At four o'clock, when it was fairly dark and Mrs. Hall was screwing up her courage to go in and ask her visitor if he would take some tea, Teddy Henfrey, the clock-jobber, came into the bar. "My sakes! Mrs. Hall," said he, "but this is terrible weather for thin boots!" The snow outside was falling faster.
Mrs. Hall agreed, and then noticed he had his bag with him. "Now you're here, Mr. Teddy," said she, "I'd be glad if you'd give th' old clock in the parlour a bit of a look. 'Tis going, and it strikes well and hearty1; but the hour-hand won't do nuthin' but point at six."
And leading the way, she went across to the parlour door and rapped and entered.
Her visitor, she saw as she opened the door, was seated in the armchair before the fire, dozing2 it would seem, with his bandaged head drooping3 on one side. The only light in the room was the red glow from the fire--which lit his eyes like adverse4 railway signals, but left his downcast face in darkness--and the scanty5 vestiges6 of the day that came in through the open door. Everything was ruddy, shadowy, and indistinct to her, the more so since she had just been lighting7 the bar lamp, and her eyes were dazzled. But for a second it seemed to her that the man she looked at had an enormous mouth wide open--a vast and incredible mouth that swallowed the whole of the lower portion of his face. It was the sensation of a moment: the white-bound head, the monstrous8 goggle9 eyes, and this huge yawn below it. Then he stirred, started up in his chair, put up his hand. She opened the door wide, so that the room was lighter10, and she saw him more clearly, with the muffler held up to his face just as she had seen him hold the serviette before. The shadows, she fancied, had tricked her.
"Would you mind, sir, this man a-coming to look at the clock, sir?" she said, recovering from the momentary11 shock.
"Look at the clock?" he said, staring round in a drowsy12 manner, and speaking over his hand, and then, getting more fully13 awake, "certainly."
Mrs. Hall went away to get a lamp, and he rose and stretched himself. Then came the light, and Mr. Teddy Henfrey, entering, was confronted by this bandaged person. He was, he says, "taken aback."
"Good afternoon," said the stranger, regarding him--as Mr. Henfrey says, with a vivid sense of the dark spectacles--"like a lobster14."
"I hope," said Mr. Henfrey, "that it's no intrusion."
"None whatever," said the stranger. "Though, I understand," he said turning to Mrs. Hall, "that this room is really to be mine for my own private use."
"I thought, sir," said Mrs. Hall, "you'd prefer the clock--"
"Certainly," said the stranger, "certainly--but, as a rule, I like to be alone and undisturbed.
"But I'm really glad to have the clock seen to," he said, seeing a certain hesitation15 in Mr. Henfrey's manner. "Very glad." Mr. Henfrey had intended to apologise and withdraw, but this anticipation16 reassured17 him. The stranger turned round with his back to the fireplace and put his hands behind his back. "And presently," he said, "when the clock-mending is over, I think I should like to have some tea. But not till the clock-mending is over."
Mrs. Hall was about to leave the room--she made no conversational19 advances this time, because she did not want to be snubbed in front of Mr. Henfrey--when her visitor asked her if she had made any arrangements about his boxes at Bramblehurst. She told him she had mentioned the matter to the postman, and that the carrier could bring them over on the morrow. "You are certain that is the earliest?" he said.
She was certain, with a marked coldness.
"I should explain," he added, "what I was really too cold and fatigued20 to do before, that I am an experimental investigator21."
"Indeed, sir," said Mrs. Hall, much impressed.
"And my baggage contains apparatus22 and appliances."
"Very useful things indeed they are, sir," said Mrs. Hall.
"And I'm very naturally anxious to get on with my inquiries23."
"Of course, sir."
"My reason for coming to Iping," he proceeded, with a certain deliberation of manner, "was ... a desire for solitude24. I do not wish to be disturbed in my work. In addition to my work, an accident--"
"I thought as much," said Mrs. Hall to herself.
"--necessitates a certain retirement25. My eyes--are sometimes so weak and painful that I have to shut myself up in the dark for hours together. Lock myself up. Sometimes--now and then. Not at present, certainly. At such times the slightest disturbance26, the entry of a stranger into the room, is a source of excruciating annoyance27 to me--it is well these things should be understood."
"Certainly, sir," said Mrs. Hall. "And if I might make so bold as to ask--"
"That I think, is all," said the stranger, with that quietly irresistible28 air of finality he could assume at will. Mrs. Hall reserved her question and sympathy for a better occasion.
After Mrs. Hall had left the room, he remained standing29 in front of the fire, glaring, so Mr. Henfrey puts it, at the clock-mending. Mr. Henfrey not only took off the hands of the clock, and the face, but extracted the works; and he tried to work in as slow and quiet and unassuming a manner as possible. He worked with the lamp close to him, and the green shade threw a brilliant light upon his hands, and upon the frame and wheels, and left the rest of the room shadowy. When he looked up, coloured patches swam in his eyes. Being constitutionally of a curious nature, he had removed the works--a quite unnecessary proceeding--with the idea of delaying his departure and perhaps falling into conversation with the stranger. But the stranger stood there, perfectly30 silent and still. So still, it got on Henfrey's nerves. He felt alone in the room and looked up, and there, grey and dim, was the bandaged head and huge blue lenses staring fixedly31, with a mist of green spots drifting in front of them. It was so uncanny to Henfrey that for a minute they remained staring blankly at one another. Then Henfrey looked down again. Very uncomfortable position! One would like to say something. Should he remark that the weather was very cold for the time of year?
