Смешные рассказы / The Funny Stories - стр. 12

Framton Nuttel tried to say some compliments to the niece and not to upset the aunt that was to come. He doubted that these formal visits to total strangers would help his nerve cure.

“I know, you will bury yourself down there and not speak to anybody, and your nerves will be worse than before. I can give you letters of introduction to all the people I know there. Some of them, as I can remember, were quite nice”, his sister said.

Framton wondered if Mrs. Sappleton, the lady to whom he was presenting one of his letters, was one of these nice people.

“Do you know many the people round here?” asked the niece.

“No one,” said Framton. “My sister was staying here, at the priest's house, you know, four years ago, and she gave me letters of introduction to some of the people here.”

He made the last statement in a tone of regret.

“Then you know almost nothing about my aunt?” continued the self-possessed young lady.

“Only her name and address,” he admitted. He was wondering if Mrs. Sappleton was in the married or widowed state. Something in the room suggested man's habitation.

“Her great tragedy happened just three years ago,” said the child.

“Her tragedy?” asked Framton.

“You may wonder why we keep that window open on an October afternoon,” said the niece, pointing at a large French window.

“It is quite warm for the time of the year,” said Framton; “but is that window connected with the tragedy?”

“Out through that window, three years ago, her husband and her two young brothers went off for their shooting. They never came back. When they were walking to their favorite shooting place they sank in a treacherous bog. It was a very wet summer, you know, and places that were safe in other years became deadly without warning. Their bodies were never found.” Here the child's voice lost its self-possessed tone and became human. “Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back someday, they and the little brown spaniel that was lost with them, and walk in at that window just as they used to do. That is why the window is open every evening till it is quite dark. Poor aunt, she often told me how they went out, her husband with his white waterproof coat over his arm, and Ronnie, her youngest brother, singing 'Bertie, why do you bound?' as he always did to tease her. Do you know, sometimes on quiet evenings like this, I almost get a creepy feeling that they will all walk in through that window…”

She shivered. It was a relief to Framton when the aunt went down into the room with of apologies for being late.