. . !
Then my mind grew calmer, my imagination melted into hazy drowsiness,
and I soon fell into an uneasy slumber.
CHAPTER 9
The Tantrums of Ned Land
I HAVE NO IDEA how long this slumber lasted; but it must have been
a good while, since we were
completely over our exhaustion. I was the first one to wake up.
My companions weren't yet stirring and still lay in their corners
like inanimate objects.
I had barely gotten up from my passably hard mattress when I felt
my mind clear, my brain go on the alert. So I began a careful
reexamination of our cell.
Nothing had changed in its interior arrangements.
The prison was still a prison and its prisoners still prisoners.
But, taking advantage of our slumber, the steward had cleared the table.
Consequently, nothing indicated any forthcoming improvement in
our situation, and I seriously wondered if we were doomed to spend
the rest of our lives in this cage.
This prospect seemed increasingly painful to me because, even though
my brain was clear of its obsessions from the night before,
I was feeling an odd short-windedness in my chest. It was becoming
hard for me to breathe. The heavy air was no longer sufficient
for the full play of my lungs. Although our cell was large,
we obviously had used up most of the oxygen it contained.
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