第13部分(第1/7 頁)

〃He　only　ate　from　you　fellas；〃　Toot…Toot　said。　He　shook　his　head　in　disbelief；　then　bent　laboriously　over；　picked　up　what　the　mouse　had　disdained；　and　popped　it　into　his　own　toothless　maw；　where　he　be　gan　the　job　of　gumming　it　into　submission。　〃Now　why　he　do　dat？〃

〃I've　got　a　better　one；〃　Harry　said。　〃How'd　he　know　Percy　was　off？〃

〃He　didn't；〃　I　said。　〃It　was　just　coincidence；　that　mouse　showing　up　tonight。〃

Except　that　got　harder　and　harder　to　believe　as　the　days　went　by　and　the　mouse　showed　up　only　when　Percy　was　off；　on　another　shift；　or　in　another　part　of　the　prison。　We　…　Harry；　Dean；　Brutal；　and　me　…　decided　that　it　must　know　Percy's　voice；　or　his　smell。

We　carefully　avoided　too　much　discussion　about　the　mouse　itself　…　himself。　That；　we　seemed　to　have　decided　without　saying　a　word；　might　go　a　long　way　toward　spoiling　something　that　was　special；　and　beautiful；　by　virtue　of　its　strangeness　and　delicacy。　Willy　had　chosen　us；　after　all；　in　some　way　I　do　not　understand；　even　now。　Maybe　Harry　came　closest　when　he　said　it　would　do　no　good　to　tell　other　people；　not　just　because　they　wouldn't　believe　but　because　they　wouldn't　care。

4。

Then　it　was　time　for　the　execution　of　Arlen　Bitterbuck；　in　reality　no　chief　but　first　elder　of　his　tribe　on　the　Washita　Reservation；　and　a　member　of　the　Cherokee　Council　as　well。　He　had　killed　a　man　while　drunk　…　while　both　of　them　were　drunk；　in　fact。　The　Chief　had　crushed　the　man's　head　with　a　cement　block。　At　issue　had　been　a　pair　of　boots。　So；　on　July　seventeenth　of　that　rainy　summer；　my　council　of　elders　intended　for　his　life　to　end。

Visiting　hours　for　most　Cold　Mountain　prisoners　were　as　rigid　as　steel　beams；　but　that　didn't　hold　for　our　boys　on　E　Block。　So；　on　the　sixteenth；　Bitterbuc