The sound and the fury
“I told you it was a party.” she said.
Versh said, “He done et all that.”
“Bring his bowl here.” Dilsey said. The bowl went away.
“Dilsey.” Caddy said, “Quentin’s not eating his supper. Hasn’t he got to
mind me.”
“Eat your supper, Quentin.” Dilsey said, “You all got to get done and
get out of my kitchen.”
“I dont want any more supper.” Quentin said.
“You’ve got to eat if I say you have.” Caddy said. “Hasn’t he, Dilsey.”
The bowl steamed up to my face, and Versh’s hand dipped the spoon in it
and the steam tickled into my mouth.
“I dont want any more.” Quentin said. “How can they have a party when
Damuddy’s sick.”
“They’ll have it down stairs.” Caddy said. “She can come to the landing
and see it. That’s what I’m going to do when I get my nightie on.”
“Mother was crying.” Quentin said. “Wasn’t she crying, Dilsey.”
“Dont you come pestering at me, boy.” Dilsey said. “I got to get supper
for all them folks soon as you all get done eating.”
After a while even Jason was through eating, and he began to cry.
“Now you got to tune up.” Dilsey said.
“He does it every night since Damuddy was sick and he cant sleep with
her.” Caddy said. “Cry baby.”
“I’m going to tell on you.” Jason said.
He was crying. “You’ve already told.” Caddy said. “There’s not anything
else you can tell, now.”
“You all needs to go to bed.” Dilsey said. She came and lifted me down
and wiped my face and hands with a warm cloth. “Versh, can you get them
up the back stairs quiet. You, Jason, shut up that crying.”
“It’s too early to go to bed now.” Caddy said. “We dont ever have to go
to bed this early.”
“You is tonight.” Dilsey said. “Your pa say for you to come right on up
stairs when you et supper. You heard him.”
“He said to mind me.” Caddy said.
“I’m not going to mind you.” Jason said.
“You have to.” Caddy said. “Come on, now. You have to do like I say.”
“Make them be quiet, Versh.” Dilsey said. “You all going to be quiet,
aint you.”
“What do we have to be so quiet for, tonight.” Caddy said.
“Your mommer aint feeling well.” Dilsey said. “You all go on with Versh,
now.”
“I told you Mother was crying.” Quentin said. Versh took me up and
opened the door onto the back porch. We went out and Versh closed the
door black. I could smell Versh and feel him. “You all be quiet, now.
We’re not going up stairs yet. Mr Jason said for you to come right up
stairs. He said to mind me. I’m not going to mind you. But he said for
all of us to. Didn’t he, Quentin.” I could feel Versh’s head. I could
hear us. “Didn’t he, Versh. Yes, that’s right. Then I say for us to go
out doors a while. Come on.” Versh opened the door and we went out.
We went down the steps.
“I expect we’d better go down to Versh’s house, so we’ll be quiet.”
Caddy said. Versh put me down and Caddy took my hand and we went down
the brick walk.
“Come on.” Caddy said, “That frog’s gone. He’s hopped way over to the
garden, by now. Maybe we’ll see another one.” Roskus came with the milk
buckets. He went on. Quentin wasn’t coming with us. He was sitting on
the kitchen steps. We went down to Versh’s house. I liked to smell
Versh’s house. _There was a fire in it and T. P. squatting in his shirt
tail in front of it, chunking it into a blaze._
Then I got up and T. P. dressed me and we went to the kitchen and ate.
Dilsey was singing and I began to cry and she stopped.
“Keep him away from the house, now.” Dilsey said.
“We cant go that way.” T. P. said.
We played in the branch.
“We cant go around yonder.” T. P. said. “Dont you know mammy say we
cant.”
Dilsey was singing in the kitchen and I began to cry.
“Hush.” T. P. said. “Come on. Lets go down to the barn.”
