Master English with Fun Quizzes & Brain Teasers!
But none of that had worn out his marrow. none of that. it was the ribbon. tying his flatbed up on the bank of the licking river, securing it the best he could, he caught sight of something red on its bottom. reaching for it, he thought it was a cardinal feather stuck to his boat. he tugged and what came loose in his hand was a red ribbon knotted around a curl of wet wooly hair, clinging still to its bit of scalp. he untied the ribbon and put it in his pocket, dropped the curl in the weeds. on the way home, he stopped, short of breath and dizzy. he waited until the spell passed before continuing on his way. a moment later, his breath left him again. this time he sat down by a fence. rested, he got to his feet, but before he took a step he turned to look back down the road he was traveling and said, to its frozen mud and the river beyond, "what are these people? you tell me, jesus. what are they?"