W.W.雅各布斯/W.W.Jacobs
W.W.雅各布斯(W.W.Jacobs,1863—1943),英國小說家,生於倫敦,畢業於伯克拜克大學。他是一個多產的小說家,寫過大量的諷刺小說和恐怖小說。其中最著名的恐怖小說是《猴爪》(1901),曾被多次改編為電影和劇本,斯蒂芬·金的小說《寵物公墓》深受其影響。
I
Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Laburnam Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly. Father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fre.
“Hark at the wind,”said Mr. White, who, having seen a fatal mistake after it was too late, was amiably desirous of preventing his son from seeing it.
“Im listening,”said the latter, grimly surveying the board as he stretched out his hand.“Check.”
“I should hardly think that hed come tonight,”said his father, with his hand poised over the board.
“Mate,”replied the son.
“Thats the worst of living so far out,”bawled Mr. White, with sudden and unlooked-for violence;“of all the beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way places to live in, this is the worst. Pathway‘s a bog, and the road’s a torrent. I don‘t know what people are thinking about. I suppose because only two houses on the road are let, they think it doesn’t matter.”
“Never mind, dear,”said his wife soothingly;“perhaps youll win the next one.”
Mr. White looked up sharply, just in time to intercept a knowing glance between mother and son. The words died away on his lips, and he hid a guilty grin in his thin grey beard.
“There he is,”said Herbert White, as the gate banged to loudly and heavy footsteps came toward the door.
The old man rose with hospitable haste, and opening the door, was heard condoling with the new arrival. The new arrival also condoled with himself, so that Mrs. White said,“Tut, tut!”and coughed gently as her husband entered the room, followed by a tall burly man, beady of eye and rubicund of visage.
“Sergeant-Major Morris,”he said, introducing him.
The sergeant-major shook hands, and taking the proffered seat by the fire, watched contentedly while his host got out whisky and tumblers and stood a small copper kettle on the fre.
At the third glass his eyes got brighter, and he began to talk, the little family circle regarding with eager interest this visitor from distant parts, as he squared his broad shoulders in the chair and spoke of strange scenes and doughty deeds;of wars and plagues and strangepeoples.
“Twenty-one years of it,”said Mr. White, nodding at his wife and son.“When he went away he was a slip of a youth in the warehouse. Now look at him.”
“He dont look to have taken much harm,”said Mrs. White, politely.
“Id like to go to India myself,”said the old man,“just to look round a bit, you know.”
“Better where you are,”said the sergeant-major, shaking his head. He put down the empty glass, and sighing softly, shook it again.
“I should like to see those old temples and fakirs and jugglers,”said the old man.“What was that you started telling me the other day about a monkeys paw or something, Morris?”
“Nothing,”said the soldier hastily.“Leastways, nothing worth hearing.”
“Monkeys paw?”said Mrs. White curiously.
“Well, its just a bit of what you might call magic, perhaps,”said the sergeant-major off-handedly.
His three listeners leaned forward eagerly. The visitor absentmindedly put his empty glass to his lips and then set it down again. His host flled it for him.
“To look at,”said the sergeant-major, fumbling in his pocket,“its just an ordinary little paw, dried to a mummy.”
He took something out of his pocket and proffered it. Mrs. White drew back with a grimace, but her son, taking it, examined it curiously.
“And what is there special about it?”inquired Mr. White, as he took it from his son and, having examined it, placed it upon the table.
“It had a spell put on it by an old fakir,”said the sergeant-major,“a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled peoples lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow. He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it.”
His manner was so impressive that his hearers were conscious that their light laughter jarred somewhat.
“Well, why dont you have three, sir?”said Herbert White cleverly.
The soldier regarded him in the way that middle age is wont to regard presumptuous youth.“I have,”he said quietly, and his blotchy face whitened.
“And did you really have the three wishes granted?”asked Mrs. White.
“I did,”said the sergeant-major, and his glass tapped against his strong teeth.
“And has anybody else wished?”inquired the old lady.
“The frst man had his three wishes, yes,”was the reply.“I don‘t know what the frst two were, but the third was for death. That’s how I got the paw.”
His tones were so grave that a hush fell upon the group.
“If you‘ve had your three wishes, it’s no good to you now, then, Morris,”said the old man at last.“What do you keep it for?”
The soldier shook his head.“Fancy, I suppose,”he said slowly.
“If you could have another three wishes,”said the old man, eyeing him keenly,“would you have them?”
“I dont know,”said the other.“I dont know.”
He took the paw, and dangling it between his front finger and thumb, suddenly threw it upon the fire. White, with a slight cry, stooped down and snatched it off.
“Better let it burn,”said the soldier solemnly.
“If you dont want it, Morris,”said the old man,“give it to me.”
“I wont,”said his friend doggedly.“I threw it on the fre. If you keep it, dont blame me for what happens. Pitch it on the fre again, like a sensible man.”
The other shook his head and examined his new possession closely.“How do you do it?”he inquired.
“Hold it up in your right hand and wish aloud,”said the sergeant-major,“but I warn you of the consequences.”
“Sounds like the Arabian Nights,”said Mrs. White, as she rose and began to set the supper.“Dont you think you might wish for four pairs of hands for me?”
Her husband drew the talisman from his pocket and then all three burst into laughter as the sergeant-major, with a look of alarm on his face, caught him by the arm.
