Поворот гвинта

           WhenIsaidtomyself:“Theyhavethemannerstobesilent,andyou,trustedasyouare,thebasenesstospeak!”IfeltmyselfcrimsonandIcoveredmyfacewithmyhands.AfterthesesecretscenesIchatteredmorethanever,goingonvolublyenoughtilloneofourprodigious,palpablehushesoccurred—Icancallthemnothingelse—thestrange,dizzyliftorswim(Itryforterms!)intoastillness,apauseofalllife,thathadnothingtodowiththemoreorlessnoisethatatthemomentwemightbeengagedinmakingandthatIcouldhearthroughanydeepenedexhilarationorquickenedrecitationorlouderstrumofthepiano.Thenitwasthattheothers,theoutsiders,werethere.Thoughtheywerenotangels,they“passed,”astheFrenchsay,causingme,whiletheystayed,totremblewiththefearoftheiraddressingtotheiryoungervictimssomeyetmoreinfernalmessageormorevividimagethantheyhadthoughtgoodenoughformyself.

           Whatitwasmostimpossibletogetridofwasthecruelideathat,whateverIhadseen,MilesandFlorasawmore—thingsterribleandunguessableandthatsprangfromdreadfulpassagesofintercourseinthepast.Suchthingsnaturallyleftonthesurface,forthetime,achillwhichwevociferouslydeniedthatwefelt;andwehad,allthree,withrepetition,gotintosuchsplendidtrainingthatwewent,eachtime,almostautomatically,tomarkthecloseoftheincident,throughtheverysamemovements.