Атлант расправил плечи

           "saidFerristonooneinparticular,tothetreesandthedarknessofthesky.

           Forthemoment,theironlycertaintywasthattheyhadtoescapefromthatcellar—thecellarwherethelivinggeneratorwaslefttiedbythesideofthedeadone.

           "ButIdon’tknowwhat’swrongwithit."Themansighed,bewildered."Idon’tknowwhattodo."

           "It’sthevibratorthat’soutoforder,"saidavoicebehindthem;theywhirledaround;Galtwasstrugglingforbreath,buthewasspeakinginthebrusque,competenttoneofanengineer."Takeitoutandpryoffthealuminumcover.You’llfindapairofcontactsfusedtogether.Forcethemapart,takeasmallfileandcleanupthepittedsurfaces.Thenreplacethecover,plugitbackintothemachine—andyourgeneratorwillwork."

           Therewasalongmomentoftotalsilence.

           ThemechanicwasstaringatGalt;hewasholdingGalt’sglance—andevenhewasabletorecognizethenatureofthesparkleinthedarkgreeneyes;itwasasparkleofcontemptuousmockery.

           Hemadeastepback.Intheincoherentdimnessofhisconsciousness,insomewordless,shapeless,unintelligiblemanner,evenhesuddenlygraspedthemeaningofwhatwasoccurringinthatcellar.

           HelookedatGalt—helookedatthethreemen—helookedatthemachine.Heshuddered,hedroppedhispliersandranoutoftheroom.

           Galtburstoutlaughing.