"The Man of the Crowd" - читать интересную книгу автора (Poe Edgar Allan)

thoroughfare; and I here walked close at his elbow through fear of
losing sight of him. Never once turning his head to look back, he
did not observe me. By and by he passed into a cross street, which,
although densely filled with people, was not quite so much thronged as
the main one he had quitted. Here a change in his demeanor became
evident. He walked more slowly and with less object than before-
more hesitatingly. He crossed and re-crossed the way repeatedly,
without apparent aim; and the press was still so thick, that, at every
such movement, I was obliged to follow him closely. The street was a
narrow and long one, and his course lay within it for nearly an
hour, during which the passengers had gradually diminished to about
that number which is ordinarily seen at noon in Broadway near the
park- so vast a difference is there between a London populace and that
of the most frequented American city. A second turn brought us into
a square, brilliantly lighted, and overflowing with life. The old
manner of the stranger reappeared. His chin fell upon his breast,
while his eyes rolled wildly from under his knit brows, in every
direction, upon those who hemmed him in. He urged his way steadily and
perseveringly. I was surprised, however, to find, upon his having made
the circuit of the square, that he turned and retraced his steps.
Still more was I astonished to see him repeat the same walk several
times- once nearly detecting me as he came around with a sudden
movement.
In this exercise he spent another hour, at the end of which we met
with far less interruption from passengers than at first. The rain
fell fast, the air grew cool; and the people were retiring to their
homes. With a gesture of impatience, the wanderer passed into a
by-street comparatively deserted. Down this, some quarter of a mile
long, he rushed with an activity I could not have dreamed of seeing in
one so aged, and which put me to much trouble in pursuit. A few
minutes brought us to a large and busy bazaar, with the localities
of which the stranger appeared well acquainted, and where his original
demeanor again became apparent, as he forced his way to and fro,
without aim, among the host of buyers and sellers.
During the hour and a half, or thereabouts, which we passed in
this place, it required much caution on my part to keep him within
reach without attracting his observation. Luckily I wore a pair of
caoutchouc overshoes, and could move about in perfect silence. At no
moment did he see that I watched him. He entered shop after shop,
priced nothing, spoke no word, and looked at all objects with a wild
and vacant stare. I was now utterly amazed at his behavior, and firmly
resolved that we should not part until I had satisfied myself in
some measure respecting him.
A loud-toned clock struck eleven, and the company were fast
deserting the bazaar. A shop-keeper, in putting up a shutter,
jostled the old man, and at the instant I saw a strong shudder come
over his frame. He hurried into the street, looked anxiously around
him for an instant, and then ran with incredible swiftness through
many crooked and peopleless lanes, until we emerged once more upon the
great thoroughfare whence we had started- the street of the D---Hotel.