He took his stand opposite the chinless man,
and then, at a signal from the officer, let free a frightful blow, with all
the weight of his body behind it, full in the chinless man's mouth. The
force of it seemed almost to knock him clear of the floor. His body was
flung across the cell and fetched up against the base of the lavatory seat.
For a moment he lay as though stunned, with dark blood oozing from his
mouth and nose. A very faint whimpering or squeaking, which seemed
unconscious, came out of him. Then he rolled over and raised himself
unsteadily on hands and knees. Amid a stream of blood and saliva, the two
halves of a dental plate fell out of his mouth.
The prisoners sat very still, their hands crossed on their knees. The
chinless man climbed back into his place. Down one side of his face the
flesh was darkening. His mouth had swollen into a shapeless cherry-coloured
mass with a black hole in the middle of it.
From time to time a little blood dripped on to the breast of his
overalls. His grey eyes still flitted from face to face, more guiltily than
ever, as though he were trying to discover how much the others despised him
for his humiliation.
The door opened. With a small gesture the officer indicated the skull-
faced man.
'Room 101,' he said.
There was a gasp and a flurry at Winston's side. The man had actually
flung himself on his knees on the floor, with his hand clasped together.
'Comrade! Offic