【荆棘鸟】第二章 20

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Now what am I going to do with you?"

  Meggie gaped¹ at the tiny thing roaming blindly round Fee's bare skin in search of more hirsute² territory, then she began to weep. Without needing to be told, Frank got the copper³ going while Paddy paced up and down the kitchen roaring, his rage increasing every time he looked at Meggie. Finally he went to the row of hooks on the wall inside the back door, jammed his hat on his head and took the long horsewhip from its nail. "I'm going into Wahine, Fee, and I'm going to tell that blasted Dago what he can do with his slimy fish and chips! Then I'm going to see Sister Agatha and tell her what I think of her, allowing lousy children in her school!" "Paddy, be careful!" Fee pleaded. "What if it isn't the Eyetie girl? Even if she has lice, it's possible she might have got them from someone else along with Meggie."

  "Rot!" said Paddy scornfully. He pounded down-the back steps, and a few minutes later they heard his roan's hoofs⁴ beating down the road. Fee sighed, looking at Frank hopelessly.

  "Well, I suppose we'll be lucky if he doesn't land in jail. Frank, you'd better bring the boys inside. No school today."

  One by one Fee went through her sons' hair minutely, then checked Frank's head and made him do the same for her. There was no evidence that anyone else had acquired poor Meggie's malady⁵, but Fee did not intend to take chances. When the water in the huge laundry copper was boiling, Frank got the dish tub down from its hanging and filled it half with hot water and half with cold. Then he went out to the Bleed and fetched in an unopened five-gallon can of kerosene⁶, took a bar of lye soap from the laundry and started work on Bob. Each head was briefly⁷ damped in the tub, several cups of raw kerosene poured over it, and the whole draggled, greasy⁸ mess lathered⁹ with soap. The kerosene and lye burned; the boys howled and rubbed their eyes raw, scratching at their reddened, tingling¹⁰ scalps and threatening ghastly vengeance¹¹ on all Dagos.

  Fee went to her sewing basket and took out her big shears¹². She came back to Meggie, who had not dared to move from the stool though an hour and more had elapsed, and stood with the shears in her hand, staring at the beautiful fall of hair. Then she began to cut it snip¹³! snip!-until all the long curls were huddled¹⁴ in glistening¹⁵ heaps on the floor and Meggie's white skin was beginning to show in irregular patches all over her head. 

 

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