An explosion at night

All that month Andrew worked from early morning till late at night. He loved his work. His patients were already almost well. The results of his work were even better than those of Denny's. The epidemic was coming to an end.

On the tenth of November Denny suddenly rang him up.

"Manson! I'd like to see you. Can you come to my place at three o'clock? It's important."

"Very well. I'll be there!"

On the way to Denny's house he saw Doctor Bramwell.

"Ah, Manson, my boy! I'm so glad to see you."

Andrew smiled. Doctor Bramwell, unlike Lewis, had been friendly towards Manson all that month. "Of course, we have all heard of your work with the typhoid cases, and we are proud of you, my dear boy. You must come to see us one evening."

Andrew promised to come.

When Andrew entered Denny's room, he saw immediately that something was wrong with Denny. He was very sad.

After a moment he looked up.

"One of my patients, a boy, died this morning," he said coldly. "And besides, I have two new typhoid cases. What shall we do?"

Andrew stood at the door, hardly knowing what to say.

"We have to do something about it," he began. "We must write to the Ministry of Health."

"We could write a dozen letters but it won't help much, I tell you. No! There's only one way to make them build a new sewer."

"How?"

"Blow up the old one. And let's do it tonight!"

"But there will be a lot of trouble if it becomes known."

Denny looked up angrily.

"You needn't take part in it if you don't want to."

"I'll go with you," Andrew answered.

He understood it was a crime, a dangerous game with the police. They might even strike him off at the very beginning of his beautiful career. Yet, he himself did not know why he could not refuse.

At eleven o'clock that night Denny and he started in the direction of Glydar Street. It was very dark. There was nobody in the street. The town was sleeping.

The two men moved quietly. In the pocket of his coat Denny had six small boxes of dynamite; each box had a hole in it, and a fuse." There was an electric torch in Andrew's hand.

Soon they reached the first manhole of the sewer in Glydar Street. Andrew's heart was beating fast. It was very difficult for them to open the cover, but after a short struggle it was done. Andrew took the electric torch out of his pocket. They saw a dirty stream running on the broken stone floor.

"Nice, isn't it?" Denny whispered.

"Take a look at the terrible holes in the floor. Take a last look, Manson. People are dying because of this, but the Council doesn't want to do anything."

No more was said. Andrew's hands trembled, but he worked quickly. They set fire to the fuses, then threw the boxes into the dirty stream, put the manhole cover back in its place and ran into the darkness.

They heard an explosion, two, three, four, five and the last.

"By God!" Andrew shouted. "We have done it, Denny."

He felt it was the best moment in his life. He almost loved the other man now.

They saw people running out of their houses and started walking home by the back ways.

(After A. Cronin)

1 explosion [iks'plau3n] взрыв

2 epidemic [,epi'demik] эпидемия

3 unlike Lewis [1u:is] не в пример Льюису

4 typhoid ftaifoid] брюшной тиф

5 Ministry of Health Министерство здравоохранения

6 sewer ['sju:a] канализационная труба

7 Blow up the old one. Взорвать старую.

8 strike him off лишить звания врача

9 Glydar Street ['glaida stn:t]

10 dynamite fdamamait] динамит

11 fuse [fju:z] бикфордов шнур, фитиль

12 manhole ['maenhaul] люк

13 Council ['kaunsl] муниципальный совет

14 set fire to поджечь

15 by the back ways окольными путями

ADVENTURE

It was a fine night when Hubert climbed the steps of a bus. He was returning from the Tumbersomes, pleasant but dull people who were friends of his family. They had given him a fairly good dinner but they had left him dissatisfied.

From the top of his bus which carried him along brilliantly-lighted but now deserted streets, Hubert sighed for adventure.

There is something theatrical about these streets when the hour is approaching midnight.

They suggest that at any moment the most unusual drama might begin. Hubert, a reader of fiction, a playgoer, a lover of film shows, always hoped that something mysterious, romantic would happen to him. But somehow it never did.

In a few minutes, he would leave the bus, walk down one street and arrive at the little flat in which he lived with his friend, John Langton. They would make some tea, talk for about half-hour, and then go to bed. The evening would be over, finished, and the next morning he would go to the office.

Meanwhile time was flying. Hubert was twentythree, and it seemed to him that he was nearly middle-aged.

He looked around at the other passengers on the bus. It was difficult to see their faces, but they were dull, as usual.

No men with scars stared at him, no beautiful girls with tears in their eyes asked for help. Then he saw a golden light which came from the coffee-stall at the corner.

From fiction Herbert knew that there was something romantic about coffee-stalls. He decided to leave the bus at the corner.

He went to the coffee-stall and ordered a cup of coffee and a piece of cake.

There were only two or three men there. Hubert tried the coffee and found that it was hotter and more tasteless than ever. What a life!

But at that moment a taxi came and stopped at the stall. The door opened and a man almost fell out of it. He came zigzagging over the stall and passing Hubert he pushed him so that his coffee and cake went flying.

"Sorry, old man," said the newcomer. "Very, very sorry. What was it?"

"It doesn't matter,"

Hubert told him. "I really didn't want that coffee."

The man looked at him, laughing, "Then why order it, why pay for it, if you don't want it?"

Hubert smiled and said, "Oh, I just stopped here — on my way home, you know —just for something to do."

"Too early to go home, eh?"

"Well, you know how you feel sometimes," said Hubert. The man patted Hubert on the shoulder.

"I do. I feel like it all the time. Now I'll tell you what. You come with me, old man. I am just going to a little club. You come with me. I'll show you something."

Hubert hesitated. The man was obviously drunk, and a visit to some night club in his company was not very attractive.

"Well, I don't know..." he began.

"The only thing is," said the man seriously, coming nearer, "can you keep a secret? That's important. If not, I can't invite you."

This decided Hubert. There was a real adventure! So.he thanked the man, and agreed to accompany him.

They got into the waiting taxi. In another minute they were moving along some dark and deserted street.

(AfterJ. B.Priestley)

1 Hubert ['hju:bat]

2 Tumbersome [ЧлтЬэзэт]

3 But somehow it never did. Но это как-то никогда не случалось.

4 meanwhile f'mi:nwail] между тем

5 coffee-stall ['kofisto:!] кафе

6 went flying полетели (на поп)

7 I'll tell you what знаете что; послушайте меня

8 This decided Hubert. Это заставило Хьюберта решиться.