第12部分(第6/7 頁)

efore　herand　she　sighed　loudly；　to　attract　Frank’s　attention。

He　stopped　whistling　in　the　middle　of　a　phrase；　mentally；　she　finished　it。　‘What　you　gotthere；　sugar？’　he　asked；　lazily。

‘It’s　a　letter　from　my　brother’s　wife。’　She　stared　at　her　face　in　the　mirror；　thinking　angrilythat　all　these　skin　creams　were　a　waste　of　money；　they　never　did　any　good。

‘What’s　them　niggers　doing　down　home？　It　ain’t　no　bad　news；　is　it？　Still　he　hummed；irrepressibly；　deep　in　his　throat。

‘No　…　well；　it　ain’t　no　good　news　neither；　but　it　ain’t　nothing　to　surprise　me　none。　She　saysshe　think　my　brother’s　got　a　bastard　living　right　there　in　the　same　town　what　he’s　scared　to　call　hisown。’

‘No？　And　I　thought　you　said　you　brother　was　a　preacher。’

‘Being　a　preacher　ain’t　never　stopped　a　nigger　from　doing　his　dirt。’

Then　he　laughed。　‘You　sure　don’t　love　your　brother　like　you　should。　How　e　his　wifefound　out　about　this　kid？’

She　picked　up　the　letter　and　turned　to　face　him。　‘Sound　to　me　like　she　been　knowing　aboutit　but　she　ain’t　never　had　the　nerve　to　say　nothing。’　She　paused；　then　added；　reluctantly：　‘Ofcourse；　she　ain’t　really　what　you　might　call　sure。　But　she　ain’t　a　woman　to　go　around　thinkingthings。　She　mighty　worried。’

‘Hell；　what　she　worried　about　it　now　for？　Can’t　nothing　be　done　about　it　now。

‘She　wonder　if　she　ought　to　ask　him　about　it。’

‘And　do　she　reckon　if　she　ask　him；　he　going　to　be　fool　enough　to　say　yes？’

She　sighed　again；　more　genuinely　this　time；　and　turned　back　to　the　mirror。　‘Well　…　he’s　apreacher。　And　if　Deborah’s　right；　he　ain’t　got　not　right　to　be　a　preacher。　He　ain’t　no　better’nnobody　else。　In　fact；　he　ain’t　no　better　than　a　murderer。’

He　had　begun　to　whistle　again；　he　stopped。　‘Murderer？　H