第36章掘墓盗尸人(4)
"Ibegyourpardon,"hesaid,"IamafraidIhavenotbeenpayingmutiontoyourtalk。WhoisthisWolfeMae?"Andthen,whenhehadheardthelandlordout,"Itotbe,itotbe,"headded,"aIwouldlikewelltoseehimfacetoface。"
"Doyouknowhim,Doctor?"askedtheuhagasp。
"Godforbid!"ly。"Aheraweretoomue,landlord,isheold?"
"Well,"saidthehost,"heisnotayoungman,tobesure,andhishairiswhite;buthelooksyouhanyou。"
"Heish;yearsolder。But,"oable,"it'stherumyouseeinmyfadsin。Thisman,perhaps,mayhaveaneasydagooddigestio,asohemhadphrasedit,facetoface。Dr。Maewasalertandvigorous。Hiswhitehairsetoffhispaleandplacid,althetiance。Hewasrichlydressediofbroaddthewhitestoflihagreatgoldwat,andstudsaaepreaterial。Heworeabroad-foldedtie,eckledwithliladheaf-coatoffur。Therewasnodoubtbuthebecamehisyears,breathing,ashedid,ofwealthaion;anditrisingtrasttoseeourparloursot—bald,dirty,pimpled,androbedinhisoldcamletfronthimatthebottomofthestairs。"
"Mae!"hesaidsomewhatloudly,morelikeaheraldthanafriend。
ce!Hearmespeak。YouwouldthinkIwassomegood,old,det,wouldyounot?Butno,ed。Vhthavetedifhehadstoodihebrains"—witharattlingfilliponhisbaldhead—"thebrainsweredadIsawandmadeions。"
"Ifyouknowthisdoctor,"Iveoremark,afterasomeause,"Ishouldgatherthatyoudohelandlord'sgoodopinion。"
&espaidome。
"Yes,"hesaid,withsuddende,"Imustseehimfacetoface。"
&herpause,andthenadoorwasclosedrathersharplyofloor,andastepoair。
"That'sthedoctor,"criedthelandlord。"Looksharp,andyoucatchhim。"
ItwasbuttwostepsfromthesmallparlourtothedooroftheeInairdedalmostiherewasroomfandnothihethresholdarou;butthislittlespacewaseveryeveningbrilliantlylitup,notoupoairasignal-lampbelowthesign,butbythewarmradiahebar-roomwihusbrightlyadvertiseditselftopassers-byireet。Fetteswalkedsteadilytothespot,anderehangingbehihegreatdoctorpulledupshortohstep,asthoughthefamiliarityoftheaddresssurprisedashockedhisdignity。
"ToddyMae!"repeatedFettes。
TheLondonmanalmoststaggered。Hestaredfortheswiftestofsedsatthemanbeflandhimwithasortofsdtheninastartledwhisper,"Fettes!"hesaid,"You!"
"Ay,"saidtheother,"me!DidyouthinkIwasdeadtoo?Weareofourace。"
"Hush,hush!"exclaimedthedoctor。"Hush,hush!thismeetingissoued—Ianned。Ihardlyknewyou,Ifess,atfirst;butIamoverjoyed—overjoyedtohavethisopportunity。Forthepresentitmustbegood-byeinone,formyflyiswaiting,andImustnotfailthetrain;butyoushall—letmesee—yes—youshallgivemeyouraddress,andyoutonearlydosomethingforyou,Fettes。Ifearyouareoutatelbows;butwemustseetothatforauldlangsyne,asosuppers。"
"Mo;criedFettes,"Moneyfromyou!ThemoIhadfromyouislyiitintherain。"
Dr。Maehadtalkedhimselfintosomemeasureofsuperiorityatheunyofthisrefusalcasthimbatohisfirst。
Ahlylookdwentacrosshisalmostvee;Mydearfellow,"hesaid,"beitasyouplease;mylastthoughtistooffendyou。Iwouldintrudeonnone。Iwillleaveyoumyaddress,however…"
"Idonotwishit—Idonotwishtokhatsheltersyou,"iher。"Iheardyourmightbeyou;Iwishedtoknowif,afterall,therewereaGod;Iknownowthatthereisno;
&oodinthemiddle,betweeairanddoorway;aLondonphysiordertoescape,wouldbeforcedtosteptoolaiedbeforethethoughtofthishumiliation。Whiteashewas,therewasadateriacles;butwhilehestillpauseduain,hebecameawarethatthedriverofhisflyeeringiatthisunusualsdcaughtaglimpseatthesametimeofourlittlebodyfromtheparlour,huddledbytheerofthebar。Thepresenanywitnessesdecidedhimatooflee。Hecrouchedtogether,brushi,alikeaserpent,strikihistribulationwasirelyatanend,forevenasheassichedhimbythearmandthesewordsaainfullydistinct,"Haveyouseenitagain?"
&ridoctorcriedoutaloud,throttlingcry;hedashedhisquestioneracrosstheopenspad,withhishandsoverhishead,fledoutofthedoorlikeadetectedthief。Beforeithadoccurredtooomakeamovementtheflywasalreadyrattlingtowardthestation。Thesewasoverlikeadream,butthedreamhadleftproofsaspassage。heservantfoundthefinegoldspectaclesbrokehreshold,awewereallstahlessbythebar-roomwindow,aourside,sober,pale,aeinlook。