И проиграли бой

           TheysurroundedBolterandtookhimthroughthepressofsilentmen,sawhimintohiscoupeandwatchedhimdriveawaydowntheroad.WhenhewasgoneLondonraisedhisvoice."Ifyouguyswanttocomeovertothestand,I’llgetuponitandtellyouwhattheson-of-a-bitchsaid,andwhatweansweredhimback."Heflailedhiswaythrough,andthemenfollowed,excitedly.Thecooksleftthestoveswheretheywereboilingbeansandchunksofbeef.Thewomencrawledlikerodentsfromthetentsandfollowed.WhenLondonclimbeduponthestanditwasringedcloselywithmen,standinginthedusklookingupathim.

           DuringthetalkwithBolterDocBurtonhadeffacedhimself,hadbeensoquietthatheseemedtohavedisappeared,butwhenthegroupwentout,leavingonlyJimandLisasittingonthemattress,hecameoutofhiscornerandsatdownontheedgeofthemattressbesidethem.Hisfacewasworried."It’sgoingtobeameanone,"hesaid.

           "That’swhatwewant,Doc,"Jimtoldhim."Theworseitis,themoreeffectit’llhave."

           Burtonlookedathimwithsadeyes."Youseeawaythrough,"hesaid."IwishIdid.Itallseemsmeaninglesstome,brutalandmeaningless."

           "Ithastogoon,"Jiminsisted."Itcanonlystopwhenthemenrulethemselvesandgettheprofitsoftheirlabor."

           "Seemssimpleenough,"Burtonsighed."IwishIthoughtitweresosimple."Heturnedsmilingtothegirl."What’syoursolution,Lisa?"

           Shestarted."Huh?"

           "Imean,whatwouldyouliketohavetomakeyouhappy."