Таинственная история Билли Миллигана
Chapter 13
Hehadbeenwrestlingwiththequestionofwhetherthissludgearea,withitsvariedformsofmicroscopiclife,mightturnouttobeanidealbreedinggroundformosquitoes.Ifhediscoveredthiswasindeedaninfestedarea,hewouldinformtheauthoritiesthatactionmustbetaken.Theimportantthingwasforhimtotakesomescrapingsofthesludgeandexaminethemunderthemicroscopeathome.Itwasnotamajorproject,herealized,butsomeonehadtodoit.
Hewasdeepinthought,drivingslowlyandcarefully,whenatruckpassinghimswervedbackintothelane,droveacaraheadofhimofftheroad,andkeptgoing.Thecarhittheguardrailandwentintotheditchendoverend.Arthurpulledquicklyoffontotheberm.Hegotoutcalmlyandclimbeddown.Awomanwasmoving,crawlingoutofthecar.
"Isay,don’tmoveanymore,"hesaid."Letmehelpyou."
Shewasbleeding,andheuseddirectpressuretostopit.Shebegantogag—hecouldseeherteethhadbeenknockedoutandshewaschoking.Discardingtheideaofperformingatracheotomy,hedecidedtocreateanairwayinstead.Searchingthroughhispockets,hefoundaplasticball-pointpen.Hepulledouttheinksheathand,usinghispipelighter,softenedtheplasticshellandbentit.Thenheslippeditintoherthroattohelpherbreathe,turningherheadtothesidetoallowthebloodtorunoutofhermouth.
Abriefexaminationtpldhimthatherjawwasbroken,aswasherwrist
