第58部分(第5/7 頁)

ad　never　been　lights　before。　Not　just　in　my　brain；　all　over　my　body。

〃You　and　Mr。　Howell　and　the　other　bosses　been　good　to　me〃；　John　Coffey　said。　〃I　know　you　been　worryin；　but　you　ought　to　quit　on　it　now。　Because　I　want　to　go；　boss。〃

I　tried　to　speak　and　couldn't。　He　could；　though。　What　he　said　next　was　the　longest　I　ever　heard　him　speak。

〃I'm　rightly　tired　of　the　pain　I　hear　and　feel；　boss。　I'm　tired　of　bein　on　the　road；　lonely　as　a　robin　in　the　rain。　Not　never　havin　no　buddy　to　go　on　with　or　tell　me　where　we's　in　from　or　goin　to　or　why。　I'm　tired　of　people　bein　ugly　to　each　other。　It　feels　like　pieces　of　glass　in　my　head。　I'm　tired　of　all　the　times　I've　wanted　to　help　and　couldn't。　I'm　tired　of　bein　in　the　dark。　Mostly　it's　the　pain。　There's　too　much。　If　I　could　end　it；　I　would。　But　I　cain't。〃

Stop　it；　I　tried　to　say。　Stop　it；　let　go　of　my　hands；　I'm　going　to　drown　if　you　don't。　Drown　or　explode。

〃You　won't　'splode；〃　he　said；　smiling　a　little　at　the　idea　。。。　but　he　let　go　of　my　hands。

I　leaned　forward；　gasping。　Between　my　knees　I　could　see　every　crack　in　the　cement　floor；　every　groove；　every　flash　of　mica。　I　looked　up　at　the　wall　and　saw　names　that　had　been　written　there　in　1924；　1926；　1931。　Those　names　had　been　washed　away；　the　men　who　had　written　them　had　also　been　washed　away；　in　a　manner　of　speaking；　but　I　guess　you　can　never　wash　anything　pletely　away；　not　from　this　dark　glass　of　a　world；　and　now　I　saw　them　again；　a　tangle　of　names　overlying　one　another；　and　looking　at　them　was　like　listening　to　the　dead　speak　and　sing　and　cry　out　for　mercy。　I　felt　my　eyeballs　pulsing　in　their　sockets；　heard　my　own　heart；　felt　the　windy　whoosh　of　my　blood　rushing　through　all　the　boulevards　of　my　body　like　letters　being　mailed　to　everywher