The sound and the fury
Then they all stopped and it was dark, and when I stopped to start again
I could hear Mother, and feet walking fast away, and I could smell it.
Then the room came, but my eyes went shut. I didn’t stop. I could smell
it. T. P. unpinned the bed clothes.
“Hush.” he said, “Shhhhhhhh.”
But I could smell it. T. P. pulled me up and he put on my clothes fast.
“Hush, Benjy.” he said. “We going down to our house. You want to go down
to our house, where Frony is. Hush. Shhhhh.”
He laced my shoes and put my cap on and we went out. There was a light
in the hall. Across the hall we could hear Mother.
“Shhhhhh, Benjy.” T. P. said, “We’ll be out in a minute.”
A door opened and I could smell it more than ever, and a head came out.
It wasn’t Father. Father was sick there.
“Can you take him out of the house.”
“That’s where we going.” T. P. said. Dilsey came up the stairs.
“Hush.” she said, “Hush. Take him down home, T. P. Frony fixing him a
bed. You all look after him, now. Hush, Benjy. Go on with T. P.”
She went where we could hear Mother.
“Better keep him there.” It wasn’t Father. He shut the door, but I could
still smell it.
We went down stairs. The stairs went down into the dark and T. P. took
my hand, and we went out the door, out of the dark. Dan was sitting in
the back yard, howling.
“He smell it.” T. P. said. “Is that the way you found it out.”
We went down the steps, where our shadows were.
“I forgot your coat.” T. P. said. “You ought to had it. But I aint going
back.”
Dan howled.
“Hush now.” T. P. said. Our shadows moved, but Dan’s shadow didn’t move
except to howl when he did.
“I cant take you down home, bellering like you is.” T. P. said. “You was
bad enough before you got that bullfrog voice. Come on.”
We went along the brick walk, with our shadows. The pig pen smelled like
pigs. The cow stood in the lot, chewing at us. Dan howled.
“You going to wake the whole town up.” T. P. said. “Cant you hush.”
We saw Fancy, eating by the branch. The moon shone on the water when we
got there.
“Naw, sir.” T. P. said, “This too close. We cant stop here. Come on.
Now, just look at you. Got your whole leg wet. Come on, here.” Dan
howled.
The ditch came up out of the buzzing grass. The bones rounded out of the
black vines.
“Now.” T. P. said. “Beller your head off if you want to. You got the
whole night and a twenty acre pasture to beller in.”
T. P. lay down in the ditch and I sat down, watching the bones where the
buzzards ate Nancy, flapping black and slow and heavy out of the ditch.
_I had it when we was down here before, Luster said. I showed it to you.
Didn’t you see it. I took it out of my pocket right here and showed it
to you._
“Do you think buzzards are going to undress Damuddy.” Caddy said.
“You’re crazy.”
“You’re a skizzard.” Jason said. He began to cry.
“You’re a knobnot.” Caddy said. Jason cried. His hands were in his
pockets.
“Jason going to be rich man.” Versh said. “He holding his money all the
time.”
Jason cried.
“Now you’ve got him started.” Caddy said. “Hush up, Jason. How can
buzzards get in where Damuddy is. Father wouldn’t let them. Would you
let a buzzard undress you. Hush up, now.”
Jason hushed. “Frony said it was a funeral.” he said.
“Well it’s not.” Caddy said. “It’s a party. Frony dont know anything
about it. He wants your lightning bugs, T. P. Let him hold it a while.”
T. P. gave me the bottle of lightning bugs.
“I bet if we go around to the parlor window we can see something.” Caddy
said. “Then you’ll believe me.”
“I already knows.” Frony said. “I dont need to see.”
“You better hush your mouth, Frony.” Versh said. “Mammy going whip you.”
“What is it.” Caddy said.
“I knows what I knows.” Frony said.
“Come on.” Caddy said, “Let’s go around to the front.”
We started to go.
