"Romachkin was terrified by his twofold discovery—that he thought, and that the papers lied."
Chap. 1, p. 6

"Twenty-two people lived in the six rooms and the windowless nook at the back: twenty-two people, all clearly recognizable by the most furtive sounds they made in the stillness of night."
Chap. 1, p. 13

"Erchov felt the sarcasm in the back of his neck, the place where the executioner's bullet lodges."
Chap. 2, p. 37

"Erchov firmly shook a slimy hand, saw Popov to the door, shut the door, and stood helplessly in the center of his office. Nothing here was his any longer. A few minutes of hypocritical conversation had been enough to remove him from the controls."
Chap. 2, p. 58

"She kept down her joy at having him back, as a moment earlier she had kept down her fear that he would not come back. It would always be like that." The...