第21部分(第1/7 頁)

fection　which　had　so　troubled　my　life　in　the　fall　of　1932　…　the　fall　of　John　Coffey；　Percy　Wetmore；　and　Mr。　Jingles；　the　trained　mouse。

The　fall　of　William　Wharton；　it　had　been；　too。

〃Paul！〃　Elaine　cried；　and　hurried　over　to　me　hurried　as　fast　as　the　rusty　nails　and　ground　glass　in　her　hips　would　allow；　anyway。　〃Paul；　what's　wrong？〃

〃I'll　be　all　right；〃　I　said；　but　the　words　didn't　sound　very　convincing　…　they　came　out　all　uneven；　through　teeth　that　wanted　to　chatter。　〃Just　give　me　a　minute　or　two；　I'll　be　right　as　rain。〃

She　sat　next　to　me　and　put　her　arm　around　my　shoulders。　〃I'm　sure；〃　she　said。　〃But　what　happened？　For　heaven's　sake；　Paul；　you　look　like　you　saw　a　ghost。〃

I　did；　I　thought；　and　didn't　realize　until　her　eyes　widened　that　I'd　said　it　out　loud。

〃Not　really。〃　I　said；　and　patted　her　hand　（gently　…　so　gently！）。　〃But　for　a　minute。　Elaine　God！〃

〃Was　it　from　the　time　when　you　were　a　guard　at　the　prison？〃　she　asked。　〃The　time　that　you've　been　writing　about　in　the　solarium？〃

I　nodded。　〃I　worked　on　our　version　of　Death　Row　…　〃

〃I　know　…　〃

〃Only　we　called　it　the　Green　Mile。　Because　of　the　linoleum　on　the　floor。　In　the　fall　of　'32；　we　got　this　fellow　…　we　got　this　wildman　…　named　William　Wharton。　Liked　to　think　of　himself　as　Billy　the　Kid；　even　had　it　tattooed　on　his　arm。　Just　a　kid；　but　dangerous。　I　can　still　remember　what　Curtis　Anderson　…　he　was　the　assistant　warden　back　in　those　days　…　wrote　about　him。　'Crazy…wild　and　proud　of　it。　Wharton　is　nieen　years　old；　and　he　just　doesn't　care。'　He'd　underlined　that　part。〃

The　hand　which　had　gone　around　my　shoulders　was　now　rubbing　my　back。　I　was　beginning　to　calm。　In　that　moment　I　loved　Elaine　Connelly；　and　could　have　kissed　her　all　over　her