William Faulkner, SANCTUARY – WordPress.com - literature save 2

"And what's your price?" Horace said. Snopes puffed the cigar to a careful coal.
"Go on," Horace said. "I'm not going to haggle." Snopes told him. "All right," Horace
said. "I'll pay it." He drew his knees up and set his elbows on them and laid his hands to
his face. "Where is-- Wait. Are you a Baptist, by any chance?"
"My folks is. I'm putty liberal, myself. I aint hidebound in no sense, as you'll find
when you know me better."
"All right," Horace said from behind his hands. "Where is she?"
"I'll trust you," Snopes said. "She's in a Memphis 'ho'-house."
XXIII
As Horace entered Miss Reba's gate and approached the lattice door, someone called his
name from behind him. It was evening; the windows in the weathered, scaling wall were
close pale squares. He paused and looked back. Around an adjacent corner Snopes' head
peered, turkey-like. He stepped into view. He looked up at the house, then both ways
along the street. He came along the fence and entered the gate with a wary air.
"Well, Judge," he said. "Boys will be boys, won't they?" He didn't offer to shake
hands. Instead he bulked above Horace with that air somehow assured and alert at the
same time, glancing over his shoulder at the street. "Like I say, it never done no man no
harm to git out now and then and--"
"What is it now?" Horace said. "What do you want with me?"
"Now, now, Judge. I aint going to tell this at home. Git that idea clean out of your
mind. If us boys started telling what we know, caint none of us git off a train at Jefferson
again, hey?"
"You know as well as I do what I'm doing here. What do you want with me?"
"Sure; sure," Snopes said. "I know how a fellow feels, married and all and not
being sho where his wife is at." Between jerky glances over his shoulder he winked at
Horace. "Make your mind easy. It's the same with me as if the grave knowed it. Only I
hate to see a good-" Horace had gone on toward the door. "Judge," Snopes said in a
penetrant undertone. Horace turned. "Dont stay."
"Dont stay?"
"See her and then leave. It's a sucker place. Place for farm boys. Higher'n Monte
Carlo. I'll wait out hyer and I'll show you a place where--" Horace went on and entered
the lattice. Two hours later, as he sat talking to Miss Reba in her room while beyond the
door feet and now and then voices came and went in the hall on the stair, Minnie entered
with a torn scrap of paper and brought it to Horace.
"What's that?" Miss Reba said.
"That big pie-faced-ted man left it fer him," Minnie said. "He say fer you to come
on down there."
"Did you let him in?" Miss Reba said.
"Nome. He never tried to git in."
"I guess not," Miss Reba said. She grunted. "Do you know him?" she said to
Horace.