Lennie chuckled with pleasure. “You bet, by God,” he cried happily. “An’ I had some, too. A lady give me some, an’ that lady was--my own Aunt Clara. She give it right to me--‘bout this big a piece. I wisht I had that velvet right now.”
A frown came over his face. “I lost it,” he said. “I ain’t seen it for a long time.”
Curley’s wife laughed at him. “You’re nuts,” she said. “But you’re a kinda nice fella. Jus’ like a big baby. But a person can see kinda what you mean. When I’m doin’ my hair sometimes I jus’ set an’ stroke it ‘cause it’s so soft.”
To show how she did it, she ran her fingers over the top of her head.
“Some people got kinda coarse hair,” she said complacently. “Take Curley. His hair is jus’ like wire. But mine is soft and fine. ‘Course I brush it a lot. That makes it fine. Here--feel right here.”
She took Lennie’s hand and put it on her head. “Feel right aroun’ there an’ see how soft it is.”
Lennie’s big fingers fell to stroking her hair.
“Don’t you muss it up,” she said.
Lennie said, “Oh! That’s nice,” and he stroked harder. “Oh, that’s nice.”
“Look out, now, you’ll muss it.” And then she cried angrily, “You stop it now, you’ll mess it all up.”
She jerked her head sideways, and Lennie’s fingers closed on her hair and hung on.
“Let go,” she cried. “You let go!” {1}
Lennie was in a panic. His face was contorted. She screamed then, and Lennie’s other hand closed over her mouth and nose.
“Please don’t,” he begged. “Oh! Please don’t do that. George’ll be mad.”
She struggled violently under his hands. Her feet battered on the hay and she writhed to be free; and from under Lennie’s hand came a muffled screaming.
Lennie began to cry with fright. “Oh! Please don’t do none of that,” he begged. “George gonna say I done a bad thing. He ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits.”
He moved his hand a little and her hoarse cry came out.
Then Lennie grew angry. “Now don’t,” he said. “I don’t want you to yell. You gonna get me in trouble jus’ like George says you will. Now don’t you do that.”
And she continued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror. He shook her then, and he was angry with her.
“Don’t you go yellin’,” he said, and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.
He looked down at her, and carefully he removed his hand from over her mouth, and she lay still.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, “but George’ll be mad if you yell.”
When she didn’t answer nor move he bent closely over her. He lifted her arm and let it drop. For a moment he seemed bewildered.
And then he whispered in fright, “I done a bad thing. I done another bad thing.”
He pawed up the hay until it partly covered her.
From outside the barn came a cry of men and the double clang of shoes on metal. For the first time Lennie became conscious of the outside.
He crouched down in the hay and listened. “I done a real bad thing,” he said. “I shouldn’t of did that. George’ll be mad. An’ . . . he said . . . an’ hide in the brush till he come. He’s gonna be mad. In the brush till he come. Tha’s what he said.”
Lennie went back and looked at the dead girl. The puppy lay close to her. Lennie picked it up. “I’ll throw it away,” he said. “It’s bad enough like it is.”
He put the pup under his coat, and he crept to the barn wall and peered out between the cracks, toward the horseshoe game. And then he crept around the end of the last manger and disappeared.
The sun streaks were high on the wall by now, and the light was growing soft in the barn. Curley’s wife lay on her back, and she was half covered with hay.
It was very quiet in the barn, and the quiet of the afternoon was on the ranch. Even the clang of the pitched shoes, even the voices of the men in the game, seemed to grow more quiet.
The air in the barn was dusky in advance of the outside day. A pigeon flew in through the open hay door and circled and flew out again.
Around the last stall came a shepherd bitch, lean and long, with heavy, hanging dugs. {2}
Halfway to the packing box where the puppies were she caught the dead scent of Curley’s wife, and the hair arose along her spine. {3}
She whimpered and cringed to the packing box, and jumped in among the puppies.
Curley’s wife lay with a half-covering of yellow hay. And the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face.
She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young. Now her rouged cheeks and her reddened lips made her seem alive and sleeping very lightly.
The curls, tiny little sausages, were spread on the hay behind her head, and her lips were parted.
As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment.{4}