The sound and the fury
“Why dont they lock him up.” he said. “What’d you bring him out here
for.”
“You aint talking to me.” Luster said. “I cant do nothing with him. I
just come over here looking for a quarter I lost so I can go to the show
tonight. Look like now I aint going to get to go.” Luster looked on the
ground. “You aint got no extra quarter, is you.” Luster said.
“No.” he said. “I aint.”
“I reckon I just have to find that other one, then.” Luster said. He put
his hand in his pocket. “You dont want to buy no golf ball neither, does
you.” Luster said.
“What kind of ball.” he said.
“Golf ball.” Luster said. “I dont want but a quarter.”
“What for.” he said. “What do I want with it.”
“I didn’t think you did.” Luster said. “Come on here, mulehead.” he
said. “Come on here and watch them knocking that ball. Here. Here
something you can play with along with that jimson weed.” Luster picked
it up and gave it to me. It was bright.
“Where’d you get that.” he said. His tie was red in the sun, walking.
“Found it under this here bush.” Luster said. “I thought for a minute it
was that quarter I lost.”
He came and took it.
“Hush.” Luster said. “He going to give it back when he done looking at
it.”
“Agnes Mabel Becky.” he said. He looked toward the house.
“Hush.” Luster said. “He fixing to give it back.”
He gave it to me and I hushed.
“Who come to see her last night.” he said.
“I dont know.” Luster said. “They comes every night she can climb down
that tree. I dont keep no track of them.”
“Damn if one of them didn’t leave a track.” he said. He looked at the
house. Then he went and lay down in the swing. “Go away.” he said. “Dont
bother me.”
“Come on here.” Luster said. “You done played hell now. Time Miss
Quentin get done telling on you.”
We went to the fence and looked through the curling flower spaces.
Luster hunted in the grass.
“I had it right here.” he said. I saw the flag flapping, and the sun
slanting on the broad grass.
“They’ll be some along soon.” Luster said. “There some now, but they
going away. Come on and help me look for it.”
We went along the fence.
“Hush.” Luster said. “How can I make them come over here, if they aint
coming. Wait. They’ll be some in a minute. Look yonder. Here they come.”
I went along the fence, to the gate, where the girls passed with their
booksatchels. “You, Benjy.” Luster said. “Come back here.”
_You cant do no good looking through the gate, T. P. said. Miss Caddy
done gone long ways away. Done got married and left you. You cant do no
good, holding to the gate and crying. She cant hear you._
_What is it he wants, T. P. Mother said. Cant you play with him and keep
him quiet._
_He want to go down yonder and look through the gate, T. P. said._
_Well, he cannot do it, Mother said. It’s raining. You will just have to
play with him and keep him quiet. You, Benjamin._
_Aint nothing going to quiet him, T. P. said. He think if he down to the
gate, Miss Caddy come back._
_Nonsense, Mother said._
I could hear them talking. I went out the door and I couldn’t hear them,
and I went down to the gate, where the girls passed with their
booksatchels. They looked at me, walking fast, with their heads turned.
I tried to say, but they went on, and I went along the fence, trying to
say, and they went faster. Then they were running and I came to the
corner of the fence and I couldn’t go any further, and I held to the
fence, looking after them and trying to say.
“You, Benjy.” T. P. said. “What you doing, slipping out. Dont you know
Dilsey whip you.”
“You cant do no good, moaning and slobbering through the fence.” T. P.
said. “You done skeered them chillen. Look at them, walking on the other
side of the street.”
_How did he get out, Father said. Did you leave the gate unlatched when
you came in, Jason._
_Of course not, Jason said. Dont you know I’ve got better sense than to
do that. Do you think I wanted anything like this to happen. This family
is bad enough, God knows. I could have told you, all the time. I reckon
you’ll send him to Jackson, now. If Mrs Burgess dont shoot him first._
_Hush, Father said._
_I could have told you, all the time, Jason said._
It was open when I touched it, and I held to it in the twilight. I
wasn’t crying, and I tried to stop, watching the girls coming along in
the twilight. I wasn’t crying.
“There he is.”
They stopped.
“He cant get out. He wont hurt anybody, anyway. Come on.”
“I’m scared to. I’m scared. I’m going to cross the street.”
“He cant get out.”
I wasn’t crying.
“Dont be a ’fraid cat. Come on.”
They came on in the twilight. I wasn’t crying, and I held to the gate.
They came slow.
“I’m scared.”
“He wont hurt you. I pass here every day. He just runs along the fence.”
They came on. I opened the gate and they stopped, turning. I was trying
to say, and I caught her, trying to say, and she screamed and I was
trying to say and trying and the bright shapes began to stop and I tried
to get out. I tried to get it off of my face, but the bright shapes were
going again. They were going up the hill to where it fell away and I
tried to cry. But when I breathed in, I couldn’t breathe out again to
cry, and I tried to keep from falling off the hill and I fell off the
hill into the bright, whirling shapes.
_Here, loony, Luster said. Here come some. Hush your slobbering and
moaning, now._
They came to the flag. He took it out and they hit, then he put the flag
back.
“Mister.” Luster said.
He looked around. “What.” he said.
“Want to buy a golf ball.” Luster said.
“Let’s see it.” he said. He came to the fence and Luster reached the
ball through.
“Where’d you get it.” he said.
“Found it.” Luster said.
“I know that.” he said. “Where. In somebody’s golf bag.”
“I found it laying over here in the yard.” Luster said. “I’ll take a
quarter for it.”
“What makes you think it’s yours.” he said.
