"i haven't done anything," i retorted, but even as i said the words, i knew them for a lie and could almost taste the untruth in my mouth. i'd killed those three men and now i'd just lied about it. hoster laughed skeptically. "keep saying that. see how much good it does you. bet you're wishing you could bury me, aren't you, fats? shove me under a shitpile like you did that poor whore. i'll admit one thing. i'd love to know how you done those men."

"i don't think he had anything to do with it," ebrooks defended me suddenly. "he didn't even know their names. he said he got jumped and someone stole his wagon."

"you don't have to know a man's name to kill him, stupid. now shut up and unload this wagon."

he had the stripes. we did as he told us. there were three bodies, loosely shrouded in sheets. the first was a woman. we set her in her coffin, and while kesey put a lid on top, ebrooks and i went back for the next body. the cloth came free of his face and i was shocked to recognize the barber who had shaved me when i first came to gettys. i hadn't know him well, but having the plague take an acquaintance was a sharp reminder that it could strike much closer to me. no one i cared about was safe. i was setting the lid in place on his coffin when i heard kesey exclaim, "damn! buel hitch. i never figured him to die from plague."

sergeant hoster laughed. "i always thought a jealous husband would do him in. or that speck whore i heard he had." he lifted his mask and spat over the side of the wagon. "get him out of there. i want to go home."

he drove off as soon as the body was clear of the wagon. i stood, stunned and numb, and let kesey and ebrooks carry the scout to his coffin. as they set him in, kesey said quietly, "he must have gone down fast. he's still wearing his uniform." with unlikely tenderness, he reached down and tugged hitch's collar straight.

"or as much of the uniform as he ever wore." ebrooks gave a small, fond laugh. "damn the luck. that's a shame. that man had the spirit of the old regiment in him. not many of us left like him. it's too bad to see him go like that."

i had picked up another coffin lid. as i approached the coffin, i wondered if i wanted to look at hitch's face one last time or not. the choice was taken from me. kesey had reached in and covered him over, and i found i couldn't bring myself to touch the cloth. i set the wooden-planked lid in place.

ebrooks spoke quietly. "you keep good watch over him tonight, nevare. don't let no specks come and steal him. he may have walked the line, and yes, we all know he crossed over it more than once. but he was ours, he was cavalla, and he ought to be buried here, not stuck to some tree somewhere."

"he had a speck woman, i heard," kesey added sagely. "she or her kin might come for him. you keep good watch, nevare."

"you aren't going to help me bury them tonight?" i was dismayed at the thought of letting the corpses lie unburied all night.

"tomorrow's soon enough," kesey said, glancing at the sky. "light's going. i don't fancy filling in graves in the dark. ebrooks and me, we got a long drive back to town. we don't leave now, it'll be too dark to see before we get there. but we'll be back tomorrow. probably with more bodies, may the good god save us." he shook his head at my shocked expression. "nevare, you'll get used to it and more's the shame. when they really start dropping, there's no keeping up with it. you done your best to get ready for this, but before the week is over, you'll be digging a trench and covering them any way you can. and no one will think the less of you for it."

i could think of no response. i watched them mount the wagon. kesey slapped the reins on the horse's back and they drove away. i was left standing beside three coffins in the gathering dark.

chapter twenty-nine

the messenger

i couldn't stand it.

the thought of going to my cabin, eating, and then trying to sleep while the dead lay in boxes outside my cabin was too much for me. i looked at the darkening sky and resolved to try to bury them.

the problem was moving the laden coffins to the graves with neither clove nor my cart to help. the woman's body had been the lightest, so i began with her. i could not lift the laden coffin; the problem was not the weight. the size and shape prevented me from getting a firm grip on it. dragging it was difficult and nearly disastrous. i crabbed along backward, dragging the coffin over the uneven ground. the hasty workmanship of the coffin builders was soon evident, as the flimsily built box began to give way. i stopped and, muttering an apology to the dead woman, removed the lid from the coffin and lifted her body out of the box.