Chapter Two Summary

Rondal Lloyd remembers his father, Clabe, returning from the mines after work. On Saturdays, Clabe would get paid and come home to bathe. As a child, Rondal thought that his father was referring to an actual creature when he used the term "snake" to describe the line across his check to indicate that he did not make any money. All of Clabe's earnings went back to the company-owned store for the food that the family had consumed.

The family now lives in a company owned shack on land that the family once owned. Clabe tells Rondal stories about fishing in a nearby creek that is now polluted. On Sundays the family goes for walks in the woods looking for wild greens. Once they visit the family cemetery and find that the coal company has posted a "no trespassing" sign.

Rondal does...