Lord, there would be hell to pay for this one.

Fritz hugged the tree a little tighter and pressed her cheek against its hard, rough bark. She had really messed up this time. The hardest part would be the disappointment in Aunt Grace's eyes. That would be the killer. More than the deep sighs of her mother, more than the horse whip wielded by her father ... the look in Aunt Grace's eyes would slice right through her heart into the marrow of her soul.

She didn't know where Bonham had disappeared to. As soon as they'd been caught in the act, Fritz headed straight for the pasture, into the woods beyond. To her favorite hiding place: a little grove near the fenceline where she could disappear amid the heavy foilage and keep an eye on the road at the same time. No one could find her there. She didn't have to worry about that. But she did have to worry about going back at some point and facing the music.

Where did Bonham come up with that stuff, anyway? How in the world do you get the idea of flinging fresh cow shit on somebody? She marveled at his strange, twisted sense of humor. To him, it was fun to torture small animals. When small animals weren't available, younger sisters would do. Or he would find himself in a situation and suddenly a perverted idea would strike him and he would act on it.

Today's idea had arrived when he spied their young cousin, that whiney, boring, grabbing little twit of a Joyce Ann, standing in the hayloft window. Fritz and Bonham were down below in the feedlot. Joyce Ann was whining again, wanting them to come up and get her. She was scared. Bonham reached down and picked up a stick. Then he walked over to a fresh, green pile of runny cow shit and scooped up a large portion on the end of the stick. With one practiced motion he flung the cow shit right in Joyce Ann's face. She screamed like a banshee.

Fritz had sprung into action then, following his example. She really despised Joyce Ann although she felt sorry for her in a way. They had a lot in common. Joyce Ann was also adopted so they shared that bond. But she was such a pain in the butt!

She was always wanting everything you had, for instance. As soon as she arrived for a visit, the first thing she'd do was point to your treasures, one by one, saying, "I want that!" "Give me that!" It was so irritating. What do you say? What do you do? If you say yes you lose your treasure. If you say no, she tells Aunt Grace how mean you are to her. And Fritz loved Aunt Grace more than anyone except her mother. She couldn't bear Aunt Grace's disapproval. Well, she was sure gonna have it today.

Grabbing her own stick, Fritz had joined in the fun and soon mastered the art of getting the cow shit just in the right place to hit Joyce Ann full-on. It took a couple of tries before she got the knack of it, but what a thrill when she finally did! Yes! Take that, you whimpering, simpering little coward! You lying whiner! You pain in the royal ass.

It felt wonderful to be tormenting somebody else for a change. Usually Fritz was the object of Bonham's great inspirations. Like the time he told her she could jump off the top of the barn with an umbrella and she'd float down real gentle-like, as if she had a parachute. And the time he told her she could sit down on old Brutus, their sleeping Brahma bull, and he'd take her for a ride when he woke up. Right. She was surprised she had survived that one. So when she was flinging cow shit on Joyce she was getting even for all that stuff in a way, and it had felt really good.

It did not feel so good now, though. Now she had to come to grips with the reality of what she'd done and get ready to meet the consequences. It seemed like there were always consequences. Wherever the line of proper behavior lay, she had not been able to trip over it.

Well, there was no time like the present. May as well get it behind her. She slid out of the tree and dusted off her jeans.