Герберт Уэллс - The Invisible Man

Daylight found the vicar and his wife, a quaintly costumed little couple, still marvelling about on their own ground floor by the unnecessary light of a guttering candle.

"Of all the extraordinary affairs," began the vicar for the twentieth time.

"My dear," said Mrs. Bunting, "there's Susie coming down. Just wait here until she has gone into the kitchen, and then slip upstairs."

Now it happened that in the early hours of Whit Monday, before Millie was hunted out for the day, [1] 6.1 before Millie was hunted out for the day — прежде чем разыскали Милли, которая была нужна ( зд. чтобы дать ей работу на день) Mr. Hall and Mrs. Hall both rose and went noiselessly down into the cellar. Their business there was of a private nature, and had something to do with the specific gravity [2] 6.2 specific gravity — удельный вес; зд. крепость of their beer.

They had hardly entered the cellar when Mrs. Hall found she had forgotten to bring down a bottle of sarsaparilla [3] 6.3 sarsaparilla — сарсапарель, растение, корень которого содержит сапонины (вещества, способные образовывать пену). Миссис Холл клала сарсапарель в пиво, чтобы увеличить пенистость. from their joint room. As she was the expert and principal operator in this affair, Hall very properly went upstairs for it.

On the landing he was surprised to see that the stranger's door was ajar. He went on into his own room and found the bottle as he had been directed.

But as he came downstairs, he noticed that the bolts on the front door had been shot back—that the door was, in fact, simply on the latch. And, with a flash of inspiration, he connected this with the stranger's room upstairs and the suggestions of Mr. Teddy Henfrey. He distinctly remembered holding the candle while Mrs. Hall shot these bolts overnight. At the sight he stopped, gaping; then, with the bottle still in his hands, went upstairs again. He rapped at the stranger's door. There was no answer. He rapped again; then pushed the door wide open and entered.

It was as he expected. The bed, the room also, was empty. And what was queerer, even to his heavy intelligence, on the bedroom chair and along the rail of the bed were scattered the garments, the only garments so far as he knew, and the bandages of their guest. His big slouch hat even was cocked jauntily over the bedpost.

As Hall stood there he heard his wife's voice coming out of the depth of the cellar, and with that rapid telescoping of the syllables [4] 6.4 telescoping of the syllables — проглатывание слогов and interrogative cocking up of the final words to a high note, by which the West Sussex villager is wont to indicate a brisk impatience. "Gearge! You gart whad a wand?" [5] 6.5 You gart whad a wand? ( диал. )=You got what I want?

At that he turned and hurried down to her.

"Janny," he said over the rail of the cellar steps, " 'tas the truth what Henfrey sez. 'E's not in uz room, 'e en't. [6] .6 'E's not in uz room, 'e en't (диал.)=He is not in his room, he isn't. And the front door's onbolted."

At first Mrs. Hall did not understand, and so soon as she did she resolved to see the empty room for herself. Hall, still holding the bottle, went first. "If 'e en't there," he said, "'is close are. And what's 'e doin' 'ithout 'is close, than? 'Tas a most curius basness." [7] 6.7 If 'e en't there… 'is close are. And what's 'e doin' 'ithout 'is close, than? 'Tas a most curius basness. ( диал. )=If he isn't there, his clothes are. And what is he doing without his clothes, then? It's a most curious business.

As they came up the cellar steps they both, it was afterwards ascertained, fancied they heard the front door open and shut, but, seeing it closed and nothing there, neither said a word to the other about it at the time. Mrs. Hall passed her husband in the passage, and ran on first upstairs. Someone sneezed on the staircase. Hall, following six steps behind, thought that he heard her sneeze; she, going on first, was under the impression that Hall was sneezing. She flung open the door and stood regarding the room. "Of all the curious!" she said.

She heard a sniff close behind her head, as it seemed, and, turning, was surprised to see Hall a dozen feet off on the topmost stair. But in another moment he was beside her. She bent forward and put her hand on the pillow and then under the clothes.

"Cold," she said. "He's been up this hour or more."

As she did so a most extraordinary thing happened. The bed-clothes gathered themselves together, leapt up suddenly into a sort of peak, and then jumped headlong over the bottom rail. It was exactly as if a hand had clutched them in the centre and flung them aside. Immediately after, the stranger's hat hopped off the bedpost, described a whirling flight in the air through the better part of a circle, and then dashed straight at Mrs. Hall's face. Then as swiftly came the sponge from the wash-stand, and then the chair, flinging the stranger's coat and trousers carelessly aside, and laughing dryly in a voice singularly like the stranger's, turned itself up with its four legs at Mrs. Hall, seemed to take aim at her for a moment, and charged at her. She screamed and turned, and then the chair legs came gently but firmly against her back and impelled her and Hall out of the room. The door slammed violently, and was locked. The chair and bed seemed to be executing a dance of triumph for a moment, and then abruptly everything was still.

Mrs. Hall was left almost in a fainting condition in Mr. Hall's arms on the landing. It was with the greatest difficulty that Mr. Hall and Millie, who had been roused by her scream of alarm, succeeded in getting her downstairs, and applying the restoratives customary in such cases.

" 'Tas sperits," said Mrs. Hall. "I know 'tas sperits. I've read in papers of en. Tables and chairs leaping and dancing…"

"Take a drop more, Janny," said Hall. " 'Twill steady ye."

"Lock him out," said Mrs. Hall. "Don't let him come in again. I half guessed… I might ha' known. With them goggling eyes and bandaged head, and never going to church of a Sunday. And all they bottles—more'n it's right for anyone to have. He's put the sperits into the furniture… My good old furniture! 'Twas in that very chair my poor dear mother used to sit when I was a little girl. To think it should rise up against me now…"

"Just a drop more, Janny," said Hall. "Your nerves is all upset."

They sent Millie across the street through the golden five o'clock sunshine to rouse up Mr. Sandy Wadgers, the blacksmith.

Mr. Hall's compliments, and the furniture upstairs was behaving most extraordinary. Would Mr. Wadgers come round? [8] 6.8 Mr. Hall's compliments, and the furniture upstairs was behaving most extraordinary. Would Mr. Wadgers come aroung? — Милли передаёт мистеру Веджерсу, что ей поручили сказать. Её слова даны в несобственно прямой речи. с сохранением особенностей её языка.

He was a knowing man, was Mr. Wadgers, [9] 6.9 he was a knowing man, was Mr. Wadgers — он всё знал, этот мистер Веджерс. Повторение глагола-связки и подлежащего с инверсией является средством эмфазы. and very resourceful. He took quite a grave view of the case. "Arm darmed if thet ent witchcraft," [10] 6.10 Arm darmed if thet ent witchcraft. ( диал. ) — Будь я проклят, если это не колдовство. was the view of Mr. Sandy Wadgers. "You warnt horseshoes for such gentry as he." [11] 6.11 В Англии существовало поверие, что подкова охраняет от ведьм и всякого колдовства.