Повелитель мух
The Sound of the Shell
"Careful!You’llbreakit—"
"Shutup."
Ralphspokeabsently.Theshellwasinterestingandprettyandaworthyplaything;butthevividphantomsofhisday-dreamstillinterposedbetweenhimandPiggy,whointhiscontextwasanirrelevance.Thepalmsapling,bending,pushedtheshellacrosstheweeds.Ralphusedonehandasafulcrumandpresseddownwiththeothertilltheshellrose,dripping,andPiggycouldmakeagrab.
Nowtheshellwasnolongerathingseenbutnottobetouched,Ralphtoobecameexcited.Piggybabbled:
"—aconch;eversoexpensive.Ibetifyouwantedtobuyone,you’dhavetopaypoundsandpoundsandpounds—hehaditonhisgardenwall,andmyauntie—"
RalphtooktheshellfromPiggyandalittlewaterrandownhisarm.Incolortheshellwasdeepcream,touchedhereandtherewithfadingpink.Betweenthepoint,wornawayintoalittlehole,andthepinklipsofthemouth,layeighteeninchesofshellwithaslightspiraltwistandcoveredwithadelicate,embossedpattern.Ralphshooksandoutofthedeeptube.
"—mooedlikeacow,"hesaid."Hehadsomewhitestonestoo,an’abirdcagewithagreenparrot.Hedidn’tblowthewhitestones,ofcourse,an’hesaid—"
PiggypausedforbreathandstrokedtheglisteningthingthatlayinRalph’shands.
