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Chapter 21
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Nuckles looks white and pasty stepping down the court aisle1, his hair is reduced to clumps2. You'd say he had something more than a nervous breakdown3, if you saw him. He's bony and frail4 under his ton of make-up.

'Marion Nuckles,' says the prosecutor5. 'Can you identify Vernon Gregory Little in the courtroom?'

Nuckles's sunken eyes worm through the room. They stop at my cage. Then, as if against a hurricane wind, he raises a finger to me.

'Let the record show the witness has identified the defendant6. Mister Nuckles, can you confirm you were the defendant's class teacher between ten and eleven o'clock on the morning of Tuesday, May twentieth, this year?'

Nuckles's eyes swim without registering anything. He breaks into a sweat, and crumples7 over the railing of the witness box.

'Your honor, I must protest,' says Brian, 'the witness is in no state …'

'Shh!' says the judge. He watches Nuckles with razor eyes.

'I was there,' says Nuckles. His lips tremble, he begins to cry.

The judge flaps an urgent hand at the prosecutor. 'Get to the point!' he hisses8.

'Marion Nuckles, can you confirm that at some time during that hour you gave some notes to the defendant, written in your own hand, and sent him with them on an errand, outside the classroom?'

'Yes, yes,' says Nuckles, shaking violently.

'And what happened then?'

Nuckles starts to dry retch over the railing. 'Scorned the love of Jesus - erased9 his perfume from across the land …'

'Your honor, please,' shouts Brian.

'Doused10 it all in the blood of babes …'

The prosecutor hangs suspended in time, mouth open. 'What happened?' he shouts. 'What exactly did Vernon Little do?'

'He killed them, killed them all …'

Nuckles breaks into sobs11, barks them like a wolf, and from my cage in the new world I bark sobs back, pelt12 them through the bars like bones. My sobs ring out through both summations13, spray the journey to the cells behind the courthouse, and continue through a visit from an officer who tells me the jury has retired14 to a hotel to consider the matter of my life or death.

Friday, twenty-first of November is a smoky day, tingling15 with a sense that solid matter can pass through you like air. I watch the jury foreman put on his glasses and lift a sheet of paper to his face. Mom couldn't make it today, but Pam came by with Vaine Gurie and Georgette Porkorney. Vaine is frowning, and seems a little slimmer. George's ole porcelain16 eyes roll around the room, she distracts herself with other thoughts. She trembles a little. You ain't allowed to smoke in here. And look at Pam. When I catch her eye, she makes a flurry of gestures that seem to describe us eating a hearty17 meal together, soon. I just look away.

'Mr Foreman, has the jury reached a verdict?'

'We have, sir.'

The court officer reads out the first charge to the jury. 'How do you find the defendant - guilty, or not guilty?'

'Not guilty,' says the foreman.

'On the second count of murder, that of Hiram Salazar in Lockhart, Texas - how do you find the defendant, guilty or not guilty?'

'Not guilty.'

My heart beats through five not guilties. Six, seven, nine, eleven. Seventeen not guilties. The prosecutor's lips curl. My attorney sits proud in his chair.

'On the eighteenth count of murder in the first degree, that of Barry Enoch Gurie in Martirio, Texas - how do you find the defendant, guilty or not guilty?'

'Not guilty,' says the foreman.

The officer reads a list of my fallen school friends. The world holds its breath as he looks up to ask the verdict.

The jury foreman's eyes twitch18, then fall.

'Guilty.'

