第21部分(第2/7 页)

orse　it　was。　And　when　he　felt　he　had　an　opponent　dead

in　his　sights；　an　intellectual　sort　of　buck　fever　seemed　to　take　place　between

his　speech　centers　and　his　mouth　and　he　would　freeze　solid　while　the　clock　ran

out。　It　was　painful　to　watch。

〃S…S…So　I　th…th…think　we　have　to　say　that　the　fuh…fuh…facts　in　the　c…case　Mr。

D…D…D…Dorsky　cites　are　ren…ren…rendered　obsolete　by　the　ruh…recent　duh…duh…

decision　handed　down　inin…in　。。。　〃

The　buzzer　would　go　off　and　George　would　whirl　around　to　stare　furiously　at

Jack；　who　sat　beside　it。　George's　face　at　those　moments　would　be　flushed；　his

notes　crumpled　spasmodically　in　one　hand。

Jack　had　held　on　to　George　long　after　he　had　cut　most　of　the　obvious　flat

tires；　hoping　George　would　work　out。　He　remembered　one　late　afternoon　about　a

week　before　he　had　reluctantly　dropped　the　ax。　George　had　stayed　after　the

others　had　filed　out；　and　then　had　confronted　Jack　angrily。

〃You　s…set　the　timer　ahead。〃

Jack　looked　up　from　the　papers　he　was　putting　back　into　his　briefcase。

〃George；　what　are　you　talking　about？〃

〃I　d…didn't　get　my　whole　five　mih…minutes。　You　set　it　ahead。　I　was　wuh…

watching　the　clock。〃

〃The　clock　and　the　timer　may　keep　slightly　different　times；　George；　but　I

never　touched　the　dial　on　the　damned　thing。　Scout's　honor。〃

〃Yuh…yuh…you　did！〃

The　belligerent；　I'm…sticking…up…for…my…rights　way　George　was　looking　at　him

had　sparked　Jack's　own　temper。　He　had　been　off　the　sauce　for　two　months；　two　months　too　long；

and　he　was　ragged。　He　made　one　last　effort　to　hold　himself　in。　〃I　assure　you　I　did　not；　George。　It's

your　stutter。　Do　you　have　any　idea　what　causes　it？　You