Ventu' ter say: 'Mist Rhett, suh, what 'bout de fune'l?' Den he

tuhn on me lak a wile man an' his eyes glitter an' he say: 'Good

Gawd, Ah thought you'd unnerstan' even ef nobody else din'! Does

you think Ah'm gwine ter put mah chile away in de dahk w'en she so

sceered of it? Right now Ah kin hear de way she uster scream w'en

she wake up in de dahk. Ah ain' gwine have her sceered.' Miss

Melly, den Ah know he los' his mine. He drunk an' he need sleep

an' sumpin' ter eat but dat ain' all. He plumb crazy. He jes'

push me outer de do' an' say: 'Git de hell outer hyah!'

"Ah goes downstairs an' Ah gits ter thinkin' dat he say dar ain'

gwine be no fune'l an' Miss Scarlett say it be termorrer mawnin'

an' he say dar be shootin'. An' all de kin-folks in de house an'

all de neighbors already gabblin' 'bout it lak a flock of guinea

hens, an' Ah thought of you, Miss Melly. You got ter come he'p

us."

"Oh, Mammy, I couldn't intrude!"

"Ef you kain, who kin?"

"But what could I do, Mammy?"

"Miss Melly, Ah doan know. But you kin do sumpin'. You kin talk

ter Mist' Rhett an' maybe he lissen ter you. He set a gret sto' by

you, Miss Melly. Maybe you doan know it, but he do. Ah done hear

him say time an' agin, you is de onlies' gret lady he knows."

"But--"

Melanie rose to her feet, confused, her heart quailing at the

thought of confronting Rhett. The thought of arguing with a man as

grief crazed as the one Mammy depicted made her go cold. The

thought of entering that brightly lighted room where lay the little

girl she loved so much wrung her heart. What could she do? What

could she say to Rhett that would ease his grief and bring him back

to reason? For a moment she stood irresolute and through the

closed door came the sound of her boy's treble laughter. Like a

cold knife in her heart came the thought of him dead. Suppose her

Beau were lying upstairs, his little body cold and still, his merry

laughter hushed.

"Oh," she cried aloud, in fright, and in her mind she clutched him

close to her heart. She knew how Rhett felt. If Beau were dead,

how could she put him away, alone with the wind and the rain and

the darkness?

"Oh! Poor, poor Captain Butler!" she cried. "I'll go to him now,

right away."

She sped back to the dining room, said a few soft words to Ashley

and surprised her little boy by hugging him close to her and

kissing his blond curls passionately.

She left the house without a hat, her dinner napkin still clutched

in her hand, and the pace she set was hard for Mammy's old legs.

Once in Scarlett's front hall, she bowed briefly to the gathering

in the library, to the frightened Miss Pittypat, the stately old

Mrs. Butler, Will and Suellen. She went up the stairs swiftly,

with Mammy panting behind her. For a moment, she paused before

Scarlett's closed door but Mammy hissed, "No'm, doan do dat."

Down the hall Melly went, more slowly now, and stopped in front of

Rhett's room. She stood irresolutely for a moment as though she

longed to take flight. Then, bracing herself, like a small soldier

going into battle, she knocked on the door and called softly:

"Please let me in, Captain Butler. It's Mrs. Wilkes. I want to

see Bonnie."

The door opened quickly and Mammy, shrinking back into the shadows

of the hall, saw Rhett huge and dark against the blazing background

of candles. He was swaying on his feet and Mammy could smell the

whisky on his breath. He looked down at Melly for a moment and

then, taking her by the arm, he pulled her into the room and shut

the door.

Mammy edged herself stealthily to a chair beside the door and sank