"Bram Stoker - Dracula's Guest" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stoker Bram)

sort of high windswept plateau. As we drove,I saw a road that
looked but little used and which seemed to dip through a lit-
tle winding valley. It looked so inviting that, even at the
risk of offending him, I called Johann to stop--and when he
had pulled up, I told him I would like to drive down that
road. He made all sorts of excuses and frequently crossed him-
self as he spoke. This somewhat piqued my curiosity, so I ask-
ed him various questions. He answered fencingly and repeatedly
looked at his watch in protest.

Finally I said, "Well, Johann, I want to go down this road.
I shall not ask you to come unless you like; but tell me why
you do not like to go, that is all I ask." For answer he seem-
ed to throw himself off the box, so quickly did he reach the
ground. Then he stretched out his hands appealingly to me and
implored me not to go. There was just enough of English mixed
with the German for me to understand the drift of his talk. He
seemed always just about to tell me something--the very idea
of which evidently frightened him; but each time he pulled him-
self up saying, "Walpurgis nacht!"

I tried to argue with him, but it was difficult to argue
with a man when I did not know his language. The advantage
certainly rested with him, for although he began to speak in
English, of a very crude and broken kind, he always got ex-
cited and broke into his native tongue--and every time he did
so, he looked at his watch. Then the horses became restless
and sniffed the air. At this he grew very pale, and, looking
around in a frightened way, he suddenly jumped forward, took
them by the bridles,and led them on some twenty feet. I foll-
owed and asked why he had done this. For an answer he crossed
himself, pointed to the spot we had left, and drew his carr-
iage in the direction of the other road, indicating a cross,
and said, first in German, then in English, "Buried him--him
what killed themselves."

I remembered the old custom of burying suicides at cross
roads: "Ah! I see, a suicide. How interesting!" But for the
life of me I could not make out why the horses were frighten-
ed.

Whilst we were talking, we heard a sort of sound between a
yelp and a bark.It was far away; but the horses got very rest-
less, and it took Johann all his time to quiet them. He was
pale and said, "It sounds like a wolf--but yet there are no
wolves here now."

"No?" I said, questioning him. "Isn't it long since the
wolves were so near the city?"