Chapter 11 eleven

I want to see Phineas, and I want to see Phineas alone.With him there was no conflict, except in sports, a conflict inspired by the Greek spirit, an Olympic conflict in which victory went to whoever was strongest in body and mind.This is the only conflict he has always believed in. When I returned to school, I found him having a snowball fight at a place called the Outfield.In German, the open fields between the buildings are carefully given the British names Central Common, Far Common, Playing Field, Outfield.This last place lies beyond the gymnasium, the tennis court, the creek, the stadium by the woods.However British the name of the outfield may be, in my mind it belongs to early America, stretching northwards along the stretches of forest into the vast northern wilderness.I found Finny playing and typing (the two words are almost the same thing to him) at the edge of the woods, and I stood there wondering if the situation was It will be simpler and better.There would be the depths of the Arctic, a wooded peninsula that begins in Devon and ends in a small untouched pine forest, simple and beautiful.

There was no such grove, I know now, but on the mornings I returned to Devon I imagined that it might be on the horizon in sight, or on a horizon beyond that horizon. A few of the snowball fighters paused to shout hello to me, but no one stopped to ask how Leper was doing.But I know I'm wrong to be here, and someone will ask any moment. The game was apparently initiated by Feeney.Who else could induce twenty men to come to the remotest part of the school and throw snowballs at each other?I can only think of him, at the end of his ten o'clock class, organizing the snowball fight with his unhurried authority, and his demeanor when it occurred to him to engage in something particularly absurd. There will always be this unhurried authority.They're all here now, the elite of the school, the leaders of the fourth grade.Brinker speaks well, has a high IQ, wears expensive leather shoes; everyone throws snowballs at each other.

I hesitated at the edge of the battlefield, that is, the edge of the woods.My heart is so confused, I don't know whether I should join this side or the other side.So I glanced at my watch, then dramatically brought a hand to my mouth, as if remembering something urgent and important, and I repeated the gesture several times in case anyone missed it, with this wordless explanation , I quickly went back and walked towards the center of the school.A snowball hit me on the back of the head.Followed by Finny's voice: You stay with us, even if you can't hit right.We need another person.Even you.He walked towards me, without a cane now, and the fresh plaster cast on his leg was so much smaller and lighter, that if you were an ordinary person, you would hardly notice the limp.Finny's body, however, is so well coordinated that any slight flaw is glaring; there is a break in his flowing gait, as brief as a drumbeat, Taking a step, he forgot where he was going for an instant.

How about Leper?he asked casually. Ah, what about Lepper?You know the Leper fight was coming toward us; I stalled a little while, and a snowball hit Finny on the cheek, and he hurled one back, and I grabbed the ammo off the ground, and we both went into the fight. One knocked me down; I drove Brinker up a small slope; one tried to grab me from behind.There was life everywhere in the clothes, something alive in the ripped wool, in the flannel, in the corduroy.I have forgotten the existence of this thing, and it is it, not the first thrush, or the first bud, or the first leaf, that brings the spring to me.I always welcome the vibrancy, energy and heat that emanate from thick, sturdy winter clothing.It cheers me up, but I keep thinking about this coming spring, and wondering if khakis, tans, or any uniform of that season might have this hopeful smell in them too.I feel fairly certain that it doesn't exist.

The situation on the battlefield is changing.Finny enlisted me and the others as an ally, so a two-way showdown was taking shape.Suddenly, he turned his fire on me, he betrayed his friends; he defected temporarily to the other side, Brinker's side, but his short-term betrayal was enough to increase the confusion.Loyalty turns into a desperate melee.No one wins and no one loses.In the chaos, Brinker no longer wanted to be a commander-in-chief. He became as cunning as an Arab and scheming as a eunuch.Our battle ended in the only possible way; everyone attacked Phineas.Gradually, the smile on his face became bigger and bigger, and under a blizzard of snowballs, he was knocked down.

When he surrendered, I happily leaned over to help him up, grabbed his wrist, and prevented him from throwing the last snowball prepared cunningly. Traveling Hitler Youth.We all laughed.On the way back to the gym, he said: A good fight.I think it's funny, what do you think? A few hours later, I remembered to ask him: Do you think you should participate in such a snowball fight?after all, your legs Stempel did say not to fall again, but I was very careful. Gosh, please don't break it again! No, I certainly wouldn't snap it off again.Aren't bones stronger when they grow back together where they were broken?

