"Wes, I see you now! Cuss your hide, come out and look at my automobile! I'm aimin' for you to take one good, long look at it—'fore I shoot you! Soon's I tell you what Addie Mae says, I'll kill you! Naw, Doc! Lemme have my pistol back! I gotta use it! I'm startin' up the Williams-Parker feud again! I ain't Jake Williams's great nephew for nothin'! Great nephew! Sounds plum good! My Uncle Jake, he stopped the feudin' one Chris'mus Eve. I'm a-startin' it back tonight! You men are just dyin' to see my automobile? Shore, I got plenty time to show y'all! Come on! Hell, yeah, I'll let all y'all ride it!"
The church door slammed.
Everybody started milling around, talking all at once and making such a babble I couldn't tell who was saying what.
"Hush and sit still, Ophelia! Sit still!" That was Miss Dink.
"No, Wes! I don't care if you are the Justice of the Peace! He'll kill you! You heard him say it, didn't you?" That couldn't be anybody except Miss Lida Belle.
"I gotta go!"
Mister Goode hollered, "Wes, you'd better stay right here in this church! They can handle him! I'll go phone the sheriff myself!"
Mister Shepherd grabbed up Captain Jones's walking stick and started rapping the pew above my head with it. He almost hit me! "Let's be calm," he called out. He kept rapping till everybody got quiet. "Take your hymnals, please, and we'll sing another Christmas song. Then Miss Vic and the young folks can proceed with passing out the gifts. Miss Bess, please start playing the organ. I suggest we sing 'Angels We Have Heard On High.' It's a fine, fine old French hymn! You'll find it on page seventeen."
Bess started playing the organ. I didn't know whether to stand up to sing or not. Nobody could hear me if I kept sitting on the floor.
"Mister Shepherd, can I get—"