Затерянный мир
Try Your Luck with Professor Challenger
"No,no;you’llseetheletter—nothingcontentious,Iassureyou."
"Well,that’smychairanddesk.You’llfindpaperthere.I’dliketocensoritbeforeitgoes."
Ittooksomedoing,butIflattermyselfthatitwasn’tsuchabadjobwhenitwasfinished.Ireaditaloudtothecriticalbacteriologistwithsomeprideinmyhandiwork.
"DEARPROFESSORCHALLENGER,"itsaid,"AsahumblestudentofNature,IhavealwaystakenthemostprofoundinterestinyourspeculationsastothedifferencesbetweenDarwinandWeissmann.Ihaverecentlyhadoccasiontorefreshmymemorybyre-reading——"
"Youinfernalliar!"murmuredTarpHenry.
—"byre-readingyourmasterlyaddressatVienna.Thatlucidandadmirablestatementseemstobethelastwordinthematter.Thereisonesentenceinit,however—namely:‘Iproteststronglyagainsttheinsufferableandentirelydogmaticassertionthateachseparateidisamicrocosmpossessedofanhistoricalarchitectureelaboratedslowlythroughtheseriesofgenerations.’Haveyounodesire,inviewoflaterresearch,tomodifythisstatement?Doyounotthinkthatitisover-accentuated?Withyourpermission,Iwouldaskthefavorofaninterview,asIfeelstronglyuponthesubject,andhavecertainsuggestionswhichIcouldonlyelaborateinapersonalconversation.Withyourconsent,Itrusttohavethehonorofcallingateleveno’clockthedayaftertomorrow(Wednesday)morning.
"Iremain,Sir,withassurancesofprofoundrespect,yoursverytruly,
EDWARDD.MALONE."
