О мышах и людях

           Georgespokeproudly.«Jus’tellLenniewhattodoan’he’lldoitifitdon’ttakenofiguring.Hecan’tthinkofnothingtodohimself,buthesurecantakeorders.»

           Therewasaclangofhorseshoeonironstakeoutsideandalittlecheerofvoices.

           Slimmovedbackslightlysothelightwasnotonhisface.«Funnyhowyouan’himstringalongtogether.»ItwasSlim’scalminvitationtoconfidence.

           «What’sfunnyaboutit?»Georgedemandeddefensively.

           «Oh,Idunno.Hardlynoneoftheguysevertraveltogether.Ihardlyneverseentwoguystraveltogether.Youknowhowthehandsare,theyjustcomeinandgettheirbunkandworkamonth,andthentheyquitandgooutalone.Neverseemtogiveadamnaboutnobody.Itjus’seemskindafunnyacuckoolikehimandasmartlittleguylikeyoutravelin’together.»

           «Heain’tnocuckoo,"saidGeorge.«He’sdumbashell,butheain’tcrazy.An’Iain’tsobrightneither,orIwouldn’tbebuckin’barleyformyfiftyandfound.IfIwasbright,ifIwasevenalittlebitsmart,I’dhavemyownlittleplace,an’I’dbebringin’inmyowncrops,‘steadofdoin’alltheworkandnotgettingwhatcomesupoutatheground.»Georgefellsilent.Hewantedtotalk.Slimneitherencouragednordiscouragedhim.Hejustsatbackquietandreceptive.

           «Itain’tsofunny,himan’megoin’aroun’together,"Georgesaidatlast.«HimandmewasbothborninAuburn.IknowedhisAuntClara.Shetookhimwhenhewasababyandraisedhimup.WhenhisAuntClaradied,Lenniejustcomealongwithmeoutworkin’.Gotkindausedtoeachotherafteralittlewhile.»