss the phone bill. He agreed and followed him over to the main house, walking awkwardly behind him a few steps. The main house had no electricity anymore as a result of non-payment. The only heat came from the gas oven that he was sitting in front of, the open door as a table, and a stool pulled up, the phone bill in his grasp. He sat across the open door and starred in at the gas flame burning.
He queried the old man as to why he needed to make all those calls. He was wearing a baseball hat tugged down over his long hair, and his view was slightly blocked as a result. He never saw it coming. The old man stood over him and said something about the “finger” his wife had directed at his sons, who he was attempting to shelter from the society he feared. He never saw it coming.
To be continued.....
