206.英文正文（206）

“howmanyfingers，winston？”

“four。isupposetherearefour。iwouldseefiveificould。iamtryingtoseefive。”

“whichdoyouwish：topersuademethatyouseefive，orreallytoseethem？”

“reallytoseethem。”

“again，”saido’brien。

perhapstheneedlewaseighty—ninety。winstoncouldnotintermittentlyrememberwhythepainwashappening。behindhisscrewed-upeyelidsaforestoffingersseemedtobemovinginasortofdance，weavinginandout，disappearingbehindoneanotherandreappearingagain。hewastryingtocountthem，hecouldnotrememberwhy。heknewonlythatitwasimpossibletocountthem，andthatthiswassomehowduetothemysteriousidentitybetweenfiveandfour。thepaindieddownagain。whenheopenedhiseyesitwastofindthathewasstillseeingthesamething。innumerablefingers，likemovingtrees，werestillstreamingpastineitherdirection，crossingandrecrossing。heshuthiseyesagain。

“howmanyfingersamiholdingup，winston？”

“idon’tknow。idon’tknow。youwillkillmeifyoudothatagain。four，five，six—inallhonestyidon’tknow。”

“better，”saido’brien。

aneedleslidintowinston’sarm。almostinthesameinstantablissful，healingwarmthspreadallthroughhisbody。thepainwasalreadyhalf-forgotten。heopenedhiseyesandlookedupgratefullyato’brien。atsightoftheheavy，linedface，souglyandsointelligent，hisheartseemedtoturnover。ifhecouldhavemovedhewouldhavestretchedoutahandandlaiditono'brienarm。hehadneverlovedhimsodeeplyasatthismoment，andnotmerelybecausehehadstoppedthepain。theoldfeeling，thatitbottomitdidnotmatterwhethero’brienwasafriendoranenemy，hadcomeback。o’brienwasapersonwhocouldbetalkedto。perhapsonedidnotwanttobelovedsomuchastobeunderstood。o’brienhadtorturedhimtotheedgeoflunacy，andinalittlewhile，itwascertain，hewouldsendhimtohisdeath。itmadenodifference。insomesensethatwentdeeperthanfriendship，theywereintimates：somewhereorother，althoughtheactualwordsmightneverbespoken，therewasaplacewheretheycouldmeetandtalk。o’brienwaslookingdownathimwithanexpressionwhichsuggestedthatthesamethoughtmightbeinhisownmind。whenhespokeitwasinaneasy，conversationaltone。