There is some clash of opinion as to the exact hour of the great awakening14. It is generally agreed that, apart from the difference of clocks, there may have been local causes which influenced the action of the poison. Certainly, in each separate district the resurrection was practically simultaneous. There are numerous witnesses that Big Ben pointed15 to ten minutes past six at the moment. The Astronomer16 Royal has fixed17 the Greenwich time at twelve past six. On the other hand, Laird Johnson, a very capable East Anglia observer, has recorded six-twenty as the hour. In the Hebrides it was as late as seven. In our own case there can be no doubt whatever, for I was seated in Challenger’s study with his carefully tested chronometer18 in front of me at the moment. The hour was a quarter-past six.
An enormous depression was weighing upon my spirits. The cumulative19 effect of all the dreadful sights which we had seen upon our journey was heavy upon my soul. With my abounding20 animal health and great physical energy any kind of mental clouding was a rare event. I had the Irish faculty21 of seeing some gleam of humor in every darkness. But now the obscurity was appalling22 and unrelieved. The others were downstairs making their plans for the future. I sat by the open window, my chin resting upon my hand and my mind absorbed in the misery23 of our situation. Could we continue to live? That was the question which I had begun to ask myself. Was it possible to exist upon a dead world? Just as in physics the greater body draws to itself the lesser24, would we not feel an overpowering attraction from that vast body of humanity which had passed into the unknown? How would the end come? Would it be from a return of the poison? Or would the earth be uninhabitable from the mephitic products of universal decay? Or, finally, might our awful situation prey25 upon and unbalance our minds? A group of insane folk upon a dead world! My mind was brooding upon this last dreadful idea when some slight noise caused me to look down upon the road beneath me. The old cab horse was coming up the hill!
I was conscious at the same instant of the twittering of birds, of someone coughing in the yard below, and of a background of movement in the landscape. And yet I remember that it was that absurd, emaciated26, superannuated27 cab-horse which held my gaze. Slowly and wheezily it was climbing the slope. Then my eye traveled to the driver sitting hunched28 up upon the box and finally to the young man who was leaning out of the window in some excitement and shouting a direction. They were all indubitably, aggressively alive!
Everybody was alive once more! Had it all been a delusion29? Was it conceivable that this whole poison belt incident had been an elaborate dream? For an instant my startled brain was really ready to believe it. Then I looked down, and there was the rising blister30 on my hand where it was frayed31 by the rope of the city bell. It had really been so, then. And yet here was the world resuscitated32 — here was life come back in an instant full tide to the planet. Now, as my eyes wandered all over the great landscape, I saw it in every direction — and moving, to my amazement33, in the very same groove34 in which it had halted. There were the golfers. Was it possible that they were going on with their game? Yes, there was a fellow driving off from a tee, and that other group upon the green were surely putting for the hole. The reapers35 were slowly trooping back to their work. The nurse-girl slapped one of her charges and then began to push the perambulator up the hill. Everyone had unconcernedly taken up the thread at the very point where they had dropped it.
I rushed downstairs, but the hall door was open, and I heard the voices of my companions, loud in astonishment36 and congratulation, in the yard. How we all shook hands and laughed as we came together, and how Mrs. Challenger kissed us all in her emotion, before she finally threw herself into the bear-hug of her husband.
“But they could not have been asleep!” cried Lord John. “Dash it all, Challenger, you don’t mean to believe that those folk were asleep with their staring eyes and stiff limbs and that awful death grin on their faces!”
“It can only have been the condition that is called catalepsy,” said Challenger. “It has been a rare phenomenon in the past and has constantly been mistaken for death. While it endures, the temperature falls, the respiration37 disappears, the heartbeat is indistinguishable — in fact, it is death, save that it is evanescent. Even the most comprehensive mind”— here he closed his eyes and simpered —“could hardly conceive a universal outbreak of it in this fashion.”
“You may label it catalepsy,” remarked Summerlee, “but, after all, that is only a name, and we know as little of the result as we do of the poison which has caused it. The most we can say is that the vitiated ether has produced a temporary death.”
