"So last January, with the beginning of a snowstorm in the air about me--and if it settled on me it would betray me!--weary, cold, painful, inexpressibly wretched, and still but half convinced of my invisible quality, I began this new life to which I am committed. I had no refuge, no appliances, no human being in the world in whom I could confide1. To have told my secret would have given me away--made a mere2 show and rarity of me. Nevertheless, I was half-minded to accost3 some passer-by and throw myself upon his mercy. But I knew too clearly the terror and brutal4 cruelty my advances would evoke5. I made no plans in the street. My sole object was to get shelter from the snow, to get myself covered and warm; then I might hope to plan. But even to me, an Invisible Man, the rows of London houses stood latched6, barred, and bolted impregnably.
"Only one thing could I see clearly before me--the cold exposure and misery7 of the snowstorm and the night.
"And then I had a brilliant idea. I turned down one of the roads leading from Gower Street to Tottenham Court Road, and found myself outside Omniums, the big establishment where everything is to be bought--you know the place: meat, grocery, linen9, furniture, clothing, oil paintings even--a huge meandering10 collection of shops rather than a shop. I had thought I should find the doors open, but they were closed, and as I stood in the wide entrance a carriage stopped outside, and a man in uniform--you know the kind of personage with 'Omnium' on his cap--flung open the door. I contrived11 to enter, and walking down the shop--it was a department where they were selling ribbons and gloves and stockings and that kind of thing--came to a more spacious12 region devoted13 to picnic baskets and wicker furniture.
"I did not feel safe there, however; people were going to and fro, and I prowled restlessly about until I came upon a huge section in an upper floor containing multitudes of bedsteads, and over these I clambered, and found a resting-place at last among a huge pile of folded flock mattresses14. The place was already lit up and agreeably warm, and I decided15 to remain where I was, keeping a cautious eye on the two or three sets of shopmen and customers who were meandering through the place, until closing time came. Then I should be able, I thought, to rob the place for food and clothing, and disguised, prowl through it and examine its resources, perhaps sleep on some of the bedding. That seemed an acceptable plan. My idea was to procure16 clothing to make myself a muffled17 but acceptable figure, to get money, and then to recover my books and parcels where they awaited me, take a lodging18 somewhere and elaborate plans for the complete realisation of the advantages my invisibility gave me (as I still imagined) over my fellow-men.
"Closing time arrived quickly enough. It could not have been more than an hour after I took up my position on the mattresses before I noticed the blinds of the windows being drawn19, and customers being marched doorward. And then a number of brisk young men began with remarkable20 alacrity21 to tidy up the goods that remained disturbed. I left my lair22 as the crowds diminished, and prowled cautiously out into the less desolate23 parts of the shop. I was really surprised to observe how rapidly the young men and women whipped away the goods displayed for sale during the day. All the boxes of goods, the hanging fabrics24, the festoons of lace, the boxes of sweets in the grocery section, the displays of this and that, were being whipped down, folded up, slapped into tidy receptacles, and everything that could not be taken down and put away had sheets of some coarse stuff like sacking flung over them. Finally all the chairs were turned up on to the counters, leaving the floor clear. Directly each of these young people had done, he or she made promptly25 for the door with such an expression of animation26 as I have rarely observed in a shop assistant before. Then came a lot of youngsters scattering27 sawdust and carrying pails and brooms. I had to dodge28 to get out of the way, and as it was, my ankle got stung with the sawdust. For some time, wandering through the swathed and darkened departments, I could hear the brooms at work. And at last a good hour or more after the shop had been closed, came a noise of locking doors. Silence came upon the place, and I found myself wandering through the vast and intricate shops, galleries, show-rooms of the place, alone. It was very still; in one place I remember passing near one of the Tottenham Court Road entrances and listening to the tapping of boot-heels of the passers-by.
