chapter 4

willows and the sycamores. A big carp rose to the surface of the pool, gulped air and then sank mysteriously into the dark water again, leaving widening rings on the water. Over-head the leaves whisked again and little puffs of willow cotton blew down and landed on the pool’s surface, "You gonna get that wood?" George demanded. "There’s plenty right up against the back of that sycamore. Floodwater wood. Now you get it." Lennie went behind the tree and brought out a litter of dried leaves and twigs. He threw them in a heap on the oldash pile and went back for more and more. It was almost night now. A dove’s wings whistled over the water. George walked to the fire pile and lighted the dry leaves. The flame cracked up among the twigs and fell to work. George undid his bindle and brought out three cans of beans. He stood them about the fire, close in against the blaze, but not quite touching the flame.

"There’s enough beans for four men," George said.

Lennie watched him from over the fire. He said patiently, "I like ’em with ketchup." "Well, we ain’t got any," George exploded. "Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you want. God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess ' all, and when the end of the month come I coul' take my fifty bucks and go into town and get what‘ ever I want. Why, I could stay in a cat house night. I could eat any place I want, hotel or an place, and order any damn thing I could think of. An’ I could do all that every damn month. Get a gallon of whisky, or set in a pool room and play cards or shoot pool." Lennie knelt and looked over the fire at the angry George. And Lennie’s face was drawn with terror.

"An’ whatta I got," George went on furiously. "I got you! You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get. Jus’ keep me shovin’ all over the country all the time. An’ that ain’t the,' worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got m get you out." His voice rose

nearly to a shout. "You crazy son-of-a-bitch. You keep me in hot water all the time." He took on the elaborate manner of little girls when they are mimicking one another. "Jus’ wanted to feel that girl’s dress - jus’ wanted to pet it like it was a mouse - Well, how the hell did she know you jus’ wanted to feel her dress? She jerks back and you hold on like it was a mouse. She yells and we got to hide in a irrigation ditch all day with guys lookin’ for us, and we got to sneak out in the dark and get outta the country. All the time somethin’ like that - all the time. I wisht I could put you in a cage with about a million mice an’ let you have fun." His anger left him suddenly. He looked across the fire at Lennie’s anguished face, and then he looked ashamedly at the flames.

It was quite dark now, but the fire lighted the trunks of the trees and the curving branches overhead. Lennie crawled slowly and cautiously around the fire until he was close to George. He sat back on his heels. George turned the bean cans so that another side faced the fire. He pretended to be un-aware of Lennie so close beside him.

"George," very softly. No answer. "George!" "Whatta you want?" "I was only foolin’, George. I don’t want no ketchup. I wouldn’t eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me." "If it was here, you could have some." "But I wouldn’t eat none, George. I’d leave it all for you. You could cover your beans with it and I wouldn’t touch none of it." George still stared morosely at the fire. "When I think of the swell time I could have without you, I go nuts. I never get no peace." Lennie still knelt. He looked off into the darkness across theriver, "George, you want I should go away and leave you alone?" "Where the hell could you go?" "Well, I could. I could go off in the hills there. Some place I’d find a cave." "Yeah' How’d you eat. You ain’t got sense enough to find nothing to eat." "I’d find things, George. I don’t need no nice food with ketchup. I’d lay out in the sun and nohody’d hurt me; An’ if I foun’ a mouse, I could keep it. Nobody’d take it away from me." George looked quickly and searchingly at him. "I been mean, ain’t I?" "If you don’ want me I can go off in the hills an’ find a cave. I can go away any time." "No - look! I was jus’ foolin’, Lennie. ’Cause'. I want you to stay with me. Trouble with mice is you always kill ’em." He paused.

"Tell you what I’ll do, Lennie. First chance I get I'll give you a pup.

Maybe you wouldn’t killit. That’d be better than. mice. And you could pet it harder." Lennie avoided the bait. He had sensed his advantage, "If you don’t want me, you only jus’ got to say so, and I’ll go off in those hills right there - right up in those hills and live by myself. An’ I won’t get no mice stole from me." George said, "I want you to stay with me, Lennie. Jesus Christ, somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself. No, you stay with me. Your Aunt Clara wouldn’t like you running off by yourself, even if she is dead." Lennie spoke craftily, "Tell me - like you done before."

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