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... and waited for the first scream. He remembered that the first scream, in which terror still predominated over physical pain, was usually the worst; what followed was already more bearable, one got used to it and after a time one could even draw conclusions on the method of torture form the tone and rhythm of the screams. Towards the end, most people behaved in the same way, however different the were in temperament and voice: the screams became weaker, changed over into whining and choking. Usually the door would slam soon after. the keys would jangle again; ....
Arthur Koestler, Darkness at Noon, Modern Library, New York, p. 17.
PLACE: a prison, Russia
TIME: 1930's
Her heard his pulses hammering in his temples and nothing else. He waited. The silence thickened.
Arthur Koestler, Darkness at Noon, Modern Library, New York, p. 137.
PLACE: a prison, Russia
TIME: 1930's
It was so quiet that one heard the crackling of the burning cigarette paper.
Arthur Koestler, Darkness at Noon, Modern Library, New York, p. 137.
PLACE: a prison, Russia
TIME: 1930's
The house was silent after the one shrill woman's cry, but they had the feeling that all the inhabitants were awake in their beds, holding their breath. Then they heard someone in an upper story pull the plug and the water rushing down evenly through the pipes.
Arthur Koestler, Darkness at Noon, Modern Library, New York, p.9
PLACE: a prison, Russia
TIME: 1930's
He had a sudden wild craving for a newspaper. It was so strong that he could smell the printer's ink and hear the cracking and the rustling of the pages.
Arthur Koestler, Darkness at Noon, Modern Library, New York, p. 15.
PLACE: a prison, Russia
TIME: 1930's
The walls on both sides were of solid brick, which would stifle the sound of tapping, but where the heating and drain pipe penetrated it, it had been plastered and resounded quite well; besides, the heating pipe itself seemed to be noise-conducting.
Arthur Koestler, Darkness at Noon, Modern Library, New York, p. 1.
PLACE: a prison, Russia
TIME: 1930's
The silence became even more unnuatural. It was not the usual comforting absence of noise; it was a silence which had swallowed all sound and smothered it, a silence vibrating like a taut drum-skin.
Arthur Koestler, Darkness at Noon, Modern Library, New York, p.136
PLACE: a prison, Russia
TIME: 1930's
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