208.Chapter Eighteen（9）

“pain’sadelusion。”

“oh，isit？”saidthesavageand，pickingupathickhazelswitch，strodeforward。

themanfromthefordiansciencemonitormadeadashforhishelicopter。

afterthatthesavagewasleftforatimeinpeace。afewhelicopterscameandhoveredinquisitivelyroundthetower。heshotanarrowintotheimportunatelynearestofthem。itpiercedthealuminumfloorofthecabin；therewasashrillyell，andthemachinewentrocketingupintotheairwithalltheaccelerationthatitssuper-chargercouldgiveit。theothers，infuture，kepttheirdistancerespectfully。ignoringtheirtiresomehumming（helikenedhimselfinhisimaginationtooneofthesuitorsofthemaidenofmátsaki，unmovedandpersistentamongthewingedvermin），thesavagedugatwhatwastobehisgarden。afteratimetheverminevidentlybecameboredandflewaway；forhoursatastretchtheskyabovehisheadwasemptyand，butforthelarks，silent。

theweatherwasbreathlesslyhot，therewasthunderintheair。hehaddugallthemorningandwasresting，stretchedoutalongthefloor。andsuddenlythethoughtofleninawasarealpresence，nakedandtangible，saying“sweet！”and“putyourarmsroundme！”–inshoesandsocks，perfumed。impudentstrumpet！butoh，oh，herarmsroundhisneck，theliftingofherbreasts，hermouth！eternitywasinourlipsandeyes。lenina…no，no，no，no！hesprangtohisfeetand，halfnakedashewas，ranoutofthehouse。attheedgeoftheheathstoodaclumpofhoaryjuniperbushes。heflunghimselfagainstthem，heembraced，notthesmoothbodyofhisdesires，butanarmfulofgreenspikes。sharp，withathousandpoints，theyprickedhim。hetriedtothinkofpoorlinda，breathlessanddumb，withherclutchinghandsandtheunutterableterrorinhereyes。poorlindawhomhehadsworntoremember。butitwasstillthepresenceofleninathathauntedhim。leninawhomhehadpromisedtoforget。eventhroughthestabandstmgofthejuniperneedles，hiswincingfieshwasawareofher，unescapablyreal。“sweet，sweet…andifyouwantedmetoo，whydidn’tyou…”