The curious air of loneliness of which I had become conscious at the moment of my arrival, was emphasized now that the residents in the district had retired1 to their scattered2 habitations. No sound of bird or beast disturbed the silence. From the time that the footsteps of Martin the landlord had passed my door as he mounted heavily to his bed-chamber, no sound had reached me but the muffled3 ticking of a grandfather's clock upon the landing outside my room. And even this sound, the only one intruding4 upon the stillness, I weaved into my imaginings, so that presently it began to resemble the ticking of the clock on the mantelpiece in that gruesome room at the Red House.
The view which I commanded was an extensive one and although in the clear country air I could quite easily discern the upstanding wing of Friar's Park, actually the house and the park were some two miles distant. Where the park ended and the woods began it was impossible to determine, yet such was my curious mood that I lingered there endeavoring to puzzle out those details which were veiled from me by distance.
To-morrow, I thought, I should be seeking admittance to that house among the trees. In fact so great was my anxiety to plumb5 the depths of the mystery in the hope of recovering some new fact which should exculpate6 Coverly, that nothing but the unseemly lateness of the hour had deterred7 me from presenting myself that very evening.
Yet, my night of idleness had not been altogether unfruitful. I had met the scarred man, and from Hawkins I had heard something of his singular story. Now as I stood there drinking in, as it were, the loneliness of the prospect8, my thoughts turned for the hundredth time to the game-keeper's account of what had befallen the two rustic9 rake-hells. I admit that the concluding part of Hawkins' story, quite evidently regarded by him as a detail of no importance, had re-awakened11 hope which had been at lowest ebb12 in the hour of my arrival.
Although it was possible that the gift of a "sort of cat" to young Edward Hines might prove on investigation13 to be not a clew but a will-o'-the-wisp, I preferred to think that fate or the acute reasoning of Inspector14 Gatton had sent me down to this quiet country for a good purpose; and I built great hopes around the figure of the "lady down from London." Indeed it appeared to me that there were more lines of investigation demanding attention than alone I could hope to deal with in the short time at my disposal. Except that I was determined15 to visit Friar's Park early on the following day, I scarcely knew in which direction next to prosecute16 my inquiries17.
Determining that I should be well-advised to sleep on the problem, I presently turned in. And when I blew out the candle with which the chambermaid had provided me, I remember thinking that the moonlight was so bright that it would have been possible to read moderately large type without inconvenience.
I slept perhaps for two hours or more, an unrefreshing sleep disturbed by dreams of a wildly grotesque18 nature. Figures increasingly horrible and menacing crowded upon me; but that which proved the culminating horror and which finally awakened me, bathed in cold perspiration19, was a dream of two huge green eyes regarding me with a fixed20 stare, fascinating and hypnotic, against which evil power I fought in my dream with all the strength of my will.
Vaguely21 defined as if in smoke I could perceive the body of the creature to which these incredible eyes belonged. It was slender and sinuous22 and sometimes I thought it to be that of a human being and sometimes that of an animal. For at one moment it possessed23 all the lines of a woman's form and in the next, with those terrible eyes regarding me from low down upon the ground, it had assumed the shape of a crouching24 beast of prey25. This fearsome apparition26 seemed to be creeping towards me—nearer and nearer, and was about to spring, I thought, when I awakened as I have said and sat suddenly upright.
One thing I immediately perceived which may have accounted for my bad dreams; I had been sleeping with the moonlight shining directly upon my face. Another thing I thought I perceived, but endeavored to assure myself that it represented the aftermath of an unpleasant nightmare. This was a lithe27 shape streaking28 through my open window—a figment of the imagination, as I concluded at the time, the tail-end of a dream visibly retreating in the moment of awakening29.
So self-assured of this did I become, that I did not get up to investigate the matter, nor was there any sound from the road below to suggest that the figure had been otherwise than imaginary, yet I found it difficult to woo slumber30 again, and for nearly an hour I lay tossing from side to side, listening to the ticking of the grandfather's clock and constantly seeing in my mind's eye that deserted31 supper-room at the Red House.
And presently as I lay thus, I became aware of two things: first of the howling of dogs, and, second, of a sort of muttered conversation which seemed to be taking place somewhere near me. Listening intently, I thought I could distinguish the voice of a man and that of a woman. Possibly I was not the only wakeful inhabitant of the Abbey Inn was my first and most natural idea; but it presently became apparent to me that the speakers were not in the inn, but outside in the road.
Curiosity at last overcame inclination32. Of the exact time I was not aware, but I think dawn could not have been far off, and I naturally wondered who these might be that conversed33 beneath my window at such an hour. I rose quietly and crept across the room, endeavoring to avoid showing my head in the moonlight. By the exercise of a little ingenuity34 I obtained a view of the road before the inn doors.
At first I was unable to make out from whence this muttered conversation arose, until fixing my attention upon a patch of shadow underlying35 a tall tree which stood almost immediately opposite the window, I presently made out two figures there. Somewhere, a dog was howling mournfully.
For a long time I failed to distinguish any more than indefinite outlines, nor, throughout the murmured colloquy36, did I once detect even so much as a phrase. The night remained perfect and the moon possessed a tropical brilliance37, casting deep and sharply defined shadows, and lending to the whole visible landscape a quality of hardness which for some obscure reason set me thinking of a painting by Wiertz.
