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But he was at the river

He touched it, just to be sure it was real He waded in and stripped in darkness to the skin, splashed his body, ars, and head with raw liquor; drank it and snuffed some up his nose Then he dressed in Faber's old clothes and shoes He tossed his own clothing into the river and watched it swept away Then, holding the suitcase, he walked out in the river until there was no bottom and he ept away in the dark

He was three hundred yards downstreareat racketing fans of the helicopters hovered A storreat illumination as if the sun had broken the clouds He felt the river pull hihts switched back to the land, the helicopters swerved over the city again, as if they had picked up another trail They were gone The Hound was gone Now there was only the cold river and Montag floating in a sudden peacefulness, away fro

He felt as if he had left a stage behind and reat seance and all thefro into a reality that was unreal because it was new

The black land slid by and he was going into the country a the hills For the first tireat processions of wheeling fire He saw a great juggernaut of stars form in the sky and threaten to roll over and crush him

He floated on his back when the valise filled and sank; the river wasaway from the people who ate shadows for breakfast and steam for lunch and vapors for supper The river was very real; it held hiave him the time at last, the leisure, to consider this month, this year, and a lifetihts stopped rushing with his blood

He saw the ht of the hts the sun? Its own fire And the sun goes on, day after day, burning and burning The sun and ti The river bobbled hi The sun and every clock on the earth It all ca in hison the land and a short tiain in his life

The sun burned every day It burned Time The world rushed in a circle and turned on its axis and ti the years and the people anyithout any help fros with the fire burned!

One of the The sun wouldn't, certainly So it looked as if it had to be Montag and the people he had worked with until a few short hours ago Soain and so, one way or another, in books, in records, in people's heads, any way at all so long as it was safe, free from moths, silverfish, rust and dry rot, andof all types and sizes Now the guild of the asbestos-weaver must open shop very soon

He felt his heel bump land, touch pebbles and rocks, scrape sand The river had moved him toward shore

He looked in at the great black creature without eyes or light, without shape, with only a size that went a thousand rass hills and forests that aiting for him

He hesitated to leave the co flow of the water He expected the Hound there Suddenly the trees reat wind of helicopters

But there was only the nor by like another river Why wasn't the Hound running? Why had the search veered inland? Montag listened Nothing Nothing

Millie, he thought All this country here Listen to it! Nothing and nothing So much silence, Millie, I wonder how you'd take it? Would you shout Shut up, shut up! Millie, Millie And he was sad

Millie was not here and the Hound was not here, but the dry s on the land He re, one of the rare few times he discovered that somewhere behind the seven veils of unreality, beyond the walls of parlors and beyond the tin s sat in wars barked after white sheep on a hill