Читать книгу The Complete Works of Algernon Blackwood. Novels, Short Stories, Horror Classics, Occult & Supernatural Tales, Plays онлайн

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Their eyes met. They had seen him.

There they stood, figures of suddenly arrested motion, staring at him through the glass. 'So that's Uncle Paul!' was the thought in the mind of each. He was being inspected, weighed, labelled. The meeting with his sister was nothing compared to this critical examination, conducted though it was from a distance.

But it lasted only a moment. With a sudden quietness the children passed away from the window towards another door round the corner, and so out of sight.

'They've gone up to get tidy before coming to see you,' explained his sister; and Paul used the short respite to the best possible advantage by collecting his thoughts, remembering his 'attitude and disguise,' and seeing to it that his armour was properly fastened on, leaving no loopholes for sudden attack. He retired cautiously to the only place in a room where a shy man feels really safe—the mat before the fireplace. He almost wished for his gun and hunting-knife. The idea made him laugh.

'They already love you,' he heard his sister's gentle whispering voice, 'and I know you'll love them too. You must never let them annoy you, of course.'