They rolled Judge Atlee down the center aisle1 in his fine oak casket and parked him at the altar in front of the pulpit where Reverend Palmer was waiting in a black robe. The casket was left unopened, much to the disappointment of the mourners, most of whom still clung to the ancient Southern ritual of viewing the deceased one last time in a strange effort to maximize the grief. "Hell no," Ray had said politely to Mr. Magargel when asked about opening things up. When the pieces were in place, Palmer slowly stretched out his arms, then lowered them, and the crowd sat.
In the front pew to his right was the family, the two sons. Ray wore his new suit and looked tired. Forrest wore jeans and a black suede2 jacket and looked remarkably3 sober. Behind them were Harry4 Rex and the other pallbearers, and behind them was a sad collection of ancient judges, not far from the casket themselves. In the front pew to his left were all sorts of dignitaries - politicians, an ex-governor, a couple of Mississippi Supreme5 Court justices. Clanton had never seen such power assembled at one time.
The sanctuary6 was packed, with folks standing7 along the walls under the stained-glass windows. The balcony above was full. One floor below, the auditorium8 had been wired for audio and more friends and admirers were down there.
Ray was impressed by the crowd. Forrest was already looking at his watch. He had arrived fifteen minutes earlier and got cursed by Harry Rex, not Ray. His new suit was dirty, he'd said, and besides Ellie had bought him the black suede jacket years ago and she thought it would do just fine for the occasion.
She, at three hundred pounds, would not leave the house, and for that Ray and Harry Rex were grateful. Somehow she'd kept him sober, but a crash was in the air. For a thousand reasons, Ray just wanted to get back to Virginia.
The reverend prayed, a short, eloquent9 message of thanks for the life of a great man. Then he introduced a youth choir10 that had won national honors at a music competition in New York. Judge Atlee had given them three thousand dollars for the trip, according to Palmer. They sang two songs Ray had never heard before, but they sang them beautifully.
The first eulogy11 - and there would be only two short ones per Ray's instructions - was delivered by an old man who barely made it to the pulpit, but once there startled the crowd with a rich and powerful voice. He'd been in law school with the Judge a hundred years ago. He told two humorless stories and the potent12 voice began to fade.
The reverend read some scripture13 and delivered words of comfort for the loss of a loved one, even an old one who had lived a full life.
The second eulogy was given by a young black man named Nakita Poole, something of a legend in Clanton. Poole came from a rough family south of town, and had it not been for a chemistry teacher at the high school he would have dropped out in the ninth grade and become another statistic14. The Judge met him during an ugly family matter in court, and he took an interest in the kid. Poole had an amazing capacity for science and math. He finished first in his class, applied15 to the best colleges, and was accepted everywhere. The Judge wrote powerful letters of recommendation and pulled every string he could grab. Nakita picked Yale, and its financial package covered everything but spending money. For four years Judge Atlee wrote him every week, and in each letter there was a check for twenty-five dollars.
"I wasn't the only one getting the letters or the checks," he said to a silent crowd. "There were many of us."
Nakita was now a doctor and headed for Africa for two years of volunteer work. "I'm gonna miss those letters," he said, and every lady in the church was in tears.
The coroner, Thurber Foreman, was next. He'd been a fixture16 at funerals in Ford17 County for many years, and the Judge specifically wanted him to play his mandolin and sing "Just a Closer Walk with Thee." He sang it beautifully, and somehow managed to do so while weeping.
Forrest finally began wiping his eyes. Ray just stared at the casket, wondering where the cash came from. What had the old man done? What, exactly, did he think would happen to the money after he died?
When the reverend finished a very brief message, the pall-bearers rolled Judge Atlee out of the sanctuary. Mr. Magargel escorted Ray and Forrest down the aisle and down the front steps to a limo waiting behind the hearse. The crowd spilled out and went to their cars for the ride to the cemetery18.
Like most small towns, Clanton loved a funeral procession. All traffic stopped. Those not driving in the procession were on the sidewalks, standing sadly and gazing at the hearse and the endless parade of cars behind it. Every part-time deputy was in uniform and blocking something, a street, an alley19, parking spaces.
The hearse led them around the courthouse, where the flag was at half-mast and the county employees lined the front sidewalk and lowered their heads. The merchants around the square came out to bid farewell to Judge Atlee.
He was laid to rest in the Atlee plot, next to his long-forgotten wife and among the ancestors he so revered20. He would be the last Atlee returned to the dust of Ford County, though no one knew it. And certainly no one cared. Ray would be cremated21 and his ashes scattered22 over the Blue Ridge23 Mountains. Forrest admitted he was closer to death than his older brother, but he had not nailed down his final details. The only thing for certain was that he would not be buried in Clanton. Ray was lobbying for cremation24. Ellie liked the idea of a mausoleum. Forrest preferred not to dwell on the subject.
The mourners crowded under and around a crimson25 Magargel Funeral Home tent, which was much too small. It covered the grave and four rows of folding chairs. A thousand were needed.
Ray and Forrest sat with their knees almost touching26 the casket and listened as Reverend Palmer wrapped it all up. Sitting in a folding chair at the edge of his father's open grave, Ray found it odd the things he thought about. He wanted to go home. He missed his classroom and his students. He missed flying and the views of the Shenandoah Valley from five thousand feet. He was tired and irritable27 and did not want to spend the next two hours lingering in the cemetery making small talk with people who remembered when he was born.
