‘I haven’t read this before.’
‘It’s all right, Mr Duncan,’ said the lawyersoftly.
‘Your daughter is safe.
Her husbandsaved her, and she hasn’t lost her baby.
But she did drink a lot of river water.
It wasnear the factory, too.
You’re not worriedabout that, are you?’
The lawyer’s bright eyes were staring athim, like a rat that has just seen its food.
Behind him, David Wilson suddenly stoodup.
‘That is a terrible question!’
he shoutedinto the silence.
‘You can’t ask a manquestions like that!
Of course he’s worriedabout his daughter!
You must stop thisEnquiry at once!
‘Just a minute, Mr Wilson,’ said the lawyer.
‘Mr Duncan can go in a minute.
He just hasto answer one question.
Are you worried,because your daughter has drunk so muchriver water, Mr Duncan?
Are you worriedabout her baby?’
John Duncan stared at the lawyer with fearin his eyes.
Suddenly he hated him.
Hepicked up the newspaper and threw it intothe little man’s rat-like face.
‘Yes!’
heshouted wildly.
‘Yes!
Yes!
Yes!
Of course I’mworried about the baby!
Of course it’sdangerous!
Now let me go!’
He ran down the room, out of the door,into the street.
A hundred staring eyeswatched him go.
12
The future
Six months later, John Duncan was living ina small flat near the sea.
He had lost hisjob, and had had to sell his expensivehouse.
He couldn’t afford the payments onit.
From a window in his flat, he could look atthe sea.
He sat and looked at the cold,grey sea for hours, every day.
Christine would have her baby soon.
Hehad bought lots of baby clothes to giveher.
His bedroom was full of baby clothes– little pink coats and trousers for a girl,blue ones for a boy.
There were little softtoys too – teddy bears and small animalswith blue, empty eyes.
But he hadn’t given any of these things toher, because she wouldn’t talk to him.
When he went to see her, she closed thedoor in his face;
when he rang, she put thephone down;
when he wrote, she sent theletters back unopened.
There were a lot of books and magazinesin his bedroom, too.
But he kept themunder his bed.
He read them sometimes atnight, but he didn’t like to see them duringthe day.
They were about babies, and thediseases that babies could get, before theywere born.
There were some terriblethings in the books, terrible pictures.
Hedidn’t like to think about them, but hecouldn’t stop.
He thought about them allday, all the time.
Today, as he sat staring out of the windowat the sea, he could not stop his handsshaking.
Every morning he rang thehospital, to ask if his daughter ChristineMacDonald was there.
He had rung thismorning, and a nurse had said yes,Christine was there, and the baby wascoming.
That had been four hours ago.
Fortwo hours John had sat by the telephone,afraid to ring the hospital again.
Threetimes he had picked it up, and three timeshe had put it down again.
He picked it up again, and rang thenumber.
Seven…five…eight three…it wasno good.
He put the phone down again.
He could not hear the news from the coldvoice of a nurse over the telephone.
Hehad to see the baby for himself.
He got up, put on his coat, and wentdownstairs.
There was a cold wind outside,blowing from the sea.
The sea and the skywere grey and miserable.
He went into ashop and bought some flowers.
He chosethem carefully – bright red and yellowcolours – and the shopkeeper put paperaround them to keep them safe.
John took them and walked quickly,nervously, along the windy road by thesea, towards the hospital.
It was raining out at sea.
Already the rainwas falling on the sandbanks where theseals used to live.
Soon it would be fallingon the town.
John Duncan shivered, andturned his coat collar up.
Then, with hisbright flowers in his hand, he walked on,into the winter wind.
Originalmente son 17 páginas, este libro, a algunos estudiantes se los piden en enseñanza media para clases de idioma (inglés en este caso).
