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Sally’s companion rose from his crouching position and stared at the twice-distilled liquid collecting in a small vat connected to the still by a short rubber hose. “I’m perfecting my method. I’ve got a pretty good malt wine down—that’s what’s cooking in the kettle, melting with some juniper oil—though this second distillation’s the tricky part—you gotta have just the right temperature, and I don’t have a decent thermometer. I made a pretty good martini in my college dorm, though the equipment was more sophisticated than what I could get down at Stuart & Johnson’s—” “I didn’t know you went to college.” Wally looked at his companion for the first time since bringing her into the clearing. “Briefly.” Then, looking back down at the vat, he leaned over with a small glass he had picked up from a stool next to the equipment. A spigot towards the bottom of the vat was twisted, and a clear stream poured out to fill the glass held in the opposite hand. Wally stood up straight once more, took a small sip of his creation, and smiled. “Not bad. Not bad at all.” Sally just stared down at the fire beneath the copper kettle. “Wally, you haven’t told me why you’re doing this.” Wally took another sip, a larger one. “I’m thinking of going into the business.” “But liquor’ll be illegal next January.” Sally crossed her arms to warm herself from the February cold. “Exactly. That’s why it’s important to get started now. Get my method perfected. Find distributors in the cities willing to sell Bayer’s Gin—” “Wally, you’re going to become a bootlegger.” Sally’s sentence of despair was uttered to the sky. “I hate that word. I won’t be hiding it in my boots. I’m thinking about shipping it out in milk canisters from the farm here—only with your Pa’s permission, of course—then just having milk trucks take it down to New York City—” Wally stopped when he looked to see that he was talking to a back turned and disappearing behind a tree. “I don’t suppose you’d like to try it?” When no answer came, Wally sipped a third time, grinned with satisfaction, and poured the rest of the sample onto the ground beside his feet. |