“If you must wish,”he said gruffly,“wish for something sensible.”
Mr. White dropped it back into his pocket, and placing chairs, motioned his friend to the table. In the business of supper the talisman was partly forgotten, and afterward the three sat listening in an enthralled fashion to a second instalment of the soldiers adventures in India.
“If the tale about the monkey paw is not more truthful than those he has been telling us,”said Herbert, as the door closed behind their guest, just in time for him to catch the last train,“we shant make much out of it.”
“Did you give him anything for it, father?”inquired Mrs. White, regarding her husband closely.
“A trife,”said he, colouring slightly.“He didnt want it, but Imade him take it. And he pressed me again to throw it away.”
“Likely,”said Herbert, with pretended horror.“Why, we‘re going to be rich, and famous, and happy. Wish to be an emperor, father, to begin with;then you can’t be henpecked.”
He darted round the table, pursued by the maligned Mrs. White armed with an antimacassar.
Mr. White took the paw from his pocket and eyed it dubiously.“I don‘t know what to wish for, and that’s a fact,”he said slowly.“It seems to me Ive got all I want.”
“If you only cleared the house, you‘d be quite happy, wouldn’t you?”said Herbert, with his hand on his shoulder.“Well, wish for two hundred pounds, then;thatll just do it.”
His father, smiling shamefacedly at his own credulity, held up the talisman, as his son, with a solemn face somewhat marred by a wink at his mother, sat down at the piano and struck a few impressive chords.
“I wish for two hundred pounds,”said the old man distinctly.
A fne crash from the piano greeted the words, interrupted by a shuddering cry from the old man. His wife and son ran toward him.
“It moved,”he cried, with a glance of disgust at the object as it lay on the foor.“As I wished it twisted in my hands like a snake.”
“Well, I dont see the money,”said his son, as he picked it up and placed it on the table,“and I bet I never shall.”
“It must have been your fancy, father,”said his wife, regarding him anxiously.
He shook his head.“Never mind, though;theres no harm done, but it gave me a shock all the same.”
They sat down by the fre again while the two men fnished their pipes. Outside, the wind was higher than ever, and the old man started nervously at the sound of a door banging upstairs. A silence unusualand depressing settled upon all three, which lasted until the old couple rose to retire for the night.
“I expect youll fnd the cash tied up in a big bag in the middle of your bed,”said Herbert, as he bade them good night,“and something horrible squatting up on top of the wardrobe watching you as you pocket your ill-gotten gains.”
He sat alone in the darkness, gazing at the dying fre, and seeing faces in it. The last face was so horrible and so simian that he gazed at it in amazement. It got so vivid that, with a little uneasy laugh, he felt on the table for a glass containing a little water to throw over it. His hand grasped the monkeys paw, and with a little shiver he wiped his hand on his coat and went up to bed.
II
In the brightness of the wintry sun next morning as it streamed over the breakfast table Herbert laughed at his fears. There was an air of prosaic wholesomeness about the room which it had lacked on the previous night, and the dirty, shrivelled little paw was pitched on the sideboard with a carelessness which betokened no great belief in its virtues.
“I suppose all old soldiers are the same,”said Mrs White.“The idea of our listening to such nonsense!How could wishes be granted in these days?And if they could, how could two hundred pounds hurt you, father?”
“Might drop on his head from the sky,”said the frivolous Herbert.
“Morris said the things happened so naturally,”said his father,“that you might if you so wished attribute it to coincidence.”
“Well, dont break into the money before I come back,”saidHerbert, as he rose from the table.“I‘m afraid it’ll turn you into a mean, avaricious man, and we shall have to disown you.”
His mother laughed, and following him to the door, watched him down the road, and returning to the breakfast table, was very happy at the expense of her husband‘s credulity. All of which did not prevent her from scurrying to the door at the postman’s knock, nor prevent her from referring somewhat shortly to retired sergeant-majors of bibulous habits when she found that the post brought a tailors bill.
“Herbert will have some more of his funny remarks, I expect, when he comes home,”she said, as they sat at dinner.
“I dare say,”said Mr. White, pouring himself out some beer;“but for all that, the thing moved in my hand;that Ill swear to.”
“You thought it did,”said the old lady soothingly.
“I say it did,”replied the other.“There was no thought about it;I had just-Whats the matter?”
His wife made no reply. She was watching the mysterious movements of a man outside, who, peering in an undecided fashion at the house, appeared to be trying to make up his mind to enter. In mental connection with the two hundred pounds, she noticed that the stranger was well dressed and wore a silk hat of glossy newness. Three times he paused at the gate, and then walked on again. The fourth time he stood with his hand upon it, and then with sudden resolution fung it open and walked up the path. Mrs. White at the same moment placed her hands behind her, and hurriedly unfastening the strings of her apron, put that useful article of apparel beneath the cushion of her chair.
She brought the stranger, who seemed ill at ease, into the room. He gazed at her furtively, and listened in a preoccupied fashion as the old lady apologized for the appearance of the room, and her husbandscoat, a garment which he usually reserved for the garden. She then waited as patiently as her sex would permit, for him to broach his business, but he was at frst strangely silent.
“I-was asked to call,”he said at last, and stooped and picked a piece of cotton from his trousers.“I come from Maw and Meggins.”
