"hesaid。
"Why,sendherwordtostoit,
"thewomansaid,
"Isn&aos;ttherealaw?
"
"I&aos;msurethatwon&aos;tbenecessary,
"JudgeStevenssaid,
"It&aos;srobablyjustasnakeoraratthatniggerofherskilledintheyard。I&aos;llseaktohimaboutit。
"
Thenextdayhereceivedtwomorecomlaints,onefromamanwhocameindiffidentderecation。
"Wereallymustdosomethingaboutit,Judge。I&aos;dbethelastoneintheworldtobotherMissEmily,butwe&aos;vegottodosomething。
"ThatnighttheBoardofAldermenmet-threegraybeardsandoneyoungerman,amemberoftherisinggeneration。
"It&aos;ssimleenough,
"hesaid。
"Sendherwordtohaveherlacecleanedu。Giveheracertaintimetodoitin,andifshedon&aos;t。。。
"
"Dammit,sir,
"JudgeStevenssaid,
"Willyouaccusealadytoherfaceofsmellingbad?
"
Sothenextnight,aftermidnight,fourmencrossedMissEmily&aos;slawnandslunkaboutthehouselikeburglars,sniffingalongthebaseofthebrickworkandatthecellaroeningswhileoneofthemerformedaregularsowingmotionwithhishandoutofasackslungfromhisshoulder。Theybrokeoenthecellardoorandsrinkledlimethere,andinalltheoutbuildings。Astheyrecrossedthelawn,awindowthathadbeendarkwaslightedandMissEmilysatinit,thelightbehindher,andherurighttorsomotionlessasthatofanidol。Theycretquietlyacrossthelawnandintotheshadowofthelocuststhatlinedthestreet。Afteraweekortwothesmellwentaway。
Thatwaswheneolehadbeguntofeelreallysorryforher。Peoleinourtown,rememberinghowoldladyWyatt,hergreat-aunt,hadgonecomletelycrazyatlast,believedthattheGriexsonsheldthemselvesalittletoohighforwhattheyreallywere。NoneoftheyoungmenwerequitegoodenoughforMissEmilyandsuch。Wehadlongthoughtofthemasatableau;MissEmilyaslenderfigureinwhiteinthebackground,herfatherasraddledsilhouetteintheforeground,hisbacktoherandclutchingahorsewhi,thetwoofthemframedbytheback-flungfrontdoors。Sowhenshegottobethirtyandwasstillsingle,wewerenotleasedexactly,butvindicated;evenwithinsanityinthefamilyshewouldn&aos;thaveturneddownallofherchancesiftheyhadreallymaterialized。
Whenherfatherdied,itgotaboutthatthehousewasallthatwaslefttoher;andinaway,eolewereglad。AtlasttheycouldityMissEmily。Beingleftalone,andaauer,shehadbecomehumanized。Nowshetoowouldknowtheoldthrillandtheolddesairofaennymoreorless。
Thedayafterhisdeathalltheladiesrearedtocallatthehouseandoffercondolenceandaid,asisourcustom。MissEmilymetthematthedoor,dressedasusualandwithnotraceofgriefonherface。Shetoldthemthatherfatherwasnotdead。Shedidthatforthreedays,withtheministerscallingonher,andthedoctors,tryingtoersuadehertoletthemdisoseofthebody。Justastheywereabouttoresorttolawandforce,shebrokedown。andtheyburiedherfatherquickly。
Wedidnotsayshewascrazythen。Webelievedshehadtodothat。Werememberedalltheyoungmenherfatherhaddrivenaway,andweknewthatwithnothingleft,shewouldhavetoclingtothatwhichhadrobbedher,aseolewill。
III
Shewassickforalongtime。Whenwesawheragain,herhairwascutshort,makingherlooklikeagirl,withavagueresemblaneetothoseangelsincoloredchurchwindows-sortoftragicandserene。
Thetownhadjustletthecontractsforavingthesidewalks,andinthesummerafterherfather&aos;sdeaththeybegantowork。Theconstructioncomanycamewithniggersandmulesandmachinery,andaforemannamedHomerBarron,aYankee-abig,dark,readyman,withabigvoiceandeyeslighterthanhisface。Thelittleboyswouldfollowingroustohearhimcusstheniggers,andtheniggerssingingintimetotheriseandfalloficks。PrettysoonhekneweverybodyintownWheneveryouheardalotoflaughinganywhereaboutthesquare,HomerBarronwouldbeinthecenterofthegrou。PresentlywebegantoseehimandMissEmilyonSundayafternoonsdrivingintheyellow-wheeledbuggyandthematchedteamofbaysfromtheliverystable。
AtfirstweweregladthatMissEmilywouldhaveaninterest,becausetheladiesallsaid,
"OfcourseaGriersonwouldnotthinkseriouslyofaNortherner,adaylaborer。
"Buttherewerestillothers,oldereole,whosaidthatevengriefcouldnotcausearealladytoforgetnoblesseoblige-withoutcallingitnoblesseoblige。Theyjustsaid,
"PoorEmily。Herkinsfolkshouldcometoher。
"ShehadsomekininAlabama;butyearsagoherfatherhadfallenoutwiththemovertheestateofoldladyWyatt,thecrazywoman,andtherewasnocommunicationbetweenthetwofamilies。Theyhadnotevenbeenreresentedatthefuneral。
Andassoonastheoldeolesaid,
"PoorEmily
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