191.英文正文(191)
thechinlessmandroppedthepieceofbreadonthefloor。
“remainstandingwhereyouare,”saidthevoice。“facethedoor。makenomovement。”
thechinlessmanobeyed。hislargepouchycheekswerequiveringuncontrollably。thedoorclangedopen。astheyoungofficerenteredandsteppedaside,thereemergedfrombehindhimashortstumpyguardwithenormousarmsandshoulders。hetookhisstandoppositethechinlessman,andthen,atasignalfromtheofficer,letfreeafrightfulblow,withalltheweightofhisbodybehindit,fullinthechinlessman’smouth。theforceofitseemedalmosttoknockhimclearofthefloor。hisbodywasflungacrossthecellandfetchedupagainstthebaseofthelavatoryseat。foramomenthelayasthoughstunned,withdarkbloodoozingfromhismouthandnose。averyfaintwhimperingorsqueaking,whichseemedunconscious,cameoutofhim。thenherolledoverandraisedhimselfunsteadilyonhandsandknees。amidastreamofbloodandsaliva,thetwohalvesofadentalplatefelloutofhismouth。
theprisonerssatverystill,theirhandscrossedontheirknees。thechinlessmanclimbedbackintohisplace。downonesideofhisfacethefleshwasdarkening。hismouthhadswollenintoashapelesscherry-colouredmasswithablackholeinthemiddleofit。
fromtimetotimealittleblooddrippedontothebreastofhisoveralls。hisgreyeyesstillflittedfromfacetoface,moreguiltilythanever,asthoughheweretryingtodiscoverhowmuchtheothersdespisedhimforhishumiliation。