靈異故事:圖書館的四個家伙 03

Four Chaps in the Library 03
圖書館的四個家伙 03
Excessive gasps left the mouths of Blake and Atkinson, whilst I myself remained silent and breathless. Rhodes-Fotheringham's features became hidden in the midst of an awful-smelling cloud of cigar smoke, providing an eerie vision of his face, and at that moment I wondered whether he himself was a dreadful phantom.
"Anyway," he continued, with the smoke drifting in the direction of the fireplace, "this chap could stand it no longer and subsequently decided to take his own life by shooting himself in the head with a pistol. Now it is rumored that he himself haunts that house."
His two companions seemed quite unsettled by this story, and as the flames crackled in the hearth they each took a copious mouthful of the brandy that was readily available nearby. Then Blake appeared to decide that he was not to be outdone by his friend.
"That is a pretty gruesome tale, old chap," he said in a quavering voice, "but allow me to relate the story of the man whose wife gave birth to an apparition."
"By Jove!" exclaimed Rhodes-Fotheringham, with peculiar puffed cheeks. He appeared to be somewhat perturbed by Blake's proclamation, and I noticed how agitated he became as his companion continued the tale.
布萊克和阿特肯森開始大口喘息，而我則不敢出聲，摒住呼吸。拉霍斯.佛斯林漢姆的臉掩在嗆人的雪茄煙霧后，讓他看起來有種奇異的虛幻感，那一刻，我都有點覺得他本身就是個可怕的鬼魂了。
“最后，”他繼續(xù)講著，吐出的雪茄煙霧向著壁爐的方向飄去“那家伙再也受不了，就飲彈自盡了，現(xiàn)在有謠言說他的鬼魂就在那房子里出沒。”
另外兩個人聽了他的故事都顯得很不安，壁爐爐膛里傳出噼噼啪啪的木柴燃燒的聲音，他們都拿起身邊的白蘭地，大大地吞了一口。布萊克覺得自己不應該輸給朋友。
“哥們，這故事真是可怕。”他顫著聲說：“但請聽我講講另外一個人的事，他老婆生了個鬼怪。”
“天呀!”拉霍斯.佛斯林漢姆喊道。他臉上的肉松垮垮的，他像是被布萊克的話嚇到了，我注意到當布萊克講故事的時候，他變得越來越不安。