Yes, I think so. I think so too.In fact, I think I can feel it getting firmer. Do you think you can feel it?You really feel it? Yes, I think so. Thank goodness. What? I'm saying it's good. Yes, I think so.I think it's really good. After dinner that night, Brinker came to our house to pay us a formal visit.By this time of year, our room was showing signs of weariness, the kind of place where two people who don't like cleaning live for too long.In the room, we had a little bed on each side, which was slumped under the pink and brown covers.The discolored white walls expressed two forgotten interests: above Feeney's cot were Scotch-taped newspaper photographs of Roosevelt and Churchill meeting (the two most important old men, he explained, gathered together to make up what to tell us about the war next).Above my little bed were already taped photographs that together amounted to a brazen lie about my origins: plantation mansions, moonlit moss-covered trees, winding through Dirt road with small black houses.When people ask me about these pictures, I've picked up an accent from a town three states south of where I'm from, and I don't actually say anything, I just pass on the impression that this is who I am hometown.But now, I no longer need this vivid false identity; I feel that I am now gaining a real sense of authority and worth that is grow up.

How about Leper?Brinker asked as soon as he entered the door. Yes, said Phineas, I was just about to ask you. Leiper?Ah, he's back from the army.But I've grown to hate having to mislead people.In fact, Leper did not leave the team on vacation, he just left the team himself. Leiper?They both exclaimed together. Yes, I shrug, Leper.Lepper is no longer the little bunny we used to know. No one has changed so much.said Brinker in his grim new air. Feeney said: Dare I say, he just doesn't like the military very much.How could he like it?Why does he like it? Phineas, said Brinker indignantly, please don't tell us your childish world situation at this moment.He said to me: Leper is too scared to stay, is he?

I squinted my eyes, as if thinking about it.Finally I finally said: Yes, I think you can explain it that way. He was terrified. I didn't say anything. He must be out of his mind, said Brinker gallantly, to have done such a thing.I bet he's broke, right?That's how things really are.Leper found he couldn't stand the military.I've heard of such people.They don't get up with others in the morning.Just lay there and cry.I bet that's the case with Leper.He looks at me.Right? Yes, it is. Brinker is so full of energy that he approaches, almost with enthusiasm, the truth that I spilled on him without much apprehension.As soon as the truth was in his hands, he ground it to powder.Damn.I'm so goddamn.Old Leper.Little Leper.Little Lepper from Vermont.He can't fight at all.Someone should have thought of that when he asked to enlist.Poor old Leper.How is he doing?

Crying all the time. Ah my gosh.What happened to our class?Before June, two people had quit because of this extraordinary period. Two people? Brinker hesitated briefly.Isn't Finny one of them? Yes, Phineas agrees in his deepest and most musical voice, and I'm one of them. Feeney didn't quit.I said. Of course he quit. Yes, I quit. You didn't quit anything!I don't know if my face matches the sincerity in my voice it's just this shitty war you're quitting this impostor this made up by old men I can't help but look at Finny as I talk so it's not enough confidence.I waited for him to pick it up, to unravel again his story of scheming politicians and deluded publics, his big joke, his stand alone in the world.He sat on his cot with his elbows on his legs and his head bowed.He lifted his wide-set eyes, a quick smile broke into his face, and then faded away, and he murmured: Yes, there is no war at all.