“T. P. wants his lightning bugs.” Frony said.
“Let him hold it a while longer, T. P.” Caddy said. “We’ll bring it
back.”
“You all never caught them.” Frony said.
“If I say you and T. P. can come too, will you let him hold it.” Caddy
said.
“Aint nobody said me and T. P. got to mind you.” Frony said.
“If I say you dont have to, will you let him hold it.” Caddy said.
“All right.” Frony said. “Let him hold it, T. P. We going to watch them
moaning.”
“They aint moaning.” Caddy said. “I tell you it’s a party. Are they
moaning, Versh.”
“We aint going to know what they doing, standing here.” Versh said.
“Come on.” Caddy said. “Frony and T. P. dont have to mind me. But the
rest of us do. You better carry him, Versh. It’s getting dark.”
Versh took me up and we went on around the kitchen.
_When we looked around the corner we could see the lights coming up the
drive. T. P. went back to the cellar door and opened it._
_You know what’s down there, T. P. said. Soda water. I seen Mr Jason
come up with both hands full of them. Wait here a minute._
_T. P. went and looked in the kitchen door. Dilsey said, What are you
peeping in here for. Where’s Benjy._
_He out here, T. P. said._
_Go on and watch him, Dilsey said. Keep him out the house now._
_Yessum, T. P. said. Is they started yet._
_You go on and keep that boy out of sight, Dilsey said. I got all I can
tend to._
A snake crawled out from under the house. Jason said he wasn’t afraid of
snakes and Caddy said he was but she wasn’t and Versh said they both
were and Caddy said to be quiet, like father said.
_You aint got to start bellering now, T. P. said. You want some this
sassprilluh._
_It tickled my nose and eyes._
_If you aint going to drink it, let me get to it, T. P. said. All right,
here tis. We better get another bottle while aint nobody bothering us.
You be quiet, now._
We stopped under the tree by the parlor window. Versh set me down in the
wet grass. It was cold. There were lights in all the windows.
“That’s where Damuddy is.” Caddy said. “She’s sick every day now. When
she gets well we’re going to have a picnic.”
“I knows what I knows.” Frony said.
The trees were buzzing, and the grass.
“The one next to it is where we have the measles.” Caddy said. “Where do
you and T. P. have the measles, Frony.”
“Has them just wherever we is, I reckon.” Frony said.
“They haven’t started yet.” Caddy said.
_They getting ready to start, T. P. said. You stand right here now while
I get that box so we can see in the window. Here, les finish drinking
this here sassprilluh. It make me feel just like a squinch owl inside._
We drank the sassprilluh and T. P. pushed the bottle through the
lattice, under the house, and went away. I could hear them in the parlor
and I clawed my hands against the wall. T. P. dragged the box. He fell
down, and he began to laugh. He lay there, laughing into the grass. He
got up and dragged the box under the window, trying not to laugh.
“I skeered I going to holler.” T. P. said. “Git on the box and see is
they started.”
“They haven’t started because the band hasn’t come yet.” Caddy said.
“They aint going to have no band.” Frony said.
“How do you know.” Caddy said.
“I knows what I knows.” Frony said.
“You dont know anything.” Caddy said. She went to the tree. “Push me up,
Versh.”
“Your paw told you to stay out that tree.” Versh said.
“That was a long time ago.” Caddy said. “I expect he’s forgotten about
it. Besides, he said to mind me tonight. Didn’t he say to mind me
tonight.”
“I’m not going to mind you.” Jason said. “Frony and T. P. are not going
to either.”
“Push me up, Versh.” Caddy said.
“All right.” Versh said. “You the one going to get whipped. I aint.” He
went and pushed Caddy up into the tree to the first limb. We watched the
muddy bottom of her drawers. Then we couldn’t see her. We could hear the
tree thrashing.
“Mr Jason said if you break that tree he whip you.” Versh said.
“I’m going to tell on her too.” Jason said.
