The man with the floorbuffer washed up nearby. The buffer rose trembling above the crowd. It came down on no head but Suttree’s. He felt the vertebrae in his neck crack. The room and all in it turned white as noon. His eyes rolled up in his head and his bowels gave way. He distinctly heard his mother say his name. He was standing with his knees locked and his hands dangling and the blood pouring down into his eyes. He could not see.