This is one of the few ironies Phineas utters with which he quietly ends his particular invention that has carried us through this winter.Now the facts are re-established, and all fantasies evaporate, just like the 1944 Olympics, which were over before they even started. In Devon, there was hardly anything left that did not involve signing up for war.The only off-topic activities and uninvolved fantasies were methodically picked up by Brinker.Every day in the chapel, the conditions of V|Twelve are announced, which is the officer training course that the Navy runs in many colleges and universities.It sounded very safe, almost like peaceful times, almost like just continuing on to college normally.It's popular, too; group after group of people as many as tank landing craft crews are joining, and nearly everyone who can afford it is joining, except for some who want to fly, choose the paratroopers, or participate in some Someone named V|Five Training Program.And there are special people whose very capable fathers wish to send them to Naval Academy in Annapolis, or West Point, or Coast Guard Academy, or even the stuttering Merchant Marine School that this choice unexpectedly stutters .Devon is traditionally and by choice the most demilitarized school, and both teachers and students deal with the burly recruiters who keep appearing on campus with a nervous gallantry.There is no latent snobbery in us; neither do we find it in them.Only because we can sense a deep, unadulterated difference between us and them, a difference that everyone tries clumsily to bridge.It's as if the Athenians and Spartans were trying not only to end the war, but to form an alliance. Although we are not as peaceful as the Athenians, they are not as valiant as the Spartans. We are also less heroic than the Spartans.There's no such rush to the battlefield, no one seems to feel the need to be an infantryman, only a few people are talking about the Marines.What is needed is to be cautious and save yourself.This will be a protracted battle.I heard that Quackenbusch had two chances at military school and was well prepared to join V|Twelve, and there was a dental school waiting for him if need be. I didn't take any action myself.I don't feel like I can do it unchecked, and I don't know why.Brinker is accelerating the transition from absolute to relative virtue, proposing one plan after another, each further out of combat than the last.But I didn't do anything. One morning in the chapel, after a naval officer had turned many heads with his frigate-style speech, in the outer foyer Brinker put his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me through the door A nearby room is used for piano practice.The room was soundproof, and he slammed the cellar-like door behind him. You've been putting off joining a certain branch for just one reason, he said right away, and you know it in your own mind, don't you? No, I don't know. Ah, I know, let me tell you how it is.It's for Finny, you pity him. pity him! Yes, pity him.If you're not careful, he'll feel sorry for himself too.Nobody ever lifted his leg to him except me.If this continues, maybe one day he will fall into self-pity.Everyone is dodging, what's the use?He's limping, that's what it is.He's got to accept that, and he's never going to accept the truth unless we start taking it very naturally, and even poking fun at him about it now and then. You're so wrong, I can't even I can't even understand you, you're so wrong. Ah, that's what I was going to do anyway. No, you can't do that. forget it.I don't have to get your approval, do I? I'm his roommate, I'm his best friend You were there when it happened, I know that.I don't care about that.Don't forget, he gave me a sharp look, you have a stake in it yourself.I mean, if all the doubts about Feeney's accident are cleared up and forgotten about, you know, it's only good for you. I felt like my face was contorted, like when Finny was really angry.What do you mean by that? I don't