Roskus was milking at the barn. He was milking with one hand, and
groaning. Some birds sat on the barn door and watched him. One of them
came down and ate with the cows. I watched Roskus milk while T. P. was
feeding Queenie and Prince. The calf was in the pig pen. It nuzzled at
the wire, bawling.
“T. P.” Roskus said. T. P. said Sir, in the barn. Fancy held her head
over the door, because T. P. hadn’t fed her yet. “Git done there.”
Roskus said. “You got to do this milking. I cant use my right hand no
more.”
T. P. came and milked.
“Whyn’t you get the doctor.” T. P. said.
“Doctor cant do no good.” Roskus said. “Not on this place.”
“What wrong with this place.” T. P. said.
“Taint no luck on this place.” Roskus said. “Turn that calf in if you
done.”
_Taint no luck on this place, Roskus said. The fire rose and fell behind
him and Versh, sliding on his and Versh’s face. Dilsey finished putting
me to bed. The bed smelled like T. P. I liked it._
“What you know about it.” Dilsey said. “What trance you been in.”
“Dont need no trance.” Roskus said. “Aint the sign of it laying right
there on that bed. Aint the sign of it been here for folks to see
fifteen years now.”
“Spose it is.” Dilsey said. “It aint hurt none of you and yourn, is it.
Versh working and Frony married off your hands and T. P. getting big
enough to take your place when rheumatism finish getting you.”
“They been two, now.” Roskus said. “Going to be one more. I seen the
sign, and you is too.”
“I heard a squinch owl that night.” T. P. said. “Dan wouldn’t come and
get his supper, neither. Wouldn’t come no closer than the barn. Begun
howling right after dark. Versh heard him.”
“Going to be more than one more.” Dilsey said. “Show me the man what
aint going to die, bless Jesus.”
“Dying aint all.” Roskus said.
“I knows what you thinking.” Dilsey said. “And they aint going to be no
luck in saying that name, lessen you going to set up with him while he
cries.”
“They aint no luck on this place.” Roskus said. “I seen it at first but
when they changed his name I knowed it.”
“Hush your mouth.” Dilsey said. She pulled the covers up. It smelled
like T. P. “You all shut up now, till he get to sleep.”
“I seen the sign.” Roskus said.
“Sign T. P. got to do all your work for you.” Dilsey said. _Take him and
Quentin down to the house and let them play with Luster, where Frony can
watch them, T. P., and go and help your pa._
We finished eating. T. P. took Quentin up and we went down to T. P.’s
house. Luster was playing in the dirt. T. P. put Quentin down and she
played in the dirt too. Luster had some spools and he and Quentin fought
and Quentin had the spools. Luster cried and Frony came and gave Luster
a tin can to play with, and then I had the spools and Quentin fought me
and I cried.
“Hush.” Frony said, “Aint you shamed of yourself. Taking a baby’s play
pretty.” She took the spools from me and gave them back to Quentin.
“Hush, now.” Frony said, “Hush, I tell you.”
“Hush up.” Frony said. “You needs whipping, that’s what you needs.” She
took Luster and Quentin up. “Come on here.” she said. We went to the
barn. T. P. was milking the cow. Roskus was sitting on the box.
“What’s the matter with him now.” Roskus said.
“You have to keep him down here.” Frony said. “He fighting these babies
again. Taking they play things. Stay here with T. P. now, and see can
you hush a while.”
“Clean that udder good now.” Roskus said. “You milked that young cow dry
last winter. If you milk this one dry, they aint going to be no more
milk.”
Dilsey was singing.
“Not around yonder.” T. P. said. “Dont you know mammy say you cant go
around there.”
They were singing.
“Come on.” T. P. said. “Lets go play with Quentin and Luster. Come on.”
Quentin and Luster were playing in the dirt in front of T. P.’s house.
There was a fire in the house, rising and falling, with Roskus sitting
black against it.
“That’s three, thank the Lawd.” Roskus said. “I told you two years ago.
They aint no luck on this place.”
“Whyn’t you get out, then.” Dilsey said. She was undressing me. “Your
bad luck talk got them Memphis notions into Versh. That ought to satisfy
you.”
