第21部分(第3/8 頁)

me　prickle　all　over　when　Janice　did　that；　and　it　still　made　me　prickle　all　over　when　Elaine　did　it　early　this　morning。　I　guess　some　things　don't　ever　change。

〃…and　what　came　on　was　this　old　black…and…white　gangster　movie　from　the　forties。　Kiss　of　Death；　it's　called。〃

I　could　feel　myself　wanting　to　start　shaking　again　and　tried　to　suppress　it。

〃Richard　Widmark's　in　it；〃　I　said。　〃It　was　his　first　big　part；　I　think。　I　never　went　to　see　it　with　Jan　…　we　gave　the　cops　and　robbers　a　miss；　usually　…　but　I　remember　reading　somewhere　that　Widmark　gave　one　hell　of　a　performance　as　the　punk。　He　sure　did。　He's　pale　。。。　doesn't　seem　to　walk　so　much　as　go　gliding　around　。。。　he's　always　calling　people　'squirt'　。　。　。　talking　about　squealers　how　much　he　hates　the　squealers　。　。　！〃

I　was　starting　to　shiver　again　in　spite　of　my　best　efforts。　I　just　couldn't　help　it。

〃Blond　hair；〃　I　whispered。　〃Lank　blond　hair。　I　watched　until　the　part　where　he　pushed　this　old　woman　in　a　wheelchair　down　a　flight　of　stairs；　then　I　turned　it　off。〃

〃He　reminded　you　of　Wharton？〃

〃He　was　Wharton；〃　I　said。　〃To　the　life！〃

〃Paul！'　she　began；　and　stopped。　She　looked　at　the　blank　screen　of　the　TV　（the　cable　box　on　top　of　it　was　still　on；　the　red　numerals　still　showing　10；　the　number　of　the　AMC　channel）；　then　back　at　me。

〃What？〃　I　asked。　'What；　Elaine？〃　Thinking；　She's　going　to　tell；　me　I　ought　to　quit　writing　about　it。　That　I　ought　to　tear　up　the　pages　I've　wri