George said reverently,
“Jesus Christ!
I bet we could swing her.” His eyes were full of wonder. “I bet we could swing her,” he repeated softly.
Candy sat on the edge of his bunk.
He scratched the stump of his wrist nervously.
“I got hurt four year ago,” he said. “They’ll can me purty soon. Jus’ as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunk houses they’ll put me on the county.
Maybe if I give you guys my money, you’ll let me hoe in the garden even after I ain’t no good at it. An’ I’ll wash dishes an’ little chicken stuff like that.
But I’ll be on our own place, an’ I’ll be let to work on our own place.” He said miserably, “You seen what they done to my dog tonight?
They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else.
When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me.
But they won’t do nothing like that.
I won’t have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs.
I’ll have thirty dollars more comin’, time you guys is ready to quit.”
George stood up.
“We’ll do her,” he said. “We’ll fix up that little old place an’ we’ll go live there.”
He sat down again.
They all sat still, all bemused by the beauty of the thing, each mind was popped into the future when this lovely thing should come about.
George said wonderingly,
“S’pose they was a carnival or a circus come to town, or a ball game, or any damn thing.” Old Candy nodded in appreciation of the idea. “We’d just go to her,” George said. “We wouldn’t ask nobody if we could.
Jus’ say,
‘We’ll go to her,’ an’ we would.
Jus’ milk the cow and sling some grain to the chickens an’ go to her.”
“An’ put some grass to the rabbits,” Lennie broke in. “I wouldn’t never forget to feed them.
When we gon’ta do it, George?”
“In one month.
Right squack in one month.
Know what I’m gon’ta do?
I’m gon’ta write to them old people that owns the place that we’ll take it.
An’ Candy’ll send a hunderd dollars to bind her.”
“Sure will,” said Candy. “They got a good stove there?”
“Sure, got a nice stove, burns coal or wood.”
“I’m gonna take my pup,” said Lennie. “I bet by Christ he likes it there, by Jesus.”
Voices were approaching from outside.
George said quickly,
“Don’t tell nobody about it.
Jus’ us three an’ nobody else.
They li’ble to can us so we can’t make no stake.
Jus’ go on like we was gonna buck barley the rest of our lives, then all of a sudden some day we’ll go get our pay an’ scram outa here.”
Lennie and Candy nodded, and they were grinning with delight.
“Don’t tell nobody,” Lennie said to himself.
Candy said, “George.”
“Huh?”
“I ought to of shot that dog myself, George.
I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.”
The door opened.
Slim came in, followed by Curley and Carlson and Whit.
Slim’s hands were black with tar and he was scowling.
Curley hung close to his elbow.
Curley said, “Well, I didn’t mean nothing, Slim. I just ast you.”
Slim said, “Well, you been askin’ me too often. I’m gettin’ God damn sick of it.