Now, I faced solitude of a rare purity. In the darkness, above the sheer drop, I could see the lights of Forty-second Street flashing in the visible distance. The railings of the fire escape, which were probably precarious at the best of times, were slicked with water and inimical1 to the grip. I moved carefully, taking step after premeditated step. The wind pushed around the building noisily, and I took some grim comfort in the idea that, if I were to fall from that height, there was no question of being maimed:death would be instant.
A) The thought calmed me, and I stepped and slid down the metal steps, a few modest inches at a time.
B) My high-wire act continued for long minutes in the darkness.
C) And then I saw that the fire escape went only halfway down the building, ending abruptly at another closed door.
D) The rest of the way down to the ground, some two flights, was air alone.
E) But luck was with me: this second door had a handle.
F) I tried it and it opened, into a hallway.