"Brian Lumley - The Whisperer" - читать интересную книгу автора (Lumley Brian)

THE WHISPERER



by




Brian Lumley



The first time Miles Benton saw the little fellow was on the train. Bentonwas commuting to his office job
in the city and he sat alone in a second-class compartment. The тАШlittle fellowтАЩ тАУ a veryugly little man, from
what Benton could see of him out of the corner of his eye, with a lopsided hump and dark or dirty
features, like a gnomish gypsy тАУ entered the compartment and took a seat in the far corner. He was
dressed in a floppy black wide-brimmed hat that fell over half his face and a black overcoat longer than
himself that trailed to the floor.

Bentonwas immediately aware of the smell, a rank stench which quite literally would have done credit to
the lowliest farmyard, and correctly deduced its source. Despite the dry acrid smell of stale tobacco from
the ashtrays and the lingering odour of grimy stations, the compartment had seemed positively perfumed
prior to the advent of the hunchback. The day was quite chill outside, butBenton nevertheless stood up
and opened the window, pulling it down until the draft forced back the fumes from his fellow passenger.
He was then obliged to put away his flapping newspaper and sit back, his collar upturned against the
sudden cold blast, mentally cursing the smelly little chap for fouling тАШhisтАЩ compartment.

A further five minutes sawBenton тАЩs mind made up to change compartments. That way he would be
removed from the source of the odorous irritation, and he would no longer need to suffer this intolerable
blast of icy air. But no sooner was his course of action determined than the ticket collector arrived, sliding
open the door and sticking his well-known and friendly face inside the compartment.

тАЬMorninтАЩ, sir,тАЭ he said briskly toBenton , merely glancing at the other traveller. тАЬTickets, please.тАЭ

Bentongot out his ticket and passed it to be examined. He noticed with satisfaction as he did so that the
ticket collector wrinkled his nose and sniffed suspiciously at the air, eyeing the hunchback curiously.
Bentonretrieved his ticket and the collector turned to the little man in the far corner. тАЬYer ticket тАжsir тАж
if yer donтАЩt mind.тАЭ He looked the little chap up and down disapprovingly.

The hunchback looked up from under his black floppy hat and grinned. His eyes were jet and bright as a
birdтАЩs. He winked and indicated that the ticket collector should bend down, expressing an obvious desire
to say something in confidence. He made no effort to produce a ticket.

The ticket collector frowned in annoyance, but nevertheless bent his ear to the little manтАЩs face. He
listened for a moment or two to a chuckling, throaty whisper. It actually appeared toBenton that the
hunchback waschortling as he whispered his obscene secret into the otherтАЩs ear, and the traveller could
almost hear him saying: тАЬFeelthy postcards! Vairy dairty pictures!тАЭ

The look on the face of the ticket collector changed immediately; his expression went stony hard.