The old lady started.“Is anything the matter?”she asked breathlessly.“Has anything happened to Herbert?What is it?What is it?”
Her husband interposed.“There, there, mother,”he said hastily.“Sit down, and don‘t jump to conclusions. You’ve not brought bad news, Im sure, sir.”and he eyed the other wistfully.
“Im sorry……”began the visitor.
“Is he hurt?”demanded the mother.
The visitor bowed in assent.“Badly hurt,”he said quietly,“but he is not in any pain.”
“Oh, thank God!”said the old woman, clasping her hands.“Thank God for that!Thank……”
She broke off suddenly as the sinister meaning of the assurance dawned upon her and she saw the awful confrmation of her fears in the others averted face. She caught her breath, and turning to her slower-witted husband, laid her trembling old hand upon his. There was a long silence.
“He was caught in the machinery,”said the visitor at length, in a low voice.
“Caught in the machinery,”repeated Mr. White, in a dazed fashion,“yes.”
He sat staring blankly out at the window, and taking his wifes hand between his own, pressed it as he had been wont to do in their old courting days nearly forty years before.
“He was the only one left to us,”he said, turning gently to the visitor.“It is hard.”
The other coughed, and rising, walked slowly to the window.“The firm wished me to convey their sincere sympathy with you in your great loss,”he said, without looking round.“I beg that you will understand I am only their servant and merely obeying orders.”
There was no reply;the old woman‘s face was white, her eyes staring, and her breath inaudible;on the husband’s face was a look such as his friend the sergeant might have carried into his frst action.
“I was to say that Maw and Meggins disclaim all responsibility,”continued the other.“They admit no liability at all, but in consideration of your sons services they wish to present you with a certain sum as compensation.”
Mr. White dropped his wifes hand, and rising to his feet, gazed with a look of horror at his visitor. His dry lips shaped the words,“How much?”
“Two hundred pounds,”was the answer.
Unconscious of his wifes shriek, the old man smiled faintly, put out his hands like a sightless man, and dropped, a senseless heap, to the foor.
III
In the huge new cemetery, some two miles distant, the old people buried their dead, and came back to a house steeped in shadow and silence. It was all over so quickly that at frst they could hardly realize it, and remained in a state of expectation as though of something else to happen-something else which was to lighten this load, too heavy for old hearts to bear.
But the days passed, and expectation gave place to resignation-the hopeless resignation of the old, sometimes miscalled, apathy. Sometimes they hardly exchanged a word, for now they had nothing to talk about, and their days were long to weariness.
It was about a week after that that the old man, waking suddenly in the night, stretched out his hand and found himself alone. The room was in darkness, and the sound of subdued weeping came from the window. He raised himself in bed and listened.
“Come back,”he said tenderly.“You will be cold.”
“It is colder for my son,”said the old woman, and wept afresh.
The sound of her sobs died away on his ears. The bed was warm, and his eyes heavy with sleep. He dozed ftfully, and then slept until a sudden wild cry from his wife awoke him with a start.
“The paw!”she cried wildly.“The monkeys paw!”
He started up in alarm.“Where?Where is it?Whats the matter?”
She came stumbling across the room toward him.“I want it,”she said quietly.“Youve not destroyed it?”
“Its in the parlour, on the bracket,”he replied, marvelling.“Why?”
She cried and laughed together, and bending over, kissed his cheek.
“I only just thought of it,”she said hysterically.“Why didn‘t I think of it before?Why didn’t you think of it?”
“Think of what?”he questioned.
“The other two wishes,”she replied rapidly.“Weve only had one.”
“Was not that enough?”he demanded fercely.
“No,”she cried, triumphantly,“well have one more. Go down and get it quickly, and wish our boy alive again.”
The man sat up in bed and fung the bedclothes from his quakinglimbs.“Good God, you are mad!”he cried aghast.
“Get it,”she panted,“get it quickly, and wish-Oh, my boy, my boy!”
Her husband struck a match and lit the candle.“Get back to bed,”he said, unsteadily.“You dont know what you are saying.”
“We had the frst wish granted,”said the old woman, feverishly,“why not the second.”
“A coincidence,”stammered the old man.
“Go and get it and wish,”cried the old woman, quivering with excitement.
The old man turned and regarded her, and his voice shook.“He has been dead ten days, and besides he-I would not tell you else, but-I could only recognize him by his clothing. If he was too terrible for you to see then, how now?”
“Bring him back,”cried the old woman, and dragged him toward the door.“Do you think I fear the child I have nursed?”
He went down in the darkness, and felt his way to the parlour, and then to the mantelpiece. The talisman was in its place, and a horrible fear that the unspoken wish might bring his mutilated son before him ere he could escape from the room seized upon him, and he caught his breath as he found that he had lost the direction of the door. His brow cold with sweat, he felt his way round the table, and groped along the wall until he found himself in the small passage with the unwholesome thing in his hand.
Even his wifes face seemed changed as he entered the room. It was white and expectant, and to his fears seemed to have an unnatural look upon it. He was afraid of her.
“Wish!”she cried, in a strong voice.
“It is foolish and wicked,”he faltered.
“Wish!”repeated his wife.
He raised his hand.“I wish my son alive again.”
The talisman fell to the foor, and he regarded it fearfully. Then he sank trembling into a chair as the old woman, with burning eyes, walked to the window and raised the blind.
