Rose said it sounded just fine to her, but if it bothered me she'd try to watch her tongue. 'That son-of-a-bitch caused enough trouble while he was alive without fouling us up afterward. Anyway, I'd do anything to please you, sweetheart. Anything you want, darling.'
'Then, why ain't you doin' it?' I said. 'How come you still got your dress on?'
'Goddam,' she said, looking down at herself. 'Rip the goddam thing off, will you, honey?'
I started ripping, and she started helping me with my clothes. And things were getting right to the most interesting point when the phone rang. Rose cussed and said to let the goddam thing go, but! said it might be Myra-which it was-so she stalked out in the kitchen and answered it.
She talked quite a while. Or, rather, she listened to Myra talking. About all Rose got to say was a lot of well-I-declare's and you-don't-say-so's and so on. Finally, she said, 'Why, of course I'll tell him, Myra, dear. Just as soon as he comes in from the field. And you and Lennie take care of your sweet selves until! see you again.'
Rose slammed up the phone, and came back to where I was. I asked her what Myra wanted, and she said it could wait, goddam it. There were more important things to do right now.
'Like what?' I said.
'Like this,' she said. '
So we didn't do no talking for quite a while.
Not until afterwards, when we lay side by side, holding hands and breathing in long deep breaths. Then, finally, she turned around facing me, her head propped up on her elbow, and told me about Myra's call.
'Looks like a day for good news, honey. First, that son-of-a-bitch, Tom, gets killed, and now it looks like you're a cinch to get re-elected.'
'Yeah?' I said. 'How's that, baby?'
'Sam Gaddis. The whole town's talking about him. Why, do you know what he did, Nick?'
'I ain't got the slightest idea,' I said. 'I always thought Sam was a mighty good man.'
'He raped a little two-year-old nigger baby, that's what!'
'Mmmm? Male or female?' I said.
'Female, I guess. I-
'Do tell,' I said. 'Like which?'
Rose said that Sam had also cheated a poor widow woman out of her life's savings, and then he'd beat his own father to death with a stick of cordwood to keep him from talking about it.
'And that's only the beginning. Nick. Everyone's saying that Sam broke into his grandma's grave, and stole the gold teeth out of her mouth. Did you ever hear of such a thing? And he killed his wife and fed her corpse to the hogs. And-'
'Now, wait a minute,' I said. 'Sam Gaddis has never been married.'
'You mean you just never saw his wife. He was married before he came here, and he fed her to the hogs before anyone could find out about her.'
'Aw, come on, now,' I said. 'Just when is Sam supposed to have done all these things?'
Rose hesitated and said, well, she didn't know when exactly. But, by God, she knew he'd done 'em.
'People wouldn't just make up stories like that. They couldn't!'
'Couldn't they?'
'Why, of course not, honey! Anyway, most of the stories came right from Mrs. Robert Lee Jefferson, according to Myra. Her own husband told them to her, and you know Robert Lee Jefferson wouldn't lie.'
'Yeah,' I said. 'It don't seem like he would now, does it?'
And I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. Or maybe doing the opposite. Because it was really pretty god-danged sad, now, wasn't it? It was a god-danged sorry state of affairs.
Of course, it was all to the good for me. I'd thrown the bait to Robert Lee Jefferson, and he'd bit on it. He'd done just what I expected him to do-gone around, asking people what the stories about Sam were. Which had started them to asking other people. And before long, there were plenty of answers; the kind of stinking dirty dirt that people can always create for themselves when there ain't none for real.
And it made me kind of sad, you know? Really downright sad. I couldn't help wishing that Robert Lee hadn't taken the bait, and started asking questions. Which, in turn, had started piling up the dirt around a fine man like Sam Gaddis.
Yes, sir, I really sort of wished things hadn't worked out this way. Even if it did ruin Sam and get me re-elected, which it was just about certain to do.
Unless something went wrong…
11
It rained during the night, and I slept pretty good like! almost always do when it rains. Along about ten the next morning, when I was having a little second breakfast because I hadn't eaten much the first time but a few eggs and some pancakes and sausage, Rose Hauck called.
She'd been trying to reach me for quite a while, but hadn't been able to because of Myra's gossiping about Sam Gaddis. Myra talked to her for a couple of minutes, and then passed the phone to me.
'I'm afraid something's happened to Tom, Nick,' Rose told me-just as if she didn't know what had happened to him. 'His horse came home without him this morning.'
'Is that a fact?' I said. 'You think maybe! should go out and start looking for him?'
'Well, I just don't know, Nick,' she hesitated. 'If Tom is all right, he might be pretty mad if I sent the sheriff after him.'
I said that was for sure, all right. Tom didn't like anyone butting in on his affairs. 'Maybe he holed up somewhere on account of the rain,' I said. 'Maybe he's waitin' for it to dry up a little before he starts home.'
'I'll bet that's it,' she said, making her voice relieved. 'He probably didn't have cover for the mare so he sent her home by herself.'
'That's probably the way it was, all right,' I said. 'After all, he didn't tell you he was coming home last night, did he?'
'No, no, he didn't. He never tells me how long he's going to be gone.'
'Well, don't worry none about it,' I said. – 'Not yet, anyways. If Tom ain't home by tomorrow, why then I'll start lookin' for him.'
Myra was making wild faces and motions, as if to say, what is it all about? I passed her the phone and there was some more jibber-jabbering, and she wound up asking Rose to come have supper with us. 'Now, you just must come, dear, because I've got all kinds of news to tell you. You can get a ride in with the mailman about four, and I'll have Nick drive you home afterward.'
She hung up, shaking her head and murmuring, 'Poor Rose. That poor, dear, sweet woman.'
I said, 'Why, Rose ain't poor, honey. That's a right good farm her and Tom has.'
'Oh, shut up!' she said. 'If you'd have been half a man, you'd have done something about Tom Hauck long ago! Put him in jail where he belongs instead of leaving him free to beat up that poor little helpless wife of his!'
'Why, I couldn't do that,' I said. 'I couldn't interfere between a man and his wife.'
'No, you couldn't. You couldn't do anything! Because you're
