Faulkner Reader Read online

  “Clean that udder good now.” Roskus said. “You milked that young cow dry last winter. If you milk this one dry, they aint going to be no more milk.”

  Dilsey was singing.

  “Not around yonder.” T. P. said. “Dont you know mammy say you cant go around there.”

  They were singing.

  “Come on.” T. P. said. “Lets go play with Quentin and Luster. Come on.”

  Quentin and Luster were playing in the dirt in front of T. P.’s house. There was a fire in the house, rising and falling, with Roskus sitting black against it.

  “That’s three, thank the Lawd.” Roskus said. “I told you two years ago. They aint no luck on this place.”

  “Whyn’t you get out, then.” Dilsey said. She was undressing me. “Your bad luck talk got them Memphis notions into Versh. That ought to satisfy you.”

  “If that all the bad luck Versh have.” Roskus said.

  Frony came in.

  “You all done.” Dilsey said.

  “T. P. finishing up.” Frony said. “Miss Cahline want you to put Quentin to bed.”

  “I’m coming just as fast as I can.” Dilsey said. “She ought to know by this time I aint got no wings.”

  “That’s what I tell you.” Roskus said. “They aint no luck going be on no place where one of they own chillens’ name aint never spoke.”

  “Hush.” Dilsey said. “Do you want to get him started”

  “Raising a child not to know its own mammy’s name.” Roskus said.

  “Dont you bother your head about her.” Dilsey said. “I raised all of them and I reckon I can raise one more. Hush now. Let him get to sleep if he will.”

  “Saying a name.” Frony said. “He dont know nobody’s name.”

  “You just say it and see if he dont.” Dilsey said. “You say it to him while he sleeping and I bet he hear you.”

  “He know lot more than folks thinks.” Roskus said. “He knowed they time was coming, like that pointer done. He could tell you when hisn coming, if he could talk. Or yours. Or mine.”

  “You take Luster outen that bed, mammy.” Frony said. “That boy conjure him.”

  “Hush your mouth.” Dilsey said, “Aint you got no better sense than that. What you want to listen to Roskus for, anyway. Get in, Benjy.”

  Dilsey pushed me and I got in the bed, where Luster already was. He was asleep. Dilsey took a long piece of wood and laid it between Luster and me. “Stay on your side now.” Dilsey said. “Luster little, and you don’t want to hurt him.”

  You can’t go yet, T. P. said. Wait.

  We looked around the corner of the house and watched the carriages go away.

  “Now.” T. P. said. He took Quentin up and we ran down to the corner of the fence and watched them pass. “There he go,” T. P. said. “See that one with the glass in it. Look at him. He laying in there. See him.”

  Come on, Luster said, I going to take this here ball down home, where I wont lose it. Naw, sir, you cant have it. If them men sees you with it, they’ll say you stole it. Hush up, now. You cant have it. What business you got with it. You cant play no ball.

  Frony and T. P. were playing in the dirt by the door. T. P. had lightning bugs in a bottle.

  “How did you all get back out.” Frony said.

  “We’ve got company.” Caddy said. “Father said for us to mind me tonight. I expect you and T. P. will have to mind me too.”

  “I’m not going to mind you.” Jason said. “Frony and T. P. dont have to either.”

  “They will if I say so.” Caddy said. “Maybe I wont say for them to.”

  “T. P. dont mind nobody.” Frony said. “Is they started the funeral yet.”

  “What’s a funeral.” Jason said.

  “Didn’t mammy tell you not to tell them.” Versh said.

  “Where they moans.” Frony said. “They moaned two days on Sis Beulah Clay.”

  They moaned at Dilsey’s house. Dilsey was moaning. When Dilsey moaned Luster said, Hush, and we hushed, and then I began to cry and Blue howled under the kitchen steps. Then Dilsey stopped and we stopped.

  “Oh.” Caddy said, “That’s niggers. White folks dont have funerals.”

  “Mammy said us not to tell them, Frony.” Versh said.

  “Tell them what.” Caddy said.

  Dilsey moaned, and when it got to the place I began to cry and Blue howled under the steps. Luster, Frony, said in the window, Take them down to the barn. I cant get no cooking done with all that racket. That hound too. Get them outen here.

