DarqueDante/test2 · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 0 74
Stark sprang out, and, as I followed after him, pulled me swiftly
into a porch which gaped in front of us. We stepped, as it were,
right out of the carriage and into the hall, so that I failed to
catch the most fleeting glance of the front of the house. The instant
that I had crossed the threshold the door slammed heavily behind us,
and I heard faintly the rattle of the wheels as the carriage drove
away.

"It was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel fumbled about
looking for matches and muttering under his breath. Suddenly a door
opened at the other end of the passage, and a long, golden bar of
light shot out in our direction. It grew broader, and a woman
appeared with a lamp in her hand, which she held above her head,
pushing her face forward and peering at us. I could see that she was
pretty, and from the gloss with which the light shone upon her dark
dress I knew that it was a rich material. She spoke a few words in a
foreign tongue in a tone as though asking a question, and when my
companion answered in a gruff monosyllable she gave such a start that
the lamp nearly fell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her,
whispered something in her ear, and then, pushing her back into the
room from whence she had come, he walked towards me again with the
lamp in his hand.

"'Perhaps you will have the kindness to wait in this room for a few
minutes,' said he, throwing open another door. It was a quiet,
little, plainly furnished room, with a round table in the centre, on
which several German books were scattered. Colonel Stark laid down
the lamp on the top of a harmonium beside the door. 'I shall not keep
you waiting an instant,' said he, and vanished into the darkness.

"I glanced at the books upon the table, and in spite of my ignorance
of German I could see that two of them were treatises on science, the
others being volumes of poetry. Then I walked across to the window,
hoping that I might catch some glimpse of the country-side, but an
oak shutter, heavily barred, was folded across it. It was a
wonderfully silent house. There was an old clock ticking loudly
somewhere in the passage, but otherwise everything was deadly still.
A vague feeling of uneasiness began to steal over me. Who were these
German people, and what were they doing living in this strange,
out-of-the-way place? And where was the place? I was ten miles or so
from Eyford, that was all I knew, but whether north, south, east, or
west I had no idea. For that matter, Reading, and possibly other
large towns, were within that radius, so the place might not be so
secluded, after all. Yet it was quite certain, from the absolute
stillness, that we were in the country. I paced up and down the room,
humming a tune under my breath to keep up my spirits and feeling that
I was thoroughly earning my fifty-guinea fee.

"Suddenly, without any preliminary sound in the midst of the utter
stillness, the door of my room swung slowly open. The woman was
standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behind her, the
yellow light from my lamp beating upon her eager and beautiful face.
I could see at a glance that she was sick with fear, and the sight
sent a chill to my own heart. She held up one shaking finger to warn
me to be silent, and she shot a few whispered words of broken English
at me, her eyes glancing back, like those of a frightened horse, into
the gloom behind her.

"'I would go,' said she, trying hard, as it seemed to me, to speak
calmly; 'I would go. I should not stay here. There is no good for you
to do.'

"'But, madam,' said I, 'I have not yet done what I came for. I cannot
possibly leave until I have seen the machine.'

"'It is not worth your while to wait,' she went on. 'You can pass
through the door; no one hinders.' And then, seeing that I smiled and
shook my head, she suddenly threw aside her constraint and made a
step forward, with her hands wrung together. 'For the love of
Heaven!' she whispered, 'get away from here before it is too late!'

"But I am somewhat headstrong by nature, and the more ready to engage
in an affair when there is some obstacle in the way. I thought of my
fifty-guinea fee, of my wearisome journey, and of the unpleasant
night which seemed to be before me. Was it all to go for nothing? Why
should I slink away without having carried out my commission, and
without the payment which was my due? This woman might, for all I
knew, be a monomaniac. With a stout bearing, therefore, though her
manner had shaken me more than I cared to confess, I still shook my
head and declared my intention of remaining where I was. She was
about to renew her entreaties when a door slammed overhead, and the
sound of several footsteps was heard upon the stairs. She listened
for an instant, threw up her hands with a despairing gesture, and
vanished as suddenly and as noiselessly as she had come.

"The newcomers were Colonel Lysander Stark and a short thick man with
a chinchilla beard growing out of the creases of his double chin, who
was introduced to me as Mr. Ferguson.

"'This is my secretary and manager,' said the colonel. 'By the way, I
was under the impression that I left this door shut just now. I fear
that you have felt the draught.'

"'On the contrary,' said I, 'I opened the door myself because I felt
the room to be a little close.'

"He shot one of his suspicious looks at me. 'Perhaps we had better
proceed to business, then,' said he. 'Mr. Ferguson and I will take
you up to see the machine.'

