When the blood had finally stopped draining, Ralph filled a plastic washbasin with
warm soapy water from a jug and scrubbed his hands carefully, leisurely, precisely, pausing even to clean the soap from beneath his fingernails with a smaller pocketknife — and when he was done, Bruce poured a gallon jug of clean
water over Ralph's hands and wrists to rinse the soap away, and then Ralph dried his hands and arms with a clean towel and emptied out the old bloody wash
water, then filled it anew, and it was time for Bruce to do the
same.