:09:03
Bill might have been right.
:09:04
It hadn't exactly rained gifts
on this particular township.
:09:45
There was no doubt in his mind.
:09:48
They were gun shots.
:09:50
The pile driver in the marshes
didn't sound like that at all.
:09:54
The shots had come from down in the valley,
:09:56
or perhaps from Canyon Road some place
in the direction of Georgetown.
:10:02
He listened for more shots for ages.
But they were not repeated.
:10:11
A tad disappointed, Tom sat down
on the old lady's bench to think,
:10:16
to hang onto the feeling of danger
for a moment.
:10:20
But it wasn't long before his thoughts
were back on his favorite subjects again,
:10:25
and in the midst of the storm they metamorphosed
into articles and novels and great gatherings
:10:31
that'd listen in silence to Tom after the publication
of yet another volume that scourged and purged the human soul.
:10:39
And he saw men,
and among them even other writers,
:10:43
throw their arms round one another as,
through his words, life had opened up for them anew.
:10:50
It hadn't been easy.
:10:52
But by his diligence and application
to narrative and drama his message had gotten through,
:10:59
and asked about his technique he would
have to say but one word: