Атлант расправил плечи
Their Brothers’ Keepers
"Thatnight...whentheygotKenDanagger...Ithoughtthattheyhadnotsentanyoneafterme..."
Theeffortbywhichhemadehisfacegrowrigid,wasalmostliketheslow,resistedturnofakeylockingasunlitroomhecouldnotpermithimselftoexamine.Afterawhile,hesaidimpassively,"Dagny,thatnewrailwediscussedlastmonth—Idon’tthinkI’llbeabletodeliverit.Theyhaven’tliftedtheirregulationsoffmyoutput,they’restillcontrollingmysalesanddisposingofmyMetalastheyplease.ButthebookkeepingisinsuchasnarlthatI’msmugglingafewthousandtonsintotheblackmarketeveryweek.Ithinktheyknowit.They’repretendingnotto.Theydon’twanttoantagonizeme,rightnow.But,yousee,I’vebeenshippingeverytonIcouldsnatch,tosomeemergencycustomersofmine.Dagny,IwasinMinnesotalastmonth.I’veseenwhat’sgoingonthere.Thecountrywillstarve,notnextyear,butthiswinter,unlessafewofusactandactfast.Therearenograinreservesleftanywhere.WithNebraskagone,Oklahomawrecked,NorthDakotaabandoned,Kansasbarelysubsisting—thereisn’tgoingtobeanywheatthiswinter,notforthecityofNewYorknorforanyEasterncity.
Minnesotaisourlastgranary.They’vehadtwobadyearsinsuccession,buttheyhaveabumpercropthisfall—andtheyhavetobeabletoharvestit.
