"Arthur C. Doyle - The Poison Belt" - читать интересную книгу автора (Clarke Arthur C)

had a vision of a cotton stocking and an elastic-sided boot.
Protruding my head, I sank my teeth into the calf of her leg.
The experiment was successful beyond belief. For some moments
she stood paralyzed, staring down at my head. Then with a shriek
she tore herself free and rushed from the room. I pursued her
with some thoughts of an explanation, but she flew down the
drive, and some minutes afterwards I was able to pick her out
with my field-glasses traveling very rapidly in a south-westerly
direction. I tell you the anecdote for what it is worth. I drop
it into your brains and await its germination. Is it
illuminative? Has it conveyed anything to your minds? What do
_you_ think of it, Lord John?"

Lord John shook his head gravely.

"You'll be gettin' into serious trouble some of these days if
you don't put a brake on," said he.

"Perhaps you have some observation to make, Summerlee?"

"You should drop all work instantly, Challenger, and take three
months in a German watering-place," said he.

"Profound! Profound!" cried Challenger. "Now, my young friend,
is it possible that wisdom may come from you where your seniors
have so signally failed?"

And it did. I say it with all modesty, but it did. Of course, it
all seems obvious enough to you who know what occurred, but it
was not so very clear when everything was new. But it came on me
suddenly with the full force of absolute conviction.

"Poison!" I cried.

Then, even as I said the word, my mind flashed back over the
whole morning's experiences, past Lord John with his buffalo,
past my own hysterical tears, past the outrageous conduct of
Professor Summerlee, to the queer happenings in London, the row
in the park, the driving of the chauffeur, the quarrel at the
oxygen warehouse. Everything fitted suddenly into its place.

"Of course," I cried again. "It is poison. We are all poisoned."

"Exactly," said Challenger, rubbing his hands, "we are all
poisoned. Our planet has swum into the poison belt of ether, and
is now flying deeper into it at the rate of some millions of
miles a minute. Our young friend has expressed the cause of all
our troubles and perplexities in a single word, `poison.'"

We looked at each other in amazed silence. No comment seemed to