"My first visit was to the place where I had seen stockings and gloves for sale. It was dark, and I had the devil of a hunt after matches, which I found at last in the drawer of the little cash desk. Then I had to get a candle. I had to tear down wrappings and ransack29 a number of boxes and drawers, but at last I managed to turn out what I sought; the box label called them lambswool pants, and lambswool vests. Then socks, a thick comforter, and then I went to the clothing place and got trousers, a lounge jacket, an overcoat and a slouch hat--a clerical sort of hat with the brim turned down. I began to feel a human being again, and my next thought was food.
"Upstairs was a refreshment30 department, and there I got cold meat. There was coffee still in the urn8, and I lit the gas and warmed it up again, and altogether I did not do badly. Afterwards, prowling through the place in search of blankets--I had to put up at last with a heap of down quilts--I came upon a grocery section with a lot of chocolate and candied fruits, more than was good for me indeed--and some white burgundy. And near that was a toy department, and I had a brilliant idea. I found some artificial noses--dummy noses, you know, and I thought of dark spectacles. But Omniums had no optical department. My nose had been a difficulty indeed--I had thought of paint. But the discovery set my mind running on wigs31 and masks and the like. Finally I went to sleep in a heap of down quilts, very warm and comfortable.
"My last thoughts before sleeping were the most agreeable I had had since the change. I was in a state of physical serenity32, and that was reflected in my mind. I thought that I should be able to slip out unobserved in the morning with my clothes upon me, muffling33 my face with a white wrapper I had taken, purchase, with the money I had taken, spectacles and so forth34, and so complete my disguise. I lapsed35 into disorderly dreams of all the fantastic things that had happened during the last few days. I saw the ugly little Jew of a landlord vociferating in his rooms; I saw his two sons marvelling36, and the wrinkled old woman's gnarled face as she asked for her cat. I experienced again the strange sensation of seeing the cloth disappear, and so I came round to the windy hillside and the sniffing37 old clergyman mumbling38 'Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust,' at my father's open grave.
"'You also,' said a voice, and suddenly I was being forced towards the grave. I struggled, shouted, appealed to the mourners, but they continued stonily39 following the service; the old clergyman, too, never faltered40 droning and sniffing through the ritual. I realised I was invisible and inaudible, that overwhelming forces had their grip on me. I struggled in vain, I was forced over the brink41, the coffin42 rang hollow as I fell upon it, and the gravel43 came flying after me in spadefuls. Nobody heeded44 me, nobody was aware of me. I made convulsive struggles and awoke.
"The pale London dawn had come, the place was full of a chilly45 grey light that filtered round the edges of the window blinds. I sat up, and for a time I could not think where this ample apartment, with its counters, its piles of rolled stuff, its heap of quilts and cushions, its iron pillars, might be. Then, as recollection came back to me, I heard voices in conversation.
"Then far down the place, in the brighter light of some department which had already raised its blinds, I saw two men approaching. I scrambled46 to my feet, looking about me for some way of escape, and even as I did so the sound of my movement made them aware of me. I suppose they saw merely a figure moving quietly and quickly away. 'Who's that?' cried one, and 'Stop, there!' shouted the other. I dashed around a corner and came full tilt--a faceless figure, mind you!--on a lanky47 lad of fifteen. He yelled and I bowled him over, rushed past him, turned another corner, and by a happy inspiration threw myself behind a counter. In another moment feet went running past and I heard voices shouting, 'All hands to the doors!' asking what was 'up,' and giving one another advice how to catch me.
"Lying on the ground, I felt scared out of my wits. But--odd as it may seem--it did not occur to me at the moment to take off my clothes as I should have done. I had made up my mind, I suppose, to get away in them, and that ruled me. And then down the vista48 of the counters came a bawling49 of 'Here he is!'
"I sprang to my feet, whipped a chair off the counter, and sent it whirling at the fool who had shouted, turned, came into another round a corner, sent him spinning, and rushed up the stairs. He kept his footing, gave a view hallo, and came up the staircase hot after me. Up the staircase were piled a multitude of those bright-coloured pot things--what are they?"
