Mannequin

Growing up on the river in the country I heard many tales around the potbellied stove at Hurdlow store and Marble Hill store. The crops were laid by, and some of the men would meet at the mouth of the creek, to put out trot lines. They would put out about four lines that had 75 to 100 hooks. These lines were tied across the river, and the two wooden boats would go down to Smith Island to dig mussels for bait. After the lines were baited, a kettle was placed over the fire to cook the fish. When it was about dark someone would break out the moonshine, and the tale's got started. Obb would tell about the time during the depression when a neighbors mule died, they asked him to haul it off. Obb got to thinking, a good cow hide would bring two dollars a mule hide was bound to be worth more. He got to skinning and it was more of a job than he figgered on. So Obb got three men to help, when the mule was half skent they tied a rock to the hide, and the dead mule to a barn pole. They hitched a team to the hide and pulled until they pulled the mule apart. After three more hours the mule was finally skint. Obb went to Hurdlow store to call the Winchester slaughter house to see what the hide was worth. The man at the slaughter house told him if he would bring the hide to Winchester he would give him thirty five cents. About the time he finished with his tale Lee pulled up. He went to the fire and asked them if they heard about the girl jumping off Awalt bridge. They hadn't, so Lee told them what he heard. As Lee was leaving he told them to be on the lookout for a body. Lee crossed the bridge cut his lights and parked his truck. He removed the mannequin that was hidden under a tarp on the back of his truck. About two hundred yards down stream he found the first trot line. After tying the mannequin about ten feet out on the line, Lee waited in the bushes. One river boat and a dim lantern started running the lines. Then Lee heard Simp at the top of his lungs, I FOUND HER!

HEAD NUT