第6部分(第4/7 頁)

le　lunch；　is　that　right？〃　McGee　asked；　and　Coffey　nodded　and　said　yessir　with　his　eyes　running　and　dear　snot…runners　hanging　out　of　his　nose。　〃And　where　did　the　likes　of　you　get　a　little　lunch；　John　Coffey？〃　Forcing　himself　to　be　calm；　although　he　could　smell　the　girls　by　then；　and　could　see　the　flies　lighting　and　sampling　the　places　on　them　that　were　wet。　It　was　their　hair　that　was　the　worst；　he　said　later　。。。　and　this　wasn't　in　any　newspaper　story；　it　was　considered　too　grisly　for　family　reading。　No；　this　I　got　from　the　reporter　who　wrote　the　story；　Mr。　Hammersmith。　I　looked　him　up　later　on；　because　later　on　John　Coffey　became　sort　of　an　obsession　with　me。　McGee　told　this　Hammersmith　that　their　blonde　hair　wasn't　blonde　anymore。　It　was　auburn。　Blood　had　run　down　their　cheeks　out　of　it　like　it　was　a　bad　dye…job；　and　you　didn't　have　to　be　a　doctor　to　see　that　their　fragile　skulls　had　been　dashed　together　with　the　force　of　those　mighty　arms。　Probably　they　had　been　crying。　Probably　he　had　wanted　to　make　them　stop。　If　the　girls　had　been　lucky；　this　had　happened　before　the　rapes。

Looking　at　that　made　it　hard　for　a　man　to　think；　even　a　man　as　determined　to　do　his　job　as　Deputy　McGee　was。　Bad　thinking　could　cause　mistakes；　maybe　more　bloodshed。　McGee　drew　him　in　a　deep　breath　and　calmed　himself。　Tried；　anyway。

'Wellsir；　I　don't　exactly　remember；　be　dog　if　I　do；〃　Coffey　said　in　his　tear…choked　voice；　〃but　it's　a　little　lunch；　all　right；　sammidges　and　I　think　a　swee'　pickle。〃

I　might　just　have　a　look　for　myself；　it's　all　the　same　to　you；〃　McGee　said。　〃Don't　you　move　now；　John　Coffey。　Don't　do　it；　boy；　because　there　are　enough　guns　aimed　at　you　to　make　you　disappear　from　the　waist　up　should　you　so　much　as　twitch　a　finger。〃

Coffey　looked　out　across　the