Excerpt from Cities of The Plain by Cormac McCarthy, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

When he walked back through the barn Billy was standing in the doorway.

Has he gone back to bed?

Yeah.

What was he doin' up?

He said he couldn't sleep. What were you?

Same thing. You?

Same thing.

Somethin' in the air I reckon.

I don't know.

What was he talkin about?

Just stuff.

What did he say?

I guess he said cattle could tell the difference between a flight of geese and a cat on fire.

Maybe you don't need to be hangin' around him so much.

You might be right.

You all seem to have a lot in common.

He ain't crazy, Billy.

Maybe. But I don't know as you'd be the first one I'd come to for an opinion about it.

I'm goin' to bed.

Night.

Night.

Use of this excerpt from Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy may be made only for purposes of promoting the book, with no changes, editing, or additions whatsoever, and must be accompanied by the following copyright notice: Copyright© 1998 by Cormac McCarthy. All rights reserved.