The low-pitched voices continued in what I thought was a dispute. Something in the voice of the woman, although I could only hear her occasionally, piqued38 yet eluded39 my memory. But it was the voice of a young woman, whilst that of the man suggested a foreigner of some sort and one past youth. Subconsciously40 pursuing the Wiertz idea, I know not why, I invested the dimly-visible speakers with distinct personalities41. The man became Asmodeus, master of the revels42 at the Black Sabbath, and the young woman I cast for that "young witch" depicted43 in one of the canvasses44 of the weird45 Belgian genius.
Everything in the black and silver scene seemed to fit the picture. Here was the unholy tryst46, and I pictured the distant woods "peopled with gray things, the branches burdened with winged creatures arisen from the pit; the darkness a curtain 'broidered with luminous47 eyes...."
And it was my recollection of that phrase, from a work on sorcery, which now set every nerve tingling48. Closely I peered into the masking shadow, telling myself that I was the victim of a subjective49 hallucination. If this was indeed the case or if what I saw was actual, I must leave each who reads to determine for himself; and the episodes which follow and which I must presently relate will doubtless aid the decision.
But it seemed to me that for one fleeting50 moment "luminous eyes" indeed "'broidered the darkness!'" From out of the shade below the big tree they regarded me greenly—and I saw them no more.
A while longer I watched, but could not detect any evidence of movement in the shadow patch. The voices, too, had ceased; so that presently it occurred to me that the speakers must have withdrawn51 along a narrow lane which I had observed during the evening and which communicated with a footpath52 across the meadows.
I realized that my heart was beating with extraordinary rapidity. So powerful and so unpleasant was the impression made upon my mind by this possibly trivial incident and by the extraordinary dream which had preceded it, that on returning to bed (and despite the warmth of the night) I closed both lattices and drew the curtains.
Whether as a result of thus excluding the moonlight or because of some other reason I know not, but I soon fell into a sound sleep from which I did not awaken10 until the chambermaid knocked at the door at eight o'clock. Neither did I experience any return of those terrifying nightmares which had disturbed my slumbers53 earlier in the night.
My breakfast despatched, I smoked a pipe on the bench in the porch, and Mr. Martin, who evidently had few visitors, became almost communicative. Undesirable54 patrons, he gave me to understand, had done his business much harm. By dint55 of growls56 and several winks57 he sought to enlighten me respecting the identity of these tradekillers. But I was no wiser on the point at the end of his exposition than I had been at the beginning.
"Things ain't right in these parts," he concluded, and thereupon retired within doors.
Certainly, whatever the reason might be, the village even in broad daylight retained that indefinable aspect of neglect, of loneliness. Many of the cottages were of very early date—and many were empty. A deserted mill stood at one end of the village street, having something very mournful and depressing about it, with its black, motionless wings outspread against the blue sky like those of a great bat transfixed.
There were rich-looking meadows no great way from the village, but these, I learned, formed part of the property of Farmer Hines, and Farmer Hines was counted an inhabitant of the next parish. It was, then, this particular country about Upper Crossleys over which the cloud hung; and I wondered if the district had been one of those—growing rare nowadays—which had flourished under the protection of the "big house" and had decayed with the decay of the latter. It had been a common enough happening in the old days, and I felt disposed to adopt this explanation.
My brief survey completed, then, I returned to the Abbey Inn for my stick and camera, and set out forthwith for Friar's Park.
From certain atmospherical58 indications which I had observed, I had anticipated a return of the electrical storm which a few days before had interrupted the extraordinary heat-wave. And now as I left the village behind and came out on the dusty highroad a faint breeze greeted me—and afar off I discerned a black cloud low down upon the distant hills.
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1
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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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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4
intruding
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| v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的现在分词)；把…强加于 | |
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5
plumb
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| adv.精确地，完全地；v.了解意义，测水深 | |
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exculpate
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| v.开脱，使无罪 | |
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7
deterred
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| v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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9
rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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10
awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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11
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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12
ebb
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| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
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13
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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14
inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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15
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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16
prosecute
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| vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官 | |
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17
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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18
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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19
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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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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21
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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sinuous
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| adj.蜿蜒的，迂回的 | |
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23
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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24
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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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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26
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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streaking
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| n.裸奔（指在公共场所裸体飞跑）v.快速移动( streak的现在分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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29
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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30
slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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31
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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32
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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33
conversed
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的过去式 ) | |
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34
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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underlying
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| adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的 | |
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colloquy
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| n.谈话，自由讨论 | |
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brilliance
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| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
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38
piqued
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| v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 )；激起（好奇心） | |
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39
eluded
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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40
subconsciously
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| ad.下意识地，潜意识地 | |
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41
personalities
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| n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 ) | |
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42
revels
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| n.作乐( revel的名词复数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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43
depicted
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| 描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述 | |
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44
canvasses
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| n.检票员，游说者，推销员( canvass的名词复数 )v.（在政治方面）游说( canvass的第三人称单数 )；调查（如选举前选民的）意见；为讨论而提出（意见等）；详细检查 | |
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45
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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46
tryst
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| n.约会；v.与…幽会 | |
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47
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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48
tingling
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的现在分词 ) | |
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49
subjective
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| a.主观(上)的，个人的 | |
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50
fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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51
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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52
footpath
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| n.小路，人行道 | |
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53
slumbers
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| 睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 ) | |
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54
undesirable
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| adj.不受欢迎的，不良的，不合意的，讨厌的；n.不受欢迎的人，不良分子 | |
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55
dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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56
growls
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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57
winks
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| v.使眼色( wink的第三人称单数 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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58
atmospherical
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| adj.空气的，气压的 | |
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