He sat until he was chilled with the cold, glancing occasionally at the figure of the old woman peering through the window. The candle end, which had burnt below the rim of the china candlestick, was throwing pulsating shadows on the ceiling and walls, until, with a flicker larger than the rest, it expired. The old man, with an unspeakable sense of relief at the failure of the talisman, crept back to his bed, and a minute or two afterward the old woman came silently and apathetically beside him.
Neither spoke, but both lay silently listening to the ticking of the clock. A stair creaked, and a squeaky mouse scurried noisily through the wall. The darkness was oppressive, and after lying for some time screwing up his courage, the husband took the box of matches, and striking one, went downstairs for a candle.
At the foot of the stairs the match went out, and he paused to strike another, and at the same moment a knock, so quiet and stealthy as to be scarcely audible, sounded on the front door.
The matches fell from his hand. He stood motionless, his breath suspended until the knock was repeated. Then he turned and fled swiftly back to his room, and closed the door behind him. A third knock sounded through the house.
“Whats that?”cried the old woman, starting up.
“A rat,”said the old man, in shaking tones-“a rat. It passed me on the stairs.”
His wife sat up in bed listening. A loud knock resounded throughthe house.
“Its Herbert!”she screamed.“Its Herbert!”
She ran to the door, but her husband was before her, and catching her by the arm, held her tightly.
“What are you going to do?”he whispered hoarsely.
“It‘s my boy;it’s Herbert!”she cried, struggling mechanically.“I forgot it was two miles away. What are you holding me for?Let go. I must open the door.”
“For God‘s sake, don’t let it in,”cried the old man trembling.
“Youre afraid of your own son,”she cried, struggling.“Let me go. I‘m coming, Herbert;I’m coming.”
There was another knock, and another. The old woman with a sudden wrench broke free and ran from the room. Her husband followed to the landing, and called after her appealingly as she hurried downstairs. He heard the chain rattle back and the bottom bolt drawn slowly and stiffly from the socket. Then the old womans voice, strained and panting.
“The bolt,”she cried loudly.“Come down. I cant reach it.”
But her husband was on his hands and knees groping wildly on the foor in search of the paw. If he could only fnd it before the thing outside got in. A perfect fusillade of knocks reverberated through the house, and he heard the scraping of a chair as his wife put it down in the passage against the door. He heard the creaking of the bolt as it came slowly back, and at the same moment he found the monkeys paw, and frantically breathed his third and last wish.
The knocking ceased suddenly, although the echoes of it were still in the house. He heard the chair drawn back and the door opened. A cold wind rushed up the staircase, and a long loud wail of disappointment and misery from his wife gave him courage torun down to her side, and then to the gate beyond. The street lamp fickering opposite shone on a quiet and deserted road.
一
這是一個陰冷的夜晚,但是在拉波諾姆·維拉鎮的一間拉著窗簾的小客廳裏,爐火正旺,父親和兒子正在下棋。由於父親誤將王放到一個不必要的危險境地,棋局形勢逆轉,就連在火爐邊靜靜織毛衣的白發老太太也過來評論了。
“聽這風聲,”懷特先生說,他看著這一步錯棋導致滿盤皆輸的形勢,試圖用親昵來轉移兒子的注意力,不讓他發現。
“我正聽著呢。”兒子說道,冷冷地看著棋盤,伸出手,“將!”
“我實在不相信他今晚會來。”父親說著,泰然自若地手把放在棋盤上方。
“將!”兒子又說。
“住得這麽偏遠真是糟糕極了。”懷特先生突然出人意料地發作起來。“在所有住過的荒蕪、泥濘、偏僻的地方中,這裏是最糟的。院裏的小路像個泥塘,而外麵的大路就是一條洪流。真不知道人們是怎麽想的,我看哪,因為路邊隻有兩座房子是提供出租的了,所以他們認為沒有關係吧。”
“沒關係,親愛的。”他的妻子安慰道,“或許下一盤你就會贏的。”
懷特先生猛地抬起頭,恰好看到母子互遞眼色。他不好意思說下去了,那稀疏的灰胡須中隱藏著心虛的笑。
“他來了。”赫伯特·懷特說道。同時,大門“砰”地一聲關上了,緊跟著,有沉重的腳步走近屋門口。
老頭懷特急忙殷勤地站起來,打開門,向剛到的客人表示歡迎,來人也問候了他。當一個高大結實、眼睛炯炯有神、麵色紅潤的男子跟著她丈夫走進屋子裏,懷特太太不禁發出“嘖嘖”聲,並輕輕咳嗽著。
“軍士長莫裏斯。”懷特先生向家人介紹著來客。
軍士長和他們握了握手,就坐到火爐邊的椅子上了,滿意地看著大家。這時,主人拿出了威士忌和酒杯,火爐上還有一個黃銅小水壺。
三杯酒後,莫裏斯的眼睛更明亮了,他開始侃侃而談,一家人滿懷熱情、興致勃勃地注視著這位遠道而來的客人。他在椅子上挺了挺寬闊的肩膀,便說起了那些奇異的景觀和英勇的事跡、戰爭和瘟疫,還有稀奇古怪的民族。
“21年了,”懷特先生說著,向他的妻子和兒子點點頭,“他走的時候還隻是貨棧裏一個又瘦又高的小夥子,現在,你再看看他!”
