第30部分(第5/7 頁)

d　walked　back　up　the　Green　Mile；　not　hurrying；　leaving　Mr。　Jingles　lying　on　the　linoleum　in　a　spreading　pool　of　his　own　blood。

Part　Four：

The　Bad　Death　of　Eduard　Delacroix

1。

All　this　other　writing　aside；　I've　kept　a　little　diary　since　I　took　up　residence　at　Georgia　Pines　…　no　big　deal；　just　a　couple　of　paragraphs　a　day；　mostly　about　the　weather　…　and　I　looked　back　through　it　last　evening。　I　wanted　to　see　just　how　long　it　has　been　since　my　grandchildren；　Christopher　and　Danielle；　more　or　less　forced　me　into　Georgia　Pines。　〃For　your　own　good；　Gramps；〃　they　said。　Of　course　they　did。　Isn't　that　what　people　mostly　say　when　they　have　finally　figured　out　how　to　get　rid　of　a　problem　that　walks　and　talks？

It's　been　a　little　over　two　years。　The　eerie　thing　is　that　I　don't　know　if　it　feels　like　two　years；　or　longer　than　that；　or　shorter。　My　sense　of　time　seems　to　be　melting；　like　a　kid's　snowman　in　a　January　thaw。　It's　as　if　time　as　it　always　was　…　Eastern　Standard　Time；　Daylight　Saving　Tune；　Working…Man　Time　…　doesn't　exist　anymore。　Here　there　is　only　Georgia　Pines　Time；　which　is　Old　Man　Time；　Old　Lady　Time；　and　Piss　the　Bed　Tune。　The　rest　。。。　all　gone。

This　is　a　dangerous　damned　place。　You　don't　you　think　it's　only　a　boring　dangerous　as　a　nursery　school　at　naptime；　but　it's　dangerous；　all　right。　I've　seen　a　lot　of　people　slide　into　senility　since　I　came　here；　and　sometimes　they　do　more　than　slide　sometimes　they　go　down　with　the　speed　of　a　crash…diving　submarine。　They　e　here　mostly　all　right　…　dim…eyed　and　welded　to　the　cane；　maybe　a　little　loose　in　the　bladder；　but　otherwise　okay　…　and　then　something　happens　to　them。　A　month　later　they're　just　sitting　in　the　TV　room；　staring　up　at　Oprah　Winfrey　on　the　TV　with　dull　eyes；　a　slack　jaw；　and