Превращение
I
Hemusthavetrieditahundredtimes,shuthiseyessothathewouldn’thavetolookattheflounderinglegs,andonlystoppedwhenhebegantofeelamild,dullpaintherethathehadneverfeltbefore.
“Oh,God”,hethought,“whatastrenuouscareeritisthatI’vechosen!Travellingdayinanddayout.Doingbusinesslikethistakesmuchmoreeffortthandoingyourownbusinessathome,andontopofthatthere’sthecurseoftravelling,worriesaboutmakingtrainconnections,badandirregularfood,contactwithdifferentpeopleallthetimesothatyoucannevergettoknowanyoneorbecomefriendlywiththem.ItcanallgotoHell!”Hefeltaslightitchuponhisbelly;pushedhimselfslowlyuponhisbacktowardstheheadboardsothathecouldlifthisheadbetter;foundwheretheitchwas,andsawthatitwascoveredwithlotsoflittlewhitespotswhichhedidn’tknowwhattomakeof;andwhenhetriedtofeeltheplacewithoneofhislegshedrewitquicklybackbecauseassoonashetouchedithewasovercomebyacoldshudder.
Heslidbackintohisformerposition.“Gettingupearlyallthetime”,hethought,“itmakesyoustupid.You’vegottogetenoughsleep.Othertravellingsalesmenlivealifeofluxury.Forinstance,wheneverIgobacktotheguesthouseduringthemorningtocopyoutthecontract,thesegentlemenarealwaysstillsittingthereeatingtheirbreakfasts.Ioughttojusttrythatwithmyboss;I’dgetkickedoutonthespot.Butwhoknows,maybethatwouldbethebestthingforme.