Austin was seated all in a heap on the step of the car. It was his coughing which I had heard from above. He had been holding his head in silence, but now he was muttering to himself and running his eyes over the car.
“Young fat-head!” he grumbled38. “Can’t leave things alone!”
“What’s the matter, Austin?”
“Lubricators left running, sir. Someone has been fooling with the car. I expect it’s that young garden boy, sir.”
Lord John looked guilty.
“I don’t know what’s amiss with me,” continued Austin, staggering to his feet. “I expect I came over queer when I was hosing her down. I seem to remember flopping39 over by the step. But I’ll swear I never left those lubricator taps on.”
In a condensed narrative the astonished Austin was told what had happened to himself and the world. The mystery of the dripping lubricators was also explained to him. He listened with an air of deep distrust when told how an amateur had driven his car and with absorbed interest to the few sentences in which our experiences of the sleeping city were recorded. I can remember his comment when the story was concluded.
“Was you outside the Bank of England, sir?”
“Yes, Austin.”
“With all them millions inside and everybody asleep?”
“That was so.”
“And I not there!” he groaned40, and turned dismally41 once more to the hosing of his car.
There was a sudden grinding of wheels upon gravel42. The old cab had actually pulled up at Challenger’s door. I saw the young occupant step out from it. An instant later the maid, who looked as tousled and bewildered as if she had that instant been aroused from the deepest sleep, appeared with a card upon a tray. Challenger snorted ferociously43 as he looked at it, and his thick black hair seemed to bristle44 up in his wrath45.
“A pressman!” he growled46. Then with a deprecating smile: “After all, it is natural that the whole world should hasten to know what I think of such an episode.”
“That can hardly be his errand,” said Summerlee, “for he was on the road in his cab before ever the crisis came.”
I looked at the card: “James Baxter, London Correspondent, New York Monitor.”
“You’ll see him?” said I.
“Not I.”
“Oh, George! You should be kinder and more considerate to others. Surely you have learned something from what we have undergone.”
He tut-tutted and shook his big, obstinate47 head.
“A poisonous breed! Eh, Malone? The worst weed in modern civilization, the ready tool of the quack48 and the hindrance49 of the self-respecting man! When did they ever say a good word for me?”
“When did you ever say a good word to them?” I answered. “Come, sir, this is a stranger who has made a journey to see you. I am sure that you won’t be rude to him.”
“Well, well,” he grumbled, “you come with me and do the talking. I protest in advance against any such outrageous50 invasion of my private life.” Muttering and mumbling51, he came rolling after me like an angry and rather ill-conditioned mastiff.
The dapper young American pulled out his notebook and plunged52 instantly into his subject.
“I came down, sir,” said he, “because our people in America would very much like to hear more about this danger which is, in your opinion, pressing upon the world.”
“I know of no danger which is now pressing upon the world,” Challenger answered gruffly.
The pressman looked at him in mild surprise.
“I meant, sir, the chances that the world might run into a belt of poisonous ether.”
“I do not now apprehend53 any such danger,” said Challenger.
The pressman looked even more perplexed54.
“You are Professor Challenger, are you not?” he asked.
“Yes, sir; that is my name.”
“I cannot understand, then, how you can say that there is no such danger. I am alluding55 to your own letter, published above your name in the London Times of this morning.”
It was Challenger’s turn to look surprised.
“This morning?” said he. “No London Times was published this morning.”
“Surely, sir,” said the American in mild remonstrance56, “you must admit that the London Times is a daily paper.” He drew out a copy from his inside pocket. “Here is the letter to which I refer.”
Challenger chuckled57 and rubbed his hands.
“I begin to understand,” said he. “So you read this letter this morning?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And came at once to interview me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did you observe anything unusual upon the journey down?”
“Well, to tell the truth, your people seemed more lively and generally human than I have ever seen them. The baggage man set out to tell me a funny story, and that’s a new experience for me in this country.”
