第41部分(第4/8 頁)

　away；　moving　slowly　and　stiffly　（but　she　will　only　use　a　cane　on　wet　days；　and　only　then　if　the　pain　is　terrible；　it's　one　of　her　vanities）；　and　waited。　Five　minutes　went　by；　then　ten；　and　just　as　I　was　deciding　she　had　either　lost　her　courage　or　discovered　that　the　battery　of　the　smoke　detector　in　the　toilet　was　dead；　the　fire　alarm　went　off　in　the　west　wing　with　a　loud；　buzzing　burr。

I　started　toward　the　kitchen　at　once；　but　slowly　…　there　was　no　reason　to　hurry　until　I　was　sure　Dolan　was　out　of　my　way。　A　gaggle　of　old　folks；　most　still　in　their　robes；　came　out　of　the　TV　room　（here　it's　called　the　Resource　Center；　now　that's　grotesque）　to　see　what　was　going　on。　Chuck　Howland　was　among　them；　I　was　happy　to　see。

〃Edgebe！〃　Kent　Avery　rasped；　hanging　onto　his　walker　with　one　hand　and　yanking　obsessively　at　the　crotch　of　his　pajama　pants　with　the　other。　〃Real　alarm　or　just　another　falsie？　What　do　you　think？〃

〃No　way　of　knowing；　I　guess；〃　I　said。

Just　about　then　three　orderlies　went　trotting　past；　all　headed　for　the　west　wing；　yelling　at　the　folks　clustered　around　the　TV…room　door　to　go　outside　and　wait　for　the　all…clear。　The　third　in　line　was　Brad　Dolan。　He　didn't　even　look　at　me　as　he　went　past；　a　fact　that　pleased　me　to　no　end。　As　I　went　on　down　toward　the　kitchen；　it　occurred　to　me　that　the　team　of　Elaine　Connelly　and　Paul　Edgebe　would　probably　be　a　match　for　a　dozen　Brad　Dolans；　with　half　a　dozen　Percy　Wetmores　thrown　in　for　good　measure。