Falconer+-+John+Cheever

Falconer 119
squares and put this in his copy of Descartes. When he had made
radios as a boy he had wound the wire on an oatmeal box. He
guessed a toilet paper roll would be nearly as good. The bedspring
would work for an aerial, the ground was the radiator, Bumpo’s
diamond was the diode crystal and the Stone had his earphones.
When this was completed he would be able to get continuous
news from The Wall. Farragut was terribly excited and highly
composed. The public address system made him jump. “SHORT
ARM FOR CELLBLOCK F IN TEN MINUTES. SHORT ARM FOR
CELLBLOCK F IN TEN MINUTES.”
Short arm was, for the calendar freaks, the first Thursday of every
month. It was for the rest of them whenever it was announced.
Farragut guessed that short arm, along with the Christmas tree,
was a maneuver to dissipate their excitement. They would be
humiliated and naked and the power of mandatory nakedness was
inestimable. Short arm involved having some medical riffraff and a
nurse from the infirmary examine their genitals for venereal
suppuration. At the announcement there was some hooting and
shouting, but not much. Farragut, with his back to Tiny, got out of
his pants and put them neatly under the mattress to preserve their
press. He also got rid of the copper.
The doctor, when he was let in, was wearing a full suit and a felt
hat. He looked tired and frightened. The nurse was a very ugly
man who was called Veronica. He must have been pretty years ago
because in a dim, dim light he had the airs and graces of a youth,
but in a stronger light he looked like a frog. The ardor that had
rucked his face and made it repulsive still seemed to burn. These
two sat down at Tiny’s desk and Tiny gave them the records and
unlocked the cells. Naked, Farragut could smell himself and he
could also smell Tennis, Bumpo and the Cuckold. They had not
had a shower since Sunday and the smell was strong and like a
butcher’s spoiled trimmings. Bumpo went on first. “Squeeze it,”
said the doctor. The doctor’s voice was strained and angry. “Pull
back the foreskin and squeeze it. Squeeze it, I said.” The doctor’s