"Come back," he said tenderly. "You will be cold."

"It is colder for my son," said the old woman, and wept afresh.

The sound of her sobs died away on his ears. The bed was -warm, and his eyes heavy with sleep. He dozed fitfully, and then slept until a sudden cry from his wife awoke him with a start.

"The monkey's paw!" she cried wildly. "The monkey's paw!"

He started up in alarm. "Where? Where is it? What's the matter?" She came stumbling across the room toward him. "I want it," she said quietly. "You've not destroyed it?"

"It's in the parlor, on the bracket," he replied, marveling. "Why?"

She cried and laughed together, and bending over, kissed his cheek.

"I only just thought of it," she said hysterically. "Why didn't I think of it before? Why didn't you think of it?"

"Think of what?" he questioned.

"The other two wishes," she replied rapidly. "We've only had one."

"Was not that enough?" he demanded fiercely.

"No," she cried triumphantly; "we'll have one more. Go down and get it quickly, and wish our boy alive again."

The man sat up in bed and flung the bedclothes from his quaking limbs. "Good God, you are mad!" he cried, aghast.

"Get it," she panted; "get it quickly, and wish-- Oh, my boy, my boy!"

Her husband struck a match and lit the candle. "Get back to bed," he said unsteadily. "You don't know what you are saying."

"We had the first wish granted," said the old woman feverishly; "why not the second?"

"A coincidence," stammered the old man.

"Go and get it and wish," cried the old woman, and dragged him toward the door.

He went down in the darkness, and felt his way to the parlor, and then to the mantelpiece. The talisman was in its place, and a horrible fear that the unspoken wish might bring his mutilated son before him ere he could escape from the room seized upon him, and he caught his breath as he found that he had lost the direction of the door. His brow cold with sweat, he felt his way around the table, and groped along the wall until he found himself in the small passage with the unwholesome thing in his hand.

Even his wife's face seemed changed as he entered the room. It was white and expectant, and to his fears seemed to have an unnatural look upon it. He was afraid of her.

"Wish!" she cried, in a strong voice.

"It is foolish and wicked," he faltered.

"Wish!" repeated his wife.

He raised his hand. "I wish my son alive again."

The talisman fell to the floor, and he regarded it shudderingly. Then he sank trembling into a chair as the old woman, with burning eyes, walked to the window and raised the blind.

He sat until he was chilled with the cold, glancing occasionally at the figure of the old woman peering through the window. The candle end, which had burned below the rim of the china candlestick, was throwing pulsating shadows on the ceiling and walls, until, with a flicker larger than the rest, it expired. The old man, with an unspeakable sense of relief at the failure of the talisman, crept back to his bed, and a minute or two afterward the old woman came silently and apathetically beside him.

Neither spoke, but both lay silently listening to the ticking of the clock. A stair creaked, and a squeaky mouse scurried noisily through the wall. The darkness was oppressive, and after lying for some time screwing up his courage, the husband took the box of matches, and striking one, went downstairs for a candle.

At the foot of the stairs the match went out, and he paused to strike another, and at the same moment a knock, so quiet and stealthy as to be scarcely audible, sounded on the front door.

parlor [´pɑ:lə]   n.客厅；起居室   (初中英语单词)

horrible [´hɔrəbəl]   a.可怕的；恐怖的   (初中英语单词)

breath [breθ]   n.呼吸；气息   (初中英语单词)

occasionally [ə´keiʒənəli]   ad.偶然地；非经常地   (初中英语单词)

relief [ri´li:f]   n.救济；援救；减轻   (初中英语单词)

failure [´feiljə]   n.失败；衰竭；破产   (初中英语单词)

silently [´sailəntli]   ad.寂静地；沉默地   (初中英语单词)

striking [´straikiŋ]   a.显著的，明显的   (初中英语单词)

downstairs [,daun´steəz]   ad.在楼下 a.楼下的   (初中英语单词)

tenderly [´tendəli]   ad.娇嫩地；柔和地   (高中英语单词)

repeated [ri´pi:tid]   a.反复的；重复的   (高中英语单词)

flicker [´flikə]   n.&v.闪烁；忽隐忽现   (高中英语单词)

triumphantly [trai´ʌmfəntli]   ad.胜利地；洋洋得意地   (英语四级单词)

unnatural [,ʌn´nætʃərəl]   a.不自然的   (英语四级单词)

audible [´ɔ:dibəl]   a.听得见的   (英语四级单词)

expectant [ik´spektənt]   a.期待的，预期的   (英语六级单词)

candlestick [´kændl,stik]   n.烛台   (英语六级单词)

unspeakable [ʌn´spi:kəbl]   a.不能以言语表达的   (英语六级单词)

oppressive [ə´presiv]   a.压制的；沉重的   (英语六级单词)