第59部分(第1/7 页)

down　and　turned　his　face　to　the　wall。

I　stepped　out　into　the　Mile；　locked　his　cell；　and　walked　up　to　the　duty　desk。　I　still　felt　like　a　man　in　a　dream。　I　realized　I　could　hear　Brutal's　thoughts　…　a　very　faint　whisper；　how　to　spell　some　word；　receive；　I　think　it　was。　He　was　thinking　i　before　e；　except　after　c；　is　that　how　the　dadratted　thing　goes？　Then　he　looked　up；　started　to　smile；　and　stopped　when　he　got　a　good　look　at　me。　〃Paul？〃　he　asked。　〃Are　you　all　right？〃

〃Yes。〃　Then　I　told　him　what　John　had　told　me　…　not　all　of　it；　and　certainly　not　about　what　his　touch　had　done　to　me　（I　never　told　anyone　that　part；　not　even　Janice；　Elaine　Connelly　will　be　the　first　to　know　of　it　…　if；　that　is；　she　wants　to　read　these　last　pages　after　reading　all　the　rest　of　them）；　but　I　repeated　what　John　had　said　about　wanting　to　go。　That　seemed　to　relieve　Brutal　…　a　bit；　anyway　…　but　I　sensed　（heard？）　him　wondering　if　I　hadn't　made　it　up；　just　to　set　his　mind　at　ease。　Then　I　felt　him　deciding　to　believe　it；　simply　because　it　would　make　things　a　little　easier　for　him　when　the　time　came。

〃Paul；　is　that　infection　of　yours　ing　back？〃　he　asked。　〃You　look　all　flushed。〃

〃No；　I　think　I'm　okay〃；　I　said。　I　wasn't；　but　I　felt　sure　by　then　that　John　was　right　and　I　was　going　to　be。　I　could　feel　that　tingle　starting　to　subside。

〃All　the　same；　it　might　not　hurt　you　to　go　on　in　your　office　there　and　lie　down　a　bit。〃

Lying　down　was　the　last　thing　I　felt　like　right　then　…　the　idea　seemed　so　ridiculous　that　I　almost　laughed。　What　I　felt　like　doing　was　maybe　building　myself　a　little　house；　then　shingling　it；　and　plowing　a　garden　in　back；　and　planting　it。　All　before　suppertime。

That's　how　it　is；　I　thought。　Every　day。　All　over　the　world。　That　darkness。　All　ove