“他看上去沒受多少罪。”懷特太太禮貌地說。
“我真想去趟印度。”老頭說,“就去那兒看看,你知道的。”
“還是你們這兒好。”軍士長說,他搖搖頭,放下空玻璃杯,輕聲歎了口氣,又搖搖頭。
“我想看看那些古老的寺院、托缽僧和雜耍師。”老頭說,“那天你跟我說的關於一隻猴爪還是什麽的,是怎麽回事呀,莫裏斯?”
“沒什麽,”那個軍人慌忙地說,“沒有什麽可聽的。”
“猴爪?”懷特太太好奇地問。
“噢!就是你們或許會稱作巫術的東西。”軍士長立即說。
他的三位聽眾都向他這邊靠了過來,眼睛裏全都透著渴望。他茫然地將空杯放到嘴邊,又放下。主人馬上為他斟滿。
“看看吧,”軍士長說,在衣袋裏摸索著,“隻不過是一隻普通的小爪子,都幹癟了。”
他從衣袋裏掏出一個東西向前一遞,懷特太太立刻厭嫌地縮回身子,但他的兒子接了過來,好奇而仔細地看起來。
“有什麽奇特之處嗎?”懷特先生一邊問,一邊從兒子的手裏拿過來,仔細看了看,然後把它放在了桌子上。
“一個托缽僧在它上麵施了一道咒語,”軍士長說,“一個真正的聖人,他想告訴我們,命運主宰著人們的生活,而那些妨礙它的人隻會痛苦萬分。他將一道咒語施在這個上麵,能讓三個不同的人用它實現各自的三個心願。”
他的神態是那樣威嚴,以至於他的聽眾意識到,自己的輕笑聲有點兒刺耳。
“那麽,你自己為什麽不許三個心願呢,先生?”赫伯特·懷特問道。
軍人用中年人看那些自以為是的年輕人的慣常目光注視著他。“我許了。”他平靜地說,布滿斑點的臉色霎時變得蒼白。
“那你真的實現了那三個心願?”懷特太太問。
“是的。”軍士長說,杯子碰到了他堅硬的牙齒。
“有沒有其他人許過心願?”老太太問道。
“是的,第一個人提了他的三個心願,”他答道,“我不知他許的前兩個願望是什麽,但第三個是求死,而我就因此得到了這隻爪子。”
他的語調很沉重,大家沉默不語。
最後,老頭開口說道:“既然你實現了三個心願,那它現在對你就毫無用處了。那麽,莫裏斯,你還留著它做什麽?”
軍人搖了搖頭,“大概是我對它還存有幻想吧。”他慢慢地說。
“如果你再許三個心願,”老頭眼睛渴望地望著他,說道“還能不能兌現?”
“我不知道。”軍人說,“我不知道。”
他拿起這隻爪子,將它懸**在食指與拇指之間,突然,他把它扔到了火爐裏。懷特輕聲叫了一下,俯身搶了出來。
“最好把它燒了。”軍士長嚴肅地說。
“如果你不想要,莫裏斯,”懷特先生說,“就給我吧。”
“不行。”他的朋友堅決地說,“我已經把它扔到火裏了。如果你想要它,以後發生什麽事就別怪我。做個聰明人,把它扔回火裏吧。”
老頭搖搖頭,非常仔細地看著新得到的東西,“怎麽使用它呢?”他詢問道。
“用右手舉著它,並大聲地說出你的心願。”軍士長說,“但我警告你,後果自負。”
“聽上去就像《天方夜譚》。”懷特太太說著,便站起來去準備晚飯,“難道你不認為應該許願讓我長四雙手嗎?”
她的丈夫把這個神物從口袋裏掏出來。軍士長的臉上流露出驚恐的神色,抓住他的手臂。一家三口突然大笑起來。
“如果你一定要提心願,”他粗聲粗氣地說,“就提些明智的。”
懷特先生把它放回衣袋裏,擺好坐椅,示意他的朋友去桌邊。吃晚飯時,那神物幾乎被他們遺忘了,後來三位聽眾又沉迷於軍士長在印度探險的第二個故事中了。
為了趕上最後一班火車,客人告辭了。赫伯特關上門,說:“如果猴爪的故事還沒有他告訴我們的其他事情真實,那麽我們就不會憑它得到什麽。”
“他爸,為了得到這個猴爪,你給他什麽東西了?”懷特太太緊盯著她的丈夫,問道。
“一點兒小意思,”他說,臉有些紅。“他不要,我讓他拿著。他又堅持讓我扔掉那東西。”
“很可信。”赫伯特說,假裝恐懼。“我們為什麽不能擁有富貴、名望和幸福呢?爸爸,祈求當皇帝吧,開始吧,那樣你就不會再害怕媽媽了。”
他繞著桌子飛奔,被惹怒了的懷特太太拿著一個沙發套在他後麵追趕著。
