И проиграли бой

           Thefatmannodded."Itallfitstogether,"heagreed."Thereain’tnothingseparate.Guysthinktheywanttogetsomethingsoftforthemselves,buttheycan’twithouteverybodygetsit."

           Amiddle-agedmanwhohadbeenlyingdowntowardtherearofthetentsatup."Youknowthetroublewithworkin’men?"heasked."Well,I’lltellyou.TheydotooGod-damnmuchtalkin’.Iftheydidmoresluggin’an’lessarguin’,they’dgetsomeplace."Hestopped.Themeninthetentlistened.Fromoutsidetherecamethesoundofalittlebustling,themutteroffootsteps,themurmurofvoices,thesoundofpeople,penetratingasanodor,andsoft.Themeninthetentsatstillandlistened.Thesoundofpeoplegrewalittlelouder.Footstepswereslushinginthemud.Agroupwalkedpastthetent.

           Jimstoodupandwalkedtotheentrancejustasaheadwasthrustin."They’regoin’tobringoutthecoffin.Comeon,youguys."Jimsteppedoutbetweenthetent-flaps.Themiststillfell,blowingsideways,driftingliketiny,lightsnowflakes.Hereandtheretheloosecanvasofatentmovedsoddenlyinthewind.Jimlookeddownthestreet.Thenewshadtraveled.Outofthetentsmenandwomencame.Theymovedslowlyintogetherandconvergedontheplatform.Andastheirgroupbecamemoreandmorecompact,thesoundoftheirmanyvoicesblendedintoonevoice,andthesoundoftheirfootstepsbecameagreatrestlessness.Jimlookedatthefaces.Therewasablindnessintheeyes.Theheadsweretippedbackasthoughtheysniffedforsomething.Theydrewinabouttheplatformandcrowdedclose.

           OutofLondon’stentsixmencame,bearingthebox.Therewerenohandlesonthecoffin.Eachpairofmenlockedhandsunderneath,andboretheburdenontheirforearms.Theyhesitatedjerkily,tryingtogetinstep,andhavingestablishedtheswingingrhythm,movedslowlythroughtheslushtowardtheplatform.