Somewhere from the depths of the city there came a brutish<br > cry. It began as a howl and ended in a whimpering--a sound<br > which reverberated through the nearly empty streets.<br > It was repeated once then fell away and was not heard again.<br > At least on this day. The not quite human sound came from an<br > elderly building now surrounded by tremendous structures of<br > glass and steel. Those who understood the city knew that it<br > came from the county jail， where despair and defiance had been<br > partners for nearly fifty years.<br > It was early morning in the city. The rumble of the metropolis<br > coming alive was not yet dominant and so it was possible to hear<br > such things. And to view an old moon swimming between the<br >clouds. Its presence at this early hour of the morning seemed<br >incongruous， as if it was something unwanted and left aban-<br >doned by the storm of the night. Now the streets of the city<br >were still a such polished black from the rains they reflected the<br >first light in the east. Some of those who were early drivers<br >to work allowed their attention to be diverted from their car<br >radios long enough to assess the eerie mixture of moon and<br >dawn light， and wondered if they were witnessing a rare<br >phenomenon.<br > They thought， "What the hell is going， on，" and "Well well， it<br >might turn out to be a beautiful day aften}~ll，" and some of them<br >made conjectures like "Which half o~v~/ae moon "is cut away<br >when it s old and what in the name of God Almighty am I doing<br >here fighting traffic， I should have been an astronaut? Or at least<br >stayed in bed."<br ><br >