第64部分(第3/5 頁)

existence　almost　four　years　by　then　…　but　I　have　a　sneaking　suspicion　that　the　little　pornographic　ic　book　featuring　Popeye　and　Olive　Oyl　is　an　artifact　out　of　time。　I　might　clean　up　some　of　this　stuff　when　and　if　I　decide　to　do　The　Green　Mile　as　a　single　volume　。。。　but　maybe　I'll　leave　the　goofs。　After　all；　doesn't　the　great　Shakespeare　himself　include　in　Julius　Caesar　the　anachronism　of　a　striking　clock　long　before　mechanical　clocks　were　invented？

Doing　The　Green　Mile　as　a　single　volume　would　present　its　own　unique　challenges；　I　have　e　to　realize；　partly　because　the　book　couldn't　be　published　as　it　was　issued　in　its　installments。　Because　I　took　Charles　Dickens　as　my　model；　I　asked　several　people　how　Dickens　had　handled　the　problem　of　refreshing　his　readers；　recollections　at　the　beginning　of　each　new　episode。　I　had　expected　something　like　the　synopses　which　preceded　each　installment　of　my　beloved　Saturday　Evening　Post　serials；　and　discovered　that　Dickens　had　not　been　so　crude；　he　built　the　synopsis　into　the　actual　story。

While　I　was　trying　to　decide　how　to　do　this；　my　Wife　began　telling　me　（she　doesn't　exactly　nag；　but　sometimes　she　advocates　rather　ruthlessly）　that　I　had　never　really　finished　the　story　of　Mr。　Jingles；　the　circus　mouse。　I　thought　she　was　right；　and　began　to　see　that；　by　making　Mr。　Jingles　a　secret　of　Paul　Edgebe's　in　his　old　age；　I　could　create　a　fairly　interesting　〃front　story。〃（The　result　is　a　little　bit　like　the　form　taken　by　the　film　versio