第11部分(第5/7 頁)

t　of　his　hand　against　the　door。　Then　he　began　to　sort　through　his　keys；　meaning　to　go　into　the　restraint　room　and　continue　the　chase。

Dean　came　down　the　corridor　after　him；　deliberately　walking　slow　in　order　to　get　his　emotions　under　control。　Part　of　him　wanted　to　laugh　at　Percy；　he　told　me；　but　part　of　him　wanted　to　grab　the　man；　whirl　him　around；　pin　him　against　the　restraint…room　door；　and　whale　the　living　daylights　out　of　him。　Most　of　it；　of　course；　was　just　being　startled；　our　job　on　E　Block　was　to　keep　rumpus　to　a　minimum；　and　rumpus　was　practically　Percy　Wetmore's　middle　name。　Working　with　him　was　sort　of　like　trying　to　defuse　a　bomb　with　somebody　standing　behind　you　and　every　now　and　then　clashing　a　pair　of　cymbals　together。　In　a　word；　upsetting。　Dean　said　he　could　see　that　upset　in　Arlen　Bitterbucks　eyes　。。。　even　in　The　President's　eyes；　although　that　gentleman　was　usually　as　cool　as　the　storied　cucumber。

And　there　was　something　else；　as　well。　In　some　part　of　his　mind；　Dean　had　already　begun　to　accept　the　mouse　as　…　well；　maybe　not　as　a　friend；　but　as　a　part　of　life　on　the　block。　That　made　what　Percy　had　done　and　what　he　was　trying　to　do　not　right。　Not　even　if　it　was　a　mouse　he　was　trying　to　do　it　to。　And　the　fact　that　Percy　would　never　understand　how　e　it　wasn't　right　was　pretty　much　the　perfect　example　of　why　he　was　all　wrong　for　the　job　he　thought　he　was　doing。

By　the　time　Dean　reached　the　end　of　the　corridor；　he　had　gotten　himself　under　control　again；　and　knew　how　he　wanted　to　handle　the　matter。　The　one　thing　Percy　absolutely　couldn't　stand　was　to　look　foolish；　and　we　all　knew　it。

〃Coises；　foiled　again；〃　he　said；　grinning　a　little；　kidding　Percy　along。

Percy　gave　him　an　ugly　look　and　flicked　his　hair　off　his　brow。　〃Match　y