Nobody’d listen to you.”
Candy subsided.
“No....” he agreed. “Nobody’d listen to us.”
Lennie whined, “I wisht George was here. I wisht George was here.”
Candy stepped over to him.
“Don’t you worry none,” he said. “I jus’ heard the guys comin’ in.
George’ll be in the bunk house right now, I bet.” He turned to Curley’s wife. “You better go home now,” he said quietly. “If you go right now, we won’t tell Curley you was here.”
She appraised him coolly.
“I ain’t sure you heard nothing.”
“Better not take no chances,” he said. “If you ain’t sure, you better take the safe way.”
She turned to Lennie.
“I’m glad you bust up Curley a little bit.
He got it comin’ to him.
Sometimes I’d like to bust him myself.”
She slipped out the door and disappeared into the dark barn.
And while she went through the barn, the halter chains rattled, and some horses snorted and some stamped their feet.
Crooks seemed to come slowly out of the layers of protection he had put on.
“Was that the truth what you said about the guys come back?” he asked.
“Sure.
I heard ‘em.”
“Well, I didn’t hear nothing.”
“The gate banged,” Candy said, and he went on, “Jesus Christ, Curley’s wife can move quiet.
I guess she had a lot of practice, though.”
Crooks avoided the whole subject now.
“Maybe you guys better go,” he said. “I ain’t sure I want you in here no more.
A colored man got to have some rights even if he don’t like ‘em.”
Candy said, “That bitch didn’t ought to of said that to you.”
“It wasn’t nothing,” Crooks said dully. “You guys comin’ in an’ settin’ made me forget.
What she says is true.”
The horses snorted out in the barn and the chains rang and a voice called,
“Lennie. Oh, Lennie.
You in the barn?”
“It’s George,” Lennie cried. And he answered, “Here, George.
I’m right in here.”
In a second George stood framed in the door, and he looked disapprovingly about.
“What you doin’ in Crooks’ room?
You hadn’t ought to be here.”
Crooks nodded.
“I tol’ ‘em, but they come in anyways.”
“Well, why’n’t you kick ‘em out?”
“I di’n’t care much,” said Crooks. “Lennie’s a nice fella.”
Now Candy aroused himself.
“Oh, George!
I been figurin’ and figurin’.
I got it doped out how we can even make some money on them rabbits.”
George scowled.
“I thought I tol’ you not to tell nobody about that.”
Candy was crestfallen.
“Didn’t tell nobody but Crooks.”
George said, “Well you guys get outa here. Jesus, seems like I can’t go away for a minute.”