Trillian? shouted Arthur in a shocked and weakened voice. In the smoking mess he could see nothing.
Earthman, we must go, said Slartibartfast nervously.
Trillian? shouted Arthur again.
A moment or two later, Trillian staggered, shaking, into view, supported by her new friend the Thunder God.
The girl stays with me, said Thor. There’s a great party going on in Valhalla, we’ll be flying off…
Where were you when all this was going on? said Arthur.
Upstairs, said Thor, I was weighing her. Flying’s a tricky business you see, you have to calculate wind…
She comes with us, said Arthur.
Hey, said Trillian, don’t I…
No, said Arthur, you come with us.
Thor looked at him with slowly smouldering eyes. He was making some point about godliness and it had nothing to do with being clean.
She comes with me, he said quietly.
Come on, Earthman, said Slartibartfast nervously, picking at Arthur’s sleeve.
Come on, Slartibartfast, said Ford, picking at the old man’s sleeve. Slartibartfast had the teleport device.
The party lurched and swayed, sending everyone reeling, except for Thor and except for Arthur, who stared, shaking, into the Thunder God’s black eyes.
Slowly, incredibly, Arthur put up what appeared to be his tiny little fists.
Want to make something of it? he said.
I beg your minuscule pardon? roared Thor.
I said, repeated Arthur, and he could not keep the quavering out of his voice, do you want to make something of it? He waggled his fists ridiculously.
Thor looked at him with incredulity. Then a little wisp of smoke curled upwards from his nostril. There was a tiny little flame in it too.
He gripped his belt.
He expanded his chest to make it totally clear that here was the sort of man you only dared to cross if you had a team of Sherpas with you.
He unhooked the shaft of his hammer from his belt. He held it up in his hands to reveal the massive iron head. He thus cleared up any possible misunderstanding that he might merely have been carrying a telegraph pole around with him.
Do I want, he said, with a hiss like a river flowing through a steel mill, to make something of it?
Yes, said Arthur, his voice suddenly and extraordinarily strong and belligerent. He waggled his fists again, this time as if he meant it.
You want to step outside? he snarled at Thor.
All right! bellowed Thor, like an enraged bull (or in fact like an enraged Thunder God, which is a great deal more impressive), and did so.
Good, said Arthur, that’s got rid of him. Slarty, get us out of here.
“崔莉安？”阿瑟惶惶不安地喊道。烟雾中伸手不见五指。
“地球人，该走了。” 司拉提巴特法斯不安地催道。
“崔莉安？”阿瑟又喊道。
一会儿，崔莉安东倒西歪地出现了，雷神——她的新朋友，扶着她。
“这个女孩要跟我走。”托尔说，“在瓦哈拉有个盛大的派对，我们要飞过去……”
“刚才你们在哪儿？”阿瑟问。
“楼上，”托尔说，“我在给她称重。飞行可是个技术活，得计算风力……”
“她要跟我们走。”阿瑟说。
“嘿……”崔莉安说，“我不是……”
“不，”阿瑟说，“你跟我们走。”
托尔灼灼的目光投向阿瑟，神威逼人——却令人摸不着头脑。
“她跟我走。”他平静地说。
“快点，地球人。” 司拉提巴特法斯不安地扯扯阿瑟的袖子。
“快点，司拉提巴特法斯特。”福特扯扯老人的袖子。司拉提巴特法斯的手已经放在了传输器上。
大楼晃晃悠悠，晃得人们晕头转向。可是托尔和阿瑟没有。阿瑟正微微颤栗着，死死盯着雷神的双眼。
慢慢地——不可思议地，阿瑟举起了他那瘦小的拳头。
“你想怎么样？”他说。
“不好意思，你小子再说一遍？”托尔粗声问道。
“我说，”阿瑟的声音中难掩恐惧，“你想怎么样？”他很滑稽地挥了挥拳头。
托尔颇为惊讶地看着他。而后，他鼻孔中冒出一丝丝轻烟，还带着火星。
他叉起腰。
他挺起胸膛，仿佛要宣告大家：除非你有一群夏尔巴人②帮忙，否则别想打赢我。
他从腰上取下那柄神锤。他举起那大锤，锤头巨大而坚硬。现在，相信任何人都该摸得着头脑了。
“你问，”他的气息如同磨房中的水流声一样粗重，“我想干什么？”
“没错。”阿瑟回答。奇怪的是，他的声音突然强硬起来。他又挥了挥拳头，居然像是认真的。
“你想到外面去吗？”他大声对托尔吼道。
“行啊！”托尔厉声喝道。他像一头发怒的公牛一样冲出大门（其实，说他“像一位发怒的雷神一样”更加贴切）。
“好啦，”阿瑟说，“甩掉他了。小司，咱们走吧。”