Chapter 6 Chapter Six

When Jackson awoke, he found himself lying on the couch under two dirty blankets.He felt his body was as stiff as a corpse, his joints couldn't move at all, and his headache felt like being hit by a high-raised hammer.In the dim light his eyes were red as pepper and his lips were dry as cotton. Carefully turning his neck, which seemed to be made of glass, Jackson saw Goldie, in a baggy robe but with his cap and wig off, sitting at the table.There was a covered jug on the table, next to it was a slice of hard white bread wrapped in oiled paper and a half bottle of whiskey.The room was cold, and the air was filled with thick blue kerosene fumes.

Goldie sat rejoicing, blowing on the gold cross he wore around his neck, and mopping the dirt with his gray handkerchief. Jackson threw back the blanket, stood up staggeringly, grabbed Goldie's fat neck with two black hands, and began to pinch.Beads of sweat hung like pimples on his black face.Jackson's eyes were red and he looked completely insane. Goldie's eyes widened suddenly, and his face became as gray as rust.He put down the cross in his hand, grabbed Jackson's neck with both hands, and with all his strength, pushed him away and headbutted him.The rebound force also caused the chair in which Goldie was sitting to tip over backwards.He crushed Jackson, knocking them both dizzy.The whiskey bottle fell to the floor, but it didn't break, it just rolled under the sofa.

The blanket was flung over the kerosene stove, hissing and smelling of burning wool and cotton. The brothers rolled and grunted on the floor like two hungry cannibals vying for a delicious rib.Eventually Goldie kicked Jackson in the stomach, separating them. "What's the matter, brother," Goldie asked breathlessly, "what's wrong with you?" "You drug me!" Jackson gasped.The blanket on the stove started to burn. "My God, what a job you've done! . . . " said Goldie, looking at the blanket.He wrenched his left foot out of the robe with difficulty so he could stand up.

Jackson grabbed the edge of the table with one hand, picked up the bread wrapped around his feet with the other, and used the bread to stir up the burning blanket.He grabbed the blanket and tried to throw it outside, but found the door locked from the inside. "Open the door," he coughed.The room was filled with smoke. "You made me lose the key! . . . " accused Goldie, sprawled on the floor, groping for the key on all fours. "What are you doing standing there, help me find the key." He shouted angrily. Jackson dropped the blanket on the floor and crawled to help Goldie find the key.

"What are you doing with the door closed?" Jackson grumbled. "Here," said Goldie, standing up, putting his foot on the bread, and opening the door.Jackson kicked the blanket out into the hallway. "One day, you're going to die in this locked room," Jackson said. "You were born without a brain," Goldie said angrily, pushing Jackson aside to scoop some water from the pantry and pour it over the smoking blanket. Goldie tore open a cardboard box and handed Jackson a piece of cardboard to help fan the cigarettes out of the house.At the same time began to complain: "I help you with all my heart, just because you are my brother, but you want to kill me."

"Are you trying to help me by doing that?" Jackson muttered while fanning a cigarette, "I came to you for help, but you gave me a drink with a hypnotic drug in it." "Oh, bro, stop talking. Let's have dinner." Jackson picked up the crushed bread, cleaned it of dust, then went to the table and lifted the lid of the pot—half a pot of cooked pig's trotters mixed with black-eyed peas and rice. "Nothing special, just 'Jump John'," said Goldie. ① Hoppin John, an African-American food, this dish is made with black-eyed peas, bacon, rice and vegetables.In the southern United States, black people often eat this dish on New Year's Day, which means good luck.

"I love jumping John," Jackson said. Goldie closed the door and locked it again.Jackson gave him a disapproving look. Goldie found the whiskey bottle that had rolled under the sofa and poured Jackson a glass.Jackson looked at the glass suspiciously, and Goldie gave him a wicked look. "You shouldn't distrust ladies, should you?" he said, taking a long swig to prove that there was no narcotic in it. Jackson also took a sip, with a bitter expression on his face. "You made this yourself?" "Brother, don't complain. You haven't given me any money. Go buy good whiskey and drink it."

Jackson started to eat with a disgruntled expression on his face. Goldie got himself some morphine and cocaine, stimulating himself in this quiet way, as usual. "I called your landlady," Goldie said slowly at last. "Imabella won't be coming back." Jackson stopped in the middle of chewing. "Then I'll go out and find her." "No, you can't, unless you want to be caught by the first cop you hit. Your boss has already reported it." Sweat began to break down Jackson's face. "Even if I will be caught by the police, I will go to her. She may be in trouble."

"She's not in trouble, but you are." The pig's trotter bones that Jackson spat out looked bare and piled up in a small pile on the table.He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at Goldie with puritanical indignation. "Listen, if you think that I will stay here obediently after being cheated of money and robbed of my woman, then you are really wrong." Jackson said excitedly, "She is my woman , I'm going to find her." "Drink some wine and relax." Goldie picked up the bottle. "You won't find her tonight. Let's think about how to solve the existing troubles."

Goldie poured another glass for Jackson, who gave him a disgusted look, gasped, and poured the whole glass into his mouth. "What should I think?" "I want to know too. Besides clothes, is your woman still in the box, did you put anything else?" Jackson blinked hard, trying to wake himself up.Food, whiskey, and the stuffy air of the sealed cabin made him drowsy. "family heirloom." "What, say it again." Jackson's thinking began to become a little confused, and he suspected that Goldie was trying to lie to him again. "Bronze pots and plates and bowls," he began to cry angrily, "her dowry at her marriage."

"Bronze pots and plates and bowls?" Goldie looked at him distrustfully. "You mean she and the tall thin man escaped somewhere to cook?" Jackson was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. "Stop thinking about her box!..." Jackson muttered belligerently, "If you really want to help me, go and help me find her and leave her things alone." "That's exactly what I did, fool! . . . " protested Goldie, "doing my best to help you find your girlfriend. But I don't know yet what kind of person I'm looking for .” Jackson couldn't speak anymore.As soon as he touched the sofa, he fell asleep immediately. "Hey, this medicine is so powerful!..." Goldie said to himself.