athwart the space and fell. The shouts sounded like

English, there was a reiteration of "Wake!" He



heard some indistinct shrill cry, and abruptly the

three men began laughing.



"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed one--a red-haired man in

a short purple robe. "When the Sleeper wakes--



__When!__

He turned his eyes full of merriment along the passage.



His face changed, the whole man changed,

became rigid. The other two turned swiftly at his



exclamation and stood motionless. Their faces

assumed an expression of consternation, an expression



that deepened into awe.

Suddenly Graham's knees bent beneath him, his arm



against the pillar collapsed limply, he staggered

forward and fell upon his face.



CHAPTER IV

THE SOUND OF A TUMULT



Graham's last impression before he fainted was of

a clamorous ringing of bells. He learnt afterwards that



he was insensible, hanging between life and death, for

the better part of an hour. When he recovered his



senses, he was back on his translucent couch, and

there was a stirringwarmth at heart and throat. The



dark apparatus, he perceived, had been removed from

his arm, which was bandaged. The white framework



was still about him, but the greenishtransparent

substance that had filled it was altogether gone. A man



in a deep violet robe, one of those who had been on

the balcony, was looking keenly into his face.



Remote but insistent was a clamour of bells and

confused sounds, that suggested to his mind the



picture of a great number of people shouting together.

Something seemed to fall across this tumult, a



door suddenly closed.

Graham moved his head. "What does this all



mean?" he said slowly. "Where am I?"

He saw the red-haired man who had been first to



discover him. A voice seemed to be asking what he

had said, and was abruptly stilled.



The man in violet answered in a soft voice, speaking

English with a slightly foreign accent, or so at least



it seemed to the Sleeper's ears, "You are quite safe.

You were brought hither from where you fell asleep.



It is quite safe. You have been here some time--

sleeping. In a trance."



He said something further that Graham could not

hear, and a little phial was handed across to him.



Graham felt a cooling spray, a fragrant mist played

over his forehead for a moment, and his sense of



refreshment increased. He closed his eyes in satisfaction.

" Better?" asked the man in violet, as Graham's



eyes reopened. He was a pleasant-faced man of

thirty, perhaps, with a pointed flaxen beard, and a



clasp of gold at the neck of his violet robe.

"Yes," said Graham.



"You have been asleep some time. In a cataleptic

trance. You have heard? Catalepsy? It may seem



strange to you at first, but I can assure you everything

is well."



Graham did not answer, but these words served

their reassuring purpose. His eyes went from face



to face of the three people about him. They were

regarding him strangely. He knew he ought to be



somewhere in Cornwall, but he could not square these

things with that impression.



A matter that had been in his mind during his last

waking moments at Boscastle recurred, a thing resolved



upon and somehow neglected. He cleared his

• sensation [sen´seiʃən] n.感觉；轰动；轰动一时 (初中英语单词)


• muscle [´mʌsəl] n.肌肉；体力；力量 (初中英语单词)


• slightly [´slaitli] ad.轻微地；细长的 (初中英语单词)


• wretched [´retʃid] a.可怜的；倒霉的 (初中英语单词)


• depression [di´preʃən] n.沮丧，抑郁；萧条 (初中英语单词)


• misery [´mizəri] n.痛苦；悲惨；穷困 (初中英语单词)


• uncertain [ʌn´sə:tn] a.不定的；不可靠的 (初中英语单词)


• hastily [´heistili] ad.急速地；草率地 (初中英语单词)


• movement [´mu:vmənt] n.活动；运动；动作 (初中英语单词)


• physical [´fizikəl] a.物质的；有形的 (初中英语单词)


• weakness [´wi:knis] n.虚弱；弱点，缺点 (初中英语单词)


• supposed [sə´pəuzd] a.想象的；假定的 (初中英语单词)


• extremely [ik´stri:mli] ad.极端地；非常地 (初中英语单词)


• partly [´pɑ:tli] ad.部分地；不完全地 (初中英语单词)


• rubber [´rʌbə] n.(摩)擦的人；橡皮 (初中英语单词)


• graceful [´greisfəl] a.优美的，流畅的 (初中英语单词)


• bubble [´bʌbəl] n.水泡 vi.冒泡；沸腾 (初中英语单词)


• vessel [´vesəl] n.容器；船；脉管 (初中英语单词)


• apartment [ə´pɑ:tmənt] n.一套房间 (初中英语单词)


• ornament [´ɔ:nəmənt] n.装饰(物) vt.装饰 (初中英语单词)


• circular [´sə:kjulə] a.圆形的 n.通知 (初中英语单词)


• throat [θrəut] n.咽喉；嗓子；出入口 (初中英语单词)


• interior [in´tiəriə] n.&a.内部地(的) (初中英语单词)


• remote [ri´məut] a.遥远的；偏僻的 (初中英语单词)


• multitude [´mʌltitju:d] n.大群(批)；众多 (初中英语单词)


• banner [´bænə] n.旗(帜)；头号标题 (初中英语单词)


• garment [´gɑ:mənt] n.衣服，外衣 (初中英语单词)


• abruptly [ə´brʌptli] ad.突然地；粗鲁地 (初中英语单词)