“I found it.” Luster said.
“Then find yourself another one.” he said. He put it in his pocket and
went away.
“I got to go to that show tonight.” Luster said.
“That so.” he said. He went to the table. “Fore, caddie.” he said. He
hit.
“I’ll declare.” Luster said. “You fusses when you dont see them and you
fusses when you does. Why cant you hush. Dont you reckon folks gets
tired of listening to you all the time. Here. You dropped your jimson
weed.” He picked it up and gave it back to me. “You needs a new one. You
’bout wore that one out.” We stood at the fence and watched them.
“That white man hard to get along with.” Luster said. “You see him take
my ball.” They went on. We went on along the fence. We came to the
garden and we couldn’t go any further. I held to the fence and looked
through the flower spaces. They went away.
“Now you aint got nothing to moan about.” Luster said. “Hush up. I the
one got something to moan over, you aint. Here. Whyn’t you hold on to
that weed. You be bellering about it next.” He gave me the flower.
“Where you heading now.”
Our shadows were on the grass. They got to the trees before we did. Mine
got there first. Then we got there, and then the shadows were gone.
There was a flower in the bottle. I put the other flower in it.
“Aint you a grown man, now.” Luster said. “Playing with two weeds in a
bottle. You know what they going to do with you when Miss Cahline die.
They going to send you to Jackson, where you belong. Mr Jason say so.
Where you can hold the bars all day long with the rest of the looneys
and slobber. How you like that.”
Luster knocked the flowers over with his hand. “That’s what they’ll do
to you at Jackson when you starts bellering.”
I tried to pick up the flowers. Luster picked them up, and they went
away. I began to cry.
“Beller.” Luster said. “Beller. You want something to beller about. All
right, then. Caddy.” he whispered. “Caddy. Beller now. Caddy.”
“Luster.” Dilsey said from the kitchen.
The flowers came back.
“Hush.” Luster said. “Here they is. Look. It’s fixed back just like it
was at first. Hush, now.”
“You, Luster.” Dilsey said.
“Yessum.” Luster said. “We coming. You done played hell. Get up.” He
jerked my arm and I got up. We went out of the trees. Our shadows were
gone.
“Hush.” Luster said. “Look at all them folks watching you. Hush.”
“You bring him on here.” Dilsey said. She came down the steps.
“What you done to him now.” she said.
“Aint done nothing to him.” Luster said. “He just started bellering.”
“Yes you is.” Dilsey said. “You done something to him. Where you been.”
“Over yonder under them cedars.” Luster said.
“Getting Quentin all riled up.” Dilsey said. “Why cant you keep him away
from her. Dont you know she dont like him where she at.”
“Got as much time for him as I is.” Luster said. “He aint none of my
uncle.”
“Dont you sass me, nigger boy.” Dilsey said.
“I aint done nothing to him.” Luster said. “He was playing there, and
all of a sudden he started bellering.”
“Is you been projecking with his graveyard.” Dilsey said.
“I aint touched his graveyard.” Luster said.
“Dont lie to me, boy.” Dilsey said. We went up the steps and into the
kitchen. Dilsey opened the firedoor and drew a chair up in front of it
and I sat down. I hushed.
_What you want to get her started for, Dilsey said. Whyn’t you keep him
out of there._
_He was just looking at the fire, Caddy said. Mother was telling him his
new name. We didn’t mean to get her started._
_I knows you didn’t, Dilsey said. Him at one end of the house and her at
the other. You let my things alone, now. Dont you touch nothing till I
get back._
“Aint you shamed of yourself.” Dilsey said. “Teasing him.” She set the
cake on the table.
“I aint been teasing him.” Luster said. “He was playing with that bottle
full of dogfennel and all of a sudden he started up bellering. You heard
him.”
“You aint done nothing to his flowers.” Dilsey said.
“I aint touched his graveyard.” Luster said. “What I want with his
truck. I was just hunting for that quarter.”
“You lost it, did you.” Dilsey said. She lit the candles on the cake.
Some of them were little ones. Some were big ones cut into little
pieces. “I told you to go put it away. Now I reckon you want me to get
you another one from Frony.”
“I got to go to that show, Benjy or no Benjy.” Luster said. “I aint
going to follow him around day and night both.”
“You going to do just what he want you to, nigger boy.” Dilsey said.
“You hear me.”
“Aint I always done it.” Luster said. “Dont I always does what he wants.
Dont I, Benjy.”
“Then you keep it up.” Dilsey said. “Bringing him in here, bawling and
getting her started too. You all go ahead and eat this cake, now, before
Jason come. I dont want him jumping on me about a cake I bought with my
own money. Me baking a cake here, with him counting every egg that comes
into this kitchen. See can you let him alone now, less you dont want to
go to that show tonight.”
Dilsey went away.
“You cant blow out no candles.” Luster said. “Watch me blow them out.”
He leaned down and puffed his face. The candles went away. I began to
cry. “Hush.” Luster said. “Here. Look at the fire whiles I cuts this
cake.”
_I could hear the clock, and I could hear Caddy standing behind me, and
I could hear the roof. It’s still raining, Caddy said. I hate rain. I
hate everything. And then her head came into my lap and she was crying,
holding me, and I began to cry. Then I looked at the fire again and the
bright, smooth shapes went again. I could hear the clock and the roof
and Caddy._
I ate some cake. Luster’s hand came and took another piece. I could hear
him eating. I looked at the fire.
A long piece of wire came across my shoulder. It went to the door, and
then the fire went away. I began to cry.