羊毛战记 Part 2 Proper Gauge 9

　　9,　　Jahns’s walking stick made a conspicuous ring as it impacted each metal step. It soon became ametronome for their descent, timing the music of the stairwell, which was crowded and vibratingwith the energy of a recent cleaning. All the traffic seemed to be heading upward, save for the two ofthem. They jostled against the flow, elbows brushing, cries of “Hey, Mayor! ” followed by nods toMarnes. And Jahns saw it on their faces: the temptation to call him sheriff tempered by their respectfor the awful nature of his assumed promotion.,　　“How many floors you up for?
” Marnes asked.,　　“Why, you tired already?” Jahns glanced over her shoulder to smirk at him, saw his bushymustache twisted up in a smile of his own.,　　“Going down ain’t a problem for me. It’s the going back up I can’t stand. ”,　　Their hands briefly collided on the twisted railing of the spiral staircase, Jahns’s hand trailingbehind her, Marnes’s reaching ahead. She felt like telling him she wasn’t tired at all, but she did feela sudden weariness, an exhaustion more mental than physical. She had a childish vision of moreyouthful times and pictured Marnes scooping her up and carrying her down the staircase in his arms.,　　And Jahns felt guilty for even thinking it. She felt her husband beside her, his ghost perturbed by herthoughts—,　　“Mayor? How many you thinking?
”,　　The two of them stopped and hugged the rail as a porter trudged up the stairs. Jahns recognizedthe boy, Connor, still in his teens but already with a strong back and steady stride. He had an array ofbundles strapped together and balanced on his shoulders. The sneer on his face was not fromexhaustion or pain, but annoyance. Who were all these people suddenly on his stairwell? Thesetourists? Jahns thought of something encouraging to say, some small verbal reward for these peoplewho did a job her knees never could, but he was already gone on his strong young feet, carrying foodand supplies up from the down deep, slowed only by the crush of traffic attempting to worm upthrough the silo for a peek of the clear and wide outside.,　　She and Marnes caught their breath for a moment between flights. Marnes handed her his canteen,and she took a polite sip before passing it back.,　　“I’d like to do half today,” she finally answered. “But I want to make a few stops on the way. ”,