"When she walked across the room she couldn't feel her feet touching the floor. She

couldn't feel anything -- except a slight nausea and a desire to vomit. Everything was

automatic now -- down the stairs to the cellar, the light switch, the deep freeze, the

hand inside the cabinet taking hold of the first object it met. She lifted it out, and

looked at it. It was wrapped in paper, so she took off the paper and looked at it again.

A leg of lamb. All right then, they would have lamb for supper. She carried it upstairs,

holding the thin-bone end of it with both her hands,and as she went through the

living-room, she saw him standing with his back to her,and she stopped. "For God's

sake", he said, hearing her, but not turning round. "Don't make any supper for me, I'm

going out." At this point, Mary Malloney simply walked up behind him and without a

pause she swung the big frozen leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as

hard as she could on the back of his head."