animal breathing broken by gurglings and uncouth snorings, but conformant and familiar, free from the startling new note.
But the next night, and for many succeeding nights after, 9009 heard it again—the furtive purr of saw upon bar, then the low murmur of warning, and, along the gang-way, the slight hiss of the guard’s rubber shoes. And one noon he saw one of his hard-eyed neighbours snatch a piece of meat from the dining-table and conceal it within his blouse; he saw him repeat this on the following day. They must be ready for the break, the break that would lead them to freedom—or to death. Listening to the saw that night (its rasp was sharper that night, vibrant with a new impatience) 9009 suddenly thought of his copper.
He might be blamed for this; he might be punished for having known; he might lose it, his copper.
The idea of betrayal, however, did not even cross his mind. And the next morning, he learned all about the trusties.
