第54部分(第1/7 頁)

He　pushed　away　from　the　bars　and　swayed　a　little　on　his　feet。　Brutal　steadied　him。　〃Easy；　boy；　you　all　right？〃　Percy　didn't　answer；　just　stepped　past　Brutal　and　turned　toward　the　duty　desk。　He　wasn't　staggering；　exactly；　but　he　was　listing　to　port。

Brutal　reached　out　for　him。　I　pushed　his　hand　away。　〃Leave　him　alone。〃　Would　I　have　said　the　same　if　I'd　known　what　was　going　to　happen　next？　I've　asked　myself　that　question　a　thousand　times　since　the　fall　of　1932。　There's　never　any　answer。

Percy　made　twelve　or　fourteen　paces；　then　stopped　again；　head　lowered。　He　was　outside　of　Wild　Bill　Wharton's　cell　by　then。　Wharton　was　still　making　those　sousaphone　noises。　He　slept　through　the　whole　thing。　He　slept　through　his　own　death；　now　that　I　think　of　it；　which　made　him　a　lot　luckier　than　most　of　the　men　who　ended　up　here。　Certainly　luckier　than　he　deserved。

Before　we　knew　what　was　happening；　Percy　drew　his　gun；　stepped　to　the　bars　of　Wharton's　cell；　and　emptied　all　six　shots　into　the　sleeping　man〃　just　bam…bam…bam；　bam…bam…bam；　as　fast　as　he　could　pull　the　trigger。　The　sound　in　that　enclosed　space　was　deafening；　when　I　told　Janice　the　story　the　next　morning；　I　could　still　hardly　hear　the　sound　of　my　own　voice　for　the　ringing　in　my　ears。

We　ran　at　him；　all　four　of　us。　Dean　got　there　first　…　I　don't　know　how；　as　he　was　behind　Brutal　and　me　when　Coffey　had　hold　of　Percy　…　but　he　did。　He　grabbed　Percy's　wrist；　prepared　to　wrestle　the　gun　out　of　Percy's　hand；　but　he　didn't　have　to。　Percy　just　let　go；　and　the　gun　fell　to　the　floor。　His　eyes　went　across　us　like　they　were　skates　and　we　were　ice。　There　was　a　low　hissing　sound　and　a　sharp　ammoniac　smell　as　Percy's　bladder　let　go；　then　a　brrrap　sound　and　a　thicker　stink　as　he　filled　the　other　side　of　his　pants；