The sound and the fury · OmniClassics

do you remember the day damuddy died when you sat down in the water in your drawers yes I held the point of the knife at her throat it wont take but a second just a second then I can do mine I can do mine then all right can you do yours by yourself yes the blades long enough Benjys in bed by now yes it wont take but a second Ill try not to hurt all right will you close your eyes no like this youll have to push it harder touch your hand to it but she didnt move her eyes were wide open looking past my head at the sky Caddy do you remember how Dilsey fussed at you because your drawers were muddy dont cry Im not crying Caddy push it are you going to do you want me to yes push it touch your hand to it dont cry poor Quentin but I couldnt stop she held my head against her damp hard breast I could hear her heart going firm and slow now not hammering and the water gurgling among the willows in the dark and waves of honeysuckle coming up the air my arm and shoulder were twisted under me what is it what are you doing her muscles gathered I sat up its my knife I dropped it she sat up what time is it I dont know she rose to her feet I fumbled along the ground Im going let it go I could feel her standing there I could smell her damp clothes feeling her there its right here somewhere let it go you can find it tomorrow come on wait a minute I’ll find it are you afraid to here it is it was right here all the time was it come on I got up and followed we went up the hill the crickets hushing before us its funny how you can sit down and drop something and have to hunt all around for it the grey it was grey with dew slanting up into the grey sky then the trees beyond damn that honeysuckle I wish it would stop you used to like it we crossed the crest and went on toward the trees she walked into me she gave over a little the ditch was a black scar on the grey grass she walked into me again she looked at me and gave over we reached the ditch lets go this way what for lets see if you can still see Nancys bones I havent thought to look in a long time have you it was matted with vines and briers dark they were right here you cant tell whether you see them or not can you stop Quentin come on the ditch narrowed closed she turned toward the trees stop Quentin Caddy I got in front of her again Caddy stop it I held her Im stronger than you she was motionless hard unyielding but still I wont fight stop youd better stop Caddy dont Caddy it wont do any good dont you know it wont let me go the honeysuckle drizzled and drizzled I could hear the crickets watching us in a circle she moved back went around me on toward the trees you go on back to the house you neednt come I went on why dont you go on back to the house damn that honeysuckle we reached the fence she crawled through I crawled through when I rose from stooping he was coming out of the trees into the grey toward us coming toward us tall and flat and still even moving like he was still she went to him this is Quentin Im wet Im wet all over you dont have to if you dont want to their shadows one shadow her head rose it was above his on the sky higher their two heads you dont have to if you dont want to then not two heads the darkness smelled of rain of damp grass and leaves the grey light drizzling like rain the honeysuckle coming up in damp waves I could see her face a blur against his shoulder he held her in one arm like she was no bigger than a child he extended his hand glad to know you we shook hands then we stood there her shadow high against his shadow one shadow whatre you going to do Quentin walk a while I think Ill go through the woods to the road and come back through town I turned away going goodnight Quentin I stopped what do you want in the woods the tree frogs were going smelling rain in the air they sounded like toy music boxes that were hard to turn and the honeysuckle come here what do you want come here Quentin I went back she touched my shoulder leaning down her shadow the blur of her face leaning down from his high shadow I drew back look out you go on home Im not sleepy Im going to take a walk wait for me at the branch Im going for a walk Ill be there soon wait for me you wait no Im going through the woods I didnt look back the tree frogs didnt pay me any mind the grey light like moss in the trees drizzling but still it wouldnt rain after a while I turned went back to the edge of the woods as soon as I got there I began to smell honeysuckle again I could see the lights on the courthouse clock and the glare of town the square on the sky and the dark willows along the branch and the light in mothers windows the light still on in Benjys room and I stooped through the fence and went across the pasture running I ran in the grey grass among the crickets the honeysuckle getting stronger and stronger and the smell of water then I could see the water the colour of grey honeysuckle I lay down on the bank with my face close to the ground so I couldnt smell the honeysuckle I couldnt smell it then and I lay there feeling the earth going through my clothes listening to the water and after a while I wasnt breathing so hard and I lay there thinking that if I didnt move my face I wouldnt have to breathe hard and smell it and then I wasnt thinking about anything at all she came along the bank and stopped I didnt move its late you go on home what you go on home its late all right her clothes rustled I didnt move they stopped rustling are you going in like I told you I didnt hear anything Caddy yes I will if you want me to I will I sat up she was sitting on the ground her hands