Short Commons 161
but the words wouldn’t come. King Lamus went to
him and took his hand.
‘ Drugs are the slope in front of us,” he said, ‘‘ and
I’m wily old Eckenstein, and you're ambitious young
Lamus. And I say ‘stop!’ and when you show me
that you can stop, when you have picked yourself
together and are standing on the slope laughing, I'll
show you how to go on.”
We knew at the back of our minds that the man
was inexorable. We hated him as the weak always
hate the strong, and we had to respect and admire
him, detesting him all the more for the fact.