“If that all the bad luck Versh have.” Roskus said.
Frony came in.
“You all done.” Dilsey said.
“T. P. finishing up.” Frony said. “Miss Cahline want you to put Quentin
to bed.”
“I’m coming just as fast as I can.” Dilsey said. “She ought to know by
this time I aint got no wings.”
“That’s what I tell you.” Roskus said. “They aint no luck going be on no
place where one of they own chillens’ name aint never spoke.”
“Hush.” Dilsey said. “Do you want to get him started”
“Raising a child not to know its own mammy’s name.” Roskus said.
“Dont you bother your head about her.” Dilsey said. “I raised all of
them and I reckon I can raise one more. Hush now. Let him get to sleep
if he will.”
“Saying a name.” Frony said. “He dont know nobody’s name.”
“You just say it and see if he dont.” Dilsey said. “You say it to him
while he sleeping and I bet he hear you.”
“He know lot more than folks thinks.” Roskus said. “He knowed they time
was coming, like that pointer done. He could tell you when hisn coming,
if he could talk. Or yours. Or mine.”
“You take Luster outen that bed, mammy.” Frony said. “That boy conjure
him.”
“Hush your mouth.” Dilsey said, “Aint you got no better sense than that.
What you want to listen to Roskus for, anyway. Get in, Benjy.”
Dilsey pushed me and I got in the bed, where Luster already was. He was
asleep. Dilsey took a long piece of wood and laid it between Luster and
me. “Stay on your side now.” Dilsey said “Luster little, and you don’t
want to hurt him.”
_You can’t go yet, T. P. said. Wait._
We looked around the corner of the house and watched the carriages go
away.
“Now.” T. P. said. He took Quentin up and we ran down to the corner of
the fence and watched them pass. “There he go,” T. P. said. “See that
one with the glass in it. Look at him. He laying in there. See him.”
_Come on, Luster said, I going to take this here ball down home, where I
wont lose it. Naw, sir, you cant have it. If them men sees you with it,
they’ll say you stole it. Hush up, now. You cant have it. What business
you got with it. You cant play no ball._
Frony and T. P. were playing in the dirt by the door. T. P. had
lightning bugs in a bottle.
“How did you all get back out.” Frony said.
“We’ve got company.” Caddy said. “Father said for us to mind me tonight.
I expect you and T. P. will have to mind me too.”
“I’m not going to mind you.” Jason said. “Frony and T. P. dont have to
either.”
“They will if I say so.” Caddy said. “Maybe I wont say for them to.”
“T. P. dont mind nobody.” Frony said. “Is they started the funeral yet.”
“What’s a funeral.” Jason said.
“Didn’t mammy tell you not to tell them.” Versh said.
“Where they moans.” Frony said. “They moaned two days on Sis Beulah
Clay.”
_They moaned at Dilsey’s house. Dilsey was moaning. When Dilsey moaned
Luster said, Hush, and we hushed, and then I began to cry and Blue
howled under the kitchen steps. Then Dilsey stopped and we stopped._
“Oh.” Caddy said, “That’s niggers. White folks dont have funerals.”
“Mammy said us not to tell them, Frony.” Versh said.
“Tell them what.” Caddy said.
_Dilsey moaned, and when it got to the place I began to cry and Blue
howled under the steps. Luster, Frony said in the window, Take them down
to the barn. I cant get no cooking done with all that racket. That hound
too. Get them outen here._
_I aint going down there, Luster said. I might meet pappy down there. I
seen him last night, waving his arms in the barn._
“I like to know why not.” Frony said. “White folks dies too. Your
grandmammy dead as any nigger can get, I reckon.”
“Dogs are dead.” Caddy said, “And when Nancy fell in the ditch and
Roskus shot her and the buzzards came and undressed her.”
The bones rounded out of the ditch, where the dark vines were in the
black ditch, into the moonlight, like some of the shapes had stopped.