know, he shrugged, giggling subduedly, no one knows.Then put on a straight face and added: Only you know.His mouth closed in a straight line without expression, and he stopped talking. I don't know what Brinker will say or do.He will always understand and do whatever he thinks of, because he is sure that whatever he thinks of is right.In the closed worlds of the Golden Fleece Debating Society and the local chapter of the Fraternity Society for Disenfranchised Children, this did not cause any problems.But now, I worry that this simplistic way of doing things is too direct. I walked out of the chapel and found that Finny was in our dormitory building, blocking the stairs. Anyone who wanted to go upstairs had to sing "The Mighty Fortress Is Our God" under his command.Never has a man who was not good at discerning pitch loved music so much.His faults, I think, only widened his range of appreciation; he liked everything Beethoven indiscriminately, and the latest love ditties, jazz, carols, to Phineas' ears, were all pleasant to the ear. Our savior God, in the flood, overwhelms all disasters in the world!The sound floated across the public lawn to the rhythm of a football march. It's all good, says Feeney at last, the rhythm, the beat, everything.But I can't determine your pitch.It should be half a tone off, if I make an evaluation on the spot. The two of us went back to our room and I sat down and helped him translate Caesar because he had to finally pass Latin this year or he wouldn't be able to graduate.I think I translate pretty well. Is there anything exciting happening right now? This part is interesting, I say, if I understand correctly.It was about a raid. Read it to me. Ah, let's see.So it began, that Caesar, noticing that the enemy had been standing still for days in the camp, protected by swamps and natural terrain, sent a letter to Treponius ordering him to These words are not actually written in the text, but it is understandable; you know that. Of course, read on. Order him to lead a long-distance rapid march and rush to him as soon as possible. This here of course refers to Caesar's here. Feeney looked at me with great interest and said, Of course. Ordered him to lead three legions, and haste over long distances, to come to him as soon as possible; and he himself, Caesar, ordered the cavalry to withstand any surprise attack of the enemy.When the Gauls learned of the situation, they scattered a select group of infantry in an ambush; this infantry attacked our cavalry, killed Verticus at the head, and followed the rout to our camp. I think Mr. Horn would call this a vague translation.What does it mean? Caesar didn't play very well. But he won in the end. certainly.I stop abruptly if you mean the whole battle, he won it, if you really think there was a Gallic war then Caesar, from the beginning, was a historical figure that Phineas absolutely refused to believe in.Indulging in the old sesame rotten millet more than two thousand years ago, mastering a dead language, understanding a dead empire, the scourge and boring of boys' school students, he thinks that Caesar is not so much a Roman tyrant as a German tyrant.Phineas experienced a genuine personal envy of Caesar, and he believed that Caesar, Rome, and Latin never existed, so he was especially angry if you really thought there was a Caesar.I said. Feeney got up from the cot and picked up his cane as an afterthought.He was looking at me weirdly, and I thought he was about to burst into a big laugh.Naturally, I don't believe in books, and I don't believe in the teacher. He took a few steps forward, but I believe in you. For me, it is very important to believe in you.Gosh, I at least have to trust you.I know you better than anyone.I said nothing and waited.You tell me about Leper, that he's crazy.Let’s just admit it.Leper is crazy.When I heard about Leper, I knew the war was real, this war and all wars.If a war can drive people crazy, then it must be real.Ah, I think I've always known that, but