“Grot—!”
“Let me finish—I tell you! Do you know what he did—? He made me give up ... he made me give up my machine....”
And once more the miserable howling of a kicked dog.
“My machine ... my—my machine—! That devil up there! That God-damned devil!...”
“Grot, listen to me—”
“I won’t listen to anything!—”
“Grot, in the underground city, the water has broken in....”
Seconds of silence. Then—roars of laughter, and, on the heap of ruins, the dance of a four-legged lump, which kicked its stumps amid wild yells, clapping its hands the while.
“That’s right—! Hallelujah Amen—!”
“Grot—!” Freder laid fast hold of the dancing lump and shook it so that its teeth rattled. “The water has flooded the city! The lights lie in ruins! The water has risen up the steps! And upon the door—upon the only door, there lie tons upon tons of trains which collided with each other there!”