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简介:她吃不准自己是否听清了他的话,正准备再问一遍。
这时他回过头来望着她。“我宁可穿着,”他语气坚定地说道;她发现他戴着一副蓝色的大眼镜,衣领上一片虬髯,几乎整个面孔都被领子遮住了。
“那好吧,先生,”她说,“随您的便。用不了多久,房间会变得更加暖和。”
他一言不答,重新转过脸去,霍尔太太觉得自己讨了个没趣,便迅速摆好餐具,匆匆出了房间。当她再进来时,他仍然像个石头人似地站在那里,他的衣领向上翻起,帽檐朝下,差不多把他的脸和耳朵全给遮住了。她重重地把鸡蛋和肉放到桌上。尔后,她与其说是在跟他讲话,倒不如说是在冲着他喊:
“午饭好啦,先生。”
“谢谢,”他说。他站着不动,直到她关上房门。随后他转过身来,迫不及待地朝桌子走去。
霍尔太太在厨房里装满一碟黄油,端着它来到客厅。
她敲了一下门,即刻走了进去。正在这时,她的客人疾步闪开,她只看见一件白乎乎的东西隐没在桌子后面。他好像正在从地上拾什么东西。她把装着黄油的碟子放在桌上,发觉这位
客人的衣帽正挂在火炉前的一把椅子上。
“我想现在我可以把它们拿去烘一下了吧?”她用一种不容拒绝的口吻说道。
“别碰帽子,”她的客人说。她转过身去,看见他已抬起头,正看着自己。
她站在那里望了他好一会儿,惊愕得连话也说不出来。
She was not sure she had heard him, and was about to repeat the question.
He, turned his head and looked at her over his shoulder. "I would rather keep them on," he said firmly; and she noticed that he wore big blue glasses, and had a bushy beard over his coat collar that almost hid his face.
"Very well, sir," she said. "As you like. Very soon the room will be warmer."
He made no answer, and turned his face away from her again, and Mrs Hall, feeling that her talk was unwelcome, finished laying the table quickly, and hurried out of the room. When she returned he was still standing there like a man of stone, his collar turned up, the edge of his hat turned down, almost hiding
his face and ears. She put down the eggs and meat noisily, and, called rather than said to him:
"Your lunch is served, sir."
"Thank you," he said. He did not move until she was closing the door. Then he turned round and walked eagerly up to the table.
Mrs Hall filled the butter dish in the kitchen, and took it to the parlour.
She knocked and entered at once. As she did so her visitor moved quickly, so that she only saw something white disappearing behind the table. He seemed to be picking up something from the floor. She put down the butter dish on the table, and noticed that the visitor's hat and coat were hanging over a chair in front of the fire.
"I suppose I may have them to dry now?" she said, in a voice that cpuld not be refused.
"Leave the hat," said her visitor, and turning, she saw he had raised his head and was looking at her.
For a moment she stood looking at him, too prised to speak.
霍尔瞪着眼睛站在那里。“他被狗咬了,”霍尔说,“我还是去看看他吧。”他找陌生人去了。他在走廊里遇见了妻子。“车夫的狗—咬了他,”他告诉她说。
他径直上了楼梯,推开陌生人的房门,走了进去。
室内窗帘低垂,光线昏暗。他一眼瞥见一只怪物,一只没有手的胳膊似乎正在向他挥动,一张白蒙蒙的脸上嵌着三个大黑点。接着,他的胸部挨了一击,整个人被撵出了房间,房门朝他迎面关上,然后被反锁了。这一切发生得如此之快,他根本来不及细看,只觉得有人影在眼前一晃,随后被狠狠打了一下,接下来的一声响就跟打枪一样。他站在黑暗狭窄的走廊里,弄不明白刚才看见的究竟是什么。
几分钟后,他回到了一聚集在旅店外面的那一小堆人的中间。费伦赛德在那里从头至尾讲述事情的经过,这是第二遍了;霍尔太太说他的狗不该咬她的客人;街对面的小店主人赫克斯特正在问这问那;桑迪·沃杰斯神情严肃,还有妇女和孩子,大家都在谈论。
霍尔先生站在台阶上注视着他们,一边侧耳细听,他觉得刚才在楼上竟会见到这等怪事实在是令人难以相信。
“他说他不需要帮忙,”他接着他太太的问话回答说,“我们还是把他的行李搬进去吧。”
“他应该马上去治一治他的腿,”赫克斯特先生说。
“毙了这条狗,换了我就这么做,”人群中有个女士说。
突然,那条狗又咆哮起来。
Hall stood staring. "He was bitten," said Hall. "I'd better go and see him." And he went to find the stranger. He met his wife in the passage. "The carrier's dog - bit him," he told her. He went straight upstairs, pushed open the stranger's door
and went in.
