He took a quick look around and leaned forward, voice lowered. “Tell me, Nick. I swear I won’t repeat a word you say.”

“I can’t. I just can’t. Robert Lee. It wouldn’t be fair, and there’s just no reason to. What difference does it make if people are going around spreading a lot of dirty stories about Sam, as long as we know they’re not true?”

“Now, Nick—”

“I tell you what I ‘am’ gonna do,” I said. “When Sam gets up to make his first campaign speech, come Sunday-week, I’m gonna be right up on the platform with him. He gets my moral support a thousand per cent, and I’m gonna say so. Because I know there ain’t a word of truth in all them dirty, filthy stories that are going around about him!”

Robert Lee Jefferson followed me to the front door, trying to get me to say what the stories were. I kept refusing, naturally, the main reason being that I’d never heard no one say a bad word about Sam Gaddis in my life.

“No, sir,” I said, as I went out the door. “I just ain’t gonna repeat ‘em. You want to hear any dirt about Sam you’ll have to get it from someone else.”

“Who?” he said eagerly. “Who should I ask, Nick?”

“Anyone. Just about anyone,” I said. “There’s always folks that are willin’ to dirty a good man, even when they ain’t got a thing to go on!”

10

I got my horse and buggy out of the livery stable, and drove out of town. But I was quite a little while in getting out to see Rose Hauck. I had a little business with Tom to take care of first, business that was kind of a pleasure, if you know what I mean, and it was about an hour’s drive to his favourite hunting place.

He was there, maybe a hundred feet back from the road, and he was doing his usual kind of hunting. Sitting with his back against one tree and his gun against another, and slugging down whiskey from a jug as fast as he could swallow.

He looked around as I came up on him, and asked me what the hell I was doing there. Then, his eyes widened and he tried to get to his feet, and he asked me what the hell I thought I was doing with his gun.

“First things first,” I said. “One thing I’m doin’ out this way is to pay a visit to your wife. I’m gonna be gettin’ in bed with her pretty soon now, and she’s gonna be givin’ me what you were too god-danged low-down mean to ever get from her. Reason I know she’s gonna give it to me is because she’s been doin’ it for a long time. Just about every time you were out here hog-drunk, too stupid to appreciate what a good thing you had.”

He was cussing before I had the last words out; pushing himself up against the tree-trunk, and at last wobbling to his feet. He took a staggering step toward me, and I brought the gun up against my shoulder.