Billy and the Turkey
Shoot
A Thanksgiving Story
By Danny Tillman
Yark and Co. on the march!
Albey Yark And Company are in the woods, single file in the order that Yark had prescribed in the strategy meeting:
1. Uncle Rufus is front scout, then comes:
2. John Lincourt
3. Albey Yark
4. X Brands
5. Tom Tondalayo
6. Billy
7. Morris
8. Then the line of ladies is headed up by:
9. Mr. Pisachube followed by
10. Mrs. Yark
11. Mary
12. Betty
13. Barbara
14. Mrs. Pisachube.
"This way will lead us to the back yard of Raschelle's house," says Rufus as they walk, turning his head around toward Yark. "The porch Sonny told you about, Albey, is on the back of her house. But to get there we'll first be passing the front of her house on our right & then--continuing on under the cover of trees & bushes--we'll be entering the section of woods that surround the porch. And like I said, the line of trees and bushes stops at the edge of her back yard. Then it's another 50 feet or so to her porch."
"O.k. Rufus. I'm a-thinkin' we'd better be a-haltin' when we aer 'bout 20 feet from the border of her back yard at the edge of the house next to whar this side of the porch begins. That'll give me a little space to give the instructions to get us into our final positions so we ken begin our maneuvers." A few minutes more of headway and Uncle Rufus stops and turns to Albey, "There's her house right over there."
The group of fighters can just make out the sides and roof of the Knife Lady's house through the branches of the trees. The back porch is barely visible. So far, they can see no lone human female waiting there. No birds are singing and the lonely house sits by itself quiet as a clam.