“Nothing else?”
“Why, no, sir, not that I can recall.”
“Well, now, what hour did you leave Victoria?”
The American smiled.
“I came here to interview you, Professor, but it seems to be a case of ‘Is this nigger fishing, or is this fish niggering?’ You’re doing most of the work.”
“It happens to interest me. Do you recall the hour?”
“Sure. It was half-past twelve.”
“And you arrived?”
“At a quarter-past two.”
“And you hired a cab?”
“That was so.”
“How far do you suppose it is to the station?”
“Well, I should reckon the best part of two miles.”
“So how long do you think it took you?”
“Well, half an hour, maybe, with that asthmatic in front.”
“So it should be three o’clock?”
“Yes, or a trifle after it.”
“Look at your watch.”
The American did so and then stared at us in astonishment.
“Say!” he cried. “It’s run down. That horse has broken every record, sure. The sun is pretty low, now that I come to look at it. Well, there’s something here I don’t understand.”
“Have you no remembrance of anything remarkable58 as you came up the hill?”
“Well, I seem to recollect59 that I was mighty60 sleepy once. It comes back to me that I wanted to say something to the driver and that I couldn’t make him heed61 me. I guess it was the heat, but I felt swimmy for a moment. That’s all.”
“So it is with the whole human race,” said Challenger to me. “They have all felt swimmy for a moment. None of them have as yet any comprehension of what has occurred. Each will go on with his interrupted job as Austin has snatched up his hose-pipe or the golfer continued his game. Your editor, Malone, will continue the issue of his papers, and very much amazed he will be at finding that an issue is missing. Yes, my young friend,” he added to the American reporter, with a sudden mood of amused geniality62, “it may interest you to know that the world has swum through the poisonous current which swirls63 like the Gulf64 Stream through the ocean of ether. You will also kindly65 note for your own future convenience that today is not Friday, August the twenty-seventh, but Saturday, August the twenty-eighth, and that you sat senseless in your cab for twenty-eight hours upon the Rotherfield hill.”
And “right here,” as my American colleague would say, I may bring this narrative to an end. It is, as you are probably aware, only a fuller and more detailed66 version of the account which appeared in the Monday edition of the Daily Gazette — an account which has been universally admitted to be the greatest journalistic scoop67 of all time, which sold no fewer than three-and-a-half million copies of the paper. Framed upon the wall of my sanctum I retain those magnificent headlines:—
TWENTY-EIGHT HOURS’ WORLD COMA68
UNPRECEDENTED69 EXPERIENCE
CHALLENGER JUSTIFIED70
OUR CORRESPONDENT ESCAPES
ENTHRALLING71 NARRATIVE
THE OXYGEN ROOM
WEIRD72 MOTOR DRIVE
DEAD LONDON
REPLACING THE MISSING PAGE
GREAT FIRES AND LOSS OF LIFE
WILL IT RECUR73?
Underneath74 this glorious scroll75 came nine and a half columns of narrative, in which appeared the first, last, and only account of the history of the planet, so far as one observer could draw it, during one long day of its existence. Challenger and Summerlee have treated the matter in a joint76 scientific paper, but to me alone was left the popular account. Surely I can sing “Nunc dimittis.” What is left but anti-climax in the life of a journalist after that!
But let me not end on sensational77 headlines and a merely personal triumph. Rather let me quote the sonorous78 passages in which the greatest of daily papers ended its admirable leader upon the subject — a leader which might well be filed for reference by every thoughtful man.
