Острів доктора Моро
At the Schooner’s Rail.
"
"Chance,"heanswered."Justchance."
"Iprefertomakemythankstotheaccessibleagent."
"Thanknoone.Youhadtheneed,andIhadtheknowledge;andIinjectedandfedyoumuchasImighthavecollectedaspecimen.Iwasboredandwantedsomethingtodo.IfI’dbeenjadedthatday,orhadn’tlikedyourface,well—it’sacuriousquestionwhereyouwouldhavebeennow!"
Thisdampedmymoodalittle."Atanyrate,"Ibegan.
"It’schance,Itellyou,"heinterrupted,"aseverythingisinaman’slife.Onlytheasseswon’tseeit!WhyamIherenow,anoutcastfromcivilisation,insteadofbeingahappymanenjoyingallthepleasuresofLondon?Simplybecauseelevenyearsago—Ilostmyheadfortenminutesonafoggynight."
Hestopped."Yes?"saidI.
"That’sall."
Werelapsedintosilence.Presentlyhelaughed."There’ssomethinginthisstarlightthatloosensone’stongue.I’manass,andyetsomehowIwouldliketotellyou."
"Whateveryoutellme,youmayrelyuponmykeepingtomyself—ifthat’sit."
Hewasonthepointofbeginning,andthenshookhishead,doubtfully.
"Don’t,"saidI."Itisallthesametome.Afterall,itisbettertokeepyoursecret.There’snothinggainedbutalittlereliefifIrespectyourconfidence.
