第9部分(第1/7 页)

There　was　no　broom　by　the　duty　desk；　but　there　was　a　rolling　mop…bucket　with　the　mop　still　in　the　wringer；　I'd　taken　my　turn　at　swabbing　the　green　lino　and　all　six　of　the　cells　shortly　before　sitting　down　to　the　record…box　with　Dean。　I　saw　that　Dean　meant　to　grab　the　mop…　and　take　a　swing　with　it。　I　touched　his　wrist　just　as　his　fingers　touched　the　slender　wooden　handle。　〃Leave　it　be；〃　I　said。

He　shrugged　and　drew　his　hand　back。　I　had　a　feeling　he　didn't　want　to　swat　it　any　more　than　I　did。

Brutal　tore　a　corner　off　his　corned…beef　sandwich　and　held　it　out　over　the　front　of　the　desk；　tweezed　delicately　between　two　fingers。　The　mouse　seemed　to　look　up　with　an　even　livelier　interest；　as　if　it　knew　exactly　what　it　was。　Probably　did；　I　could　see　its　whiskers　twitch　as　its　nose　wriggled。

〃Aw；　Brutal；　no！〃　Dean　exclaimed；　then　looked　at　me。　〃Don't　let　him　do　that；　Paul！　If　he's　gonna　feed　the　damn　thing；　we　might　as　well　put　out　the　wele　mat　for　anything　on　four　legs。…〃

〃I　just　want　to　see　what　he'll　do；〃　Brutal　said。　〃In　the　interests　of　science；　like。〃　He　looked　at　me　…　I　was　the　boss；　even　in　such　minor　detours　from　routine　as　this。　I　thought　about　it　and　shrugged　like　it　didn't　matter　much；　one　way　or　another。　The　truth　was；　I　kind　of　wanted　to　see　what　he'd　do；　too。

Well；　he　ate　it　…　of　course。　There　was　a　Depression　on；　after　all。　But　the　way　he　ate　it　fascinated　us　all。　He　approached　the　fragment　of　sandwich；　sniffed　his　way　around　it；　and　then　he　sat　up　in　front　of　it　like　a　dog　doing　a　trick；　grabbed　it；　and　pulled　the　bread　apart　to　get　at　the　meat。　He　did　it　as　deliberately　and　knowingly　as　a　man　tucking　into　a　good　roast…beef　dinner　in　his　favorite　restaurant。　I　never　saw　an　animal　eat　like　that；　not　even　a　well…trained　house