The Choiring of the Trees - Donald Harington [148]
“Aw, it don’t mean your whole life. You’d be up for parole in fifteen, twenty years, maybe sooner if you did a real good job raisin them sheep hee hee.”
“Let me think about it?”
“Better not think too long. I need to send the governor a list of names early next month.”
That night Nail tried to tell Ernest about the warden’s offer, but the other three condemned men in the hole overheard him. Nail and Ernest had no privacy anymore. The others jumped in on any topic that came up for discussion, even if it was the number of cockroaches keeping them company. The guy Sam Bell, who had murdered his in-laws, said he’d a lot rather die than go to Tucker for even fifteen months, let alone fifteen years. The two kids, Clarence Dewein (whom they called Dewey) and Joe Strong, were both of the opinion that a whole life of even eighty years in Tucker would be preferable to the chair, the thought of which gave them nightmares every night—apparently the same ones, because they screamed at the same time in their sleep.
Nail hated the thought of Tucker Farm, but it would have to be an improvement on this crowded death hole. Would Viridis come down to Tucker to see him? It was fifty dusty miles from Little Rock. Would she keep coming for twenty years? No, she had provided him with the means for escape, and he ought to try to escape, even if there was a severe risk of getting caught, as the warden had demonstrated for the inspectors. But maybe Nail would even lose his chance at a life-commute if he was caught trying to escape.
The next time the Reverend Mr. Tomme came to see him, Nail informed him of the choice the warden had offered him and declared he was having some trouble making up his mind.
Lee Tomme nodded. “I know. Yeager told me he wants to send you to Tucker. It would be a feather in his cap if you did a good job on a sheep farm down there.”
“He says you’ve improved Tucker the same way you’ve improved The Walls,” Nail said. “Is it really better’n it used to be?”
“For a while,” Lee said, but sighed. “I’m not optimistic that the improvements will last. That governor’s committee you talked to—Donaghey, Monk, and Hutton—they’ll probably submit a report that things aren’t nearly as bad as I said they were, and then everything will go right back to hell.”
Nail frowned and considered that. “I sure hope I didn’t say nothing to ’em that would make ’em do that.”
Lee waved the thought away. “I’m not blaming you. I’ve got a suspicion these improvements are largely cosmetic: they pretty up the place for the benefit of inspection by the governor’s committee, and as soon as the committee reports on how nice everything is, they’ll take away the improvements.”
“You think Tucker will fall back to what it was?”
“They’ll have to fire me first,” Lee said, “but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did that too.”
“‘They’ or ‘he’?”
“Okay. ‘He.’ Hays.”
“And one of the first improvements they’ll take away from The Walls,” Nail conjectured, “is me and Ernest having jobs and a little bit of freedom. They’ll try to put us in the chair again.”
Lee looked sorrowfully at Nail. “I hope not. But I’d be a mealymouth to deny it could happen.”
Nail debated with himself whether to tell the preacher he wanted to attempt an escape. He knew that Lee Tomme, who detested snitches would not snitch. And maybe he could help. Or at least give him some spiritual advice. So Nail lowered his voice and said, “Lee, I don’t think I’ll take the warden’s offer. I don’t aim to spend any time at Tucker. I reckon I’ll just go over the wall.”
Lee smiled. “I wish you could.”
“I can,” Nail said.
Lee studied him awhile before asking, “Didn’t you hear about that show they put on for the inspectors? This place is escape-proof.”
“Not to me,” Nail said. “I’m fixin to—”
“Don’t tell me how.” Lee held up his hand. “I don’t want to know. I’ll take your word for it. I don’t want anybody accusing me of conspiring with you.” The preacher smiled. “But you could tell me when you plan to go.”
“Soon as I figger out a way to get upstairs in the middle of the night,” Nail