I won't admit it.He put his foot next to me on the cot I was sitting on, in a small plaster cast with metal bars for walking on the bottom.To tell you the truth, I wasn't entirely convinced even of you when you told me about Leper.Of course I believe you, he added hastily, but you know, you're one of those neurotic types, and I thought maybe your imagination was fired up a little bit in Vermont.I thought maybe he wasn't as messed up as you described.Finny's face was trying to prepare me for what he had to say next.Later I saw him with my own eyes. I look away in disbelief, did you see Leper? I saw him at school this morning, after coming out of chapel.He, but nothing fired my imagination, and I saw Leper hiding in the bushes by the chapel.I slipped out the side door, stealthily, as I always do, and I saw Leper, who must have seen me too.He didn't say a word.He looked at me like I was a gorilla, and headed into Mr. Carhart's office. He must be crazy.The words came out of my mouth, and my eyes met Finny's involuntarily.We both burst out laughing together. There is nothing we can do about it.he said sadly. I don't want to see him, I murmured.Then, trying to be more responsible, does anyone else know he's here? I don't think so. There's not much we can do, maybe Carhart or Dr. Stempel can do something.Let's not tell anyone about it, because they only scare Leper, and Leper scares them. Anyway, said Feeney, and then I knew there was a real war. Yes, I think there really is a war going on.But I like what you said better. Me too. I really hope you haven't found out yet.Why did you find out!We laughed again and glanced at each other guiltily, like two people who have been through a big orgy and meet at a tea party at the Vicar's and laugh together again.Ah, he said, you're doing pretty well Olympic. You are the greatest news analyst ever. Did you realize that you won every gold medal in every event in the Olympics?No one in history has achieved such an achievement. You beat all the newspapers in the world and published every piece of news.The sun played among the millions of motes that hung between us, casting an unsteady glare on the floor.No one has ever successfully done anything like this before. At ten past five that evening Brinker and his three accomplices came noisily into our room.Come with us.he said flatly. It's too late, I said, where to go?Finny said at the same time with great interest. You will know when you get there.Take them both away.His friends tugged and shoved us down the stairs.I figured it must be some kind of prank behind the scenes, and our senior class was leaving Devon with a lot of buzz.Are we going to steal the tongue of the school clock, or tie up a cow in the chapel? They took us to the first floor which burned down and rebuilt several times, but is still called the first floor of the Devon School.There are only classrooms in the building, so at this hour, the building is completely empty, which makes us even more sneaky.When we reached the gate, Brinker's keychain from his shift cadre jingled softly.Above us, it is written fluently in Latin: where boys become men of accomplishment. The lock is opened; we step inside, into the dubious reality of a hall familiar to us only by day and by its tumult.Our steps land guiltily on the marble floor.We continued through the foyer to a dreamy row of windows, turned left, climbed a flight of pale marble steps, turned left again, and walked through two doors into the conference hall.From the high ceiling hung a famous German chandelier, and all the shining crystal beads were emitting a faint light.Row after row of early American black benches lined up vacantly in the back, through the shadows, to the long blurred windows.In the front of the conference hall, there is a raised platform with a railing in front of the platform.About ten fourth-year students sat on the stage; all of them were wearing their black graduation gowns.It was going to be some sort of boys' masquerade, I