Гроздья гнева
Chapter 28
Paspoketothemanintherowtohisright.«Backhomewemightgetrainoutofawindlikethis.Seemsalittlemitefrostyforrain.Howlongyoubeenouthere?»Hekepthiseyesdownonhisworkashespoke.
Hisneighbordidn’tlookup.«Ibeenherenearlyayear.»
«Wouldyousayitwasgonnarain?»
«Can’ttell,an’thatain’tnoinsult,neither.Folksthatlivedherealltheirlifecan’ttell.Iftheraincangitinthewayofacrop,it’llrain.Tha’swhattheysayouthere.»
Palookedquicklyatthewesternhills.Biggraycloudswerecoastingovertheridge,ridingthewindswiftly.«Themlookslikerain-heads,"hesaid.
Hisneighborstoleasquintinglook.«Can’ttell,"hesaid.Andalldownthelineofrowsthepeoplelookedbackattheclouds.Andthentheybentlowertotheirwork,andtheirhandsflewtothecotton.Theyracedatthepicking,racedagainsttimeandcottonweight,racedagainsttherainandagainsteachother—onlysomuchcottontopick,onlysomuchmoneytobemade.Theycametotheothersideofthefieldandrantogetanewrow.Andnowtheyfacedintothewind,andtheycouldseethehighgraycloudsmovingovertheskytowardtherisingsun.Andmorecarsparkedalongtheroadside,andnewpickerscametobecheckedin.Thelineofpeoplemovedfranticallyacrossthefield,weighedattheend,markedtheircotton,checkedtheweightsintotheirownbooks,andranfornewrows.
Ateleveno’clockthefieldwaspickedandtheworkwasdone.
