lost. He clung to it; pressed his breast against it;
crept upward by means of it, slowly, slowly, through
a storm of battering hands. It seemed to him that,
in rising, he was shouldering aside the entire weight,
the forces, of a universe, bent on his destruction, and
against which he was determined to prevail. It was
as though his will, the vitality which animated him,
which was his soul, stood aside from his beaten and
suffering body, and, with a cold, a cruel, detachment,
commanded it upright.

The woman's bulk got in Jake's way, and he
struck her across the eyes with the back of his hand,
consigning her to eternal hell. Mr. Ottinger, confused
by the irregularity of the turmoil, worked inefficiently,
swinging at random his hard fists, kicking
impartially.

Gordon now had both feet upon the floor; he
straightened up. For a breath the three stood motionless,
livid; and in that instant his hand fell upon
the door knob, he staggered back into the hall, carrying
with him a vision of his brocaded tie lying
upon the floor.

[[68]]

p067 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p068w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p069

v?