"Clark A Smith - The Phantoms of the Fire" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith Clark Ashton)

'My God!' muttered Jonas. He felt utterly dazed, and his thoughts refused to align themselves, failing to form any sort of intelligible order.

As Jonas spoke, a man arose from where he had been stooping behind the wreckage of the cabin, furtively dropping some object which he held in his hands, Seeing Jonas, the man came forward hastily. He was a gaunt individual in dirty overalls, with the profile and the general air of a somewhat elderly and dilapidated buzzard.
Jonas recognized him as Samuel Slocum, one of his neighbours.

'Wal, Jonas McGillicuddy, so you've come back,' exclaimed this individual in raucous tones of unfeigned surprise. 'Ye're a little too late, though,' he went on, without pausing to let Jonas speak. 'Everythin' burnt up clean, four days ago.'

'But the cabin wuz here las' night,' stammered Jonas. 'I came through the woods 'bout sunset, an' I saw Matilda an' the children in front o' the steps, jus' as plain as I see you. Then everythin' seemed to go up in a burst o' flame, an' I didn't know nothin' till I woke up jus' now.'

'Ye're crazy, Jonas,' assured the neighbour. 'Them weren't no cabin here las' night, an' no Matildy an' no children, neither. They wuz all burnt up, along with the rest o' the countery hereabouts. We heerd yer wife an' babies a-screamin', but the fire wuzall aroun' before ye could say Jack Robinson, an' the trees fell across yer road, an' no one could git in an' no one could git out. ... I alluz told ye, Jonas, t' cut them yeller pines down.'

'My folks wuz all burnt up?' faltered Jonas.

'Wal, yer little boy died a year ago, so they wuz jus' Matildy an' the two gals,'