thought, some kind of masquerade with masks and candles. You all saw that Phineas was limping.Brinker said aloud as we walked in.His voice was so hoarse and loud that I couldn't help but startle me and I wanted to punch him.Phineas looked confused.Sit down, Brinker went on, sit down.We took our seats on the first row of benches, along with eight or nine other people, giggling uneasily at the students on the stage. Whatever Brinker was going to do, I think he picked a lousy place to do it anyway.There isn't any fun in the conference hall.I can recall staring numbly at the elms in the central lawn outside these windows a hundred times.These windows now showed the gathered darkness of night, lifeless, blind and deaf.Large swaths of the walls were tarnished with canvases, all painted portraits: the dead principals, a founder or two of the school, some forgotten teacher leaders, a beloved a sports coach, a lady whom we don't know whose fortune greatly rebuilt the school; an obscure poet who, it was thought, was doomed, under the school's aegis, to be understood largely only by future generations; The now-unsung hero, in the uniform of the First World War in which he died, appears to be acting. It occurred to me that any kind of mischief would be dull in this place. This hall is used for big lectures, debates, plays and concerts; it has the worst sound quality in the whole school.I couldn't hear what Brinker was saying.He was standing on the polished marble floor in front of us, but facing the platform, talking to the boys behind the railing.I heard him say the word investigation to them, what jury calls What are you nagging about?I said in this ambiguity. No idea, Phineas replied curtly. When Brinker turned to us he was saying: Blame it.Let's start with a short prayer.He paused for a moment, eyed us with the wide-eyed speculative air Mr. Carhart always used at times like this, and added in Mr. Carhart's urbane whisper: "Pray." Immediately and without thinking we fall into an unsightly curl, leaning forward with our elbows on our knees, which is how we confide in God in Devon.Brinker has caught us at a point when it's too late to escape, as he quickly says the Lord's Prayer.If when Brinker says pray, I say go to hell, maybe everything will be saved. The prayer ended with a hesitant, forced solemn silence, and then Brinker said: Phineas, please.Feeney shrugged, stood up, and walked to the center, between us and the table.Brinker took an armchair from behind the rail and politely offered Finny to sit on it.State it now in your own words.He said. What my own words?Phineas said he was grimacing at Brinker with his best you're a fool expression. I know you haven't formed your own opinion yet, said Brinker with a benevolent smile, so put it in Gene's words. What can I say?saying you?I have a lot to say on this topic. I have nothing to talk about, and Brinker solemnly looks around the room, seeking approval that you are the one who is hurt. Brinker, Finny began in a suppressed voice I couldn't make out, are you out of your mind or something? No, Brinker said mildly, it was Leper, our other out-of-combatant, who was deranged.It's your business that we're investigating tonight. What the hell are you talking about!I interrupted suddenly. Investigate Finny's accident!He said it as if it were the most natural, most self-evident, most unavoidable thing to do. I feel blood rushing to my head.After all, Brinker continued, there is a war going on.We have lost a soldier.We must find out what happened. For the record, one of the guys on the stage said, you agree, Gene? I told Brinker this morning, I said in a guilty trembling voice, that I think this war is the greatest As I said, Brinker's voice is full of authority and very well controlled, it's for Finny's good, and then adds a little heartfelt timbre, and by the way, it's also for the good of you, Gene, we should put everything Say it all.We don't want any mysteries, rumors, or doubts at the end of the year, right? A