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Fog - By Bill Lowe Fog Warning When Polly left home that morning, the city was already covered in a grey mist. At lunch, the radio forecast that the mist would become a thick fog in the afternoon. At four o’clock, Polly left work and stepped out into the fog. She wondered if the buses would still be running. No buses to King Street Once out in the street, she walked quickly towards her usual bus stop. ‘How far are you going?’ the bus conductor asked her before he took her fare. ‘King Street,’ said Polly. ‘Sorry, Miss,’ replied the man, ‘the truth is that it is too foggy for the bus to run that far. Take the Underground to Green Park. The weather might be better there and you might be able to get a taxi.’ A tall man As Polly observed the passengers on the train, she had a feeling that she was being watched by a tall man in a dark overcoat. At last the train arrived at Green Park station. While the rest of the passengers were getting out, she glanced at the faces around her. The tall man was nowhere to be seen. Footsteps When Polly got to the station entrance, it was empty. Outside, wherever she looked the fog lay like a thick, grey cloud. There was no one in sight. Polly set off towards Park Street. As she walked along the narrow street, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching, but by the time she reached the corner of the street, the footsteps were gone. Suddenly Polly felt a rough hand brush her cheek, and she heard a man’s voice in her ear saying ‘Sorry.’ The man moved away. She could feel her heart beating with fear. The helpful stranger Then she heard the sound again—soft footsteps behind her. A minute before, she had wished for someone to come along. Now she wanted to run, but fear held her still. The footsteps seemed close now. Then a man’s voice came out of the darkness. ‘Is anybody there?’ Polly hesitated. At last she answered, ‘Hello, I think I’m lost.’ A few seconds later, a hand reached out and grasped her arm. Polly found herself staring up at the face of an old man with a beard. ‘Maybe I can help you. Which road do you want?’ he asked. ‘I live at 86 King Street,’ Polly replied. ‘Just take my hand,’ said the man. ‘Come with me. You’ll be all right.’ He took Polly’s hand. ‘Watch out for the step here.’ In his other hand the man carried a stick. Polly heard it hit the step. ‘I can remember some terrible fogs, but maybe that was before your time. I can’t see your face, but you sound young. How old are you?’ ‘Just twenty,’ answered Polly. ‘Ah, twenty! A nice age to be. I was young once. Now we’re at the crossroads. Turn left here.’ ‘I’m quite lost now. Are you sure you know the way?’ Polly was beginning to feel frightened again. ‘Of course. You really shouldn’t feel anxious.’ He held her hand more firmly. The grateful helper ‘Here we are. King Street.’ He stopped. ‘Thank you so much for coming to my aid,’ said Polly in relief. ‘Would you like to come in and rest for a while?’ ‘It’s very nice of you,’ said the man, ‘but I’ll be off. There may be more people lost today, and I’d like to help them. You see, a fog this bad is rare. It gives me the chance to pay back the help that people give me when it’s sunny. A blind person like me can’t get across the road without help, except in a fog like this.’ 雾 - (比尔o洛) 浓雾警报 没有到国王大街的巴士 一走到街上，她就快步向平常乘车的公交车站走去。 “您要坐多远？”巴士售票员收下她的车费前问道。 “国王大街。”波莉答道。 “对不起，小姐，”售票员回答说，“现实情况是雾太浓了，公交车跑不了那么远。乘地铁到格林公园吧。那里的天气可能好一点，您也许能叫到一辆出租车。” 高个子男人 当波莉打量地铁车厢里的乘客时，她感到她正被一个穿着黑色大衣的高个子男人注视着。地铁终于到达了格林公园站。当其他乘客走出车厢时，她扫视了一下她周围的一张张面孔。那个高个子男人不见了。 脚步声 当波莉到达车站入口处时，那里空无一人。外面，她目光所及之处，雾像浓密的灰云一样聚积着。什么人也看不见。波莉朝着公园大街走去。当她沿着狭窄的街道行走时，她听到了由远及近的脚步声，但当她走到街道拐角处时，脚步声却消失了，突然，波莉感到有一只粗糙的手拂过她的脸颊'并且她还听到了一个男人在她耳边说“对不起”的声音。那个男人走开了。她能感到她的心脏因害怕而怦怦地直跳。 热心的陌生人 然后，她又听到了那种声音——在她身后响起的轻柔的脚步声。一分钟前，她曾希望有人跟着来。现在她则想跑开，可恐惧让她挪不动脚步。脚步声这会儿似乎很近了。接着，一个男人的声音从黑暗中传来：“有人吗？” 波莉犹豫了。最终她还是回答道：“你好，我想我是迷路了。” 几秒钟后，一只手伸过来抓住了她的胳膊。波莉抬头看去，发现是一位长着络腮胡子的老人。 “也许我能帮你。你想去哪条路？”他问道。 “我住在国王大街86号，”波莉答道。 “只要拉着我的手就成，”老人说，“跟着我走，不会有事的。”他拉住波莉的手。“小心这里的台阶。” 老人的另一只手里攥着一根手杖。波莉能听见它敲击台阶的声音。“我还记得几次糟糕的大雾，不过那可能都是在你出生之前的事了。我看不见你的脸，但你听起来挺年轻。你多大了？” “刚20岁，”波莉答道。 “啊，20岁，多好的年纪啊。我也年轻过。现在我们到了十字路口了。这里向左转。” “我是彻底迷路了。您肯定你认识路吗？”波莉又开始感到害怕了。 “当然肯定，你真的不用担心。”老人将她的手握得更紧了。 感恩的帮助者 “我们到了。国王大街。”老人停住了脚步。 “非常感谢您帮忙，”波莉如释重负地说道，“您愿意进屋休息会儿么？” “你真客气，”老人说道，“不过我还是得走了，可能今天还会有更多人迷路，我想帮帮他们。你瞧，像今天这么大的雾是很少见的。这给了我一个机会，来回报晴天时人们给我的帮助。像我这样的盲人没人帮助是根本过不了马路的，除非是在这样的浓雾里。” |
