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think these here are all people worked for my daddy. I think . . .
I think so too, I said.
He said they quit or run off or he fired em. God, Stanley, he was murderin
them people.
I wasn t murderin .
Richard jumped to his feet and I spun. Mr. Chapman was standing at the mouth
of the trail, where the woods cleared, and he was holding the scythe I had
seen on the rack. He had his overalls on with no shirt. He had his shoes on
without socks. His hair was like an explosion of dark sprouts. The wind moved
it like it was alive. His face was sallow and wrinkled; I couldn t imagine the
handsome man that had once been there, the one Rosy talked about.
I realized that Richard s remarks about his father being able to hear a dog
run across the yard had not been exaggerated. Mr. Chapman had heard us, gone
out to the barn to get the scythe, and followed us.
You ought not to have dug Butch up, Chapman said. I put him to rest.
Did you murder him too? Richard said. Did he bark when he shouldn t have?
Butch never let me down. As for the others, God lets a righteous man make
decisions about such things. Did you know God come to me and told me to do you
like Abraham was told to do Isaac? I had to take you out and kill you. Cept
God didn t come to me and tell me to turn my hand. I just didn t do it. Your
mother didn t think it was the thing to do. She thought people would come to
us, and want to know where you was, and that you d be a strong worker. You
remember any of that, boy?
Richard, trembling, said, No, sir.
Naw, you wouldn t. I took you on a little squirrel huntin trip when you was
five. And I was gonna shoot you in the back of the head cause God told me to,
have a little hunting accident, but I didn t do it. I was supposed to. It
would have made life easier. Raisin you, that didn t do me and your mama no
good. The world would have just thought it was a little huntin accident. God
was testin me, seein what I was made of. He never told me to stay my hand. I
just did. And I shouldn t have. Only time I ever let God down. I didn t let
him down with these others. When he come to me and told me what I had to do, I
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did it. But you were my son, so I didn t do it. Now it comes back on me.
You re gonna turn me over to the infidels, ain t you?
For what? Richard said.
Chapman laughed. That was quick, boy. You re quick like your mother. You
know, from the time I took you out and didn t kill you, cause I had your
mama s thinkin on the matter in the back of my mind, things have gone bad.
Crops ain t good. World is changin . Niggers is wantin rights. All manner of
evil. Can t abide it. No, sir. I won t. Your mama, I make her pay for it every
day. Not because I want to, son, but because God expects it, and in spite of
her mistake, she s a righteous woman, she is, and she takes it. She know she
ought to. I ain t killed none of these people cause I wanted to, but because
it was right. It was the will of God. You re my only mistake.
And you, son, he said looking at me, I reckon you re just in the wrong
place at the wrong time. But you are from a sinful family. I can see that.
Your sister actin like she s got the rights of a man. That daddy of yours
whippin on me when I was seekin out my own son. Givin him refuge. Runnin
that movie house. That s wrong.
You killed these people to save money, Richard said. I think that s why you
killed them. Because you re cheap.
Chapman snorted. You think that? Well, you would. Some of them people were
drinkers, and fornicators . . . That silver-toothed one there. She was a
whore, and ran with that Stilwind girl in a manner a girl ain t supposed to
go. I tried to witness to her. She wouldn t have any of it.
You witnessed to her by the railroad tracks? I said.
You witness where you find the need.
I think you wanted her, I said. You didn t want anyone else to have her. So
one night you followed her . . . with that scythe, and killed her. Brought the
head back here.
You ain t no man of God, Richard said. You ain t better than me. You ain t
as good as me.
Chapman s face turned sad. He looked at Richard like the last morsel on a
plate.
You killed Margret, and you burned up the Stilwind girl, didn t you? I said.
You don t know what you re talkin about, Chapman said. And I ain t gonna
talk no more.
That s when Richard flicked a shovelful of dirt into Chapman s face.
Richard bolted. Run!
I didn t have to be told twice. I went after Richard. We started back in the
direction of the sawmill.
We zigzagged through trees and finally broke out to where we could see the old
mill and the road beyond. I glanced over my shoulder, saw that Chapman was
catching up. Spit was trailing out of his mouth in a way that made it look
like foam.
I realized we weren t going to make it to the road before he caught up.
Nub chose that moment to burst out of the woods, and when he saw me running,
and Mr. Chapman after me, he broke straight away for my pursuer, barking.
I shouldn t have stopped, but I turned and yelled for Nub. It was too late.
Nub hit Chapman s ankle hard, and though he didn t get in a good bite,
Chapman s legs got tangled and he went down, the scythe flying out in front of
him.
While he was getting up, I yelled for Nub in as hard and as insistent a voice
as I could. Nub barked at Chapman, and chose to obey me for a change. He came
running toward me happily, as if it were all a game.
I bent down, held out my arms, and Nub jumped into them. I turned and started
running, sneaked a look over my shoulder, saw Chapman was up now with his
scythe, and he was picking up speed.
Ahead of me, Richard was almost to the sawmill. I was coming up on his tail,
panting with the weight of Nub and the weight of fear.
When I reached the sawmill, Richard was at the base of the old ladder that lay [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
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