178.英文正文（178）

itwasstarting，itwasstartingatlast！theycoulddonothingexceptstandgazingintooneanother’seyes。***torunforlife，togetoutofthehousebeforeitwastoolate—nosuchthoughtoccurredtothem。unthinkabletodisobeytheironvoicefromthewall。therewasasnapasthoughacatchhadbeenturnedback，andacrashofbreakingglass。thepicturehadfallentotheflooruncoveringthetelescreenbehindit。

“nowtheycanseeus，”saidjulia。

“nowwecanseeyou，”saidthevoice。“standoutinthemiddleoftheroom。standbacktoback。claspyourhandsbehindyourheads。donottouchoneanother。”

theywerenottouching，butitseemedtohimthathecouldfeeljulia’sbodyshaking。orperhapsitwasmerelytheshakingofhisown。hecouldjuststophisteethfromchattering，buthiskneeswerebeyondhiscontrol。therewasasoundoftramplingbootsbelow，insidethehouseandoutside。theyardseemedtobefullofmen。somethingwasbeingdraggedacrossthestones。thewoman’ssinginghadstoppedabruptly。therewasalong，rollingclang，asthoughthewashtubhadbeenflungacrosstheyard，andthenaconfusionofangryshoutswhichendedinayellofpain。

“thehouseissurrounded，”saidwinston。

“thehouseissurrounded，”saidthevoice。

heheardjuliasnapherteethtogether。“isupposewemayaswellsaygood-bye，”shesaid。

“youmayaswellsaygood-bye，”saidthevoice。andthenanotherquitedifferentvoice，athin，cultivatedvoicewhichwinstonhadtheimpressionofhavingheardbefore，struckin；“andbytheway，whileweareonthesubject，‘herecomesacandletolightyoutobed，herecomesachoppertochopoffyourhead’！”