248.英文正文(248)
hepushedthepictureoutofhismind。***itwasafalsememory。hewastroubledbyfalsememoriesoccasionally。theydidnotmattersolongasoneknewthemforwhattheywere。somethingshadhappened,othershadnothappened。heturnedbacktothechessboardandpickedupthewhiteknightagain。almostinthesameinstantitdroppedontotheboardwithaclatter。hehadstartedasthoughapinhadrunintohim。
ashrilltrumpet-callhadpiercedtheair。itwasthebulletin!victory!italwaysmeantvictorywhenatrumpet-callprecededthenews。asortofelectricdrillranthroughthecafé。eventhewaitershadstartedandprickeduptheirears。
thetrumpet-callhadletlooseanenormousvolumeofnoise。alreadyanexcitedvoicewasgabblingfromthetelescreen,butevenasitstarteditwasalmostdrownedbyaroarofcheeringfromoutside。thenewshadrunroundthestreetslikemagic。hecouldhearjustenoughofwhatwasissuingfromthetelescreentorealizethatithadallhappened,ashehadforeseen;avastseabornearmadahadsecretlyassembledasuddenblowintheenemy』srear,thewhitearrowtearingacrossthetailoftheblack。fragmentsoftriumphantphrasespushedthemselvesthroughthedin:「vaststrategicmanoeuvre—perfectco-ordination—utterrout—halfamillionprisoners—completedemoralization—controlofthewholeofafrica—bringthewarwithinmeasurabledistanceofitsendvictory—greatestvictoryinhumanhistory—victory,victory,victory!」