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Chapter I.
WITHOUT, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Laburnam Villa1 the blinds were drawn2 and the fire burned brightly. Father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed3 ideas about the game involving radical4 changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils5 that it even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady knitting placidly6 by the fire.
"Hark at the wind," said Mr. White, who, having seen a fatal mistake after it was too late, was amiably7 desirous of preventing his son from seeing it.
"I'm listening," said the latter, grimly surveying the board as he stretched out his hand. "Check."
"I should hardly think that he'd come to-night," said his father, with his hand poised8 over the board.
"Mate," replied the son.
"That's the worst of living so far out," bawled9 Mr. White, with sudden and unlooked-for violence; "of all the beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way places to live in, this is the worst. Pathway's a bog10, and the road's a torrent11. I don't know what people are thinking about. I suppose because only two houses on the road are let, they think it doesn't matter."
"Never mind, dear," said his wife soothingly12; "perhaps you'll win the next one."
Mr. White looked up sharply, just in time to intercept13 a knowing glance between mother and son. The words died away on his lips, and he hid a guilty grin in his thin grey beard.
"There he is," said Herbert White, as the gate banged to loudly and heavy footsteps came toward the door.
The old man rose with hospitable14 haste, and opening the door, was heard condoling15 with the new arrival. The new arrival also condoled16 with himself, so that Mrs. White said, "Tut, tut!" and coughed gently as her husband entered the room, followed by a tall burly man, beady of eye and rubicund17 of visage.
"Sergeant-Major Morris," he said, introducing him.
The sergeant-major shook hands, and taking the proffered18 seat by the fire, watched contentedly19 while his host got out whisky and tumblers and stood a small copper20 kettle on the fire.
At the third glass his eyes got brighter, and he began to talk, the little family circle regarding with eager interest this visitor from distant parts, as he squared his broad shoulders in the chair and spoke21 of strange scenes and doughty22 deeds; of wars and plagues and strange peoples.
"Twenty-one years of it," said Mr. White, nodding at his wife and son. "When he went away he was a slip of a youth in the warehouse23. Now look at him."
"He don't look to have taken much harm," said Mrs. White, politely.
"I'd like to go to India myself," said the old man, "just to look round a bit, you know."
"Better where you are," said the sergeant-major, shaking his head. He put down the empty glass, and sighing softly, shook it again.
"I should like to see those old temples and fakirs and jugglers," said the old man. "What was that you started telling me the other day about a monkey's paw or something, Morris?"
"Nothing," said the soldier hastily. "Leastways, nothing worth hearing."
"Well, it's just a bit of what you might call magic, perhaps," said the sergeant-major off-handedly.
His three listeners leaned forward eagerly. The visitor absentmindedly put his empty glass to his lips and then set it down again. His host filled it for him.
"To look at," said the sergeant-major, fumbling25 in his pocket, "it's just an ordinary little paw, dried to a mummy."
He took something out of his pocket and proffered it. Mrs. White drew back with a grimace26, but her son, taking it, examined it curiously.
"And what is there special about it?" inquired Mr. White, as he took it from his son and, having examined it, placed it upon the table.
"It had a spell put on it by an old fakir," said the sergeant-major, "a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered27 with it did so to their sorrow. He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it."
His manner was so impressive that his hearers were conscious that their light laughter jarred somewhat.
"Well, why don't you have three, sir?" said Herbert White cleverly.
The soldier regarded him in the way that middle age is wont28 to regard presumptuous29 youth. "I have," he said quietly, and his blotchy30 face whitened.
"And did you really have the three wishes granted?" asked Mrs. White.
"I did," said the sergeant-major, and his glass tapped against his strong teeth.
"And has anybody else wished?" inquired the old lady.
"The first man had his three wishes, yes," was the reply. "I don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death. That's how I got the paw."
"If you've had your three wishes, it's no good to you now, then, Morris," said the old man at last. "What do you keep it for?"
The soldier shook his head. "Fancy, I suppose," he said slowly.
"If you could have another three wishes," said the old man, eyeing him keenly, "would you have them?"
"I don't know," said the other. "I don't know."
He took the paw, and dangling32 it between his front finger and thumb, suddenly threw it upon the fire. White, with a slight cry, stooped down and snatched it off.
"Better let it burn," said the soldier solemnly.
"If you don't want it, Morris," said the old man, "give it to me."
"I won't," said his friend doggedly33. "I threw it on the fire. If you keep it, don't blame me for what happens. Pitch it on the fire again, like a sensible man."
The other shook his head and examined his new possession closely. "How do you do it?" he inquired.
"Hold it up in your right hand and wish aloud,' said the sergeant-major, "but I warn you of the consequences."
