第27部分(第3/7 頁)

doo　you　do？〃　Wharton　held　his　belly　and　howled。　〃Gosh；　if　it　had　only　been　ka…ka！　I　wish　it　had　been！　If　I'd　had　me　some　of　that………〃

〃You　are　ka…ka；〃　Brutal　growled；　〃and　I　hope　you　got　your　bags　packed；　because　you're　going　back　down　to　your　favorite　toilet。〃

Once　again　Wharton　was　bundled　into　the　strait　jacket；　and　once　again　we　stowed　him　in　the　room　with　the　soft　walls。　Two　days；　this　time。　Sometimes　we　could　hear　him　raving　in　there；　sometimes　we　could　hear　him　promising　that　he'd　be　good；　that　he'd　e　to　his　senses　and　be　good；　and　sometimes　we　could　hear　him　screaming　that　he　needed　a　doctor；　that　he　was　dying。　Mostly；　though；　he　was　silent。　And　he　was　silent　when　we　took　him　out　again；　too；　walking；　back　to　his　cell　with　his　head　down　and　his　eyes　dull；　not　responding　when　Harry　said；　〃Remember；　it's　up　to　you。〃　He　would　be　all　right　for　a　while；　and　then　he'd　try　something　else。　There　was　nothing　he　did　that　hadn't　been　tried　before　（well；　except　for　the　thing　with　the　moon…pie；　maybe；　even　Brutal　admitted　that　was　pretty　original）；　but　his　sheer　persistence　was　scary。　I　was　afraid　that　sooner　or　later　someone's　attention　might　lapse　and　there　would　be　hell　to　pay。　And　the　situation　might　continue　for　quite　awhile；　because　somewhere　he　had　a　lawyer　who　was　beating　the　bushes；　telling　folks　how　wrong　it　would　be　to　kill　this　fellow　upon　whose　brow　the　dew　of　youth　had　not　yet　dried　…　and　who　was；　incidentally；　as　white　as　old　Jeff　Davis。　There　was　no　sense　plaining　about　it；　because　keeping　Wharton　out　of　the　chair　was　his　lawyer's　job。　Keeping　him　safely　jugged　was　ours。　And　in　the　end；　Old　Sparky　would　almost　certainly　have　him；　lawyer　or　no　lawyer。

6。

That　was　the　week　Melinda　Moores；　the　warden's　wife；　came　home　from　Indianola。　Th