Отруєний пояс
Chapter II. The Tide Of Death
"Noah!Noah!"hegasped,withafaceofbeetroot,whileLordJohnandIsmiledinsympathyandSummerlee,likeadyspepticgoat,waggedhisheadinsardonicdisagreement.FinallyChallenger,stillrumblingandexploding,begantoopenhistelegrams.Thethreeofusstoodinthebowwindowandoccupiedourselvesinadmiringthemagnificentview.
Itwascertainlyworthlookingat.Theroadinitsgentlecurveshadreallybroughtustoaconsiderableelevation—sevenhundredfeet,asweafterwardsdiscovered.Challenger’shousewasontheveryedgeofthehill,andfromitssouthernface,inwhichwasthestudywindow,onelookedacrossthevaststretchofthewealdtowherethegentlecurvesoftheSouthDownsformedanundulatinghorizon.InacleftofthehillsahazeofsmokemarkedthepositionofLewes.Immediatelyatourfeettherelayarollingplainofheather,withthelong,vividgreenstretchesoftheCrowboroughgolfcourse,alldottedwiththeplayers.Alittletothesouth,throughanopeninginthewoods,wecouldseeasectionofthemainlinefromLondontoBrighton.Intheimmediateforeground,underourverynoses,wasasmallenclosedyard,inwhichstoodthecarwhichhadbroughtusfromthestation.
AnejaculationfromChallengercausedustoturn.Hehadreadhistelegramsandhadarrangedtheminalittlemethodicalpileuponhisdesk.Hisbroad,ruggedface,orasmuchofitaswasvisibleoverthemattedbeard,wasstilldeeplyflushed,andheseemedtobeundertheinfluenceofsomestrongexcitement.
