Чума
Part II
WhenIhavemanagedtodescribepreciselythepicturethatIhaveinmyimagination,whenmysentencehastheverysamemovementasthattrottinghorse,one-two-three,one-two-three,thentherestwillbeeasyandabovealltheillusionwillbesuchfromtheverystartthatitwillbepossibletosay:"Hatsoff,gentlemen!"
However,beforehereachedthatpoint,therewasstillalotofworktobedone.Hewouldneveragreetohandoverthissentenceasitwastoaprinterbecause,thoughfromtimetotimehedidfeelpleasedwithit,herealizedthatitstilldidnotentirelyaccordwithrealityandthat,tosomeextent,ithadacertainfacilityoftonethatmadeitsounddistantly—butsound,forallthat—likeacliché.Atanyrate,thatwasthesenseofwhathewassayingwhentheyheardsomemenrunningpastbelowthewindow.Rieuxgotup.
"YouseewhatI’lldowithit,"Grandsaid.And,turningtothewindow,added:"Whenallthisisover."
Butthesoundsofrunningfeetreturned.Rieuxwasalreadygoingdownstairsandtwomenranpasthimwhenhereachedthestreet.Theyappearedtobegoingtowardsthetowngates.Infact,someofourfellow-citizens,drivenoutoftheirmindsbytheheatandtheideaofplague,hadresortedtoviolenceandtriedtoevadetheguardsonthebarriersinordertofleethetown.
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Others,likeRambert,werealsotryingtoescapefromtheatmosphereofincreasingpanic,thoughwithmoreobstinacyandskill,ifnotmoresuccess.
