"Bram Stoker - Dracula's Guest" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stoker Bram)

narration, he grew more and more excited. It seemed as if his
imagination had got hold of him, and he ended in a perfect
paroxysm of fear--white-faced, perspiring, trembling, and
looking round him as if expecting that some dreadful presence
would manifest itself there in the bright sunshine on the
open plain.

Finally, in an agony of desperation, he cried, "Walpurgis
nacht!" and pointed to the carriage for me to get in.

All my English blood rose at this,and standing back I said,
"You are afraid, Johann--you are afraid. Go home, I shall re-
turn alone, the walk will do me good." The carriage door was
open. I took from the seat my oak walking stick--which I al-
ways carry on my holiday excursions--and closed the door,
pointing back to Munich, and said, "Go home,Johann--Walpurgis
nacht doesn't concern Englishmen."

The horses were now more restive than ever, and Johann was
trying to hold them in, while excitedly imploring me not to
do anything so foolish. I pitied the poor fellow, he was so
deeply in earnest; but all the same I could not help laughing.
His English was quite gone now. In his anxiety he had forgot-
ten that his only means of making me understand was to talk
my language, so he jabbered away in his native German. It be-
gan to be a little tedious. After giving the direction, "Home!"
I turned to go down the cross road into the valley.

With a despairing gesture,Johann turned his horses towards
Munich. I leaned on my stick and looked after him. He went
slowly along the road for a while, then there came over the
crest of the hill a man tall and thin. I could see so much in
the distance. When he drew near the horses,they began to jump
and kick about, then to scream with terror. Johann could not
hold them in; they bolted down the road, running away madly.
I watched them out of sight, then looked for the stranger;
but I found that he, too, was gone.

With a light heart I turned down the side road through the
deepening valley to which Johann had objected. There was not
the slightest reason,that I could see, for his objection; and
I daresay I tramped for a couple of hours without thinking of
time or distance and certainly without seeing a person or a
house. So far as the place was concerned, it was desolation
itself. But I did not notice this particularly till, on turn-
ing a bend in the road,I came upon a scattered fringe of wood;
then I recognized that I had been impressed unconsciously by
the desolation of the region through which I had passed.

I sat down to rest myself and began to look around. It