CHAPTER NINETEEN

I won't scream! He sat at the window, totally awake now, totally aware that the police car he was seeing was as real as his left foot had once been. Scream, you fool, scream! He wanted to, but he could hear Annie's voice saying, Don't you dare scream. When he tried to scream his voice dried up and his mind was filled with pictures of the axe¹ and the electric knife. He remembered the sounds: he remembered screaming then, but not to gain attention from anyone. He tried again to open his mouth - and failed; he tried to raise his hands - and failed. A faint, low sound broke out from between his lips, and his hands moved lightly on the sides of the 62 typewriter, but that was all he could do. Nothing which had happened in the past - except perhaps for the moment when he had realized that, although his left leg was moving, his foot stayed still - was as terrible as the hell² of not being able to move. In real time it didn't last long - perhaps five seconds - but inside Paul Sheldon's head it seemed to go on for years. He could escape! All he had to do was break the window and scream: Help me! Help me! Save me from Annie! Save me from the Dragon Lady! But at the same time another voice was screaming: I'll be good, Annie! I won't scream! I promise! Don't cut off any more of me! He knew he was frightened of her, but he hadn't realized until now the extent³ of his fear. His mind told him that he was going to die anyway. As soon as he had finished the book she was going to kill him. So if he screamed, and it the policeman saw him, and if that made Annie kill him now, what was the difference? Perhaps two weeks of life. There's not much to lose, then, and a lot to win. So scream, Paul, scream! What's the matter with you? Are you already dead? The policeman got out of the car. He was young - about twenty-three years old - and was wearing very dark glasses, which completely hid his eyes and reflected the light like a mirror. He paused, just twenty metres away from Paul's window, and adjusted his jacket. Scream! Don't scream. Scream and you're dead. I'm not dead yet. I'M NOT DEAD YET! Scream, you coward⁴! Paul forced his lips open, sucked air into his lungs and closed his eyes. He had no idea what was going to come out of his mouth. Was anything going to come out? 'DRAGON!' Paul screamed. 'DRAGON LADY!' Now his eyes opened wide. The policeman was looking towards the house. Paul could not sec his eyes, but he seemed to have heard something. Paul looked down at the table. Next to the typewriter was a heavy glass vase, which had been empty for weeks. He seized it and threw it at the window. The glass broke and fell on to the 63 ground outisde. Paul thought it was the best sound he had ever heard. It made his tongue free. 'I'm here! Help me! Watch out for the woman! She's crazy!' The policeman looked straight at Paul. His mouth dropped open. He reached into his pocket and brought out something which could only be a picture. He looked at it and then walked a few steps closer. Then he spoke⁵ the only four words Paul ever heard him say, the last four words anyone ever heard him say. After that he would make a few sounds, but no real words. 'Oh, God!' the policeman exclaimed⁶. 'It's you!' Paul had been staring at the policeman, so he didn't see Annie until it was too late. She was still riding the lawnmower, so that she seemed to be half human, half something else. For a moment Paul's mind saw her as an actual dragon. Her face was pulled into an expression of extreme hatred⁷ and anger. In one hand she was carrying a wooden cross. The cross had marked the grave⁸ of one of the cows that had died while Annie was away in her Laughing Place. When the ground had become soft in the spring, Paul had watched Annie burying the rotten⁹ cows. It had taken her most of the day to dig the holes in the ground. Then she dragged the bodies out of the barn¹⁰ with her car and dropped them into the holes. After she had filled the holes in again she solemnly¹¹ planted crosses on the piles of earth and said some prayers. Now she was riding towards the policeman with the sharp end of the cross pointing towards his back. 'Behind you! Look out!' Paul shouted. He knew that it was too late, but he shouted anyway. With a thin cry Annie stabbed¹² the cross into the policeman's back. 'AG!' said the policeman, and took a few steps forward. He bent¹³ his back and reached both hands over his shoulder. He looked to Paul like a man who was trying to scratch his back. In the meantime¹⁴ Annie got off the lawnmower and stood watching the policeman. Now she rushed forward and pulled 64 the cross out of his back. He turned towards her, reaching for his gun, and she drove the cross into his stomach. 'OG!' said the policeman this time, and fell on to his knees, holding his stomach. Annie pulled the cross free again and drove it into the policeman's back, between his shoulders. The first two blows had perhaps not gone deep enough to kill him, but this time the wooden post went at least five centimetres into the kneeling¹⁵ policeman's back. He fell face down on to the ground. 'THERE!' Annie cried, standing¹⁶ over the man and pulling the cross out again. ' H OW DO YOU LIKE THAT, YOU DIRTY BIRD!' 'Annie, stop it!' Paul shouted. She looked at him. Her dark eyes shone like coins and she was grinning the grin¹⁷ of the madman who has stopped controlling himself at all. Then she looked down at the policeman again. 'THERE!' she cried, and stabbed the cross into his back again - and then into his neck, and then into his thigh¹⁸ and his hand and into his back again. She screamed ' T H E R E ! ' every time she brought the cross down. At last the cross broke. Annie threw the bloody¹⁹ and broken cross away as if it no longer interested her and walked away from the policeman's body. Paul was sure that she would come and kill him next. At least, if she did intend to hurt him, he hoped that she would kill him rather than cut any more pieces off his body. Then he saw the policeman move. He was still alive! The policeman raised his head off the ground. His glasses had fallen off and Paul could see his eyes. He was very young — young and hurt and frightened. He managed to get up on to his hands and knees, but then he fell forward. He got up again and began to crawl²⁰ towards his car. He got about half of the way when he fell over. He struggled up again. Paul could see the bloody marks spreading on his uniform. Suddenly the sound of the lawnmower was louder. 55 'Look out!' Paul screamed. 'She's coming back!' The policeman turned his head with a look of alarm on his face. He reached for his gun. That's right! thought Paul, He got his gun out. 'SHOOT HER!' Paul screamed. But instead of shooting her the policeman's wounded hand dropped the gun. He reached out his hand for it. Annie pulled the wheel of the lawnmower-tractor²¹ around and ran over the reaching hand and arm. The young man in the policeman's uniform screamed in pain. Blood stained²² the grass. Annie pulled the lawnmower around again and her eyes fell for a moment on Paul. Paul was sure it was his turn next. First the policeman, then him. When the policeman saw the lawnmower coming for him again, he tried to crawl under the car. But he was too far away and he didn't even get close. Annie drove the tractor as fast as she could over his head. Paul turned away and was violently sick on the floor.