Even before he says it, I feel departments in the office of my life start to close up shop; files are shredded19, sensitivities are folded into neatly20 marked boxes, lights and alarms are switched off. As the husk of my body is guided from the court, I sense a single little man sat at the bottom of my soul. He hunches21 over a card table under a naked low-watt bulb, sipping22 flat beer from a plastic cup. I figure he must be my janitor23. I figure he must be me.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 aisle qxPz3     
n.(教堂、教室、戏院等里的)过道,通道
参考例句:
  • The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
  • The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。
2 clumps a9a186997b6161c6394b07405cf2f2aa     
n.(树、灌木、植物等的)丛、簇( clump的名词复数 );(土、泥等)团;块;笨重的脚步声v.(树、灌木、植物等的)丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 );(土、泥等)团;块;笨重的脚步声
参考例句:
  • These plants quickly form dense clumps. 这些植物很快形成了浓密的树丛。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The bulbs were over. All that remained of them were clumps of brown leaves. 这些鳞茎死了,剩下的只是一丛丛的黃叶子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 breakdown cS0yx     
n.垮,衰竭;损坏,故障,倒塌
参考例句:
  • She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
  • The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障,但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。
4 frail yz3yD     
adj.身体虚弱的;易损坏的
参考例句:
  • Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了,身体虚弱,不便独居。
  • She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上,看上去特别虚弱。
5 prosecutor 6RXx1     
n.起诉人;检察官,公诉人
参考例句:
  • The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
  • The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。
6 defendant mYdzW     
n.被告;adj.处于被告地位的
参考例句:
  • The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
  • The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。
7 crumples 2c40221128b5b566f53ad308959d47dd     
压皱,弄皱( crumple的第三人称单数 ); 变皱
参考例句:
  • This kind of paper crumples easily. 这种纸容易起皱。
  • This kind of cloth crumples easily. 这种布易起绉。
8 hisses add19f26616fdd1582c885031e8f941d     
嘶嘶声( hiss的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The speaker was received with a mixture of applause and hisses. 那演说者同时得到喝彩声和嘘声。
  • A fire hisses if water is thrown on it. 把水浇到火上,火就发出嘶嘶声。
9 erased f4adee3fff79c6ddad5b2e45f730006a     
v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 );抹去;清除
参考例句:
  • He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案,写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义,消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 doused 737722b5593e3f3dd3200ca61260d71f     
v.浇水在…上( douse的过去式和过去分词 );熄灯[火]
参考例句:
  • The car was doused in petrol and set alight. 这辆汽车被浇上汽油点燃了。
  • He doused the lamp,and we made our way back to the house. 他把灯熄掉,我们就回到屋子里去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
11 sobs d4349f86cad43cb1a5579b1ef269d0cb     
啜泣(声),呜咽(声)( sob的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
  • She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。
12 pelt A3vzi     
v.投掷,剥皮,抨击,开火
参考例句:
  • The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。
  • Crowds started to pelt police cars with stones.人群开始向警车扔石块。
13 summations 75815bfb07114eb53d333d1b3629d966     
n.总和( summation的名词复数 );加在一起;总结;概括
参考例句:
  • The summations of forces in this and that directions must be zero. 在这个和那个方向上的合力必定为零。 来自辞典例句
  • Summations are almost invariably indicated ellipses instead of the more prevalent sigma notation. 在表示“连加”的式子中,几乎一成不变地使用省略号来代替更为流行的“∑”符号。 来自辞典例句
14 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
15 tingling LgTzGu     
v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • My ears are tingling [humming; ringing; singing]. 我耳鸣。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • My tongue is tingling. 舌头发麻。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
16 porcelain USvz9     
n.瓷;adj.瓷的,瓷制的
参考例句:
  • These porcelain plates have rather original designs on them.这些瓷盘的花纹很别致。
  • The porcelain vase is enveloped in cotton.瓷花瓶用棉花裹着。
17 hearty Od1zn     
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的
参考例句:
  • After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了,他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
  • We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。
18 twitch jK3ze     
v.急拉,抽动,痉挛,抽搐;n.扯,阵痛,痉挛
参考例句:
  • The smell made my dog's nose twitch.那股气味使我的狗的鼻子抽动着。
  • I felt a twitch at my sleeve.我觉得有人扯了一下我的袖子。
19 shredded d51bccc81979c227d80aa796078813ac     
shred的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • Serve the fish on a bed of shredded lettuce. 先铺一层碎生菜叶,再把鱼放上,就可以上桌了。
  • I think Mapo beancurd and shredded meat in chilli sauce are quite special. 我觉得麻婆豆腐和鱼香肉丝味道不错。 来自《简明英汉词典》
20 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
参考例句:
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
21 hunches 647ac34044ab1e0436cc483db95795b5     
预感,直觉( hunch的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • A technical sergeant hunches in a cubicle. 一位技术军士在一间小屋里弯腰坐着。
  • We often test our hunches on each other. 我们经常互相检验我们的第六感觉。
22 sipping e7d80fb5edc3b51045def1311858d0ae     
v.小口喝,呷,抿( sip的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
  • She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。
23 janitor iaFz7     
n.看门人,管门人
参考例句:
  • The janitor wiped on the windows with his rags.看门人用褴褛的衣服擦着窗户。
  • The janitor swept the floors and locked up the building every night.那个看门人每天晚上负责打扫大楼的地板和锁门。


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