懷特先生從衣袋裏拿出猴爪,懷疑地看了看它。“我不知道許什麽心願,也不知道那些話是不是真的,”他慢慢地說,“對我來說,我似乎已經得到所有想要的東西了。”
“如果你還清房貸了,你會很高興的,不是嗎?”赫伯特說,把手擱在他的肩上。“好吧,就許願要200英鎊,看是否會實現。”
他的父親因自己的輕信而慚愧地微笑著,於是舉起那個神物。他的兒子臉色莊嚴,但這種莊嚴很快就被他向母親眨眼的表情破壞了。懷特太太正坐在鋼琴旁,彈出幾個激動的和音。
“我要200英鎊。”老頭清清楚楚地說。
一串動聽的音符隨著這句話從鋼琴裏傳來,卻突然被老頭毛骨悚然的一聲大叫打斷了。他的妻子和兒子向他跑去。
“它動了!”他叫道,厭惡地瞟了一眼地上的那個東西。“當我許願時,它在我的手裏像蛇一樣扭動。”
“啊,但我沒看到錢啊。”他兒子說,撿起它放到桌上,“我打賭我永遠都不會看到。”
“那是你的幻覺,他爸。”他的妻子說道,不安地看著他。
他搖搖頭:“不要緊。沒受什麽傷,不過,我還是嚇了一跳。”
他們重新在火爐邊坐下,兩個男人抽完了他們的煙鬥。外麵的風比先前更猛了,樓上的一扇門“砰”地一聲關上,老頭開始緊張起來。一種不尋常的靜寂和壓抑籠罩在三個人的身上,直到老兩口起身去睡覺。
“我希望你會發現**有一大袋錢,”赫伯特向他們道晚安時說,“當你們把不義之財裝入腰包的時候,可怕的東西就會蹲在衣櫃頂上看著。”
他獨自一人在黑暗中坐著,盯著漸漸熄滅的爐火,火光中出現了許多張臉孔,最後一張臉特別嚇人,很像猿猴,他不禁看愣了。那張臉變得逼真起來,還帶著一絲不自在的笑。他在桌上摸著杯子,想用水把火澆滅,手卻抓到了那隻猴爪,他戰栗地在外衣上擦了擦手,上床去了。
二
次日早上,冬天的陽光照射在早餐桌上時,赫伯特為自己的畏懼感到好笑。屋內充滿了昨晚沒有的尋常而又平安的氣息,那個肮髒、枯萎的小爪被漫不經心地放在餐具櫃上,預示著沒有人相信它的功效。
“我想,所有的老兵都一樣。”懷特太太說,“這些胡說八道怎麽能相信!短短幾天的時間怎麽可能讓這個願望變成現實?如果真的實現了,200英鎊又怎麽會害你呢,他爸?”
“也許會從半空中掉到他的腦袋上。”輕佻的赫伯特說。
“莫裏斯說這些事情會自然而然地發生。”他父親說,“以至於你們還認為祈求的結果不過是一種巧合罷了。”
“好吧,在我回來之前,別動那筆錢。”赫伯特說著便從桌邊站起來,“我怕它會使你變成一個自私貪婪的人,那麽我們就與你脫離關係。”
他的母親笑了,跟他走到門口。目送他上了路,然後回到早餐桌邊,一想到丈夫的輕信,她便開心地笑了起來。但是,這些並沒有阻止她在郵差敲門時匆匆跑去開門。當她發現寄來的是一張裁縫的賬單時,她也沒忘記簡短地問及那位嗜酒的退役軍士長。
“我想,赫伯特回家時,會說更多俏皮話的。”他們吃午餐時,她說道。
“我敢說,”懷特先生說著,並給自己倒了些啤酒,“盡管如此,那個東西在我的手裏真的動了,我敢發誓。”
“你在胡思亂想。”老婦人安慰地說道。
“我說的是真的,”老頭子回答道。“不是亂想的。我剛——怎麽了?”
他的妻子沒有回答他,她正看外麵一個神秘的人來回走動,並猶豫地窺視著這間屋子,看上去似乎在努力下決心進屋來似的。她注意到這個陌生人衣著講究,戴著嶄新的有光澤的絲帽,她立刻聯想到那200英鎊。他在大門口停留了三次,然後又走開了。第四次,他站住,手放在門上,突然下定決心似的推開門,走到院內的小道。懷特太太與此同時也將手伸到身後,匆忙解開圍裙帶子,把它放在椅墊底下。
她帶著陌生人走進屋裏。來人看上去似乎心神不寧,他暗暗地盯著她,心事重重地聽著老太太為屋內的寒酸、她丈夫的外套以及他平時做園藝時穿的簡陋的衣服表示的歉意。然後,她以女性特有的耐心等待他開口說明來意,但從一開始,他就奇怪地保持著沉默。
“我——是受命前來造訪的。”他最後終於說道,彎腰從他的褲子上取下一塊棉花,“我來自莫烏-麥金斯公司。”
老太太驚聲說:“有什麽事嗎?”她屏住呼吸問道,“赫伯特出事了?什麽事?什麽事?”
