【英文短篇小说】The Window of Time

THE WINDOW OF TIME Let me say, at the outset, that I dont blame my daughter for what happened. Actually, blame is too critical a word. What I mean to say is that my daughter was hardly responsible for what happened. Miriam is a good soul, a benevolen

【英文短篇小说】OLD INDIAN TRICK

Its hard to argue with an old Indian or his tricks. I was driving Lonnie Little Bird up to Billings for an evening diabetes checkup at Deaconess Hospital when we pulled into the Blue Cow Caf, on the Crow Reservation just off I-90, for some supper. Th

【英文短篇小说】THE SHADOW ON THE GLASS（1）

LISTEN to this, said Lady Cynthia Drage. She read aloud from the journal she held in her hand. Mr. and Mrs. Unkerton are entertaining a party at Greenways House this week. Amongst the guests are Lady Cynthia Drage, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Scott, Major P

【英文短篇小说】THE SHADOW ON THE GLASS（2）

He was silent a minute or two, staring, not at the house, but at the thick undergrowth by which they were surrounded. Has it ever struck you, he said, that civilisation's damned dangerous? Dangerous? Such a revolutionary remark shocked Mr. Satterthwa

【英文短篇小说】TOO MANY COINCIDENCES（2）

Angus died peacefully in the St Helier Cottage Hospital the following Friday. Ruth and the twins were at his bedside. Max flew over for the funeral, and the next day accompanied the twins back to school. When Ruth waved them goodbye she wondered if s

【英文短篇小说】TOO MANY COINCIDENCES（1）

TOO MANY COINCIDENCES WHENEVER RUTH looked back on the past three years - and she often did - she came to the conclusion that Max must have planned everything right down to the last detail - yes, even before theyd met. They first bumped into each oth

【英文短篇小说】I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon（2）

One by one the cryonic systems shut down. One by one the people returned to life, among them Victor Kemmings. What amazed him was the lack of a sense of the passage of time. He had entered the chamber, lain down, had felt the membrane cover him and t

【英文短篇小说】I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon（1）

AFTER TAKEOFF the ship routinely monitored the condition of the sixty people sleeping in its cryonic tanks. One malfunction showed, that of person nine. His EEG revealed brain activity. Shit, the ship said to itself. Complex homeostatic devices locke

【英文短篇小说】The Clothes They Stood Up In（2）

The Clothes They Stood Up In by Alan Bennett Mrs. Ransome, too, could see the cheerful side of things, but then she always did. When they had got married they had kitted themselves out with all the necessities of a well-run household; they had a dinn

【英文短篇小说】The Clothes They Stood Up In（1）

The Ransomes had been burgled. Robbed, Mrs. Ransome said. Burgled, Mr. Ransome corrected. Premises were burgled; persons were robbed. Mr. Ransome was a solicitor by profession and thought words mattered. Though burgled was the wrong word too. Burglar

【英文短篇小说】The Letter（4）

I need not tell you that it would be very awkward if this letter found its way into the hands of the prosecution. Your wife has lied, and she would be asked to explain the lie. It alters things a little if Hammond did not intrude, an unwanted guest,

【英文短篇小说】The Letter（3）

In these circumstances we need not go into the matter further, he said slowly, at last breaking the silence. If the possessor of this letter sees fit to place it in the hands of the prosecution you will be prepared. His words suggested that he had no

【英文短篇小说】The Letter（2）

She grew confused about what happened then. All that had been said before she remembered accurately, but now his words assailed her ears through a mist of horror and fear. He seemed to plead for her love. He broke into violent protestations of passio

【英文短篇小说】The Letter（1）

Outside on the quay the sun beat fiercely. A stream of motors, lorries and buses, private cars and hirelings, sped up and down the crowded thoroughfare, and every chauffeur blew his horn; rickshaws threaded their nimble path amid the throng, and the

【英文短篇小说】I AM THE DOORWAY

Richard and I sat on my porch, looking out over the dunes to the Gulf. The smoke from his cigar drifted mellowly in the air, keeping the mosquitoes at a safe distance. The water was a cool aqua, the sky a deeper, truer blue. It was a pleasant combina

【英文短篇小说】NIGHT SURF

After the guy was dead and the smell of his burning flesh was off the air, we all went back down to the beach. Corey had his radio, one of those suitcase-sized transistor jobs that take about forty batteries and also make and play tapes. You couldn't

【英文短篇小说】Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage（4）

Quite a decent-looking car, a Plymouth, was parked outside this hotel. It was very dirty, but how could you help that, with these roads? There were signs on the door advertising a brand of cigarettes, and of beer. She waited till the truck had turned

【英文短篇小说】Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage（3）

Dear Mr. Ken Boudreau, I just thought I would write and send my thanks to you for the nice things you said about me in your letter to your daughter. You do not need to worry about me leaving. You say that I am a person you can trust. That is the mean

【英文短篇小说】Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage（2）

Mr. McCauley would be upset when she left because shed given good service and it would be hard to replace her, but that would be all he thought about. Both he and his granddaughter were spoiled and self-centered. As for the neighbors, they would no d

【英文短篇小说】Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage（1）

Years ago, before the trains stopped running on so many of the branch lines, a woman with a high, freckled forehead and a frizz of reddish hair came into the railway station and inquired about shipping furniture. The station agent often tried a littl