"Patricia A. McKillip - The House on Parchment Street" - читать интересную книгу автора (McKillip Patricia A)

good eye gazed at her, wide and steady. "You did see him then. You did see him. I thought you had, but
I wasn't sure, and I wasтАФI didn't want to ask you straight out if you'd seen a ghost in the cellar walking
through wallsтАФdid you see him walk through the wall?"
"Yes."
"I thought I was going barmy. I tried to tell Dad, but Dad would haveтАФhe believes in facts. Things
happen for a reason; things can be proven. I didn't tell him. But one dayтАФone day I brought him down
with me to see itтАФhe nearly walked right through it. I was scared. I've been scared in this house ever
since we moved in last winter, but Dad loves it. So I'm never home much."
Carol hugged her knees. She rested her head on them a moment. "WhatтАФwhat's he doing down there? Is
he a vampire?"
"A vampire?"
"They wear black. They live in cellars."
"Oh." He picked up the picture and studied it. "I never thought of that. тАж I don't think so. Vampires
don't exist, anyway."
"Oh. Just ghosts."
"Well, he hasn't bitten anybody, has he? Look." She raised her head. "Look at his clothes. I've never
seen a vampire dressed like that."
"He's got a black cloak on."
"I know, but it only goes to his knees. And he has a white collar and white cuffs. And that hat like a
cowboy hat with a high crown. And he doesn't act like he sees us, butтАж . More like he's waiting, looking
for somebody from his own time."
"When was his own time?"
"I don't know."
"I don't understand," Carol said bewilderedly. "What's he doing down there? Why is he walking
through walls? People don't walk through walls when they're livingтАФwhy should they do it when they're
dead? Why does he haunt a cellar waiting for somebody who won't come?" "I don't know. UnlessтАФ"
"Unless what?" "Unless тАж unless the other person does come.
Perhaps there is more than one ghost." She shifted. "One is all I want to worry about." "I know, butтАФ
What's the first thing you did when
you saw him?"
тАЬI ran.тАЭ
"So did I. But suppose someone else came while we were running. Or something else happened, that
might explain what he's doing there."
"I suppose you want to go down there and wait for him. Maybe he's not doing anything but walking

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through walls. Maybe he likes walking through walls."
"Why should he walk through a wall? People walk through doors in walls because there's a place to go
to on the other side of the door. There's nothing on the other side of the wall but dirt and earthworms."
"I knew it. I knew he was a vampire. He probably has a coffin in the graveyard."
"Rot. In a church graveyard? Vampires don't like churches. They don't like crosses. I think we should go
down and wait for him and see if he does anything we didn't see before that might explain him."
Carol eyed him reflectively. "All right. But if he starts growing fangs, I am going to run, and I'm not
going to stop until I get to California. I think you should warn people about things like that before you
invite them."
He smiled. He said after a moment, "I didn't invite you. But I'm glad you're here. Now I can stop being
frightened and start being curious."
There was a knock on the door. He closed the drawing tablet and put it back into the window-seat,