collective assent to the statement rumbled through the hazy atmosphere of the conference hall. What are you talking about!Finny's musical voice was full of contempt, what rumors, what doubts? Never mind that, Brinker said, with a responsible gravitas on his face.He likes it, I thought bitterly, imagining himself as the embodiment of justice, holding the scales.He forgot that the personification of justice must not only hold the scales, but also be blindfolded.Why don't you use your own words to tell us what happened?Brinker continued.Even silence us all, if you want that.We are not trying to make you feel bad.Just tell us.You know, we don't ask you without a good reason and many good reasons. No comment. No comment?Brinker watched keenly the small plaster cast on Finny's calf and the cane he held between his knees. Ah, at that time, I fell from the tree. Why?said one of the people on the table.The sound quality was so bad and the lighting was so dim I could barely make out who was speaking, except for Finny and Brinker, who were alone on the wide marble floor between us on the bench and the others on the stage. between people. Why?Phineas repeated, because I stumbled. You lost your balance?The voice continued to ask. Yes, Finny replied darkly, I'm off balance. You're better at keeping your balance than anyone else on campus. Thanks. I don't say this to compliment you. Well, no thanks. Did it ever occur to you that you didn't just fall off a tree. This touches on an interesting point that Phineas has mulled over for a long time.I could sense it because the stubborn, defiant look faded from his face when his mind first came to life.He said: "Although it is very ridiculous, I have always had a feeling since then that the tree did it by itself.It was an impression I had, as if the tree itself had shaken me off. The sound quality in the conference hall was so poor that the silence itself became a hum. There are other people in the tree, right? No, Finny said spontaneously, I don't think so.He's looking at the ceiling, is there?Maybe someone was climbing up the pegs on the trunk.I can't remember. This time the hum of silence lasted to a point where, if the silence didn't end, I'd have to fill it with some kind of sound.At this time another person spoke from the stage: Someone told me, Gene.forest was at Feeney was on the scene, and Brinker interrupted him dignifiedly, knowing the situation better than anyone. Are you there, Gene?The new voice on the stage continued. Yes, I said with interest, yes, I was there. are you near a tree Finny turned to me.You're under the tree, right?he asked, not in the formal courtroom tone he had just used, but in a friend's voice. I've been scrutinizing the wrinkles in my hands when they're clenched together, but I'm still able to look up and meet his inquiring gaze back.Under the tree, yes. Feeney continued: Did you see the tree shake?He blushed a little at asking what he seemed to think was an absurd question.I've been meaning to ask you, just for fun. I'm thinking about it, I don't remember this happening stupid question.he muttered. I think you are on a tree.The voice on the table interjected. That's right, Finny giggled exaggeratedly, of course I'm in the tree, you mean Gene?Did he not mean that, or that Finny was at a loss between me and my interrogator with a sort of bewildered honesty. I mean Gene.said the voice. Of course Feeney's in the tree, I said.But I can't keep the confusion going, I'm under a tree, or maybe climbing a peg How could he remember?Finny snapped, and then there was a mess. Once, when I was eleven, a kid I used to play with was hit by a car, Brinker said earnestly, I remember all the details of the accident, where I stood, what color the sky was, I will never forget the sound of the car braking. You and I are two different people.I said. No one has accused you of anything.Brinker replied in a strange tone. Of course no one accused me Don't argue, his voice is trying to win a difficult