她的丈夫插嘴道:“哎,他媽。”他焦急地說:“坐下,別急於下結論。你沒帶來壞消息吧,我相信,先生。”他急切地注視著對方。
“我很抱歉——”來人說道。
“他受傷了嗎?”母親焦急地問道。
來人沉默地低下頭。“非常嚴重,”他平靜地說,“不過,他沒有一點兒痛苦。”
“哦,感謝上帝!”老太太說,雙手緊緊握著,“感謝上帝!感謝——”
她一下子明白了這句話的意思,突然停止了說話,而且在對方轉開的臉上,她的擔心得到了可怕的證實。她感到窒息,轉向反應遲鈍的丈夫,把顫抖的手放在他的手上。在很長一段時間裏,屋子裏的三個人都沒說話。
“他被卷到機器裏了。”來人最後低聲說道。
“卷進機器裏了。”懷特先生恍惚地重複道,“是的。”
他麵無表情地盯著窗外,將妻子的手抓到自己的雙手之間緊緊握著,就像四十年前,他們相愛的時候一樣。
“他是我們唯一的孩子。”他說,輕輕地轉向來人,“這太殘酷了。”
對方咳嗽著站了起來,慢慢走向窗邊。“公司希望我,就你們所遭受的巨大損失向你們轉達他們真摯的同情。”他說,並沒有觀望四周,“我請求你們能理解,我隻不過是他們的雇員,僅僅是在服從命令。”
他沒有得到任何回應。老太太臉色煞白,眼神發直,似乎都聽不見她的呼吸聲。而她丈夫的臉色,看上去與他的朋友軍士長第一次被送上戰場時一樣。
“我要說的是—莫烏-麥金斯公司不願承擔任何責任。”對方繼續說,“他們認為公司沒有任何責任。不過,考慮到你們兒子的貢獻,他們想給你們一筆補償金。”
懷特先生放下妻子的手,站起來,眼神恐怖地盯著來人。他幹燥的嘴唇裏擠出幾個字:“多少錢?”
“200英鎊。”對方回答。
老頭無力地微笑起來,他似乎沒有聽到妻子的尖叫。他像盲人一樣伸出手,又垂了下來,毫無知覺地倒在地上,地上掉了一堆錢。
三
老兩口把他們死去的兒子埋葬在一個大約兩英裏外的巨大新墓場裏,然後回到了陰暗沉寂的屋子。這一切來得太突然了,一開始他們不相信這是真的,依然期待著別的事情發生,從而減輕重負。對年老的心而言,這負擔太沉重了。
日子一天天過去,期待漸漸變成絕望,兩位老人變得麻木不仁,有時會叫錯對方的名字,有時則相對無言,幾乎一言不發。因為他們現在沒什麽可說的,日子漫長得讓他們難以忍受。
大約一星期後,一天夜裏,老頭突然醒來,伸出手,發現那邊的床是空的。室內一片漆黑,窗邊傳來壓抑的哭泣聲,他從**坐起來傾聽著。
“回來吧,”他溫和地說,“你會著涼的。”
“兒子會更冷的。”老太太說著,又抽噎起來。
她的哭泣聲在他的耳邊漸漸消失。床很暖和,睡意使他的眼皮非常沉重。他斷斷續續地打著盹,直到他妻子突然驚叫一聲,發出瘋狂的呼喊,他才醒了過來。
“猴爪!”她瘋狂地喊道,“那隻猴爪!”
他驚恐地抬起身:“哪裏?它在哪裏?怎麽了?”
她跌跌撞撞地穿過房間向他走過來。“我想要它,”她平靜地說,“你沒毀掉它吧?”
“它在客廳裏,在餐具櫃上。”他答道,感到驚訝,“你要做什麽?”
她悲喜交加,俯身在他的臉頰上吻了一下。
“我剛剛才想到它。”她大聲說著,“為什麽我以前沒想到?為什麽你沒想到它?”
“想到什麽?”他問。
“另外兩個心願。”她迅速地說著,“我們隻提了一個。”
“那還不夠嗎?”他憤怒地問。
“不,”她得意地叫道,“我們還能再提一個。下去,快把它拿來,祈求咱們的兒子複活。”
老頭坐在**,四肢發抖地掀開被子。“仁慈的上帝,你瘋了!”他驚駭地叫道。
她喘著氣,大聲說,“快拿過來,祈求上帝——哦,我的孩子,我的孩子!”
她的丈夫劃了一根火柴點燃蠟燭。“回到**去。”他有點兒猶豫地說,“你不知道你在說什麽。”
“我們的第一個願望實現了。”老太太興奮地說,“為什麽不提第二個?”
“那不過是巧合!”老頭結結巴巴地說道。
“去拿來求呀。”他妻子叫道,激動得顫抖起來。
老頭轉身注視著她,聲音顫抖了:“他已經死了十天了,而且他——我不想告訴你別的——我隻能憑借他的衣服認出他。如果他的樣子讓你覺得很可怕,那該怎麽辦?”
“帶他回來。”老太太叫道,拖他到門口。“你難道以為我會害怕自己養大的孩子?”
