rcy。〃

〃About　that　mouse？　Huh！　You　think　anyone　is　going　to　care　that　I　stepped　on　a　condemned　murderer's　pet　mouse？　Outside　of　this　looneybin；　that　is？〃

〃No。　But　three　men　saw　you　just　standing　there　with　your　thumb　up　your　ass　while　Wild　Bill　Wharton　was　trying　to　strangle　Dean　Stanton　with　his　wrist…chains。　About　that　people　will　care；　Percy；　I　promise　you。　About　that　even　your　offsides　uncle　the　governor　is　going　to　care。〃

Percy's　cheeks　and　brow　flushed　a　patchy　red。　〃You　think　they'd　believe　you？〃　he　asked；　but　his　voice　had　lost　a　lot　of　its　angry　force。　Clearly　he　thought　someone　might　believe　us。　And　Percy　didn't　like　being　in　trouble。　Breaking　the　rules　was　okay。　Getting　caught　breaking　them　was　not。

〃Well；　I've　got　some　photos　of　Dean's　neck　before　the　bruising　went　down；〃　Brutal　said　…　I　had　no　idea　if　this　was　true　or　not；　but　it　certainly　sounded　good。　〃You　know　what　those　pix　say？　That　Wharton　got　a　pretty　good　shot　at　it　before　anyone　pulled　him　off；　although　you　were　right　there；　and　on　Wharton's　blind　side。　You'd　have　some　hard　questions　to　answer；　wouldn't　you？　And　a　thing　like　that　could　follow　a　man　for　quite　a　spell。　Chances　are　it'd　still　be　there　long　after　his　relatives　were　out　of　the　state　capital　and　back　home　drinking　mint　juleps　on　the　front　porch。　A　man's　work…record　can　be　a　mighty　interesting　thing；　and　a　lot　of　people　get　a　chance　to　look　at　it　over　the　course　of　a　lifetime。〃

Percy's　eyes　flicked　back　and　for