compromise, full of warnings, but also trying not to attract the attention of others. Yes, we are not accusing you.A boy on the table said calmly.By this time I had been charged. Now I remember!Finny said suddenly, his eyes bright and relieved.Yes, I remember seeing you standing on the bank.You're looking up and your hair is plastered to your forehead so you're like the goof you always have when you've been in the water and what did you say?Don't just stand there posing, or one of those dude wisecracks you always say.He is very happy.I thought I was going to pose to annoy you even more, and I said, what did I say?Seems like it's about the two of us right, I said let's do a tandem because I thought, if we danced together, it would be something no one had ever done before, hand in hand with a jump and then like Someone slapped him suddenly.No, I am on earth when I say this to you.I said this to you on the ground, and then the two of us climbed up together and he stopped suddenly. You two, the boy on the table picks up his words hoarsely, start climbing the tree together, right?而他剛才說他站在地上。 或者是站在木釘上！我大聲喊叫，我說過，我也許是在木釘上！ 還有誰在場？布林克爾輕聲說，萊珀．萊佩利爾也在場，對吧？ 是的，有人說，萊珀也在場。 萊珀一向是那種能記住細節的人，布林克爾繼續說，他可以告訴大家誰站在什麼地方、誰穿什麼衣服、那天的所有談話，以及天氣如何。他可以澄清一切，太可惜了。 沒人說任何話。菲尼亞斯一直一動不動地坐著，身體微微前傾，與我們在德文祈禱的姿勢差不太多。過了好一會兒，他轉過身，不情願地看著我。我沒回視他的目光，也沒動，沒說話。隨後，菲尼終於從他祈禱的姿勢中緩緩挺直身體，彷彿這對他來說很痛苦。萊珀就在學校，他說，他的聲音那麼輕，但卻充滿了他自己所沒意識到的恬靜的高貴，我突然間覺得他非常陌生。今天早上我看見他進卡哈特博士的辦公室了。 就在學校！把他找來，布林克爾立刻對那兩個和我們一起來的男孩子說，如果他還沒回家，就一定在卡哈特的房間裡。 我繼續沉默著。然而，我心裡卻在飛快地做出幾個自動的推斷：萊珀不會造成威脅，沒人會相信萊珀；萊珀瘋掉了，他神智不健全，神智不健全的人無法表達自己的意願，所以也就無法在這樣的事情中作證。 兩個男孩子離開，氣氛立刻明快了。已經採取了行動，所以這整樁事情現在就可以放一放了。有人開始拿橄欖球隊的頭兒奇蹟隊長開心，說他身穿這身畢業袍顯得多麼娘娘氣。腳穿十二號鞋的奇蹟隊長為我們扭扭捏捏地走起了碎步，他的袍子在他的大屁股上喝醉酒似的前後甩動。有一個人用紅天鵝絨窗簾把自己裹起來，像個外國間諜似的從中向外窺視。有一個人在發表一篇長篇講演，列舉今天晚上我們每一項違犯校規之舉；還有一個人也在講演，在表明通過精心的策劃我們如何可以在天亮之前弄垮其他人。 但是雖然會議廳的音質不好，可房間外面的聲音卻聽得相當清楚。當第一個人，那就是我自己，聽到腳步聲沿著大理石樓梯和走廊向我們接近時，幾秒鐘之內所有的談話和胡鬧就全都停了下來。人還沒進門，我就絕對弄清楚了，走過來的是三個人的腳步。 萊珀在其他兩個人前面走進。他的樣子出奇的好，他滿面紅光，眼睛明亮，舉手投足都精神抖擻。how?他用清晰的聲音說，這聲音甚至在這個房間裡都引起了迴響，我能為你們做些什麼？他這滿懷信心的話語差不多就是對仍獨自坐在中央的菲尼亞斯說的，雖說也並不完全是。菲尼嘟囔了些什麼，他的話對萊珀來說太猶豫了，於是萊珀以極為雄赳赳的姿勢轉向布林克爾。布林克爾開始以一種受人關注者那故意裝出的漫不經心神態對他講話。逐漸的，三個人進來時房間裡重新掀起的嘈雜聲再次消退了。 布林克爾做到了這個。他並不提高嗓音，反之，他讓四下裡的嘈雜聲逐漸平息，這樣一來，他的聲音不用自己這一方的任何加重，便在這接踵而至的寂靜中突出了出來這麼說你站在河邊，看著菲尼亞斯爬樹？他在說，並且等待著，我知道，他在等待著寂靜來發揮作用。 Yes.就在樹幹邊上。我抬頭張望，太陽幾乎沉下去了，我記得陽光如何照在我眼睛上。 所以你無法我忍不住開口道。 出現了一個短暫的停頓，在這停頓中，所有的耳朵而不是眼睛，都轉向了我，隨後布林克爾繼續說：你看見了什麼？陽光照在你眼睛上，你還能看見什麼嗎？ 啊，當然能，萊珀用他那新的信心十足的假聲音說，我稍稍遮住了一點眼睛，像這樣，他演示如何在眼睛上方手搭涼棚，然後我就能看見了。我可以清清楚楚看見他們兩個，因為陽光照亮了他倆的全部輪廓，他的聲音中出現了某種唱歌般的真摯，彷彿他在試圖吸引住小孩子們的興趣似的，陽光從他倆身邊射出，數百萬根光芒從他倆身邊射出，就像就像金色的機關槍射擊。他停頓了一會兒，讓我們去琢磨這句話語那極具揭示性的準確。就是那個樣子，如果你想知道的話。他們兩個黑得就像是黑得就像是高高站在上邊的死神，周邊烈焰熊熊。 人人都能夠聽出來，不是嗎？他聲音中的那種前言不搭後語。人人都一定能夠看出他的自信有多虛假。連傻瓜都看得出來。但是不論我說什麼，都會是一種不打自招；其他人都不得不為我接下去說。 高高地站在哪兒？布林克爾粗魯地說，高高地站在上邊，這上邊是哪兒？ 樹杈上啊！萊珀生氣了，這種這不是明擺著的嗎的口氣將會使他所說過的話在他們心中大打折扣；他們會知道，他以前絕不是這樣的，他已經變了，他是不負責任的。 誰在樹杈上？他們倆是一前一後嗎？ of course. 誰在前面？ 萊珀滑稽地微笑。這我可看不出來。只有兩個身影，那麼多火焰從他倆身邊射出，他倆黑得就像是 這你已經告訴過我們了。你看不出誰在前面？ 是的，我自然看不出。 但是你看得出他倆是怎麼站著的，他倆具體在什麼位置？ 其中的一個挨近樹幹，扶著樹幹。我絕不會忘記這個，因為這棵樹也是一個大黑影，他的手扶在黑樹幹上，穩住自己，希望你明白我的意思，在他們高高站立的明亮火焰中，扶住某個固體的東西。另一個人在樹杈上稍遠些的地方。 然後怎樣了？ 然後他倆都動了。 怎麼個動法？ 他倆動了，現在萊珀在微笑，一個迷人的、有點拱形的微笑，就像是一個知道自己要說出更為聰明的話的孩子，他倆動得像一臺機器。 在令人困惑的寂靜中，我開始緩緩地挺直身體。 像一臺機器！布林克爾的表情就像是在驚訝與憎惡之間掙扎。 我想不起來那種機器的名字。但是它有兩個活塞。這是什麼機器來著？啊，不管怎麼說，在這種機器中，第一個活塞降下來，然後第二個降下來。那個扶著樹幹的人降下來片刻，上上下下像個活塞，然後另一個人降下來，掉了下去。 檯子上有人驚呼：先動的那個破壞了另一個人的平衡！ I think so.萊珀似乎在迅速失去興趣。 掉下去的那個人，布林克爾緩緩地說，是菲尼亞斯嗎，或者換句話說，掉下去的人是第一個動的，還是第二個動的？ 萊珀的臉變得狡黠起來，他的聲音平板而毫無個人特點。我不想把自己牽扯進去。要知道，我不是傻瓜。我不會把一切都告訴你，然後你再用它來對付我。你總拿我當傻瓜，對吧？可我不再是傻瓜了。當我掌握了有可能是危險的信息時，我是知道的。他在努力做出一副憤慨的樣子。為什麼我要告訴你們！只是因為這恰好對你們合適！ 萊珀，布林克爾懇求道，萊珀，這非常重要 我也重要，他聲音微弱地說，我也重要。你們從沒意識到這一點，但是我也重要。你才是傻瓜，他狡黠地注視著布林克爾，任何人任何時候想讓你做什麼你就做什麼。你現在才是傻瓜，狗雜種。 菲尼亞斯在沒人注意之中已從自己的椅子中站起。我不在乎，他用一種平緩的聲音插話道，這聲音是那麼厚重，壓過了其他所有的聲音。I do not care. 我從長凳上站起身，朝他走去。Phineas! 他劇烈地搖搖頭，閉上了眼睛，然後他轉過身，看著我，英俊的面孔漫無表情。我並不在乎。沒關係，他走過大理石地面，朝門口走去。 wait a minute!布林克爾喊道，我們還沒聽證完畢呢。我們還沒掌握全部事實呢！ 這些話震驚了菲尼亞斯，使他清醒過來。他猛轉過身，彷彿背後受襲。你已經掌握了其餘的事實，布林克爾！他喊道，你掌握了全部事實！我從沒見過菲尼亞斯哭喊，你收集到了一切他媽的事實！他衝出門去。 外面那出色的音質效果記錄下了他奔跑的腳步，手杖快速地沿著走廊和最初幾級大理石臺階篤篤作響。然後這手杖聲混入總體的騷亂聲中，他的身體笨拙地滾下白色大理石樓梯。