“It has been a well-worn truism,” said the Times, “that our human race are a feeble folk before the infinite latent forces which surround us. From the prophets of old and from the philosophers of our own time the same message and warning have reached us. But, like all oft-repeated truths, it has in time lost something of its actuality and cogency79. A lesson, an actual experience, was needed to bring it home. It is from that salutory but terrible ordeal80 that we have just emerged, with minds which are still stunned81 by the suddenness of the blow and with spirits which are chastened by the realization of our own limitations and impotence. The world has paid a fearful price for its schooling82. Hardly yet have we learned the full tale of disaster, but the destruction by fire of New York, of Orleans, and of Brighton constitutes in itself one of the greatest tragedies in the history of our race. When the account of the railway and shipping83 accidents has been completed, it will furnish grim reading, although there is evidence to show that in the vast majority of cases the drivers of trains and engineers of steamers succeeded in shutting off their motive84 power before succumbing85 to the poison. But the material damage, enormous as it is both in life and in property, is not the consideration which will be uppermost in our minds today. All this may in time be forgotten. But what will not be forgotten, and what will and should continue to obsess86 our imaginations, is this revelation of the possibilities of the universe, this destruction of our ignorant self-complacency, and this demonstration87 of how narrow is the path of our material existence and what abysses may lie upon either side of it. Solemnity and humility are at the base of all our emotions today. May they be the foundations upon which a more earnest and reverent88 race may build a more worthy89 temple.”
The End
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1
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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appreciation
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| n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨 | |
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leavened
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| adj.加酵母的v.使（面团）发酵( leaven的过去式和过去分词 )；在…中掺入改变的因素 | |
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sects
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| n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 ) | |
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alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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hustle
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| v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌) | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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saner
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| adj.心智健全的( sane的比较级 )；神志正常的；明智的；稳健的 | |
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awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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astronomer
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| n.天文学家 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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chronometer
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| n.精密的计时器 | |
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cumulative
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| adj.累积的，渐增的 | |
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abounding
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| adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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emaciated
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| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
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superannuated
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| adj.老朽的，退休的；v.因落后于时代而废除，勒令退学 | |
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hunched
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| （常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的 | |
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delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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blister
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| n.水疱；(油漆等的)气泡；v.(使)起泡 | |
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31
frayed
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| adj.磨损的v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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resuscitated
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| v.使（某人或某物）恢复知觉，苏醒( resuscitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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groove
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| n.沟，槽；凹线，（刻出的）线条，习惯 | |
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reapers
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| n.收割者，收获者( reaper的名词复数 )；收割机 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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respiration
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| n.呼吸作用；一次呼吸；植物光合作用 | |
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grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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flopping
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| n.贬调v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的现在分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅 | |
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groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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dismally
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| adv.阴暗地，沉闷地 | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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ferociously
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| 野蛮地，残忍地 | |
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bristle
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| v.（毛发）直立，气势汹汹，发怒；n.硬毛发 | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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quack
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| n.庸医；江湖医生；冒充内行的人；骗子 | |
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hindrance
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| n.妨碍，障碍 | |
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outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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51
mumbling
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的现在分词 ) | |
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52
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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apprehend
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| vt.理解，领悟，逮捕，拘捕，忧虑 | |
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54
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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alluding
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| 提及，暗指( allude的现在分词 ) | |
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remonstrance
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| n抗议，抱怨 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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62
geniality
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| n.和蔼，诚恳；愉快 | |
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swirls
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| n.旋转( swirl的名词复数 )；卷状物；漩涡；尘旋v.旋转，打旋( swirl的第三人称单数 ) | |
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64
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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scoop
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| n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出 | |
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coma
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| n.昏迷，昏迷状态 | |
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unprecedented
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| adj.无前例的，新奇的 | |
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70
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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71
enthralling
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| 迷人的 | |
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72
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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recur
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| vi.复发，重现，再发生 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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scroll
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| n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡 | |
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76
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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77
sensational
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| adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的 | |
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sonorous
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| adj.响亮的，回响的；adv.圆润低沉地；感人地；n.感人，堂皇 | |
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cogency
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| n.说服力；adj.有说服力的 | |
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80
ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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81
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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schooling
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| n.教育；正规学校教育 | |
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83
shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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85
succumbing
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的现在分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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86
obsess
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| vt.使着迷，使心神不定，（恶魔）困扰 | |
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demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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88
reverent
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| adj.恭敬的，虔诚的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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