{"product_id":"2940015832693","title":"FROM THE VALLEY OF THE MISSING","description":"CHAPTER ONE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne afternoon in late October four lean mules, with stringy muscles\u003cbr\u003edragging over their bones, stretched long legs at the whirring of their\u003cbr\u003emaster's whip. The canalman was a short, ill-favored brute, with coarse\u003cbr\u003ered hair and freckled skin. His nose, thickened by drink, threatened the\u003cbr\u003eshort upper lip with obliteration. Straight from ear to ear, deep under\u003cbr\u003ehis chin, was a zigzag scar made by a razor in his boyhood days, and\u003cbr\u003eunder emotion the injured throat became convulsed at times, causing his\u003cbr\u003ewords to be unintelligible. The red flannel shirt, patched with colors\u003cbr\u003eof lighter shades, lay open to the shoulders, showing the dark, rough\u003cbr\u003eskin.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Git--git up!\" he stuttered; and for some minutes the boat moved\u003cbr\u003esilently, save for the swish of the water and the patter of the mules'\u003cbr\u003efeet on the narrow path by the river.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the small living-room at one end of the boat came the crooning of a\u003cbr\u003ewoman's voice, a girlish voice, which rose and fell without tune or\u003cbr\u003erhythm. Suddenly the mules came to a standstill with a \"Whoa thar!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Pole me out a drink, Scraggy,\" bawled the man, \"and put a big snack of\u003cbr\u003ewhisky in it--see?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe boulder-shaped head shot forward in command as he spoke. And he\u003cbr\u003eheld the reins in his left hand, turning squarely toward the scow.\u003cbr\u003ePushing out a dark, rusty, steel hook over which swung a ragged\u003cbr\u003ecoat-sleeve, he displayed the stump of a short arm.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47182592803056,"sku":"2940015832693","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940015832693","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}