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Show room hidden behind the furnace. The door is ajar, and within the room he can see faint light. But it is utterly quiet in the room, though the bellowing noise of the voice still seems to reverberate around the basement; the old man makes no further sound. After what seems a very long time, the boy succeeds in making his legs work, and slithers back along the wall to the elevator. He knows that the old man in the room will hear the noise of the elevator when he pushes the button, but to reach the stairs he would have to pass the old man's room, a still more fearful prospect. After an infinity of terror, he presses the button. The elevator moves into action, groaning ponderously; the boy thinks he will perish in the time it takes to descend just one flight. Still no sound comes from the room behind the furnace. He thinks he would be grateful for a shuffle, a cough, even anotheryell, just to know where the old man is, but nothing comes. Eventually the elevator reaches the basement; the door creaks open, and he leaps into its Victorian interior. Over the weekend the father took the boy out of the building, into the city. "Perhaps you're not happy," said the father, "I'll get you a pet." "I want a snake," said the boy. "An ordinary pet," said the father. "A cat." " I don't l i k e cats." "Well, I don't l i k e snakes." In the end they bought a k i t t e n , a long-haired one with a pedigree. The boy refused to carry i t home. |