Number of words: 189

In Charles Frazier’s civil War novel Cold Mountain, a wounded Soldier, Inman, travels perilously back home and along the way is helped and hindered by others, including a goat woman who takes him in and feeds him. Frazier writes, “A little spotted brown- and-white goat came to her and she stroked it and scratched below its neck until it folded its legs and lay down. The old woman scratched it close under its jaw and stroked its ears. Inman thought it a peaceful scene. He watched as she continued to scratch with her left hand and reach with her right into an apron pocket. With one motion she pulled out a short-bladed knife and cut deep into the artery below the jawline and shoved the white basin underneath to catch the leap of bright blood. The animal jerked once, then lay trembling as she continued to scratch the fur and fondle the ears. The basin filled slowly. The goat and the woman stared intently off towards the distance as if waiting for a signal.

Excerpted from page 135  of ‘Death by Supermarket’ by Nancy Deville