Now, I am the first to appreciate a joke, said Arthur and then had to wait for the others to stop laughing.
I am the first… he stopped again. This time he stopped and listened to the silence. There actually was silence this time, and it had come very suddenly.
Prak was quiet. For days they had lived with constant manical laughter ringing round the ship, only occasionally relieved by short periods of light giggling and sleep. Arthur’s very soul was clenched with paranoia.
This was not the silence of sleep. A buzzer sounded. A glance at a board told them that the buzzer had been sounded by Prak.
He’s not well, said Trillian quietly. The constant laughing is completely wrecking his body.
Arthur’s lips twitched but he said nothing.
We’d better go and see him, said Trillian.
Trillian came out of the cabin wearing her serious face.
He wants you to go in, she said to Arthur, who was wearing his glum and tight-lipped one. He thrust his hands deep into his dressing-gown pockets and tried to think of something to say which wouldn’t sound petty. It seemed terribly unfair, but he couldn’t.
Please, said Trillian.
He shrugged and went in, taking his glum and tight-lipped face with him, despite the reaction this always provoked from Prak.
He looked down at his tormentor, who was lying quietly on the bed, ashen and wasted. His breathing was very shallow. Ford and Zaphod were standing by the bed looking awkward.
You wanted to ask me something, said Prak in a thin voice and coughed slightly.
Just the cough made Arthur stiffen, but it passed and subsided.
How do you know that? he asked.
Prak shrugged weakly.
‘Cos it’s true, he said simply.
Arthur took the point.
“好吧我知道你们在笑什么……”阿瑟说完这句话后，不得不等其他人都笑完了再继续。
“我是头一个，”他又停了下来。这次停下是因为安静。此时此刻，真的安静了，非常突然的安静。
普啦刻没了响动。过去几天来，他们一直生活在不时爆发的、疯子般的笑声之中，偶尔演变为睡梦中轻轻的笑声，那时他们才能稍稍放松一下。阿瑟觉得自己快得妄想症了。
这时的安静却不像在睡觉。一阵蜂鸣声响起，他们朝控制台看去，原来是普啦刻按响了蜂鸣器。
“他不好了。”崔莉安低声道，“过度的大笑彻底毁了他的身体。”
阿瑟嘴唇抽搐了两下，什么也没说。
“我们最好去看看他。”崔莉安说。
崔莉安从船舱走出来，表情严峻。
“他想让你进去。”她对阿瑟说。阿瑟正一脸郁闷，嘴巴紧抿。他双手插在睡袍口袋里，努力想说点表示大度的话，尽管不太公平，但他还是说不出口。
“拜托了。”崔莉安说。
他耸了耸肩，进去了。还是一脸的郁闷，嘴巴紧抿，这些都正是因为普啦刻。
他低头看看这个专门烦自己的家伙。这个人静静地躺在床上，苍白、衰弱。他的呼吸很微弱。福特和赞福德站在旁边有点尴尬。
“你想问我点问题。”普啦刻气若游丝，轻轻地咳着。
阿瑟一听那咳嗽，脸色就变了。不过，他还是试着平静下来。
“你怎么知道的？”他问。
普啦刻无力地耸了下肩。
“因为真相如此。”他明确地说道。
阿瑟承认了。