第59部分(第4/7 頁)

an　and　I　went　to　see　her　the　previous　weekend　than　Hal　had　looked　earlier　on　John　Coffey's　execution　evening。

〃I　won't　be　staying　for　this　one；〃　he　had　said。　〃Curtis　will　be　there；　and　I　know　Coffey　will　be　in　good　hands　with　you　and　Brutus。〃

〃Yes；　sir；　we'll　do　our　best〃；　I　said。　〃Is　there　any　word　on　Percy？〃　Is　he　ing　back　around？　is　what　I　meant；　of　course。　Is　he　even　now　sitting　in　a　room　somewhere　and　telling　someone　…　some　doctor；　most　likely　…　about　how　we　zipped　him　into　the　nut…coat　and　threw　him　into　the　restraint　room　like　any　other　problem　child　。。。　any　other　lugoon；　in　Percy's　language？　And　if　he　is；　are　they　believing　him？

But　according　to　Hal；　Percy　was　just　the　same。　Not　talking；　and　not；　so　far　as　anyone　could　tell；　in　the　world　at　all。　He　was　still　at　Indianola　…　〃being　evaluated〃；　Hal　had　said；　looking　mystified　at　the　phrase　…　but　if　there　was　no　improvement；　he　would　be　moving　along　soon。

〃How's　Coffey　holding　up？〃　Hal　had　asked　then。　He　had　finally　managed　to　do　up　the　last　button　of　his　coat。

I　nodded。　〃He'll　be　fine；　Warden。〃

He'd　nodded　back；　then　gone　to　the　door；　looking　old　and　ill。　〃How　can　so　much　good　and　so　much　evil　live　together　in　the　same　man？　How　could　the　man　who　cured　my　wife　be　the　same　man　who　killed　those　little　girls？　Do　you　understand　that？〃

I　had　told　him　I　didn't；　the　ways　of　God　were　mysterious；　there　was　good　and　evil　in　all　of　us；　ours　not　to　reason　why；　…hotcha；　hotcha；　row…dee…dow。　Most　of　what　I　told　him　were　things　I'd　learned　in　the　church　of　Praise　Jesus；　The　Lord　Is　Mighty；　Hal　nodding　the　whole　time　and　looking　sort　of　exalted。　He　could　afford　to　nod；　couldn't　he？　Yes。　And　look　exalted；　too。　There　was　a　deep　sadness　on　his　face　…　he　was　shaken；　all　right；　I　never　do