第5部分(第6/7 頁)

rayed　in　places　that　it　tangled　with　the　broom。　John　hated　sweeping　thiscarpet；　for　dust　rose；　clogging　his　nose　and　sticking　to　his　sweaty　skin；　and　he　felt　that　should　besweep　it　for　ever；　the　clouds　of　dust　would　not　diminish；　the　rug　would　not　be　clean。　It　became　inhis　imagination　his　impossible；　lifelong　task；　his　hard　trial；　like　that　of　a　man　he　had　read　aboutsomewhere；　whose　curse　it　was　to　push　a　boulder　up　a　steep　hill；　only　to　have　the　giant　whoguarded　the　hill　roll　the　boulder　down　again—and　so　on；　for　ever；　throughout　eternity；　he　was　stillout　there；　that　hapless　man；　somewhere　at　the　other　end　of　the　earth；　pushing　his　boulder　up　thehill。　He　had　John’s　entire　sympathy；　for　the　longest　and　hardest　part　of　his　Saturday　mornings　washis　voyage　with　the　broom　across　this　endless　rug；　and　ing　to　the　French　doors　that　ended　theliving…room　and　stopped　the　rug；　he　felt　like　an　indescribably　weary　traveler　who　sees　his　home　atlast。　Yet　for　each　dustpan　he　so　laboriously　filled　at　the　door…still　demons　added　to　the　rug　twentymore；　he　saw　in　the　expanse　behind　him　the　dust　that　he　had　raised　settling　again　into　the　carpet；and　he　gritted　his　teeth；　already　on　edge　because　of　the　dust　that　filled　his　mouth；　and　nearly　weptto　thinl　that　so　much　labor　brought　so　little　reward。

Nor　was　this　the　end　of　John’s　Labor；　for；　having　put　away　the　broom　and　the　dustpan；　hetook　from　the　small　bucket　under　the　sink　the　dust　rag　and　the　furniture　oil　and　a　damp　cloth；　andreturned　to　the　living…room　to　excavate；　as　it　were；　from　the　dust　that　threatened　to　bury　them；　hisfamily’s　goods　and　gear。　Thinking　bitterly　of　his　birthday；　he　attacked　the　mirror　with　the　cloth；watching　his　face　appear　as　out　of　a　cloud。　With　a　shock　he　saw　that　his　face　had　not　changed；　thatthe　hand　of　Sa