With those last words Janie turned from Logan and went inside the house. Logan was furious! How dare she low-rate him! As he was cleaning out the manure pile in the barn, Logan was thinking of a punishment for Janie. He didnʼt realize how long he had been working until he had looked up to find the sun at its zenith.
Logan thought that Janie would have called him in to eat by now. He would go and check on her once he had quenched his thirst. As he crossed the yard on his way to the well, a strong pungent odor came flying to him. The smell was of something burning and it was coming from the house. Logan altered his course and ran.
Once inside the house, Logan noticed the charcoaled hoecake still burning on the stove. He quickly grabbed both the pan and the hoecake from the stove and threw them out into the yard.
Where was Janie! He was going to beat some sense into her! How could she be so forgetful?
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the front gate was open. Suddenly, Logan had a sickening, sinking feeling in his stomach. Did she? Had she left him? He tried to fight these questions but they were there just the same.
He dashed out the door and out the gate. Looking back and forth from north to south trying to see a glimpse of her perhaps in the distance. Afar off he saw her sitting on the side of the road. Loganʼs spirits rose. He ran south, down the road towards her to give her a piece of his mind!
Before reaching her, he noticed that it was not Janie sitting on the road.
It was Janieʼs apron. Laying on top of a bush.
With this, Logan was now sure that Janie had left him and was gone. He sat down right on the side of the road and started to weep. He held Janieʼs apron close to his face and breathed in that last remnant of her. She was gone! Gone with a different man! Logan couldnʼt bear to think of it. With that thought he tore the apron apart while crying and cursing.
Why did she do this to him?
