Голод
Part II
WhatafrightIhadbeenin!
Well,therewasnotastoneleftunturned.IhaddoneallIcould.TothinkthatIreallycouldnotsucceedonceinawholeday!IfItolditnoonecouldbelieveit;ifIweretowriteitdowntheywouldsayIhadinventedit.Notinasingleplace!Well,well,thereisnohelpforit.Beforeall,don’tgoandgetpatheticagain.Bah!howdisgusting!Icanassureyou,itmakesmehavealoathingforyou.Ifallhopeisover,whythereisanendofit.Couldn’tI,forthatmatter,stealahandfulofoatsinthestable?Astreakoflight—aray—yetIknewthestablewasshut.
Itookmyease,andcrepthomeataslowsnail’space.Ifeltthirsty,luckilyforthefirsttimethroughthewholeday,andIwentandsoughtaboutforaplacewhereIcouldgetadrink.Iwasalongdistanceawayfromthebazaar,andIwouldnotaskataprivatehouse.Perhaps,though,IcouldwaittillIgothome;itwouldtakeaquarterofanhour.ItwasnotatallsocertainthatIcouldkeepdownadraughtofwater,either;mystomachnolongersufferedinanyway—IevenfeltnauseaatthespittleIswallowed.Butthebuttons!Ihadnottriedthebuttonsatallyet.ThereIstood,stock-still,andcommencedtosmile.Maybetherewasaremedy,inspiteofall!Iwasn’ttotallydoomed.Ishouldcertainlygetapennyforthem;tomorrowImightraiseanothersomeplaceorother,andThursdayImightbepaidformynewspaperarticle.Ishouldjustseeitwouldcomeoutallright.
