"You's heard him, Dicky!" Nale appended. "Pretend yer diggin' fer clams... "
Dicky's throat grated a few more times until he had a mouthful of something substantial enough to give it the All American Try, then—
P-tooie!
But, lo, Dicky's effort fell a yard short of Ida's feet; the crowd cracked up laughing.
"Aw, Dicky! Ya wussy," Balls complained.
The girl, however, lolled her head dismally toward Nale. She looked exhausted as if she'd just climbed a tree with a knapsack full of bricks "Fer fuck's sake, Clyde. We'se goin' on the sixth round... "
"Cain't back out now, Ida," Nale scolded. "You's the one who vollern-teered—the boys'll spit till there's a winner. Just be glad you wasn't poor Verna coupla weeks ago." He looked to Balls. "Was windy that day. Fuckin' party went on four hours, it did, ‘fore Jimmy Jack Wallace finally put one in. Verna didn't have a dry spot on her. Had ta use a squeegee ta git all the hock off." Then Nale nodded sternly. "Your turn, son."
"All's right, lemme show non-hockin' lightweights how ta spit inna gal's mouth."
Balls posed at the line, and dredged up a deep one.
P-tooie!
The crowd hushed as Balls' expectoration—which looked like a mouthful of condensed cream of asparagus soup—arced high in the air. All eyes rose up, then trailed down, like spectators at a tennis match.
Splap!
The formidable aggregation of "Chest Pudding" landed right in Ida's left eye.
"Close!" Nale barked. "But no cigar!"
The girl, with an understandable expression of disfavour, scooped the matter out with a curled index finger and flapped it away.
"Shee-it," Balls muttered. "Almost got ‘er in there."
"Balls, let's just go," Dicky implored. "This shit's grossin' me out, and, ‘sides, we gotta long ride ahead'a us."
"Yeah, guess'n yer right." Balls shook his head, chuckling, at the phlegm-pelted girl. "It's a good thing she ain't standin' in a steel drum 'cos by the time this here party's over, she'd be belly-deep in hock."
Balls' comment had been overheard by a cocky, gaunt redneck who stood hunch-shouldered. He had severely bucked teeth and hair like that Carrot Top guy only brown. "You thank so, Led Zepplin?"
Balls smirked at the implication about the length of his hair. "Yeah, I do, toilet-brush."
Buckled teeth showed through a grin. "Just you watch... "
This gentleman's effort to disgorge some suitable wares came louder and longer than anyone yet. It sounded like someone trying to pull-start a boat motor that wasn't quite turning over. Nale informed, "Billy-O's no slouch—he's won four times in the past. Seems he's always got himself a cold or the flu or some shit."
"Ya don't say?" Balls replied.
Now, Billy-O's cheeks were stuffed as a squirrel's full of acorns. He eyed the seated girl twenty feet away with the focus of a dart player. The stuffed cheeks seemed to throb, then he slowly leaned back, held a moment, and shot his head forward:
Kuuuuuuuuuuuuur-HOCK!
It could've been an ice-cream scoop full of brown yogurt that launched from Billy-O's mouth. He'd lined up straight and wisely put a high angle on it, and his follow-through?
Perfect.
The shivering wad fell right smack dab into Ida's mouth.
The crowd roared in applause. Ida, eyes thinned in disgust, leaned up, moaning. The mass just sat there in her cranked-open mouth, and just as she was about to spit it out—
"There's no hooch if'n ya do that, girl!" Nale warned. "You know the rules. Ya gots ta swaller it."
Poor Ida's shoulders slumped. Her eyes squeezed shut so hard, her face reddened. Then—
gulp...
More applause rose in the yard.
Nale nodded in pride, and happily turned over half the pot to Billy-O. "Good job, son. See ya next week."
"Yeah, man!" The skinny cracker pocketed his winnings, then strode rather bow-legged toward a none-too-pleased Ida. "Now I'se gonna have me my blowjob! Git ready, Ida! Here comes dessert!"
All the boys gathered round to watch...
Nale walked back to the ‘Mino with Balls and Dicky.
"Hard workin' boys deserves ta let off some steam," the elder man said.
"Dang straight," Balls agreed.
"‘Course, there was that one time when we'se caught a squatter gal millin' ‘round the yard stealin' corn, so's we tored her clothes of'n slapped her up some, then each fucked her'n afters that we slapped her up some more'n each gave her one in the tail."
"Only proper. Any gal who steals deserves ta git the blocks put to her," Balls pitched in.
"Yeah, but after we'se was all done puttin' some spunk up her dirty ass... you know what we done next?"
"What's that, Clyde?"
Nale smiled grimly. "We tied her to the chair."
Dicky looked perplexed, as he often did. "Tied her?"
"Shore did, and what else we did is we forced her mouth open with a wooden peg"—Nale clapped and hooted—"and then we all just took ta hockin' in her mouth one after another fer a good half hour, we did. I'll tell ya, boys. That was fun. Then ‘fore we let her go, we each fucked her one more time, and ya know what? That squatter gal never stole corn from me again."
"I'll bet she didn't, Clyde!" Balls joined the man's laughter.
The idea appealed to Balls, very much so. And to Dicky? Well, not so much.
Nale's tone took on a serious edge. "Fun'n games aside, boys, you's both be careful after ya drop off yer run. Ever now'n then coupla creekers other side'a the line'll wait till a runner's offloaded his hooch'n picked up the cash, then they'se'll try ta bushwhack 'em on their way out."
Balls grinned. "Ain't no one gonna bushwhack us, Clyde, 'cos if'n they do?" He pulled up his shirt, showing the old Webley .455. "They'll whistle when the wind blows."
"I like fellas who're prepared ta git tough when they'se gotta." Nale winked. "See you boys tonight."
Dicky still looked a bit pale as he and Balls approached the car. "Shee-it, Balls. We didn't need ta stay fer that shit. ‘Member, after we git back from this run, we'se gonna hit that guy Crafter's house."
"Relax, Dicky. We got it all covered. I kind'a enjoyed that Hock Party—good, clean fun, ya know? Shee-it. When fellas in the city git together, they watch fuckin' football on TV. Cain't think'a nothin' more boring than that. And ya know what else? When that last loogie fell in the ‘ho's yap... I don't mind tellin' ya I got a bit hard."
Dicky stared. "Jaysus... "
They double-checked the tarp covering their load, then started to get in the car.
"Hey!" a voice whined. "You fellas! Wait up, will ya?"
Balls and Dicky turned to see Ida scampering down the hill after them. Her overalls looked polka-dotted with phlegm. She carried a pint-jar of moonshine with her.
"Aw, what's she want?" Dicky complained.