udy； Danny began to say
something and that was when he had grabbed Danny's hand and bent it to make him
drop the typewriter eraser and the mechanical pencil he was clenching in it。
Danny had cried out a little 。。。 no 。。。 no 。。。 tell the truth 。。。 he
screamed。 It was all hard to remember through the fog of anger； the sick single
thump of that one Spike Jones chord。 Wendy somewhere； asking what was wrong。 Her
voice faint； damped by the inner mist。 This was between the two of them。 He had
whirled Danny around to spank him； his big adult fingers digging into the scant
meat of the boy's forearm； meeting around it in a closed fist； and the snap of
the breaking bone had not been loud； not loud but it had been very loud； HUGE；
but not loud。 Just enough of a sound to slit through the red fog like an arrow —
but instead of letting in sunlight； that sound let in the dark clouds of shame
and remorse； the terror； the agonizing convulsion of the spirit。 A clean sound
with the past on one side of it and all the future on the other； a sound like a
breaking pencil lead or a small piece of kindling when you brought it down