t　part　of　him　had　known　。。。　but　would　have　kept　the　knowledge　from　the　rest　of　him；　if　allowed。　I　looked　at　Percy；　dumbfounded　and　furious；　and　he　looked　back　at　me　levelly；　as　if　to　ask　what　I　meant　to　do　about　it。　And　he　had　me；　of　course。　There　was　nothing　I　could　do　about　it；　not　in　front　of　the　witnesses；　not　with　Delacroix　now　sitting　on　the　furthest　edge　of　life。　There　was　nothing　to　do　now　but　go　on　with　it；　finish　it。

Percy　took　the　mask　from　its　hook　and　rolled　it　down　over　Del's　face；　snugging　it　tight　under　the　little　man's　undershot　chin　so　as　to　stretch　the　hole　in　the　top。　Taking　the　sponge　from　the　bucket　and　putting　it　in　the　cap　was　the　next；　and　it　was　here　that　Percy　diverged　from　the　routine　for　the　first　time：　instead　of　just　bending　over　and　fishing　the　sponge　out；　he　took　the　steel　cap　from　the　back　of　the　chair；　and　bent　over　with　it　in　his　hands。　Instead　of　bringing　the　sponge　to　the　cap；　in　other　words…which　would　have　been　the　natural　way　to　do　it　…　he　brought　the　cap　to　the　sponge。　I　should　have　realized　something　was　wrong；　but　I　was　too　upset。　It　was　the　only　execution　I　ever　took　part　in　where　I　felt　totally　out　of　control。　As　for　Brutal；　he　never　looked　at　Percy　at　all；　not　as　Percy　bent　over　the　bucket　（moving　so　as　to　partially　block　what　he　was　doing　from　our　view）；　not　as　he　straightened　up　and　turned　to　Del　with　the　cap　in　his　hands　and　the　brown　circle　of　sponge　already　inside　it。　Brutal　was　looking　at　the　cloth　which　had　replaced