他在黑暗中走下樓來,摸索到客廳,再到壁爐。那神物果然在原處。他感到極度恐懼,想到那個未說出的、把他殘缺不全的兒子帶到麵前的願望,他就恨不得逃出這個屋子。想著想著,他找不到門口的方向了。他呼吸急促,眉上冒著冷汗,感到自己正在繞著桌子兜圈。於是,他摸索著牆走。直到發現自己在小過道裏,手裏拿著那個討厭的東西。
他進臥室時,他妻子的臉色好像變了,蒼白而又有所期待,似乎以一種異乎尋常的眼光望著那個東西,他有點兒怕她了。
“許願呀!”她叫道,聲音堅決。
“這真是又愚蠢又邪惡!”他顫抖著說道。
“許願!”他妻子重複道。
他舉起手:“我祈求我的兒子複活。”
那個神物掉到地上,他以一種充滿恐懼的眼神注視著它,然後戰栗著讓自己的身體陷進一把椅子裏。老太太卻兩眼通紅,走到窗邊拉開窗簾。
他坐在那兒,隻覺得涼意逼人,時不時地,他也會瞥一眼盯著窗外的老太太的身影。蠟燭已經燒到盡頭,火苗在陶瓷燭台的邊緣跳動,把影子投在天花板和牆壁上,閃出一個較大的火花之後便熄滅了。本著一種對神物失靈的無可言狀的寬慰感,他回到了**。一兩分鍾後,老太太一言不發地上了床,躺在他身旁。
兩個人都沒有說話,他們靜靜地躺著,聽著鍾的滴答聲。樓梯嘎吱一響,一隻吱吱叫著的老鼠急匆匆地跑過牆。沉重的黑暗壓得人難以喘息,躺了一會兒,他鼓起勇氣,拿了一盒火柴,劃著一根,下樓去點蠟燭。
走到樓梯腳,火柴熄了,他停下來又劃一根。就在這時,從大門口傳來一陣敲門聲,輕微而又隱秘,幾乎無法聽見。
火柴滑落掉在過道裏。他站著不敢動,屏息傾聽。敲門聲再度響起。他急速轉身逃回臥室,關上身後的門。第三下敲門聲響徹了整座房子。
“是什麽?”老太太驚叫起來,猛然起身。
“一隻老鼠。”老頭用顫抖的聲音說,“一隻老鼠,在樓梯上從我的身邊跑過。”
他的妻子坐在**聽著,又一下重重的敲門聲響徹了整座房子。
“是赫伯特!”她尖叫道,“是赫伯特!”
她奔向門口,但她的丈夫已經搶在她的前麵,抓住了她的手臂,緊緊抓著她。
“你想幹什麽?”他聲音嘶啞地低聲問。
“是我的孩子,是赫伯特!”她叫道,機械地反抗著,“我忘記墳墓離這裏有兩英裏遠了,你抓住我幹什麽?讓我去,我一定要開門!”
“看在上帝的份兒上,別讓他進來。”老頭顫抖地叫道。
“你難道怕自己的兒子?”她叫著,掙紮著,“讓我去。我來了,赫伯特,我來了!”
敲門聲又響了一下,接著又是一下,老太太突然猛力掙脫,從臥室跑了出去。她丈夫追了幾步,懇求地叫著她,她卻飛快地衝下樓。他聽到鏈鎖嘎啦嘎啦的聲音,她正緩慢地、不靈活地從插座中拔門閂。他聽到老太太緊張的喘息聲。
“門閂,”她嚷著,“你下來,我拉不開!”
但是,她的丈夫這時正手忙腳亂在地板上急急地摸索,尋找那隻爪子。他一心想著,如果在外邊那個東西進來之前找到它,就能得救了。又一連串猛烈的敲門聲回**在整座房子裏,他聽到鏈鎖的刮擦聲,他的妻子正把它從門上拆下來,他還聽到門閂正嘎吱作響地慢慢往外移動。正在這時,他發現了猴爪,慌張地喊出他第三個,也是最後一個心願。
敲門聲戛然而止,回聲還在屋子裏回**,他聽到鏈鎖拽掉了,門打開了,一股寒風衝上樓梯,他的妻子發出了一聲長長的、失望而又痛苦的哭喊聲。妻子的慘叫使他鼓足勇氣跑下樓,來到大門外妻子的身旁,卻發現四周空****的。他見到的隻有對麵閃爍的街燈,以及燈光下那條寂靜而又荒涼的大路。
知識點
懸疑小說是給讀者留下懸念、然後引領讀者一步一步地揭開懸念的小說,常常是以推理的形式進行。而與許多懸疑小說的最大區別是,恐怖小說的懸念揭開往往是無法用科學解釋的,也就是靈異。而懸疑小說往往把種種無法解釋的懸念用科學的方法加以解釋。
W詞匯筆記
hospitable[h?spit?bl]adj.熱情友好的;(環境)舒適的
例 A hospitable waiter taught me some Italian and lent me a book after that.
一位好客的服務員教了我幾句意大利語,之後還借給我一本書。
proffer[pr?f?]v.提供;提出;奉獻
例 My classmate proffered some help to me.
我同學給了我一些幫助。
glossy[ɡl?si]adj.有光澤的;光滑的
例 This car was glossy black.
這輛車色澤黑亮。
inaudible[in?:d?bl]adj.聽不見的;不可聞的
例 The boy fell down, letting out an almost inaudible moan.
這個男孩摔倒了,發出了一聲極其微弱的呻吟。
S小試身手
懷特先生猛地抬起頭,恰好看到母子倆互遞眼色。
譯________________________________________
次日早上,冬天的陽光照射在早餐桌上時,赫伯特為自己的畏懼感到好笑。
譯________________________________________
有時則相對無言,幾乎一言不發,因為他們現在沒什麽可說的,日子漫長得讓他們難以忍受。
譯________________________________________
P短語家族
Her husband drew the talisman from his pocket and then all three burst into laughter as the sergeant-major……
burst into laughter:突然大笑
造________________________________________
“Well, dont break into the money before I come back,”said Herbert, as he rose from the table.
break into:闖入;打斷;把……分成
造________________________________________