• purple [´pə:pl] n.紫色 a.紫(红)的 (初中英语单词)


• swiftly [´swiftli] ad.迅速地，敏捷地 (初中英语单词)


• impression [im´preʃən] n.印刷；印象；效果 (初中英语单词)


• learnt [lə:nt] learn 的过去式(分词) (初中英语单词)


• warmth [wɔ:mθ] n.温暖；热情；激动 (初中英语单词)


• altogether [,ɔ:ltə´geðə] ad.完全；总而言之 (初中英语单词)


• violet [´vaiələt] n.&a.紫罗兰(的)；紫色 (初中英语单词)


• keenly [´ki:nli] ad.敏锐地；强烈地 (初中英语单词)


• accent [´æksənt, æk´sent] n.重音；口音 vt.重读 (初中英语单词)


• hither [´hiðə] ad.到此处 (初中英语单词)


• forehead [´fɔrid] n.额，前部 (初中英语单词)


• pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)


• strangely [´streindʒli] ad.奇怪地；陌生地 (初中英语单词)


• seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)


• waterfall [´wɔ:təfɔ:l] n.瀑布 (高中英语单词)


• unexpected [ʌniks´pektid] a.突然的；意外的 (高中英语单词)


• riddle [´ridl] n.谜(语) v.解(谜等) (高中英语单词)


• mattress [´mætris] n.床垫 (高中英语单词)


• transparent [træns´peərənt] a.透明的；显而易见的 (高中英语单词)


• cunningly [´kʌniŋli] ad.狡猾地；精巧地 (高中英语单词)


• apparatus [,æpə´reitəs] n.仪器；装置 (高中英语单词)


• maximum [´mæksiməm] n.极点 a.最大的 (高中英语单词)


• hesitation [,hezi´teiʃən] n.犹豫，踌躇 (高中英语单词)


• outward [´autwəd] a.外面的 ad.向外 (高中英语单词)


• pleasing [´pli:ziŋ] a.使人愉快的；合意的 (高中英语单词)


• downward [´daunwəd] a.下降的，向下的 (高中英语单词)


• spacious [´speiʃəs] a.广阔的，宽敞的 (高中英语单词)


• sweeping [´swi:piŋ] a.掠过的 n.扫除；清除 (高中英语单词)


• tumult [´tju:mʌlt, ´tu:-] n.喧哗；激昂；烦乱 (高中英语单词)


• gigantic [dʒai´gæntik] a.巨大的 (高中英语单词)


• apparently [ə´pærəntli] ad.显然，表面上地 (高中英语单词)


• brightly [´braitli] ad.明亮地；聪明地 (高中英语单词)


• shrill [ʃril] a.(声音)尖锐的 (高中英语单词)


• motionless [´məuʃənləs] a.静止的；固定的 (高中英语单词)


• pillar [´pilə] n.支柱 vt.用柱支持 (高中英语单词)


• hanging [´hæŋiŋ] n.绞刑 a.悬挂着的 (高中英语单词)


• fragrant [´freigrənt] a.芳香的，芬芳的 (高中英语单词)


• perception [pə´sepʃən] n.感觉；概念；理解力 (英语四级单词)


• unexpectedly [´ʌniks´pektidli] ad.意外地；突然地 (英语四级单词)


• trough [trɔf] n.槽；水槽；饲料槽 (英语四级单词)


• silvery [´silvəri] a.银一般的 (英语四级单词)


• intensely [in´tensli] ad.激烈地；热切地 (英语四级单词)


• stimulus [´stimjuləs] n.刺激(物)；促进因素 (英语四级单词)


• perplexity [pə´pleksiti] n.困惑；为难；纷乱 (英语四级单词)


• partially [´pɑ:ʃəli] ad.部分地；局部地 (英语四级单词)


• balcony [´bælkəni] n.阳台；(戏院的)楼厅 (英语四级单词)


• richly [´ritʃli] ad.富裕地；浓厚地 (英语四级单词)


• merriment [´merimənt] n.欢乐 (英语四级单词)


• stirring [´stə:riŋ] a.活跃的；热闹的 (英语四级单词)


• graham [´greiəm] a.&n.用全麦粉做的 (英语四级单词)


• unfamiliar [ʌnfə´miljə] a.不熟悉的；生疏的 (英语六级单词)


• contour [´kɔntuə] n.外形 vt.描…的轮廓 (英语六级单词)


• whereon [weər´ɔn] ad.在什么上面；因此 (英语六级单词)


• greenish [´gri:niʃ] a.带绿色的 (英语六级单词)


• drunkard [´drʌŋkəd] n.醉汉；酒鬼 (英语六级单词)


• animated [´ænimeitid] a.栩栩如生的；活跃的 (英语六级单词)


• sleeper [´sli:pə] n.睡眠者；(铁路)枕木 (英语六级单词)


• consternation [,kɔnstə´neiʃən] n.惊愕；惊恐；惊慌失措 (英语六级单词)


• clamorous [´klæmərəs] a.喧闹的；吵吵嚷嚷的 (英语六级单词)


• insensible [in´sensəbəl] a.麻木的；冷淡的 (英语六级单词)


• insistent [in´sistənt] a.坚持的；逼人注意的 (英语六级单词)