Машина часу
Chapter 5
Ihadthehardesttaskintheworldtokeepmyhandsofftheirprettylaughingfaces. Itwasafoolishimpulse,butthedevilbegottenoffearandblindangerwasillcurbedandstilleagertotakeadvantageofmyperplexity. Theturfgavebettercounsel. Ifoundagrooverippedinit,aboutmidwaybetweenthepedestalofthesphinxandthemarksofmyfeetwhere,onarrival,Ihadstruggledwiththeoverturnedmachine. Therewereothersignsofremovalabout,withqueernarrowfootprintslikethoseIcouldimaginemadebyasloth. Thisdirectedmycloserattentiontothepedestal. Itwas,asIthinkIhavesaid,ofbronze. Itwasnotamereblock,buthighlydecoratedwithdeepframedpanelsoneitherside. Iwentandrappedatthese. Thepedestalwashollow. ExaminingthepanelswithcareIfoundthemdiscontinuouswiththeframes. Therewerenohandlesorkeyholes,butpossiblythepanels,iftheyweredoors,asIsupposed,openedfromwithin. Onethingwasclearenoughtomymind.IttooknoverygreatmentalefforttoinferthatmyTimeMachinewasinsidethatpedestal. Buthowitgottherewasadifferentproblem.
‘Isawtheheadsoftwoorange-cladpeoplecomingthroughthebushesandundersomeblossom-coveredapple-treestowardsme. Iturnedsmilingtothemandbeckonedthemtome. Theycame,andthen,pointingtothebronzepedestal,Itriedtointimatemywishtoopenit. Butatmyfirstgesturetowardsthistheybehavedveryoddly. Idon’tknowhowtoconveytheirexpressiontoyou. Supposeyouweretouseagrosslyimpropergesturetoadelicate-mindedwoman—itishowshewouldlook. Theywentoffasiftheyhadreceivedthelastpossibleinsult. Itriedasweet-lookinglittlechapinwhitenext,withexactlythesameresult. Somehow,hismannermademefeelashamedofmyself. But,asyouknow,IwantedtheTimeMachine,andItriedhimoncemore.
