ly　brief；　I　saw　the　black　silk　mask　burning　away　from　Del's　face　and　revealing　the　cooked　blobs　of　jelly　which　had　been　his　eyes。

〃There's　no　way　out　for　you；　is　there？〃　She　took　my　hand；　rubbed　it　down　the　soft　velvet　of　her　cheek。　〃Poor　Paul。　Poor　old　guy。〃

I　said　nothing。　Never　before　or　after　in　my　life　did　I　feel　so　much　like　running　from　a　thing。　Just　taking　Jan　with　me；　the　two　of　us　with　a　single　packed　carpetbag　between　us；　running　to　anywhere。

〃My　poor　old　guy〃；　she　repeated；　and　then：　〃Talk　to　him。〃

〃Who？　John　？〃

〃Yes。　Talk　to　him。　Find　out　what　he　wants。〃

I　thought　about　it；　then　nodded。　She　was　right。　She　usually　was。

7。

Two　days　later；　on　the　eighteenth；　Bill　Dodge；　Hank　Bitterman；　and　someone　else　…　I　don't　remember　who；　some　floater　…　took　John　Coffey　over　to　D　Block　for　his　shower；　and　we　rehearsed　his　execution　while　he　was　gone。　We　didn't　let　Toot…Toot　stand　in　for　John　；　all　of　us　knew；　even　without　talking　about　it；　that　it　would　have　been　an　obscenity。

I　did　it。

〃John　Coffey〃；　Brutal　said　in　a　not…quite…steady　voice　as　I　sat　clamped　into　Old　Sparky；　〃you　have　been　condemned　to　die　in　the　electric　chair；　sentence　passed　by　a　jury　of　your　peers。　。。〃

John　Coffey's　peers？　What　a　joke。　So　far　as　I　knew；　there　was　no　one　like　him　on　the　pla。　Then　I　thought　of　what　John　had　said　while　he　stood　looking　at　Sparky　from　the　foot　of　the　stairs　leading　down　from　my　office：　They're　still　in　there。　I　hear　them　screaming。

〃Get　me　out　of　it〃；　I　said　hoarsely。　〃Undo　these　clamps　and　let　me　up。〃

They　did　it；　but　for　a　moment　I　felt　frozen　there；　as　if　Old　Sparky　did　not　want　to　let　me　go。

As　we　walked　back　to　the　block；　Brutal　spoke　to　me　in　a　low　voice；　so　not　even　Dean