第50部分(第5/7 頁)

a　moment　on　his　haggard　face　and　then　slipped　off。

〃How　you　doing；　Big　John？〃　Brutal　asked；　climbing　into　the　back　of　the　truck　again　and　retrieving　his　own　blanket。

〃Fine；　boss；〃　John　said　listlessly。　〃I's　fine。〃

Brutal　patted　his　knee。　〃We'll　be　back　soon。　And　when　we　get　squared　away；　you　know　what？　I'm　going　to　see　you　get　a　great　big　cup　of　hot　coffee。　Sugar　and　cream；　too。〃

You　bet；　I　thought；　going　around　to　the　passenger　side　of　the　cab　and　climbing　in。　If　we　don't　get　arrested　and　thrown　in　jail　ourselves　first。

But　I'd　been　living　with　that　idea　ever　since　we'd　thrown　Percy　into　the　restraint　room；　and　it　didn't　worry　me　enough　to　keep　me　awake。　I　dozed　off　and　dreamed　of　Calvary　Hill。　Thunder　in　the　west　and　a　smell　that　might　have　been　juniper　berries。　Brutal　and　Harry　and　Dean　and　I　were　standing　around　in　robes　and　tin　hats　like　in　a　Cecil　B。　DeMille　movie。　We　were　Centurions；　I　guess。　There　were　three　crosses；　Percy　Wetmore　and　Eduard　Delacroix　flanking　John　Coffey。　I　looked　down　at　my　hand　and　saw　I　was　holding　a　bloody　hammer。

We　got　to　get　him　down　from　there；　Paul！　Brutal　screamed。　We　got　to　get　him　down！

Except　we　couldn't；　they'd　taken　away　the　stepladder。　I　started　to　tell　Brutal　this；　and　then　an　extra…hard　bounce　of　the　truck　woke　me　up。　We　were　backing　into　the　place　where　Harry　had　hidden　the　truck　earlier　on　a　day　that　already　seemed　to　stretch　back　to　the　beginning　of　time。

The　two　of　us　got　out　and　went　around　to　the　back。　Brutal　hopped　down　all　right；　but　John　Coffey's　knees　buckled　and　he　almost　fell。　It　took　all　three　of　us　to　catch　him；　and　he　was　no　more　than　set　solid　on　his　feet　again　before　he　went　off　into　another　of　those　coughing　fits；　this　one　the　worst　yet。　He　bent　over；　th