Stark sprang out, and, as I followed after him, pulled me swiftly

into a porch which gaped in front of us. We stepped, as it were,

right out of the carriage and into the hall, so that I failed to

catch the most fleeting glance of the front of the house. The instant

that I had crossed the threshold the door slammed heavily behind us,

and I heard faintly the rattle of the wheels as the carriage drove

away.

"It was pitch dark inside the house, and the colonel fumbled about

looking for matches and muttering under his breath. Suddenly a door

opened at the other end of the passage, and a long, golden bar of

light shot out in our direction. It grew broader, and a woman

appeared with a lamp in her hand, which she held above her head,

pushing her face forward and peering at us. I could see that she was

pretty, and from the gloss with which the light shone upon her dark

dress I knew that it was a rich material. She spoke a few words in a

foreign tongue in a tone as though asking a question, and when my

companion answered in a gruff monosyllable she gave such a start that

the lamp nearly fell from her hand. Colonel Stark went up to her,

whispered something in her ear, and then, pushing her back into the

room from whence she had come, he walked towards me again with the

lamp in his hand.

"'Perhaps you will have the kindness to wait in this room for a few

minutes,' said he, throwing open another door. It was a quiet,

little, plainly furnished room, with a round table in the centre, on

which several German books were scattered. Colonel Stark laid down

the lamp on the top of a harmonium beside the door. 'I shall not keep

you waiting an instant,' said he, and vanished into the darkness.

"I glanced at the books upon the table, and in spite of my ignorance

of German I could see that two of them were treatises on science, the

others being volumes of poetry. Then I walked across to the window,

hoping that I might catch some glimpse of the country-side, but an

oak shutter, heavily barred, was folded across it. It was a

wonderfully silent house. There was an old clock ticking loudly

somewhere in the passage, but otherwise everything was deadly still.

A vague feeling of uneasiness began to steal over me. Who were these

German people, and what were they doing living in this strange,

out-of-the-way place? And where was the place? I was ten miles or so

from Eyford, that was all I knew, but whether north, south, east, or

west I had no idea. For that matter, Reading, and possibly other

large towns, were within that radius, so the place might not be so

secluded, after all. Yet it was quite certain, from the absolute

stillness, that we were in the country. I paced up and down the room,

humming a tune under my breath to keep up my spirits and feeling that

I was thoroughly earning my fifty-guinea fee.

"Suddenly, without any preliminary sound in the midst of the utter

stillness, the door of my room swung slowly open. The woman was

standing in the aperture, the darkness of the hall behind her, the

yellow light from my lamp beating upon her eager and beautiful face.

I could see at a glance that she was sick with fear, and the sight

sent a chill to my own heart. She held up one shaking finger to warn

me to be silent, and she shot a few whispered words of broken English

at me, her eyes glancing back, like those of a frightened horse, into

the gloom behind her.

"'I would go,' said she, trying hard, as it seemed to me, to speak

calmly; 'I would go. I should not stay here. There is no good for you

to do.'

"'But, madam,' said I, 'I have not yet done what I came for. I cannot

possibly leave until I have seen the machine.'

"'It is not worth your while to wait,' she went on. 'You can pass

through the door; no one hinders.' And then, seeing that I smiled and

shook my head, she suddenly threw aside her constraint and made a

step forward, with her hands wrung together. 'For the love of

Heaven!' she whispered, 'get away from here before it is too late!'

"But I am somewhat headstrong by nature, and the more ready to engage

in an affair when there is some obstacle in the way. I thought of my

fifty-guinea fee, of my wearisome journey, and of the unpleasant

night which seemed to be before me. Was it all to go for nothing? Why

should I slink away without having carried out my commission, and

without the payment which was my due? This woman might, for all I

knew, be a monomaniac. With a stout bearing, therefore, though her

manner had shaken me more than I cared to confess, I still shook my

head and declared my intention of remaining where I was. She was

about to renew her entreaties when a door slammed overhead, and the

sound of several footsteps was heard upon the stairs. She listened

for an instant, threw up her hands with a despairing gesture, and

vanished as suddenly and as noiselessly as she had come.

"The newcomers were Colonel Lysander Stark and a short thick man with

a chinchilla beard growing out of the creases of his double chin, who

was introduced to me as Mr. Ferguson.

"'This is my secretary and manager,' said the colonel. 'By the way, I

was under the impression that I left this door shut just now. I fear

that you have felt the draught.'

"'On the contrary,' said I, 'I opened the door myself because I felt

the room to be a little close.'

"He shot one of his suspicious looks at me. 'Perhaps we had better

proceed to business, then,' said he. 'Mr. Ferguson and I will take

you up to see the machine.'