  I aint going down there, Luster said. I might meet pappy down there. I seen him last night, waving his arms in the barn.

  “I like to know why not.” Frony said. “White folks dies too. Your grandmammy dead as any nigger can get, I reckon.”

  “Dogs are dead.” Caddy said, “And when Nancy fell in the ditch and Roskus shot her and the buzzards came and undressed her.”

  The bones rounded out of the ditch, where the dark vines were in the black ditch, into the moonlight, like some of the shapes had stopped. Then they all stopped and it was dark, and when I stopped to start again I could hear Mother, and feet walking fast away, and I could smell it. Then the room came, but my eyes went shut. I didn’t stop. I could smell it. T. P. unpinned the bed clothes.

  “Hush.” he said, “Shhhhhhhh.”

  But I could smell it. T. P. pulled me up and he put on my clothes fast.

  “Hush, Benjy.” he said. “We going down to our house. You want to go down to our house, where Frony is. Hush. Shhhhh.”

  He laced my shoes and put my cap on and we went out. There was a light in the hall. Across the hall we could hear Mother.

  “Shhhhhh, Benjy.” T. P. said, “We’ll be out in a minute.”

  A door opened and I could smell it more than ever, and a head came out. It wasn’t Father. Father was sick there.

  “Can you take him out of the house.”

  “That’s where we going.” T. P. said. Dilsey came up the stairs.

  “Hush.” she said, “Hush. Take him down home, T. P. Frony fixing him a bed. You all look after him, now. Hush, Benjy. Go on with T. P.”

  She went where we could hear Mother.

  “Better keep him there.” It wasn’t Father. He shut the door, but I could still smell it.

  We went down stairs. The stairs went down into the dark and T. P. took my hand, and we went out the door, out of the dark. Dan was sitting in the back yard, howling.

  “He smell it.” T. P. said. “Is that the way you found it out.”

  We went down the steps, where our shadows were.

  “I forgot your coat.” T. P. said. “You ought to had it. But I aint going back.”

  Dan howled.

  “Hush now.” T. P. said. Our shadows moved, but Dan’s shadow didn’t move except to howl when he did.

  “I cant take you down home, bellering like you is.” T. P. said. “You was bad enough before you got that bullfrog voice. Come on.”

  We went along the brick walk, with our shadows. The pig pen smelled like pigs. The cow stood in the lot, chewing at us. Dan howled.

  “You going to wake the whole town up.” T. P. said. “Cant you hush.”

  We saw Fancy, eating by the branch. The moon shone on the water when we got there.

  “Naw, sir.” T. P. said, “This too close. We cant stop here. Come on. Now, just look at you. Got your whole leg wet. Come on, here.” Dan howled.

  The ditch came up out of the buzzing grass. The bones rounded out of the black vines.

  “Now.” T. P. said. “Beller your head off if you want to. You got the whole night and a twenty acre pasture to beller in.”

  T. P. lay down in the ditch and I sat down, watching the bones where the buzzards ate Nancy, flapping black and slow and heavy out of the ditch.

  I had it when we was down here before, Luster said. I showed it to you. Didn’t you see it. I took it out of my pocket right here and showed it to you.

  “Do you think buzzards a
re going to undress Damuddy.” Caddy said. “You’re crazy.”

  “You’re a skizzard.” Jason said. He began to cry.

  “You’re a knobnot.” Caddy said. Jason cried. His hands were in his pockets.

  “Jason going to be rich man.” Versh said. “He holding his money all the time.”

  Jason cried.

  “Now you’ve got him started.” Caddy said. “Hush up, Jason. How can buzzards get in where Damuddy is. Father wouldn’t let them. Would you let a buzzard undress you. Hush up, now.”

  Jason hushed. “Frony said it was a funeral.” he said.

  “Well it’s not.” Caddy said. “It’s a party. Frony dont know anything about it. He wants your lightning bugs, T. P. Let him hold it a while.”

  T. P. gave me the bottle of lightning bugs.

  “I bet if we go around to the parlor window we can see something.” Caddy said. “Then you’ll believe me.”

  “I already knows.” Frony said. “I dont need to see.”

  “You better hush your mouth, Frony.” Versh said. “Mammy going whip you.”

  “What is it.” Caddy said.

