t only the ball, and if possible I'll be on my way already," but Romulus Frunza then said only that I wasn't going anywhere, and he asked if I saw a ball around here, and I said no, because I really didn't see it, and I bit my lips and added, "That's cheating, the ball is supposed to be here, that's not fair," but Romulus Frunza said I should get it through my head that war is never fair, because it's all about victory and not about being fair but that he recognized my courage in saying this to his face, and soon it would be clear if I really was brave or if my mouth was just too big for my own good because he was about to give me the chance to prove it, and when he said that, Remus picked up a piece of wooden board near the coiled rope and laid it on the floor, there was a brownish spot in the middle of the board that looked just like a person's palm spread open wide, and Romulus told me to kneel down and put my right hand on the board, and only after I put my hand down did I suddenly realize what was about to happen because I'd seen this one time in a movie about the partisans, and what I wanted most was to pull away my hand, but by then it was too late because Remus had again pulled out his switchblade, and in the same motion with which he flicked open the blade he'd already jabbed it into the wood between my index finger and thumb, and as the knife kept quivering I felt the face of the blade touch the skin of my index finger again and again, and meanwhile Romulus said his big brother's hands were pretty steady and that I'd better not try to take my hand away from the board because then who could say if the knife might slip out of place, and Remus didn't say a thing, he just grabbed the switchblade handle and pulled the knife out of the wood and started jabbing it nice and easy between my fingers, the blade pierced the wood with a thud every time, and then Remus plucked it out of the wood and the board gave a creak, so I kept hearing a thud and a creak, a thud and a creak, and I looked down at my hand, my fingers looked really thin all spread out like that, but then I thought that they weren't thin enough, because sooner or later Remus would stab one of them for sure, and I felt goose bumps form on my arm all the way up to my shoulder, and I didn't want to look at my hand, I didn't want to see the knife making its way between my fingers, instead I tried raising my head nice and slow so I wouldn't have to look that way, and right when I did so I saw that Romulus Frunza was staring at me and smiling and nodding too, and then he said, "All right, all right so far," and I heard the thuds and the creaks pick up pace a little, but I still didn't look down at my hand, no, I just kept looking at Romulus instead, and then Romulus asked me if I was sure I wanted to take away that ball, and I wanted to say, "No, no way, I don't want a thing, to hell with Prodán's ball, just let me take my hand away from there," and I felt the board shaking under my palm from the jabs, but then I didn't say a thing, all I did was give a nod even though I knew I should be shaking my head instead, and then Romulus said all right, but I should get it through my skull that this pigheadedness of mine would spell trouble not just for me but for all the other guys on my street, but if I could stand it until he told his big brother to stop, then he'd tell me where the ball was, and if I couldn't take it anymore, there wouldn't be any trouble then either, all I had to do was say, "Enough, I give up," and the knife in his big brother's hand would stop that instant and I'd be free to go, but then I thought of the spear stuck in the ground, and of the blood oozing slowly from that fertilizer bag, and I knew it was now all the same to me anyway, and so I spoke, I said this would be fair if Romulus put his palm down there next to mine, but Romulus didn't get angry on account of my saying that, he just said that here, he got to say what was fair and what wasn't, and I didn't say anything back, I didn't even look at Romulus but behind him instead, at the watchtower's wind-breaking wall, and that's when I noticed a bunch of pigeon feathers nailed beside each other on one of the boards, and I could feel Remus moving his hand even faster, and suddenly Romulus asked how long it had been since we'd gotten word about my dad, and my hand almost moved, that's how shocked I was to hear him ask that, and I wanted to tell Romulus it was none of his business, but then I spoke anyway, "A pretty long time," I said, and then Romulus said he'd have me know that no doubt I too was already an orphan, just like him and his big brother, and I said, "It's not true, I'm not an orphan," and I looked back down at my hand, by then Remus's hand was moving so fast I couldn't even tell which two fingers of mine the knife was jabbing between, the thuds and the creaks flowed together, and the board was shaking terribly by now under my palm, I could practically feel the ice-cold blade against every one of my fingers at once, as if they'd slipped a