Превращение
I
Atthesametime,though,hedidnotforgettoremindhimselfthatcalmconsiderationwasmuchbetterthanrushingtodesperateconclusions.Attimeslikethishewoulddirecthiseyestothewindowandlookoutasclearlyashecould,butunfortunately,eventheothersideofthenarrowstreetwasenvelopedinmorningfogandtheviewhadlittleconfidenceorcheertoofferhim.“Seveno’clock,already”,hesaidtohimselfwhentheclockstruckagain,“seveno’clock,andthere’sstillafoglikethis.”Andhelaytherequietlyawhilelonger,breathinglightlyasifheperhapsexpectedthetotalstillnesstobringthingsbacktotheirrealandnaturalstate.
Butthenhesaidtohimself:“BeforeitstrikesquarterpastsevenI’lldefinitelyhavetohavegotproperlyoutofbed.Andbythensomebodywillhavecomeroundfromworktoaskwhat’shappenedtomeaswell,astheyopenupatworkbeforeseveno’clock.”Andsohesethimselftothetaskofswingingtheentirelengthofhisbodyoutofthebedallatthesametime.Ifhesucceededinfallingoutofbedinthiswayandkepthisheadraisedashedidsohecouldprobablyavoidinjuringit.Hisbackseemedtobequitehard,andprobablynothingwouldhappentoitfallingontothecarpet.Hismainconcernwasfortheloudnoisehewasboundtomake,andwhicheventhroughallthedoorswouldprobablyraiseconcernifnotalarm.Butitwassomethingthathadtoberisked.
