驼背男人10（在线收听）

“Miss Morrison is a little ethereal slip of a girl, with timid eyes and blond hair, but I found her by no means wanting in shrewdness and common-sense. She sat thinking for some time after I had spoken, and then, turning to me with a brisk air of resolution, she broke into a remarkable statement which I will condense for your benefit.

“‘I promised my friend that I would say nothing of the matter, and a promise is a promise,’ said she; ‘but if I can really help her when so serious a charge is laid against her, and when her own mouth, poor darling, is closed by illness, then I think I am absolved from my promise. I will tell you exactly what happened upon Monday evening.

“‘We were returning from the Watt Street Mission about a quarter to nine o'clock. On our way we had to pass through Hudson Street, which is a very quiet thoroughfare. There is only one lamp in it, upon the left-hand side, and as we approached this lamp I saw a man coming towards us with is back very bent, and something like a box slung over one of his shoulders. He appeared to be deformed, for he carried his head low and walked with his knees bent. We were passing him when he raised his face to look at us in the circle of light thrown by the lamp, and as he did so he stopped and screamed out in a dreadful voice, “My God, it's Nancy!” Mrs. Barclay turned as white as death, and would have fallen down had the dreadful-looking creature not caught hold of her. I was going to call for the police, but she, to my surprise, spoke quite civilly to the fellow.

“‘“I thought you had been dead this thirty years, Henry,” said she, in a shaking voice.

“‘“So I have,” said he, and it was awful to hear the tones that he said it in. He had a very dark, fearsome face, and a gleam in his eyes that comes back to me in my dreams. His hair and whiskers were shot with gray, and his face was all crinkled and puckered like a withered apple.

“‘“Just walk on a little way, dear,” said Mrs. Barclay; “I want to have a word with this man. There is nothing to be afraid of.” She tried to speak boldly, but she was still deadly pale and could hardly get her words out for the trembling of her lips.

“‘I did as she asked me, and they talked together for a few minutes. Then she came down the street with her eyes blazing, and I saw the crippled wretch standing by the lamp-post and shaking his clenched fists in the air as if he were mad with rage. She never said a word until we were at the door here, when she took me by the hand and begged me to tell no one what had happened.

“莫里森小一姐是一个瘦小而文雅的姑一娘一，双眼满含娇羞，淡黄色的头发，非常聪明机智。我讲过之后，她坐在那里，沉思了一会，然后向我转过身来，态度坚决地声明了一些很值得注意的事，我简要地把它讲给你听。

“‘我曾经答应我的朋友，决不说出这件事，既然答应了，就应该遵约，’莫里森小一姐说道，‘可是我那可怜的一爱一友被控犯有如此严重的罪行，而她自己又因病不能开口，如果我确实能够帮助她，那么我想，我情愿不遵守约定，把星期一晚上发生的事，全部告诉你。

“‘我们大约在八点三刻从瓦特街慈善会回来。我们回家路上要经过赫德森街，这是一条非常宁静的大道。街上只有一盏路灯，是在左边。我们走近这盏路灯时，我看到一个人向我们迎面走来，这个人背驼得很厉害，他的一个肩膀上扛着一个象小箱子一类的东西。他看来已经残废了，因为他整个身一体佝偻得头向下低，走路时双膝弯曲。我们从他身旁走过时，在路灯映照下，他仰起脸来看我们。他一看到我们，就停了下来，发出了一声吓人的惊呼声：“天哪，是南希！”巴克利夫人面色变得死人一样惨白。如果不是那个面容可怕的人扶住她，她就跌倒在地了。我打算去叫警察，可是出我意料之外，巴克利夫人对这个人说话十分客气。

“‘巴克利夫人颤声说道：“这三十年来，我以为你已经死了，亨利。”

“‘“我是已经死了，”这个人说道。他说话的这种声调，听起来令人惊悸。他的脸色一陰一郁、可怕，他那时的眼神，我现在还常常梦见。他的头发和一胡一子已经灰白，面颊也皱缩得象干枯的苹果。

“‘“请你先走几步，亲一爱一的，我要和这个人说说话，用不着害怕，”她竭力说得轻松些，可是她面色依然死人似的苍白，双一唇颤一抖得几乎说不出话来。

“‘我按照她的要求先走了，他们一起谈了几分钟。后来她双眼冒火地来到街上，我看到那个可怜的残废人正站在路灯杆旁，向空中挥舞着握紧的拳头，气疯了似的。一路上她一言不发，直到我家门口，她才拉住我的手，求我不要把路上发生的事告诉任何人。