big, quivering iron glove over my hand, my whole body was covered with goose bumps by now, and I thought my hair must be standing up like that time they switched the electricity on me in physics class, so anyway, my left hand was clenched tight in a fist, and I knew that any time now my right hand would try clutching at the board, and I also knew what would happen then, the tip of the knife would go through one of my fingers like going through butter, which is also why I didn't want to move my hand, I knew I must not. I looked at Remus Frunza, his tongue was sticking out a little, I saw, he was squinting and he was staring hard at his own hand, but then he must have sensed that I was watching because now he looked right back at me and the knife started going even faster between my fingers, and I knew that this was it, that he couldn't do it any faster, that he'd call it quits any time now, and then Remus suddenly broke into a grin and shut both his eyes, his teeth were all painted black, and I saw his eyelids were red from the war paint, and a big black pupil of an eye was drawn with coal on each one, and when I saw that, I felt the sweat start flowing again, and I knew this was it, now that he was doing it blind he'd slip up for sure, he'd stab that knife into one of my fingers any second now, and I knew I wouldn't be able to take it anymore, that in no time I'd cry out and ask him to stop, so I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming because I knew that if I did cry out, he'd slice that knife right into the middle of my hand, it was the same in that movie about the partisans, that was the punishment for cowards, but the scream had already started up my throat, and then while still clenching my teeth I began hissing and then letting out this long wordless scream, and my face cramped up completely, so much so that I could feel its every single muscle throbbing with pain, and the whole time my hand was still pressed against the board, and I still hadn't said, "Enough," true, it's not like I could have said anything anyway, on account of my screaming, and then Romulus Frunza gave me a smirk, and suddenly he also opened up his hand and put his palm right down there on the board next to mine, Remus didn't even open his eyes, but he must have known what had happened because by now he was passing the switchblade in and out between his kid brother's fingers too, his hand was so fast you couldn't even see it anymore, and the board was vibrating so hard under my palm that it felt as if the whole watchtower was swaying, I wasn't screaming anymore, just hissing really loud, and then Romulus Frunza spoke. "All right," he said, he didn't think I could take it so long, all I needed to do now was admit the truth to myself, that I was an orphan and I didn't have a father either, all I needed to say was that I knew he died and that he'd never come home, and then he'd tell me right away where the ball was, but I still didn't say a thing, and then Romulus spoke again, he told me to believe him that it would be best even for me if I said it out loud, it would be a relief, I'd see, and when he shut his mouth, in that instant I figured out where the ball was, the only thing I didn't get was why it didn't come to me earlier, and I shouted, "No, no way, both of you should go drop dead," and suddenly I snatched away my hand, and in the same motion I kicked the board toward Remus and lunged for the ladder and I saw Remus open his eyes, but he was already jabbing down the switchblade right where the middle of my hand would have been, but because the board had slipped, it wasn't my hand but Romulus's that was now there, but whether or not Remus stabbed into that hand with the knife I didn't see, because by then I was already climbing down the ladder, all I heard was one of them let out a cry so loud that the pigeons on the beams overhead all flew off at once, and meanwhile I was climbing down as fast as I could, and one of the rungs slipped out of my hand at the end and I fell on my rear end right there in front of the watchtower, but luckily I didn't land too hard, and I looked up and saw Remus Frunza leaning out of the watchtower up to his waist, and then Remus told me in a harsh, rasping voice to go ahead and run as hard as my lungs could take it because I could kiss my life goodbye, and that they'd catch up to me even if I got two hundred yards ahead of them, and then I felt the air biting at my hand, and I looked and saw blood flowing from it in a bunch of places, the switchblade had caused a bunch of tiny wounds on both sides of my fingers, which was why the ladder rung had slipped out of my hand, yes, my palm was slippery because of the blood, up to that moment I'd wanted to leave the ball right where it was, but then I thought I wouldn't after all, not if I could help it, and I stood up and ran over to the spear and yanked it out of the ground and tore the fertilizer bag off the tip, and I threw down the spear, and with the bag in my hand I started running back toward the Big Tree.