The tree quit thrashing. We looked up into the still branches.
“What you seeing.” Frony whispered.
_I saw them. Then I saw Caddy, with flowers in her hair, and a long veil
like shining wind. Caddy Caddy_
“Hush.” T. P. said, “They going to hear you. Get down quick.” He pulled
me. Caddy. I clawed my hands against the wall Caddy. T. P. pulled me.
“Hush.” he said, “Hush. Come on here quick.” He pulled me on. Caddy
“Hush up, Benjy. You want them to hear you. Come on, les drink some more
sassprilluh, then we can come back if you hush. We better get one more
bottle or we both be hollering. We can say Dan drunk it. Mr Quentin
always saying he so smart, we can say he sassprilluh dog, too.”
The moonlight came down the cellar stairs. We drank some more
sassprilluh.
“You know what I wish.” T. P. said. “I wish a bear would walk in that
cellar door. You know what I do. I walk right up to him and spit in he
eye. Gimme that bottle to stop my mouth before I holler.”
T. P. fell down. He began to laugh, and the cellar door and the
moonlight jumped away and something hit me.
“Hush up.” T. P. said, trying not to laugh, “Lawd, they’ll all hear us.
Get up.” T. P. said, “Get up, Benjy, quick.” He was thrashing about and
laughing and I tried to get up. The cellar steps ran up the hill in the
moonlight and T. P. fell up the hill, into the moonlight, and I ran
against the fence and T. P. ran behind me saying “Hush up hush up” Then
he fell into the flowers, laughing, and I ran into the box. But when I
tried to climb onto it it jumped away and hit me on the back of the head
and my throat made a sound. It made the sound again and I stopped trying
to get up, and it made the sound again and I began to cry. But my throat
kept on making the sound while T. P. was pulling me. It kept on making
it and I couldn’t tell if I was crying or not, and T. P. fell down on
top of me, laughing, and it kept on making the sound and Quentin kicked
T. P. and Caddy put her arms around me, and her shining veil, and I
couldn’t smell trees anymore and I began to cry.
_Benjy, Caddy said, Benjy. She put her arms around me again, but I went
away._ “What is it, Benjy.” she said, “Is it this hat.” She took her hat
off and came again, and I went away.
“Benjy.” she said, “What is it, Benjy. What has Caddy done.”
“He dont like that prissy dress.” Jason said. “You think you’re grown
up, dont you. You think you’re better than anybody else, dont you.
Prissy.”
“You shut your mouth.” Caddy said, “You dirty little beast. Benjy.”
“Just because you are fourteen, you think you’re grown up, dont you.”
Jason said. “You think you’re something. Dont you.”
“Hush, Benjy.” Caddy said. “You’ll disturb Mother. Hush.”
But I didn’t hush, and when she went away I followed, and she stopped on
the stairs and waited and I stopped too.
“What is it, Benjy.” Caddy said, “Tell Caddy. She’ll do it. Try.”
“Candace.” Mother said.
“Yessum.” Caddy said.
“Why are you teasing him.” Mother said. “Bring him here.”
We went to Mother’s room, where she was lying with the sickness on a
cloth on her head.
“What is the matter now.” Mother said. “Benjamin.”
“Benjy.” Caddy said. She came again, but I went away.
“You must have done something to him.” Mother said. “Why wont you let
him alone, so I can have some peace. Give him the box and please go on
and let him alone.”
Caddy got the box and set it on the floor and opened it. It was full of
stars. When I was still, they were still. When I moved, they glinted and
sparkled. I hushed.
Then I heard Caddy walking and I began again.
“Benjamin.” Mother said, “Come here.” I went to the door. “You,
Benjamin.” Mother said.
“What is it now.” Father said, “Where are you going.”
“Take him downstairs and get someone to watch him, Jason.” Mother said.
“You know I’m ill, yet you”
Father shut the door behind us.
“T. P.” he said.
“Sir.” T. P. said downstairs.