Savage Night

… the goats were going up and down the rows, walking sideways on their hind feet. And every time they came to one they'd raise their tails and cut loose with the fertilizer. And each time they came to the end of a row they'd stand on their heads and howl. They had to do it. They knew it wasn't going to get them anything because there was nothing there to get, but they kept right on. Moving sideways and backwards-because that was the way the rows were laid out. And at the end they stood on their heads, howling…

I stopped thinking about it.

There was no warmth in it.

I brought my mind back to Kendall, him and Fay. Wondered what I'd better tell them. And I knew I'd better not tell the truth.

She might blow up-jump Jake about it or give it away to someone else. She might scare off. If she got sore or shaky, if she thought Jake could take the ball away from me.

And Kendall. If he was on the level, he'd have Jake in jail so fast it would make his head swim. He'd gotten a bang out of the other, the frame-up, because nothing had come of it and he'd outsmartedJake. But if he thoughtJake had tried to kill me, and if he was on the level, he couldn't let it slide. He'd have to crack down to protect the bakery.

If he was with The Man-that would be worse yet. The Man already thought! might have a few rocks in my head. He'd been sore about me dragging in Fay and why in hell had I done that, anyhow? I could have got along without her… He probably had a hunch that! might have seen through that Fruit Jar frammis and didn't trust him as much as! had to trust him. And if he thought I couldn't do any better than this, get it thrown into me by the guy I was supposed to throw it into.

No, it had to be an accident. That would be bad enough.

… I twisted my wrist and looked down. Five-twenty. About twenty-five minutes to go. An hour and fifteen minutes plus the time before I'd got locked in. It wouldn't be enough for a guy in good health. He'd have the sniffles and a sore throat, and that would be about the size of it. With me, though, it would be exactly enough. I couldn't have timed it better if I'd been trying to knock myself out.

Twenty-four mintues…

Ruth. As long as I'd know I was going to use Fay, why had I made a play for Ruth?

And Fay; getting back to Pay. It wouldn't have been any wonder-I wouldn't have blamed The Man much-if he'd given Fruit Jar that knife instead of me.

Sure, Pay could be a big help. Sure, she could make things a lot easier for me. So what? She could do something else, too. If she was smart enough to see it. Because how can you really trust a dame who'll help kill her own husband?

The Man had told me what she could do; he'd pointed out the spot where I could go down and never come up. He'd just mentioned it once, then he'd let it lay and gone on. Pay was already in or as good as in, and there was nothing to do but like it. But he wouldn't have been The Man if he had liked it. Brother, he must have thought I was a goof!

Me-Little Bigger-putting the one rope in the world around my neck that would hang me!

I didn't have a record, none that they could pin on me. I could line up before every cop in the country and there wasn't a one that could say, yes, that's our Bigger boy. No one could say it and prove it.

No one could, now.

But if I could be caught in the act of trying to kill Jake Winroy-if they had that much to go on, and could work back from it.

All those rewards, all for Fay. Forty-seven thousand dollars for Fay… and no half-blind runt with a mouth like a dog's behind to get in her hair.

… I got out just about on schedule. Kendall found me around ten minutes of six, and he and one of the bakers got me home. By six-thirty I was in bed with two hot-water bottles, feeling sort of drowsy and dopey from something the doctor had given me.

It was the same doctor-Dodson-that Fay had called for Jake. But he wasn't at all crusty and tough with me like he'd been with him and her. My own moth… you couldn't have wanted a guy to be nicer.

He pulled the blankets back up over my chest, and tucked them under my chin.

'So you're feeling fine, huh? No pain at all… Never mind. I don't want you talking with that throat.'

I grinned at him, and my eyelids began to droop shut. He turned and gave Pay a nod.

'I want this boy to rest. He is to have complete quiet, understand? No nonsense. No disturbance such as occurred here yesterday.'

'I'-Fay bit her lip, blushing-' I understand, doctor.'

'Good. See that your husband does. Now, if you'll get that bedpan I spoke to you about a quarter of an hour ago-'

She went out.

The doctor and Kendall moved over near the door.

And I wasn't quite asleep yet, I was just drifting off. And I got a little of what they said.

'… all right?'

'This time. Stays in bed, and… Ought to be up by…'

'… relieved to… strong personal interest…'

'Yep. This time.., wouldn't bet a nickel on…'.

'… pessimist, Dod. Why a next…'

'… teeth out… lens. No, better do it my…'

'… don't mean he…?'

'… everything. Straight across the board… nothing really right… no good to begin…'

That was the last I heard.

16

I was in bed until Friday. Or, I should say, I didn't leave the house until then, because I didn't stay in bed all the time. When I had to vomit or use the toilet I went to the bathroom, and I made sure that everything was flushed down good.

I told everyone that I felt all right-that I was just sort of weak and tired. And aside from all that blood and phlegm, which began tapering off about Thursday, there didn't seem to be a hell of a lot wrong with me. I didn't have much pain. Like I said, I was just weak and tired. And I had a funny feeling that a lot of me had been taken away.

What there was of me was all right, but there wasn't much of me any more.

Pay spent a lot of time in my room. And that was okay, of course, since she was supposed to take care of me. We had plenty of time to talk.

She said that Jake had been in the house and in bed every night by eleven o'clock. As she put it, he was behaving like a perfect lamb.

'How about that, anyway?' I asked her, making it sound casual. 'I mean, how come he lets you boss him around? What's he afraid of?'

She shrugged. 'Gosh, I don't know, honey. Afraid I'll leave him, I guess.'

'It's not doing him a hell of a lot of good for you to stay.'

'No?' She laughed huskily, slanting her eyes at me. 'Now how would you guess a thing like that?'

I let the talk drift off onto other things-what a funny little guy Kendall was and who in the hell could have seduced Ruthie-and after a while I let it drift back to Jake again.