The guard tugged at the brim of his cap. ‘Said, “Looks to be pretty, don’t it?”’ He smiled. ‘The weather, that’s what he was meaning. He always had something to say about the weather. I don’t think he knew about much of anything besides rain and shine, you know?’
‘Did he say anything else?’
‘I just kept walking,’ the guard said, and that was it.’
‘When did you see him the next time?’
‘Well, that must have been around six, I guess,’ the guard said. ‘That’s when I go looking around again.’
‘Where was Bluto then?’
‘In the pipe,’ the guard said. ‘I heard him carrying on down there. So I sort of peeped over the edge of that little gully and took a look.’
‘What was he doing?’
‘Sanging, that’s all,’ the guard said. ‘He loved to sang, that old boy.’
‘And he was in the pipe?’
‘Sitting in there by hisself, that’s right,’ the guard told him, ‘just a-sanging away.’
‘Did you speak to him?’
‘No.’
‘Did he say anything?’
‘I don’t figure he saw me,’ the guard said. I just took a quick little peep at him. I didn’t say nothing.’ He shrugged. ‘It was real hot that day, even after it got late, and so I wasn’t in no hurry to stand out there by them pipes and have a talk with Bluto.’
Ben took out his handkerchief and wiped his neck and face. ‘No, of course not,’ he said. ‘But you saw him again, right?’
‘Yeah, I did,’ the guard said. ‘Now this was later. ‘Bout nine at night. He come wandering right through the front gate, big as you please. It ’bout knocked my eyes out.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Well, he never come through the front gate before,’ the guard said. ‘He ain’t allowed to do that.’
‘How does he get in?’
‘They’s a place cut in the fence,’ the guard explained matter-of-factly.
‘Where?’
‘Right near the pipe,’ the guard said. ‘That’s how Bluto always comes and goes. He don’t use the front gate. It ain’t allowed.’
‘Except this last time,’ Ben said.
‘That’s right,’ the guard said. ‘This last time he just come right up. Says, “Well, boss, I’m going to town. Got to get back pretty soon, though.” Says, “I’m a-getting married.”’
‘Married?’
‘Plain as day, that’s what he says.’
‘Had he ever said anything like that before?’
‘Not to me, he hadn’t.’
‘Did you ever see him with a woman?’
‘Bluto? No, I never seen him with much of anybody,’ the guard said. ‘Matter of fact, I asked who the girl was. He said he didn’t know yet. So I said, “Well, where is she?” And Bluto, he just said, “She’s coming later,” and that was the last of it. He went right out the gate.’
‘And what time did you say this was?’
‘I’d put it right at nine o’clock.’
‘Did you see him come back?’
‘Yeah, I did,’ the guard said. ‘It was only about an hour later.’
‘Around ten?’
‘’Bout then,’ the guard said. He smiled. ‘And, my God, did that ole boy look happy.’
‘He came through the main gate?’
‘No, he didn’t,’ the guard said. ‘I figure he caught the way I looked at him when he done that before.’ He shook his head. ‘No, he didn’t use the gate no more. I guess he must have come back through the fence.’
‘Where did you see him?’
‘When I made my final rounds,’ the guard said, ‘I always say goodnight to him before I go home. That’s what I went over to the pipe for.’
‘Was he in the pipe?’
‘He was sort of cleaning it up,’ the guard said. ‘Straightening things out. He was sanging, too.’
‘Did he say anything?’
‘Said, “Hey, boss, what you think about my new TV?”’ the guard told Ben with a chuckle. ‘Somebody’d probably wanted that ole thing toted off, so they fooled him into thinking it’d work without no electricity or anything like that.’
‘And that’s the last you saw of him?’
‘That was it.’
‘Did you see anyone else around?’ Ben asked. ‘I mean, a girl maybe?’
The guard laughed. ‘A girl? What would a girl be doing around Bluto?’
‘The one he was talking about marrying,’ Ben explained.
The guard waved his hand. ‘Oh, that was just Bluto’s way of saying things. He didn’t have no sense when it come to talking to people.’
Ben straightened himself slowly. ‘That hole in the fence,’ he said. ‘The one he used. Where is that?’
‘Right close to the pipe,’ the guard said. ‘You want to go look at it?’
‘Yeah.’
The guard turned and pointed to the southeastern corner of the lot. ‘Right out there,’ he said. ‘You can’t miss it if you walk along the fence.’
‘Thanks,’ Ben said as he stepped out of the shade of the guardhouse and headed out across the flat dirt field.