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第37章 a re fr i eily(第2页)

"hesaid。

"Why,sendherwordtostoit,

"thewomansaid,

"Isn&aos;ttherealaw?

"

"I&aos;msurethatwon&aos;tbenecessary,

"JudgeStevenssaid,

"It&aos;srobablyjustasnakeoraratthatniggerofherskilledintheyard。I&aos;llseaktohimaboutit。

"

Thenextdayhereceivedtwomorecomlaints,onefromamanwhocameindiffidentderecation。

"Wereallymustdosomethingaboutit,Judge。I&aos;dbethelastoneintheworldtobotherMissEmily,butwe&aos;vegottodosomething。

"ThatnighttheBoardofAldermenmet-threegraybeardsandoneyoungerman,amemberoftherisinggeneration。

"It&aos;ssimleenough,

"hesaid。

"Sendherwordtohaveherlacecleanedu。Giveheracertaintimetodoitin,andifshedon&aos;t。。。

"

"Dammit,sir,

"JudgeStevenssaid,

"Willyouaccusealadytoherfaceofsmellingbad?

"

Sothenextnight,aftermidnight,fourmencrossedMissEmily&aos;slawnandslunkaboutthehouselikeburglars,sniffingalongthebaseofthebrickworkandatthecellaroeningswhileoneofthemerformedaregularsowingmotionwithhishandoutofasackslungfromhisshoulder。Theybrokeoenthecellardoorandsrinkledlimethere,andinalltheoutbuildings。Astheyrecrossedthelawn,awindowthathadbeendarkwaslightedandMissEmilysatinit,thelightbehindher,andherurighttorsomotionlessasthatofanidol。Theycretquietlyacrossthelawnandintotheshadowofthelocuststhatlinedthestreet。Afteraweekortwothesmellwentaway。

Thatwaswheneolehadbeguntofeelreallysorryforher。Peoleinourtown,rememberinghowoldladyWyatt,hergreat-aunt,hadgonecomletelycrazyatlast,believedthattheGriexsonsheldthemselvesalittletoohighforwhattheyreallywere。NoneoftheyoungmenwerequitegoodenoughforMissEmilyandsuch。Wehadlongthoughtofthemasatableau;MissEmilyaslenderfigureinwhiteinthebackground,herfatherasraddledsilhouetteintheforeground,hisbacktoherandclutchingahorsewhi,thetwoofthemframedbytheback-flungfrontdoors。Sowhenshegottobethirtyandwasstillsingle,wewerenotleasedexactly,butvindicated;evenwithinsanityinthefamilyshewouldn&aos;thaveturneddownallofherchancesiftheyhadreallymaterialized。

Whenherfatherdied,itgotaboutthatthehousewasallthatwaslefttoher;andinaway,eolewereglad。AtlasttheycouldityMissEmily。Beingleftalone,andaauer,shehadbecomehumanized。Nowshetoowouldknowtheoldthrillandtheolddesairofaennymoreorless。

Thedayafterhisdeathalltheladiesrearedtocallatthehouseandoffercondolenceandaid,asisourcustom。MissEmilymetthematthedoor,dressedasusualandwithnotraceofgriefonherface。Shetoldthemthatherfatherwasnotdead。Shedidthatforthreedays,withtheministerscallingonher,andthedoctors,tryingtoersuadehertoletthemdisoseofthebody。Justastheywereabouttoresorttolawandforce,shebrokedown。andtheyburiedherfatherquickly。

Wedidnotsayshewascrazythen。Webelievedshehadtodothat。Werememberedalltheyoungmenherfatherhaddrivenaway,andweknewthatwithnothingleft,shewouldhavetoclingtothatwhichhadrobbedher,aseolewill。

III

Shewassickforalongtime。Whenwesawheragain,herhairwascutshort,makingherlooklikeagirl,withavagueresemblaneetothoseangelsincoloredchurchwindows-sortoftragicandserene。

Thetownhadjustletthecontractsforavingthesidewalks,andinthesummerafterherfather&aos;sdeaththeybegantowork。Theconstructioncomanycamewithniggersandmulesandmachinery,andaforemannamedHomerBarron,aYankee-abig,dark,readyman,withabigvoiceandeyeslighterthanhisface。Thelittleboyswouldfollowingroustohearhimcusstheniggers,andtheniggerssingingintimetotheriseandfalloficks。PrettysoonhekneweverybodyintownWheneveryouheardalotoflaughinganywhereaboutthesquare,HomerBarronwouldbeinthecenterofthegrou。PresentlywebegantoseehimandMissEmilyonSundayafternoonsdrivingintheyellow-wheeledbuggyandthematchedteamofbaysfromtheliverystable。

AtfirstweweregladthatMissEmilywouldhaveaninterest,becausetheladiesallsaid,

"OfcourseaGriersonwouldnotthinkseriouslyofaNortherner,adaylaborer。

"Buttherewerestillothers,oldereole,whosaidthatevengriefcouldnotcausearealladytoforgetnoblesseoblige-withoutcallingitnoblesseoblige。Theyjustsaid,

"PoorEmily。Herkinsfolkshouldcometoher。

"ShehadsomekininAlabama;butyearsagoherfatherhadfallenoutwiththemovertheestateofoldladyWyatt,thecrazywoman,andtherewasnocommunicationbetweenthetwofamilies。Theyhadnotevenbeenreresentedatthefuneral。

Andassoonastheoldeolesaid,

"PoorEmily

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