第36部分(第4/8 頁)

s　themselves　caught　fire　and　began　to　burn。　Smoke　puffed　from　the　open　V　of　his　shirt。　And　still　the　humming　of　the　electricity　went　on　and　on；　filling　my　head；　vibrating　in　there。　I　think　it's　the　sound　mad　people　must　hear；　that　or　something　like　it。

Dean　started　forward；　thinking　in　some　dazed　way　that　he　could　beat　the　fire　out　of　Del's　shirt　with　his　hands；　and　I　yanked　him　away　almost　hard　enough　to　pull　him　off　his　feet。　Touching　Delacroix　at　that　point　would　have　been　like　Brer　Rabbit　punching　into　the　Tar…Baby。　An　electrified　Tar…Baby；　in　this　case。

I　still　didn't　turn　around　to　see　what　was　going　on　behind　us；　but　it　sounded　like　pandemonium；　chairs　falling　over；　people　bellowing；　a　woman　crying　〃Stop　it；　stop　it；　oh　can't　you　see　he's　had　enough？〃　at　the　top　of　her　lungs。　Curtis　Anderson　grabbed　my　shoulder　and　asked　what　was　happening；　for　Christ's　sake；　what　was　happening；　and　why　didn't　I　order　jack　to　shut　down？

〃Because　I　can't；〃　I　said。　〃We've　gone　too　far　to　turn　back；　can't　you　see　that？　It'll　be　over　in　a　few　more　seconds；　anyway。〃

But　it　was　at　least　two　minutes　before　it　was　over；　the　longest　two　minutes　of　my　whole　life；　and　through　most　of　it　I　think　Delacroix　was　conscious。　He　screamed　and　jittered　and　rocked　from　side　to　side。　Smoke　poured　from　his　nostrils　and　from　a　mouth　that　had　gone　the　purple…black　of　ripe　plums。　Smoke　drifted　up　from　his　tongue　the　way　smoke　rises　from　a　hot　griddle。　All　the　buttons　on　his　shirt　eit