"Art pots," suggested Kemp.
"That's it! Art pots. Well, I turned at the top step and swung round, plucked one out of a pile and smashed it on his silly head as he came at me. The whole pile of pots went headlong, and I heard shouting and footsteps running from all parts. I made a mad rush for the refreshment place, and there was a man in white like a man cook, who took up the chase. I made one last desperate turn and found myself among lamps and ironmongery. I went behind the counter of this, and waited for my cook, and as he bolted in at the head of the chase, I doubled him up with a lamp. Down he went, and I crouched50 down behind the counter and began whipping off my clothes as fast as I could. Coat, jacket, trousers, shoes were all right, but a lambswool vest fits a man like a skin. I heard more men coming, my cook was lying quiet on the other side of the counter, stunned51 or scared speechless, and I had to make another dash for it, like a rabbit hunted out of a wood-pile.
"'This way, policeman!' I heard someone shouting. I found myself in my bedstead storeroom again, and at the end of a wilderness52 of wardrobes. I rushed among them, went flat, got rid of my vest after infinite wriggling53, and stood a free man again, panting and scared, as the policeman and three of the shopmen came round the corner. They made a rush for the vest and pants, and collared the trousers. 'He's dropping his plunder54,' said one of the young men. 'He _must_ be somewhere here.'
"But they did not find me all the same.
"I stood watching them hunt for me for a time, and cursing my ill-luck in losing the clothes. Then I went into the refreshment-room, drank a little milk I found there, and sat down by the fire to consider my position.
"In a little while two assistants came in and began to talk over the business very excitedly and like the fools they were. I heard a magnified account of my depredations55, and other speculations56 as to my whereabouts. Then I fell to scheming again. The insurmountable difficulty of the place, especially now it was alarmed, was to get any plunder out of it. I went down into the warehouse57 to see if there was any chance of packing and addressing a parcel, but I could not understand the system of checking. About eleven o'clock, the snow having thawed58 as it fell, and the day being finer and a little warmer than the previous one, I decided that the Emporium was hopeless, and went out again, exasperated59 at my want of success, with only the vaguest plans of action in my mind."
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confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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accost
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| v.向人搭话，打招呼 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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evoke
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| vt.唤起，引起，使人想起 | |
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latched
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| v.理解( latch的过去式和过去分词 )；纠缠；用碰锁锁上（门等）；附着（在某物上） | |
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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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urn
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| n.（有座脚的）瓮；坟墓；骨灰瓮 | |
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linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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meandering
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| 蜿蜒的河流，漫步，聊天 | |
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contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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mattresses
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| 褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 ) | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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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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alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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lair
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| n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处 | |
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desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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fabrics
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| 织物( fabric的名词复数 )； 布； 构造； （建筑物的）结构（如墙、地面、屋顶）：质地 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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dodge
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| v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计 | |
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ransack
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| v.彻底搜索，洗劫 | |
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refreshment
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| n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点 | |
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wigs
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| n.假发，法官帽( wig的名词复数 ) | |
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serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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muffling
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| v.压抑，捂住( muffle的现在分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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lapsed
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| adj.流失的，堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 )；陷入；倒退；丧失 | |
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marvelling
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| v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的现在分词 ) | |
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sniffing
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| n.探查法v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的现在分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
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38
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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stonily
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| 石头地，冷酷地 | |
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faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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41
brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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heeded
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| v.听某人的劝告，听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 )；变平，使（某物）变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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lanky
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| adj.瘦长的 | |
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48
vista
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| n.远景，深景，展望，回想 | |
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49
bawling
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的现在分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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50
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51
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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52
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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53
wriggling
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
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54
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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55
depredations
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| n.劫掠，毁坏( depredation的名词复数 ) | |
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56
speculations
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| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
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57
warehouse
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| n.仓库；vt.存入仓库 | |
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thawed
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| 解冻 | |
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59
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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