who tried for several minutes to regain his balance, either by twisting around so as to put his hand in a less contorted position, or else by trying to get to the sec ond bed by flinging himself over Thomas's body. Finally he came to rest on his knees, his head buried in the covers. To his own great surprise, Thomas could not fall asleep. Was it because of this foreign presence that he had to put up with? He closed his eyes, but he continued to see the room just as it was. He clearly perceived its every detail. He could see the curved back of his companion and had before his eyes the panel of the door and the light reflecting off it. This room was odd. In his insomnia, he had nothing to do but look around him mechanically, letting his eyes wander, and it seemed to him that what they saw did not belong to the order of visible things. Everything was so distant, so far out side! He tried to turn over on his side, but the man he was attached to made this nearly impossible. And him, how could he sleep? Yet he slept a heavy sleep and let out a gentle snore that was like a supplementary acquiescence to sleep. Violently shaking him, Thomas drew him out of his torpor, and while the poor man tried to untangle himself from the sheet that covered him, he asked him a question: "Which one of us is the prisoner?" Then with his free hand, he helped pull off the cover. Once the man was 18
loose, he slowly emerged leaning on his forearms, as if he were about to jump; he moved his head closer, revealing his irregular features and with ered skin. Thomas turned away at first, but he gradually became used to the face by focusing first of all on the ears, which seemed to be trying to hear once again the words that had just struck them. They stretched humbly toward him, and if he had not maintained a slight distance, they would have ended by sticking one after the other against his mouth, toward which they strained, the better to receive its breath. Thomas there fore repeated his words - he wanted to hear them a second time for himself anyway-but this was a mistake. Not only did he not receive a response right then, he also provoked in his interlocutor a sharp feeling of dissatis faction, as if he had displayed his incomprehension in thinking that such organs needed something said to them in order to hear. He moved on to inspect his neck; the man's head seemed to emerge directly out of his shoulders, perhaps because of the billowy clothing that encircled it. As for the face, what he had taken to be bruises and scars were the lines of a sec ond face drawn on as a tattoo, probably under the advice of an artist, in order to reconstruct a portrait of the face on the face itself. Under close scrutiny, the work appeared to be very skillful. There were some enor mous errors' in the drawing - for example, the eyes did not match; the one underneath the right eye seemed small and embryonic, whereas the other one spread across the left portion of the forehead in an exaggerated style but he was struck by an intense lifelike impression. This second face was not superimposed on the first one, far from it. Considered directly, the face of the captive showed only crudely fashioned features, but by turning his head quickly from left to right, without taking his eyes off the mouth, Thomas distinguished some very fine features that were like the traces of a former beauty. Thomas was absorbed in his contemplation. His own face was so close to this other one that he brushed against it and smelled its acrid and tepid odor. It would have suited him more to remain at a distance, but after some moments he gave in to his fatigue and pressed his cheek against the cheek that was offered to him. He thought that this way he would find rest, and since he was already halfway out of the bed, he leaned heavily on the shoulder of his companion. He was met with nothing but succor and good will. The young man was in a very uncomfortable position; half raised on the tips of his toes,
loose, he slowly emerged leaning on his forearms, as if he were about to jump; he moved his head closer, revealing his irregular features and with ered skin. Thomas turned away at first, but he gradually became used to the face by focusing first of all on the ears, which seemed to be trying to hear once again the words that had just struck them. They stretched humbly toward him, and if he had not maintained a slight distance, they would have ended by sticking one after the other against his mouth, toward which they strained, the better to receive its breath. Thomas there fore repeated his words - he wanted to hear them a second time for himself anyway-but this was a mistake. Not only did he not receive a response right then, he also provoked in his interlocutor a sharp feeling of dissatis faction, as if he had displayed his incomprehension in thinking that such organs needed something said to them in order to hear. He moved on to inspect his neck; the man's head seemed to emerge directly out of his shoulders, perhaps because of the billowy clothing that encircled it. As for the face, what he had taken to be bruises and scars were the lines of a sec ond face drawn on as a tattoo, probably under the advice of an artist, in order to reconstruct a portrait of the face on the face itself. Under close scrutiny, the work appeared to be very skillful. There were some enor mous errors' in the drawing - for example, the eyes did not match; the one underneath the right eye seemed small and embryonic, whereas the other one spread across the left portion of the forehead in an exaggerated style but he was struck by an intense lifelike impression. This second face was not superimposed on the first one, far from it. Considered directly, the face of the captive showed only crudely fashioned features, but by turning his head quickly from left to right, without taking his eyes off the mouth, Thomas distinguished some very fine features that were like the traces of a former beauty. Thomas was absorbed in his contemplation. His own face was so close to this other one that he brushed against it and smelled its acrid and tepid odor. It would have suited him more to remain at a distance, but after some moments he gave in to his fatigue and pressed his cheek against the cheek that was offered to him. He thought that this way he would find rest, and since he was already halfway out of the bed, he leaned heavily on the shoulder of his companion. He was met with nothing but succor and good will. The young man was in a very uncomfortable position; half raised on the tips of his toes,
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