"Sounds like the Arabian Nights," said Mrs White, as she rose and began to set the supper. "Don't you think you might wish for four pairs of hands for me?"
Her husband drew the talisman34 from his pocket and then all three burst into laughter as the sergeant-major, with a look of alarm on his face, caught him by the arm.
"If you must wish," he said gruffly, "wish for something sensible."
Mr. White dropped it back into his pocket, and placing chairs, motioned his friend to the table. In the business of supper the talisman was partly forgotten, and afterward35 the three sat listening in an enthralled36 fashion to a second instalment of the soldier's adventures in India.
"If the tale about the monkey paw is not more truthful37 than those he has been telling us," said Herbert, as the door closed behind their guest, just in time for him to catch the last train, "we shan't make much out of it."
"Did you give him anything for it, father?" inquired Mrs. White, regarding her husband closely.
"A trifle," said he, colouring slightly. "He didn't want it, but I made him take it. And he pressed me again to throw it away."
"Likely," said Herbert, with pretended horror. "Why, we're going to be rich, and famous, and happy. Wish to be an emperor, father, to begin with; then you can't be henpecked."
Mr. White took the paw from his pocket and eyed it dubiously40. "I don't know what to wish for, and that's a fact," he said slowly. "It seems to me I've got all I want."
"If you only cleared the house, you'd be quite happy, wouldn't you?" said Herbert, with his hand on his shoulder. "Well, wish for two hundred pounds, then; that'll just do it."
His father, smiling shamefacedly at his own credulity, held up the talisman, as his son, with a solemn face somewhat marred41 by a wink42 at his mother, sat down at the piano and struck a few impressive chords.
"I wish for two hundred pounds," said the old man distinctly.
A fine crash from the piano greeted the words, interrupted by a shuddering43 cry from the old man. His wife and son ran toward him.
"It moved, he cried, with a glance of disgust at the object as it lay on the floor. "As I wished it twisted in my hands like a snake."
"Well, I don't see the money," said his son, as he picked it up and placed it on the table, "and I bet I never shall."
"It must have been your fancy, father," said his wife, regarding him anxiously.
He shook his head. "Never mind, though; there's no harm done, but it gave me a shock all the same."
They sat down by the fire again while the two men finished their pipes. Outside, the wind was higher than ever, and the old man started nervously44 at the sound of a door banging upstairs. A silence unusual and depressing settled upon all three, which lasted until the old couple rose to retire for the night.
"I expect you'll find the cash tied up in a big bag in the middle of your bed," said Herbert, as he bade them good-night, "and something horrible squatting45 up on top of the wardrobe watching you as you pocket your ill-gotten gains."
He sat alone in the darkness, gazing at the dying fire, and seeing faces in it. The last face was so horrible and so simian46 that he gazed at it in amazement47. It got so vivid that, with a little uneasy laugh, he felt on the table for a glass containing a little water to throw over it. His hand grasped the monkey's paw, and with a little shiver he wiped his hand on his coat and went up to bed.
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1
villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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2
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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3
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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4
radical
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| n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的 | |
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5
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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6
placidly
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| adv.平稳地，平静地 | |
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7
amiably
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| adv.和蔼可亲地，亲切地 | |
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8
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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9
bawled
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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10
bog
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| n.沼泽；室...陷入泥淖 | |
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11
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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12
soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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13
intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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14
hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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15
condoling
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| v.表示同情，吊唁( condole的现在分词 ) | |
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condoled
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| v.表示同情，吊唁( condole的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
rubicund
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| adj.(脸色)红润的 | |
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18
proffered
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19
contentedly
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| adv.心满意足地 | |
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copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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21
spoke
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| 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 | |
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22
doughty
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| adj.勇猛的，坚强的 | |
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23
warehouse
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| n.仓库；vt.存入仓库 | |
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24
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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25
fumbling
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| n. 摸索,漏接 v. 摸索,摸弄,笨拙的处理 | |
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26
grimace
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| v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭 | |
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27
interfered
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| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
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28
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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29
presumptuous
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| adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的 | |
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30
blotchy
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| adj.有斑点的，有污渍的；斑污 | |
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31
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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32
dangling
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| 悬吊着( dangle的现在分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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doggedly
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| adv.顽强地，固执地 | |
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talisman
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| n.避邪物，护身符 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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enthralled
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| 迷住，吸引住( enthrall的过去式和过去分词 )； 使感到非常愉快 | |
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truthful
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| adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的 | |
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38
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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39
maligned
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| vt.污蔑，诽谤（malign的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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40
dubiously
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| adv.可疑地，怀疑地 | |
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41
marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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42
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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43
shuddering
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| v.战栗( shudder的现在分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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44
nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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45
squatting
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的现在分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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46
simian
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| adj.似猿猴的；n.类人猿，猴 | |
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47
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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