The wife of a Pentecostal preacher had the final words. She sang "Amazing Grace," and for five minutes time stood still. In a beautiful soprano, her voice echoed through the gentle hills of the cemetery, comforting the dead, giving hope to the living. Even the birds stopped flying.
An Army boy with a trumpet28 played "Taps," and everybody had a good cry. They folded the flag and handed it to Forrest, who was sobbing29 and sweating under the damned suede jacket. As the final notes faded into the woods, Harry Rex started bawling30 behind them. Ray leaned forward and touched the casket. He said a silent farewell, then rested with his elbows on his knees, his face in his hands.
The burial broke up quickly. It was time for lunch. Ray figured that if he just sat there and stared at the casket, then folks would leave him alone. Forrest flung a heavy arm across his shoulders, and together they looked as though they might stay until dark. Harry Rex regained31 his composure and assumed the role of family spokesman. Standing outside the tent, he thanked the dignitaries for coming, complimented Palmer on a fine service, praised the preacher's wife for such a beautiful rendition, told Claudia that she could not sit with the boys, that she needed to move along, and on and on. The gravediggers waited under a nearby tree, shovels33 in hand.
When everybody was gone, including Mr. Magargel and his crew, Harry Rex fell into the chair on the other side of Forrest and for a long time the three of them sat there, staring, not wanting to leave. The only sound was that of a backhoe somewhere in the distance, waiting. But Forrest and Ray didn't care. How often do you bury your father
And how important is time to a gravedigger?
"What a great funeral," Harry Rex finally said. He was an expert on such matters.
"He would've been proud," said Forrest.
"He loved a good funeral," Ray added. "Hated weddings though."
"I love weddings," said Harry Rex.
"Four or five?" asked Forrest.
"Four, and counting."
A man in a city work uniform approached and quietly asked, "Would you like for us to lower it now?"
Neither Ray nor Forrest knew how to respond. Harry Rex had no doubt. "Yes, please," he said. The man turned a crank under the grave apron34. Very slowly, the casket began sinking. They watched it until it came to rest deep in the red soil.
The man removed the belts, the apron, and the crank, and disappeared.
"I guess it's over," Forrest said.
LUNCH WAS tamales and sodas35 at a drive-in on the edge of town, away from the crowded places where someone would undoubtedly36 interrupt them with a few kind words about the Judge. They sat at a wooden picnic table under a large umbrella and watched the cars go by.
"When are you heading back?" Harry Rex asked.
"First thing in the morning," Ray answered.
"We have some work to do."
"I know. Let's do it this afternoon."
"What kinda work?" Forrest asked.
"Probate stuff," Harry Rex said. "We'll open the estate in a couple of weeks, whenever Ray can get back. We need to go through the Judge's papers now and see how much work there is."
"Sounds like a job for the executor."
"You can help."
Ray was eating and thinking about his car, which was parked on a busy street near the Presbyterian church. Surely it was safe there. "I went to a casino last night," he announced with his mouth full.
"Which one?" asked Harry Rex.
"Santa Fe something or other, the first one I came to. You been there?"
"I've been to all of them," he said, as if he'd never go back. With the exception of illegal narcotics37, Harry Rex had explored every vice32.
"Me too," said Forrest, a man with no exceptions.
"How'd you do?" Forrest asked.
"I won a couple of thousand at blackjack. They comped me a room."
"I paid for that damned room," Harry Rex said. "Probably the whole floor."
"I love their free drinks," said Forrest. "Twenty bucks38 a pop."
Ray swallowed hard and decided39 to set the bait. "I found some matches from the Santa Fe on the old man's desk. Was he sneaking40 over there?"
"Sure," said Harry Rex. "He and I used to go once a month. He loved the dice41."
"The old man?" Forrest asked. "Gambling42?"
"Yep."
"So there's the rest of my inheritance. What he didn't give away, he gambled away."
"No, he was actually a pretty good player."
Ray pretended to be as shocked as Forrest, but he was relieved to pick up his first clue, slight as it was. It seemed almost impossible that the Judge could've amassed43 such a fortune shooting craps once a week.
He and Harry Rex would pursue it later.
收听单词发音 |
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aisle
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| n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道 | |
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suede
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| n.表面粗糙的软皮革 | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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auditorium
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| n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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choir
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| n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱 | |
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eulogy
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| n.颂词；颂扬 | |
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potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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statistic
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| n.统计量；adj.统计的，统计学的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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fixture
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| n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款 | |
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Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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cemetery
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| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
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alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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revered
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| v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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cremated
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| v.火葬，火化（尸体）( cremate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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cremation
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| n.火葬，火化 | |
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crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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trumpet
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| n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘 | |
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sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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bawling
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的现在分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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shovels
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| n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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sodas
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| n.苏打( soda的名词复数 )；碱；苏打水；汽水 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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narcotics
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| n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒 | |
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bucks
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| n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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sneaking
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| a.秘密的，不公开的 | |
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dice
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| n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险 | |
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gambling
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| n.赌博；投机 | |
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amassed
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| v.积累，积聚( amass的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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