"Hold on there!" he grabbed my arm.
"You're not going back until you tell me what this is all about."
I could have broken his grip, but then he could order me dragged back by the heels, and quite a few people would enjoy doing the dragging. So I forced myself to speak slowly, softly:
"It's simply that I lost my watch. My mother gave it to me and it's a family heirloom. I want to find it before we leave."
"You sure it's not in your cabin, or down in Tirellian?"
"I've already checked."
-- The Doors of His Face, The Lamp of His Mouth by Roger Zelazny
I would have expected the bolded part should be "... he could have ordered me dragged... people would have enjoyed doing...", for the context clearly indicates the whole dragging scenario is conceived in the narrator's mind.
I could give some examples from Google Books ( And there are a lot more, if you would try to get some.):
The power of the Deity could have given a tenfold force to the winds, but then no tree could have stood on the land and no ship could have sailed on the seas.
She could have broken her neck and become a quadriplegic. Then she would never have taken ballet lessons or thrown herself into gymnastics, softball, and basketball. Then she would never have been a cheerleader.
Please help justify this use here.
No comments:
Post a Comment