“Agricultural inspection. We got to look over your stuff. Got any vegetables or seeds?”
“No,” said Tom.
“Well, we got to look over your stuff. You got to unload.”
Now Ma climbed heavily down from the truck. Her face was swollen and her eyes were hard. “Look, mister. We got a sick ol’ lady. We got to get her to a doctor. We can’t wait.” She seemed to fight with hysteria. “You can’t make us wait.”
“Yeah? Well, we got to look you over.”
“I swear we ain’t got anything!” Ma cried. “I swear it. An’ Granma’s awful sick.”
“You don’t look so good yourself,” the officer said.
Ma pulled herself up the back of the truck, hoisted herself with huge strength. “Look,” she said.
The officer shot a flashlight beam up on the old shrunken face.
“By God, she is,” he said. “You swear you got no seeds or fruits or vegetables, no corn, no oranges?”