解説　場面 23「待合室で」

"I glanced at the books upon the table, and in spite of my ignorance of German I could see that two of them were treatises on science, the others being volumes of poetry. Then I walked across to the window, hoping that I might catch some glimpse of the country-side, but an oak shutter, heavily barred, was folded across it. It was a wonderfully silent house. There was an old clock ticking loudly somewhere in the passage, but otherwise everything was deadly still. A vague feeling of uneasiness began to steal over me. Who were these German people, and what were they doing living in this strange, out-of-the-way place? And where was the place? I was ten miles or so from Eyford, that was all I knew, but whether north, south, east, or west I had no idea. For that matter, Reading, and possibly other large towns, were within that radius, so the place might not be so secluded, after all. Yet it was quite certain, from the absolute stillness, that we were in the country. I paced up and down the room, humming a tune under my breath to keep up my spirits and feeling that I was thoroughly earning my fifty-guinea fee.

「卓の本を見ると、ドイツ語は分からなくても、二冊は科学の専門書で、残りは詩集だと分かりました。田園を少しでも見ようと窓へ行きましたが、頑丈な横木を渡した樫の鎧戸が閉じられていました。驚くほど静かな屋敷でした。廊下のどこかで古時計が大きく時を刻むほか、死んだように静まり返っていました。漠然とした不安が忍び寄り始めました。このドイツ人たちは何者で、なぜこんな奇妙な辺鄙な場所に住んでいるのか。そして、ここはどこなのか。アイフォードから十マイルほどだということしか分からず、東西南北のどちらかも見当がつきませんでした。レディングや、ひょっとすると他の大きな町もその範囲内なので、実はそれほど辺鄙ではないのかもしれません。それでも、この完全な静けさから、田舎にいることだけは確かでした。私は気を奮い立たせようと小声で曲を口ずさみながら部屋を歩き回り、五十ギニーの報酬を十分稼いでいると感じました。