第7部分(第3/8 頁)

s；　and　why　I　didn't　see　it　then　…　it　was　too　big；　as　central　to　our　work　as　our　respiration　was　to　our　lives。　It　wasn't　important　that　the　floaters　be　good　at　〃getting　the　talk　started；〃　but　it　was　vital　for　me　and　Harry　and　Brutal　and　Dean。。。　and　it　was　one　reason　why　Percy　Wetmore　was　such　a　disaster。　The　inmates　hated　him；　the　guards　hated　him　。。。　everyone　hated　him；　presumably；　except　for　his　political　connections；　Percy　himself；　and　maybe　（but　only　maybe）　his　mother。　He　was　like　a　dose　of　white　arsenic　sprinkled　into　a　wedding　cake；　and　I　think　I　knew　he　spelled　disaster　the　start。　He　was　an　accident　waiting　to　happen。　As　for　the　rest　of　us；　we　would　have　scoffed　at　the　idea　that　we　functioned　most　usefully　not　as　the　guards　of　the　condemned　but　as　their　psychiatrists　part　of　me　still　wants　to　scoff　at　that　idea　today　…　but　we　knew　about　getting　the　talk　started　。　。　。　and　without　the　talk；　men　facing　Old　Sparky　had　a　nasty　habit　of　going　insane。

I　made　a　note　at　the　bottom　of　Brutal's　report　to　talk　to　John　Coffey　…　to　try；　at　least　…　and　then　passed　on　to　a　note　from　Curtis　Anderson；　the　warden's　chief　assistant。　It　said　that　he；　Anderson；　expected　a　DOE　order　for　Edward　Delacrois　（Anderson's　misspelling；　the　man's　name　was　actually　Eduard　Delacroix）　very　soon。　DOE　stood　for　date　of　execution；　and　according　to　the　note；　Curtis　had　been　told　on　good　authority　that　the　little　Frenchman　would　take　the　walk　shortly　before　Halloween　…　October　27th　was　his　best　guess；