Все приключения Шерлока Холмса. Сборник. Уровень 2

Next moment the door opened and two men appeared, one of whom was Drebber, and the other was a young chap. This fellow had Drebber by the collar[65 - had Drebber by the collar – тащил Дреббера за шиворот], and when they came to the head of the steps he gave him a shove and a kick.

�You hound,’ he cried; �I’ll teach you to insult an honest girl!’

He wanted to thrash Drebber with his cudgel, but the coward staggered away down the road very fast. He saw my cab, hailed me and jumped in.

�Drive me to Halliday’s Private Hotel,’ said he.

When I had him inside my cab, my heart jumped with joy. I drove along slowly. What to do? He solved the problem for me. He ordered me to stop near a gin palace[66 - gin palace – питейное заведение]. He went in. When he came out he was completely drunk.

During my wandering life in America, I worked once at York College. One day the professor was lecturing on poisons, and he showed his students some alkaloid.

He extracted it from some South American arrow poison. It was so powerful that the least grain meant instant death. After the lecture I took some poison. I worked this alkaloid into small, soluble pills, and each pill I put in a box with a similar pill made without the poison.

I was thinking like that. When I have my chance, my gentlemen each have a pill of these boxes, while I will eat the pill that remains. That will be our deadly game. So from that day I had always my pill boxes about with me.

It was near twelve, and a wild, bleak night. I lit a cigar, my hands were trembling. As I drove, I saw old John Ferrier and sweet Lucy in the darkness. I pulled up at the house in the Brixton Road.

There was nobody. When I looked in at the window, Drebber was sleeping. I shook him by the arm, �It’s time to get out,’ I said.

�All right,’ said he.

I suppose he thought we were near the hotel. He got out without a word, and followed me down the garden. When we came to the door, I opened it, and led him into the front room.

The father and the daughter were walking in front of us.

�It’s infernally dark,’ said he.

�We’ll soon have a light,’ I said. I took a wax candle. �Now, Enoch Drebber,’ I continued, �who am I?’

He gazed at me with drunken eyes for a moment, and then I saw a horror in them. He knew me. He staggered back with a livid face, and I saw the perspiration upon his brow. His teeth chattered.