The blind was down and the room dark. He caught sight of a strange thing, a handless arm that seemed to be waving towards him, and a face of three large dark spots on white. Then he was struck in the chest and thrown out of the room, and the door was shut in his face and locked. All this happened so fast that it gave him no time to see anything clearly. A waving of shapes, a blow and a noise like a gun. There he stood in the dark little passage wondering what he had seen.
After a few minutes he came back to the little group that had formed outside the inn. There was Fearenside telling the story all over again for the second time; there was Mrs Hall saying his dog had no right to bite her guests; there was Huxter, the shopkeeper from over the road, asking questions; Sandy Wadgers looking solemn and women and children, all talking.
Mr Hall, staring at them from the steps and listening could not believe that he had seen anything very strange happen upstairs.
"He wants no help, he says," he said in answer to his wife's question. "We'd better take his luggage in."
"He ought to have his leg looked after at once," said Mr Huxter.
"I'd shoot the dog, that's what I'd do," said a lady in the group. Suddenly the dog began growling again.
黑胡子男人把枪放回口袋。就在这时,门锁断了,有什么东西从他们身边冲了过去,客厅的门猛地打开了。他们听见马弗尔大声尖叫,就跑过去救他。黑胡子男人的左轮枪响了,客厅后面的镜子顿时四分五裂,哗地一声掉落在地板上。
当酒吧间老板进人房间时,他看见马弗尔正在拼命顶住通向院子和厨房的门。那扇门猛地开了,马弗尔被拖进了厨房。
那位试图跑到酒吧间老板前面去的警察立刻冲了进去,车夫紧随其后。警察抓到了拉住马弗尔的那只看不见的手,可他的脸上挨了一拳,一下子跌倒在地上。接着马车夫也抓到了什么东西。
“我逮住他了,”马车夫说。
“他在这里!”酒吧间老板说。
马弗尔先生忽然趴倒在地上,企图爬到正在搏斗的那几个人的腿后面去。他们在门口打来打去,忽儿向前,忽儿向后。当警察踩到隐身人的脚时,人们第一次听到了他的声音。他大吼
一声,挥舞手臂乱打。马车夫突然叫了一声,跌倒在地,原来他的腹部挨了一脚。从厨房通向酒吧间的门砰地一声响,马弗尔先生逃了出去。厨房里的人发现他们自己都在当空乱打。
The man with the beard put the gun back in his pocket. As he did so, the lock of the door broke, something rushed past them, and tne parlour door burst open. They heard Marvel scream and ran to his rescue. The bearded man's revolver went-off, and the mirror at the back of the parlour came crashing down on
the floor.
As the barman came into the room, he saw Marvel struggling against the door that led to the yard and kitchen. The door flew open and Marvel was dragged into the kitchen.
The policeman, who had been trying to pass the barman, rushed in, followed by the cabman, caught hold of the invisible hand that held Marvel, was hit in the face and fell down. Then the cabman took hold of something.
"I've got him," said the cabman.
"Here he is!" said the barman.
Mr Marvel suddenly dropped to the ground, and made an attempt to creep behind the legs of the fighting men. The struggle went backwards and forwards about the door. The voice of the Invisible Man was heard for the first time, as the policeman stepped on his foot. Then he cried out, and his arms flew out.
The cabman suddenly cried and fell, with a kick in the stomach. The door into the bar parlour from the kitchen slammed as Mr Marvel escaped through it. The men in the kitchen found themselves struggling with empty air.
……