Атлант расправил плечи
In the Name of the Best among us
"Thetoo-conscioussteadinessofHughAkston’svoiceconfessedatwhatcosthehadwaitedtolearnwhetherhewouldeverpronouncethesetwowordsagain."Ijustwantedtohearyourvoice...justtoknowthatyou’reallright."
Galtchuckledand—inthetoneofastudentproudlypresentingacompletedtaskofhomeworkasproofofalessonwelllearned—heanswered,"OfcourseIamallright,Professor.Ihadtobe.AisA."
ThelocomotiveoftheeastboundCometbrokedowninthemiddleofadesertinArizona.Itstoppedabruptly,fornovisiblereason,likeamanwhohadnotpermittedhimselftoknowthathewasbearingtoomuch:someoverstrainedconnectionsnappedforgood.
WhenEddieWillerscalledfortheconductor,hewaitedalongtimebeforethemancamein,andhesensedtheanswertohisquestionbythelookofresignationontheman’sface.
"Theengineeristryingtofindoutwhat’swrong,Mr.Willers,"heansweredsoftly,inatoneimplyingthatitwashisdutytohope,butthathehadheldnohopeforyears.
"Hedoesn’tknow?"
"He’sworkingonit."Theconductorwaitedforapolitehalf-minuteandturnedtogo,butstoppedtovolunteeranexplanation,asifsomedim,rationalhabittoldhimthatanyattempttoexplainmadeanyunadmittedterroreasiertobear."ThoseDieselsofoursaren’tfittobesentoutontheroad,Mr.Willers.Theyweren’tworthrepairinglongago.