  “I knows what I knows.” Frony said.

  “Come on.” Caddy said, “Let’s go around to the front.”

  We started to go.

  “T. P. wants his lightning bugs.” Frony said.

  “Let him hold it a while longer, T. P.” Caddy said. “We’ll bring it back.”

  “You all never caught them.” Frony said.

  “If I say you and T. P. can come too, will you let him hold it.” Caddy said.

  “Aint nobody said me and T. P. got to mind you.” Frony said.

  “If I say you dont have to, will you let him hold it.” Caddy said.

  “All right.” Frony said. “Let him hold it, T. P. We going to watch them moaning.”

  “They aint moaning.” Caddy said. “I tell you it’s a party. Are they moaning, Versh.”

  “We aint going to know what they doing, standing here.” Versh said.

  “Come on.” Caddy said. “Frony and T. P. dont have to mind me. But the rest of us do. You better carry him, Versh. It’s getting dark.”

  Versh took me up and we went on around the kitchen.

  When we looked around the corner we could see the lights coming up the drive. T. P. went back to the cellar door and opened it.

  You know what’s down there, T. P. said. Soda water. I seen Mr Jason come up with both hands full of them. Wait here a minute.

  T. P. went and looked in the kitchen door. Dilsey said, What are you peeping in here for. Where’s Benjy.

  He out here, T. P. said.

  Go on and watch him, Dilsey said. Keep him out the house now.

  Yessum, T. P. said. Is they started yet.

  You go on and keep that boy out of sight, Dilsey said. I got all I can tend to.

  A snake crawled out from under the house. Jason said he wasn’t afraid of snakes and Caddy said he was but she wasn’t and Versh said they both were and Caddy said to be quiet, like Father said.

  You aint got to start bellering now, T. P. said. You want some this sassprilluh.

  It tickled my nose and eyes.

  If you aint going to drink it, let me get to it, T. P. said. All right, here tis. We better get another bottle while nobody bothering us. You be quiet, now.

  We stopped under the tree by the parlor window. Versh set me down in the wet grass. It was cold. There were lights in all the windows.

  “That’s where Damuddy is.” Caddy said. “She’s sick every day now. When she gets well we’re going to have a picnic”

  “I knows what I knows.” Frony said.

  The trees were buzzing, and the grass.

  “The one next to it is where we have the measles” Caddy said. “Where do you and T. P. have the measles, Frony.”

  “Has them just wherever we is, I reckon.” Frony said

  “They haven’t started yet.” Caddy said.

  They getting ready to start, T. P. said. You stand right here now while I get that box so we can see in the window. Here les finish drinking this here sassprilluh. It make me feel just like a squinch owl inside.

  We drank the sassprilluh and T. P. pushed the bottle through the lattice, under the house, and went away. I could hear them in the parlor and I clawed my hands against the wall. T P dragged the box. He fell down, and he began to laugh. He lay there, laughing into the grass. He got up and dragged the box under the window, trying not to laugh.

  “I skeered I going to holler.” T. P. said. “Git on the box and see is they started.”

  “They haven’t started because the band hasn’t come yet.” Caddy said.

  “They aint going to have no band.” Frony said

  “How do you know.” Caddy said.

  “I knows what I knows.” Frony said.

  “You dont know anything.” Caddy said. She went to the tree. “Push me up, Versh.”

  “Your paw told you to stay out that tree.” Versh said.

  “That was a long time ago.” Caddy said. “I expect he’s forgotten about it. Besides, he said to mind me tonight. Didn’t he say to mind me tonight.”

  “I’m not going to mind you.” Jason said. “Frony and T P are not going to either.”

  “Push me up, Versh.” Caddy said.

  “All right.” Versh said. “You the one going to get whipped. I aint.” He went and pushed Caddy up into the tree to the first limb. We watched the muddy bottom of her drawers. Then we couldn’t see her. We could hear the tree thrashing.

  “Mr Jason said if you break that tree he whip you.” Versh said.

  “I’m going to tell on her too.” Jason said.

  The tree quit thrashing. We looked up into the still branches.

  “What you seeing.” Frony whispered.

