:51:05
Next to it was a folded sheet of paper.
:51:08
It was a map Tom had drawn.
:51:11
He had known where the bundle was
and had put it there.
:51:14
It showed the path across the mountain.
:51:17
And all the dangerous spots were
furnished with witty horrific little sketches.
:51:23
But there was more.
:51:25
Several people had the same idea.
They had eased gifts into the bundle for her.
:51:32
Jason's beloved little penknife lay there,
all polished and shiny.
:51:36
And a pie from Ma Ginger and Gloria.
And some clothing and matches, and a hymnal.
:51:43
Grace opened it at number 18, where Martha
always had trouble with fingering.
:51:49
And between the pages lay a dollar bill
Martha alone could not have afforded it.
:51:56
Grace had friends in Dogville.
That was for sure.
:52:01
Whether they were few or many did not matter a jot.
:52:05
Grace had bared her throat to the town
and it had responded with a great gift:
:52:10
with friends.
:52:17
No gangster could deprive her of this
meeting with the township,
no matter how many guns in the world.
:52:23
And should the strokes of the bell did not reach 15,
she knew now that she meant something to the town
:52:29
and that her stay had been of significance.
:52:32
Not much, perhaps, but nevertheless,
a trace she had left.
:52:38
And the first in her young life
in which she took pride.
:52:55
Grace stiffened as the bell began its toll.