when　Wharton　touched　him　that　was　so　bad　that　he　saved　back　the　poison　he　took　out　of　Melly's　body？〃

〃And　half…killed　himself　doing　it；　too；〃　Brutal　said。

〃More　like　three…quarters。　And　the　Detterick　twins　were　all　I　could　think　of　that　was　bad　enough　to　explain　what　he　did。　I　told　myself　the　idea　was　nuts；　too　much　of　a　coincidence；　it　just　couldn't　be。　Then　I　remembered　something　Curtis　Anderson　wrote　in　the　first　memo　I　ever　got　about　Wharton　…that　Wharton　was　crazy…wild；　and　that　he'd　rambled　all　over　the　state　before　the　holdup　where　he　killed　all　those　people。　Rambled　all　over　the　state。　That　stuck　with　me。　Then　there　was　the　way　he　tried　to　choke　Dean　when　he　came　in。　That　got　me　thinking　about　…　〃

〃The　dog；〃　Dean　said。　He　was　rubbing　his　neck　where　Wharton　had　wrapped　the　chain。　I　don't　think　he　even　knew　he　was　doing　it。　〃How　the　dog's　neck　was　broken。〃

〃Anyway；　I　went　on　up　to　Purdom　County　to　check　Wharton's　court　records　…　all　we　had　here　were　the　reports　on　the　murders　that　got　him　to　the　Green　Mile。　The　end　of　his　career；　in　other　words。　I　wanted　the　beginning。〃

〃Lot　of　trouble？〃　Brutal　asked。

〃Yeah。　Vandalism；　petty　theft；　setting　haystack　fires；　even　theft　of　an　explosive　…　he　and　a　friend　swiped　a　stick　of　dynamite　and　set　it　off　down　by　a　creek。　He　got　going　early；　ten　years　old；　but　what　I　wanted　wasn't　there。　Then　the　Sheriff　turned　up　to　see　who　I　was　and　what　I　was　doing；　and　that　was　actually　lucky。　I　fibbed；　t