  I saw them. Then I saw Caddy, with flowers in her hair, and a long veil like shining wind. Caddy Caddy

  “Hush.” T. P. said, “They going to hear you. Get down quick.” He pulled me. Caddy. I clawed my hands against the wall Caddy. T. P. pulled me.

  “Hush.” he said. “Hush. Come on here quick.” He pulled me on. Caddy “Hush up, Benjy. You want them to hear you. Come on, les drink some more sassprilluh, then we can come back if you hush. We better get one more bottle or we both be hollering. We can say Dan drunk it. Mr Quentin always saying he so smart, we can say he sassprilluh dog, too.”

  The moonlight came down the cellar stairs. We drank some more sassprilluh.

  “You know what I wish.” T. P. said. “I wish a bear would walk in that cellar door. You know what I do. I walk right up to him and spit in he eye. Gimme that bottle to stop my mouth before I holler.”

  T. P. fell down. He began to laugh, and the cellar door and the moonlight jumped away and something hit me.

  “Hush up.” T. P. said, trying not to laugh, “Lawd, they’ll all hear us. Get up.” T. P. said, “Get up, Benjy, quick.” He was thrashing about and laughing and I tried to get up. The cellar steps ran up the hill in the moonlight and T. P. fell up the hill, into the moonlight, and I ran against the fence and T. P. ran behind me saying “Hush up hush up” Then he fell into the flowers, laughing, and I ran into the box. But when I tried to climb onto it it jumped away and hit me on the back of the head and my throat made a sound. It made the sound again and I stopped trying to get up, and it made the sound again and I began to cry. But my throat kept on making the sound while T. P. was pulling me. It kept on making it and I couldn’t tell if I was crying or not, and T. P. fell down on top of me, laughing, and it kept on making the sound and Quentin kicked T. P. and Cad put her arms around me, and her shining veil, and I couldn’t smell trees anymore and I began to cry.

  Benjy, Caddy said Benjy. She put her arms around me again, but I went away. “What is it, Benjy.” she said. “Is it this hat.” She took her hat off and came again, and I went away.

  “Benjy.” she said, “What is it, Benjy. What has Caddy done.”

  “He dont like that prissy dress.”
Jason said. “You think you’re grown up, dont you. You think you’re better than anybody else, dont you. Prissy.”

  “You shut your mouth.” Caddy said, “You dirty little beast. Benjy.”

  “Just because you are fourteen, you think you’re grown up, dont you.” Jason said. “You think you’re something. Dont you.”

  “Hush, Benjy.” Caddy said. “You’ll disturb Mother. Hush.”

  But I didn’t hush, and when she went away I followed, and she stopped on the stairs and waited and I stopped too.

  “What is it, Benjy.” Caddy said, “Tell Caddy. She’ll do it. Try.”

  “Candace.” Mother said.

  “Yessum.” Caddy said.

  “Why are you teasing him.” Mother said. “Bring him here.”

  We went to Mother’s room, where she was lying with the sickness on a cloth on her head.

  “What is the matter now.” Mother said. “Benjamin.”

  “Benjy.” Caddy said. She came again, but I went away.

  “You must have done something to him.” Mother said. “Why wont you let him alone, so I can have some peace. Give him the box and please go on and let him alone.”

  Caddy got the box and set it on the floor and opened it. It was full of stars. When I was still, they were still. When I moved, they glinted and sparkled. I hushed.

  Then I heard Caddy walking and I began again.

  “Benjamin.” Mother said, “Come here.” I went to the door. “You, Benjamin.” Mother said.

  “What is it now.” Father said, “Where are you going.”

  “Take him downstairs and get someone to watch him, Jason.”

  Mother said. “You know I’m ill, yet you”

  Father shut the door behind us.

  “T. P.” he said.

  “Sir.” T. P. said downstairs.

  “Benjy’s coming down.” Father said. “Go with T. P.”

  I went to the bathroom door. I could hear the water.

  “Benjy.” T. P. said downstairs.

  I could hear the water. I listened to it.

  “Benjy.” T. P. said downstairs.

  I listened to the water.

  I couldn’t hear the water, and Caddy opened the door.

  “Why, Benjy.” she said. She looked at me and I went and she put her arms around me. “Did you find Caddy again.” she said. “Did you think Caddy had run away.” Caddy smelled like trees.