1 axe   

n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减

参考例句：

• Be careful with that sharp axe.那把斧子很锋利，你要当心。
• The edge of this axe has turned.这把斧子卷了刃了。

2 hell   

n.地狱，阴间；用以咒骂或表示愤怒，不满

参考例句：

• It's a hell of a hike from Sydney to Perth.从悉尼到珀斯的徒步旅行简直苦死了。
• The boss really gave me hell today.老板今天着实数落了我一通。

3 extent   

n.程度，范围，限度；广度，宽度，大小

参考例句：

• The new race track is nearly six miles in extent. 这条新跑道将近六英里长。
• What's the extent of the damage? 损坏的程度如何?

4 coward   

n.懦夫，胆小鬼

参考例句：

• The newspapers had unjustly labelled him as a coward.那家报纸不公正地称他为懦夫。
• I was basically a dreadful coward.从根本上说，我非常胆小怕事。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 exclaimed   

vt.exclaim的过去式v.呼喊，惊叫，大声说( exclaim的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "We have a good chance of winning," he exclaimed optimistically. “我们很可能获胜。”他乐观地喊道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She exclaimed in delight when she saw the presents. 她见到礼品高兴得叫了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

8 grave   

n.墓穴，坟墓，雕刻工，抑音；adj.庄重的，严肃的，重大的，低沉的；vt.雕刻

参考例句：

• Marriage is the grave of love.婚姻是爱情的坟墓。
• This is a very grave matter indeed.这问题的确非常严重。

9 rotten   

adj.腐烂(朽)的；令人不愉快的；糟糕的

参考例句：

• The book was pretty rotten.这本书糟透了。
• Rotten eggs give off a bad smell.臭蛋散发出难闻的气味。

10 barn   

n.谷仓，饲料仓，牲口棚

参考例句：

• That big building is a barn for keeping the grain.那幢大房子是存放粮食的谷仓。
• The cows were driven into the barn.牛被赶进了牲口棚。

11 solemnly   

ad.严肃地, 庄严地

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played. 奏国歌时全场肃立。

12 stabbed   

adj. 刺中的, 中伤的, 刺穿的 动词stab的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was stabbed to death in a racist attack. 他遭到种族主义者的袭击，被刺死了。
• The woman stabbed at her attacker with a pair of scissors. 那个妇人手持剪刀向攻击者刺去。

13 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

14 meantime   

n.其时，其间；adv.同时，当时

参考例句：

• I continued working,meantime,he went out shopping.我继续工作，这期间他出去买东西。
• In the meantime we pressed on with the airlift.与此同时，我们加紧进行空运。

15 kneeling   

v.跪( kneel的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Better die standing than live kneeling. 宁愿站着死，不愿跪着生。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He pulled her down so that they were kneeling face to face. 他拉她跪下来，他们脸对着脸。 来自英汉文学

16 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

17 grin   

n./vi.露齿而笑，咧嘴一笑

参考例句：

• I know she is joking because she has a big grin on her face.我知道她是在开玩笑。因为她满脸笑容。
• She came out of his office with a big grin on her face.她笑容满面地走出他的办公室。

18 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

19 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

20 crawl   

vi.／n.爬行，匍匐行进；缓慢(费力)地行进

参考例句：

• We learn to crawl before we learn to walk.我们学会走路之前先要学会爬。
• She slowed the car to a crawl.她把车开得很慢。

21 tractor   

n.拖拉机，牵引车

参考例句：

• You must oil the tractor every day.你必须每天给拖拉机加油。
• He has a tractor.他有一台拖拉机。

22 stained   

adj.污染的，玷污的

参考例句：

• My dress was stained. 我的连衣裙弄上了污渍。
• The doors are then stained and varnished. 这些门还要染色涂清漆。