the doors and then we couldn't hear it.
"Hush, now." Caddy said. I hushed and ate. Quentin wasn't eating, but Jason was.
"That was Mother." Quentin said. He got up.
"You set right down." Dilsey said. "They got company in there, and you in them muddy clothes. You set down too, Caddy, and get done eating."
"She was crying." Quentin said.
"It was somebody singing." Caddy said. "Wasn't it, Dilsey."
"You all eat your supper, now, like Mr Jason said." Dilsey said. "You'll know in the Lawd's own time." Caddy went back to her chair.
"I told you it was a party." she said.
Versh said, "He done et all that."
"Bring his bowl here." Dilsey said. The bowl went away.
"Dilsey." Caddy said. "Quentin's not eating his supper. Hasn't he got to mind me."
"Eat your supper, Quentin." Dilsey said. "You all got to get done and get out of my kitchen."
"I dont want any more supper. Quentin said.
"You've got to eat if I say you have." Caddy said. "Hasn't he, Dilsey." The bowl steamed up to my face, and Versh's hand dipped the spoon in it and the steam tickled into my mouth.
"I dont want any more." Quentin said. "How can they have a party when Damuddy's sick."
"They'll have it down stairs." Caddy said. "She can come to the landing and see it. That's what I'm going to do when I get my nightie on.
"Mother was crying. " Quentin said. "Wasn't she crying, Dilsey."
"Dont you come pestering at me, boy." Dilsey said. "I got to get supper for all them folks soon as you all get done eating."
After a while even Jason was through eating, and he began to cry.
"Now you got to tune up." Dilsey said.
"He does it every night since Damuddy was sick and he cant sleep with her." Caddy said. "Cry baby."
"I'm going to tell on you." Jason said.
He was crying. "You've already told." Caddy said. "There's not anything else you can tell, now."
"You all needs to go to bed." Dilsey said. She came and lifted me down and wiped my face and hands with a warm cloth. "Versh, can you get them up the back stairs quiet. You, Jason, shut up that crying."
"It's too early to go to bed now." Caddy said. "We dont ever have to go to bed this early."
"You is tonight." Dilsey said. "Your paw say for you to come right on up stairs when you et supper. You heard him."
"He said to mind me. " Caddy said.
"I'm not going to mind you." Jason said.
"You have to." Caddy said. "Come on, now. You have to do like I say.
"Make them be quiet, Versh." Dilsey said. "You all going to be quiet, aint you.
"What do we have to be so quiet for, tonight." Caddy said.
"Your mommer aint feeling well." Dilsey said. "You all go on with Versh, now."
"I told you Mother was crying. " Quentin said. Versh took me up and opened the door onto the back porch. We went out and Versh closed the door black. I could smell Versh and feel him. You all be quiet, now. We're not going up stairs yet. Mr Jason said for you to come right up stairs. He said to mind me. I'm not going to mind you. But he said for all of us to. Didn't he, Quentin. I could feel Versh's head. I could hear us. Didn't he, Versh. Yes, that right. Then I say for us to go out doors a while. Come on. Versh opened the door and we went out.
We went down the steps.
"I expect we'd better go down to Versh's house, so we'll be quiet." Caddy said. Versh put me down and Caddy took my hand and we went down the brick walk.
"Come on." Caddy said. "That frog's gone. He's hopped way over to the garden, by now. Maybe we'll see another one." Roskus came with the milk buckets. He went on. Quentin wasn't coming with us. He was sitting on the kitchen steps. We went down to Versh's house. I liked to smell Versh's house. [...]
13.1
[...] There was a fire in it and T.P. squatting in his shirt tail in front of it, chunking it into a blaze.
15.1
Then I got up and T.P. dressed me and we went to the kitchen and ate. Dilsey was singing and I began to cry and she stopped.
"Keep him away from the house, now." Dilsey said.
"We cant go that way." T.P. said.
We played in the branch.
"We cant go
Jonathan Green - (ebook by Undead)