第16部分(第4/7 頁)

the　Mile　trying　to　mit　murder；　is　something　I'll　get　to　shortly；　fair　warning。

〃What's　this　about　Delacroix　copping　his　joint？〃　I　asked。

Brutal　snorted。　〃He　was　ankle…chained　and　ole　Percy　was　just　pulling　him　too　fast；　that's　all。　He　stumbled　and　started　to　fall　as　he　got　out　of　the　stagecoach。　He　put　his　hands　out　same　as　anyone　would　when　they　start　to　fall；　and　one　of　them　brushed　the　front　of　Percy's　pants。　It　was　a　plete　accident！〃

〃Did　Percy　know　that；　do　you　think？〃　I　asked。　〃Was　he　maybe　using　it　as　an　excuse　just　because　he　felt　like　whaling　on　Delacroix　a　little　bit？　Showing　him　who　bosses　the　shooting　match　around　here？〃

Brutal　nodded　slowly。　〃Yeah。　I　think　that　was　probably　it。〃

〃We　have　to　watch　him；　then；〃　I　said；　and　ran　my　hands；　through　my　hair。　As　if　the　job　wasn't　hard　enough。　〃God；　I　hate　this。　I　hate　him。〃

〃Me；　too。　And　you　want　to　know　something　else；　Paul？　I　don't　understand　him。　He's　got　connections；　I　understand　that；　all　right；　but　why　would　he　use　them　to　get　a　job　on　the　Green　fucking　Mile？　Anywhere　in　the　state　pen；　for　that　matter？　Why　not　as　a　page　in　the　state　senate；　or　the　guy　who　makes　the　lieutenant　governor's　appointments？　Surely　his　people　could've　gotten　him　something　better　if　he'd　asked　them；　so　why　here？〃

I　shook　my　head。　I　didn't　know。　There　were　a　lot　of　things　I　didn't　know　then。　I　suppose　I　was　naive。

8。

After　that；　things　went　back　to　normal　again　。。。　for　awhile；　at　least。　Down　in　the　county　seat；　the　state　was　preparing　to　bring　John　Coffey　to　trial；　and　Trapingus　County　Sheriff　Homer　Cribus　was　pooh…poohing　the　idea　that　a　lynch…mob　might　hurry　justice　along　a　little　bit。　None　of　that　mattered　to　us；　on　E　Block；　no　one　paid　much　attention　to　the　news。　Life　on