He looked up as if to take aim with that introductory shot. "The weather--" he began.
"Why don't you finish and go?" said the rigid32 figure, evidently in a state of painfully suppressed rage. "All you've got to do is to fix the hour-hand on its axle. You're simply humbugging--"
"Certainly, sir--one minute more. I overlooked--" and Mr. Henfrey finished and went.
But he went feeling excessively annoyed. "Damn it!" said Mr. Henfrey to himself, trudging33 down the village through the thawing34 snow; "a man must do a clock at times, sure-ly."
And again "Can't a man look at you?--Ugly!"
And yet again, "Seemingly not. If the police was wanting you you couldn't be more wropped and bandaged."
At Gleeson's corner he saw Hall, who had recently married the stranger's hostess at the "Coach and Horses," and who now drove the Iping conveyance35, when occasional people required it, to Sidderbridge Junction36, coming towards him on his return from that place. Hall had evidently been "stopping a bit" at Sidderbridge, to judge by his driving. "'Ow do, Teddy?" he said, passing.
"You got a rum un up home!" said Teddy.
Hall very sociably37 pulled up. "What's that?" he asked.
"Rum-looking customer stopping at the 'Coach and Horses,'" said Teddy. "My sakes!"
And he proceeded to give Hall a vivid description of his grotesque38 guest. "Looks a bit like a disguise, don't it? I'd like to see a man's face if I had him stopping in _my_ place," said Henfrey. "But women are that trustful--where strangers are concerned. He's took your rooms and he ain't even given a name, Hall."
"You don't say so!" said Hall, who was a man of sluggish39 apprehension40.
"Yes," said Teddy. "By the week. Whatever he is, you can't get rid of him under the week. And he's got a lot of luggage coming to-morrow, so he says. Let's hope it won't be stones in boxes, Hall."
He told Hall how his aunt at Hastings had been swindled by a stranger with empty portmanteaux. Altogether he left Hall vaguely41 suspicious. "Get up, old girl," said Hall. "I s'pose I must see 'bout18 this."
Teddy trudged42 on his way with his mind considerably43 relieved.
Instead of "seeing 'bout it," however, Hall on his return was severely44 rated by his wife on the length of time he had spent in Sidderbridge, and his mild inquiries were answered snappishly and in a manner not to the point. But the seed of suspicion Teddy had sown germinated45 in the mind of Mr. Hall in spite of these discouragements. "You wim' don't know everything," said Mr. Hall, resolved to ascertain46 more about the personality of his guest at the earliest possible opportunity. And after the stranger had gone to bed, which he did about half-past nine, Mr. Hall went very aggressively into the parlour and looked very hard at his wife's furniture, just to show that the stranger wasn't master there, and scrutinised closely and a little contemptuously a sheet of mathematical computations the stranger had left. When retiring for the night he instructed Mrs. Hall to look very closely at the stranger's luggage when it came next day.
"You mind you own business, Hall," said Mrs. Hall, "and I'll mind mine."
She was all the more inclined to snap at Hall because the stranger was undoubtedly47 an unusually strange sort of stranger, and she was by no means assured about him in her own mind. In the middle of the night she woke up dreaming of huge white heads like turnips48, that came trailing after her, at the end of interminable necks, and with vast black eyes. But being a sensible woman, she subdued49 her terrors and turned over and went to sleep again.
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1
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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dozing
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| v.打瞌睡,假寐 n.瞌睡 | |
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drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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vestiges
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| 残余部分( vestige的名词复数 )； 遗迹； 痕迹； 毫不 | |
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lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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goggle
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| n.瞪眼，转动眼珠，护目镜；v.瞪眼看，转眼珠 | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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drowsy
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| adj.昏昏欲睡的，令人发困的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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lobster
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| n.龙虾，龙虾肉 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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bout
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| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
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conversational
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| adj.对话的，会话的 | |
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fatigued
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| adj. 疲乏的 | |
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investigator
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| n.研究者，调查者，审查者 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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29
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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33
trudging
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的现在分词形式） | |
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34
thawing
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| n.熔化，融化v.（气候）解冻( thaw的现在分词 )；（态度、感情等）缓和；（冰、雪及冷冻食物）溶化；软化 | |
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35
conveyance
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| n.(不动产等的)转让，让与；转让证书；传送；运送；表达；（正）运输工具 | |
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junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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sociably
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| adv.成群地 | |
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grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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40
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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42
trudged
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| vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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43
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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45
germinated
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| v.（使）发芽( germinate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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47
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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48
turnips
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| 芜青( turnip的名词复数 )； 芜菁块根； 芜菁甘蓝块根； 怀表 | |
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49
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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