Well, that was a lie. An’ I’m damn glad it was. If I was a relative of yours I’d shoot myself.

Yeah. Nice fella too. Got a crooked back where a horse kicked him. The boss gives him hell when he’s mad. But the stable buck don’t give a damn about that. He reads a lot. Got books in his room.

“He can do anything you tell him,” said George. “He’s a good skinner. He can rassel grain bags, drive a cultivator. He can do anything. Just give him a try.”

He’s my … cousin. I told his old lady I’d take care of him. He got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid.

I don’ like this place, George. This ain’t no good place. I wanna get outa here.

A guy on a ranch don’t never listen nor he don’t ast no questions.

’Long as you won’t get out and leave me alone, you might as well set down.

A guy can talk to you an’ be sure you won’t go blabbin’. Couple of weeks an’ them pups’ll be all right. George knows what he’s about. Jus’ talks, an’ you don’t understand nothing.

There wasn’t another colored family for miles around. And now there ain’t a colored man on this ranch an’ there’s jus’ one family in Soledad.

They’ll take ya to the booby hatch. They’ll tie ya up with a collar, like a dog.