clasped about her knee go on to the house like I told you yes Ill do anything you want me to anything yes she didnt even look at me I caught her shoulder and shook her hard you shut up I shook her you shut up you shut up yes she lifted her face then I saw she wasnt even looking at me at all I could see that white rim get up I pulled her she was limp I lifted her to her feet go on now was Benjy still crying when you left go on we crossed the branch the roof came in sight then the windows upstairs hes asleep now I had to stop and fasten the gate she went on in the grey light the smell of rain and still it wouldnt rain and honeysuckle beginning to come from the garden fence beginning she went into the shadow I could hear her feet then Caddy I stopped at the steps I couldnt hear her feet Caddy I heard her feet then my hand touched her not warm not cool just still her clothes a little damp still do you love him now not breathing except slow like far away breathing Caddy do you love him now I dont know outside the grey light the shadows of things like dead things in stagnant water I wish you were dead do you you coming in now are you thinking about him now I dont know tell me what youre thinking about tell me stop stop Quentin you shut up you shut up you hear me you shut up are you going to shut up all right I will stop we’ll make too much noise Ill kill you do you hear lets go out to the swing theyll hear you here Im not crying do you say Im crying no hush now we’ll wake Benjy up you go on into the house go on now I am dont cry Im bad anyway you cant help it theres a curse on us its not our fault is it our fault hush come on and go to bed now you cant make me theres a curse on us finally I saw him he was just going into the barbershop he looked out I went on and waited Ive been looking for you two or three days you wanted to see me Im going to see you he rolled the cigarette quickly with about two motions he struck the match with his thumb we cant talk here suppose I meet you somewhere Ill come to your room are you at the hotel no thats not so good you know that bridge over the creek in there back of yes all right at one oclock right yes I turned away Im obliged to you look I stopped looked back she all right he looked like he was made out of bronze his khaki shirt she need me for anything now I’ll be there at one she heard me tell T. P. to saddle Prince at one oclock she kept watching me not eating much she came too what are you going to do nothing cant I go for a ride if I want to youre going to do something what is it none of your business whore whore T. P. had Prince at the side door I wont want him Im going to walk I went down the drive and out the gate I turned into the lane then I ran before I reached the bridge I saw him leaning on the rail the horse was hitched in the woods he looked over his shoulder then he turned his back he didnt look up until I came onto the bridge and stopped he had a piece of bark in his hands breaking pieces from it and dropping them over the rail into the water I came to tell you to leave town he broke a piece of bark deliberately dropped it carefully into the water watched it float away I said you must leave town he looked at me did she send you to me I say you must go not my father not anybody I say it listen save this for a while I want to know if shes all right have they been bothering her up there thats something you dont need to trouble yourself about then I heard myself saying Ill give you until sundown to leave town he broke a piece of bark and dropped it into the water then he laid the bark on the rail and rolled a cigarette with those two swift motions spun the match over the rail what will you do if I dont leave Ill kill you dont think that just because I look like a kid to you the smoke flowed in two jets from his nostrils across his face how old are you I began to shake my hands were on the rail I thought if I hid them hed know why Ill give you until tonight listen buddy whats your name Benjys the natural isnt he you are Quentin my mouth said it I didnt say it at all Ill give you till sundown Quentin he raked the cigarette ash carefully off against the rail he did it slowly and carefully like sharpening a pencil my hands had quit shaking listen no good taking it so hard its not your fault kid it would have been some other fellow did you ever have a sister did you no but theyre all bitches I hit him my open hand beat the impulse to shut it to his face his hand moved as fast as mine the cigarette went over the rail I swung with the other hand he caught it too before the cigarette reached the water he held both my wrists in the same hand his other hand flicked to his armpit under his coat behind him the sun slanted and a bird singing somewhere beyond the sun we looked at one another while the bird singing he turned my hands loose look here he took the bark from the rail and dropped it into the water it bobbed up the current took it floated away his hand lay on the rail holding the pistol loosely we waited you cant hit it now no it floated on it was quite still in the woods I heard the bird again and the water afterward the pistol came up he didnt aim at all the bark disappeared then pieces of it floated up spreading he hit two more of them pieces of bark no bigger than silver dollars thats enough I guess he swung the cylinder out and blew into the barrel a thin wisp of smoke dissolved he reloaded the three chambers shut the cylinder he handed it to me butt first what for I wont try to beat that youll need it from what you said Im giving you this one because youve seen what itll do to hell with your gun