〃And the dragon's been vanquished；〃 I said。 〃This time by the lady fair。〃
She smiled； bent； and kissed me over the eyebrow in the sensitive place that always makes me shiver。 〃We'll hope so；〃 she said； 〃but in my experience； dragons like Brad Dolan are hard to get rid of。〃 She hesitated。 〃Good luck； Paul。 I hope you can vanquish whatever it is that has been festering in you。〃
〃I hope so； too；〃 I said； and thought of John Coffey。 I couldn't help it； John had said。 I tried； but it was too late。
I ate the eggs she'd brought； drank the juice； and pushed the toast aside for later。 Then I picked up my pen and began to write again； for what I hoped would be the last time。
One last mile。
A green one。
2。
When we brought John back to E Block that night； the gurney was a necessity instead of a luxury。 I very much doubt if he could have made it the length of the tunnel on his own； it takes more energy to walk at a crouch than it does upright； and it was a damned low ceiling for the likes of John Coffey。 I didn't like to think of him collapsing down
there。 How would we explain that； on top of trying to explain why we had dressed Percy in the madman's dinner…jacket and tossed him in the restraint room？
But we had the gurney … thank God … and John Coffey lay on it like a beached whale as we pushed him back to the storage…room stairs。 He got down off it； staggered； then simply stood with his head lowered； breathing harshly。 H