Атлант расправил плечи
The Utopia of Greed
Iwouldhave—thethoughtwasnotinwords,sheknewitonlyasatremblingpressureinherstomach—Iwouldhaveshothim,afterward,ifIdiscoveredhisrole...andIwouldhavehadtodiscoverit...andyet—sheshuddered,becausesheknewshestillwishedhehadcometoher,becausethethoughtnottobeadmittedintohermindbutflowingasadarkwarmththroughherbody,was:Iwouldhaveshothim,butnotbefore—Sheraisedhereyelids—andsheknewthatthatthoughtwasasnakedtohiminhereyes,asitwastoherinhis.Shesawhisveiledglanceandthetautnessofhismouth,shesawhimreducedtoagony,shefeltherselfdrownedbytheexultantwishtocausehimpain,toseeit,towatchit,towatchitbeyondherownenduranceandhis,thentoreducehimtothehelplessnessofpleasure.
Hegotup,helookedaway,andshecouldnottellwhetheritwastheslightliftofhisheadorthetensionofhisfeaturesthatmadehisfacelookoddlycalmandclear,asifitwerestrippedofemotiondowntothenakedpurityofitsstructure.
"Everymanthatyourrailroadneededandlostinthepasttenyears,"hesaid,"itwasIwhomadeyoulosehim."Hisvoicehadthesingletonedflatnessandtheluminoussimplicityofanaccountantwhoremindsarecklesspurchaserthatcostisanabsolutewhichcannotbeescaped,"IhavepulledeverygirderfromunderTaggartTranscontinentaland,ifyouchoosetogoback,Iwillseeitcollapseuponyourhead."
Heturnedtoleavetheroom.
