To kill a man

She moved through the big rooms and wide halls of her house. She was looking for a book of poems she had put somewhere and only now remembered. She opened the door of the dining-room and went in. The room was dark and she turned on the lights. As the light came on, she stepped back and cried out.

In front of her, near the wall, stood a man. In his hand was a gun.

"Oh," she said. "What do you want?"

"I think I want to get out. I've lost my way here," he answered ironically.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just robbing, Miss, that's all. I didn't expect to find you in, as I saw you with your old man in an auto.² You are Miss Setliffe, aren't you?"

Mrs Setliffe saw his mistake, but she was pleased.

"Now please show me the way out," the man said.

"And what if³ I cry out for help?" asked the woman.

"I must-kill you then," he answered slowly. "You see, Miss, I can't go to prison. A friend is waiting for me outside, and I promised to help him."

"I've never met a robber before," the woman said, "and I can't tell you how exciting it is. Won't you stay a few minutes and talk? I want you to explain the whole thing to me. You don't look like a robber at all. Why don't you work?"

"I did my best, but there's no work for me in this city," he said bitterly. "I used to be an honest man before I started looking for a job. And now I must go."

But Mrs Setliffe did not want to lose her robber. Such things did not happen often in her life.

Turning to the man she said: "I can't really make you stay, but, come, sit down, and tell me all about it — here at the table."

She took her seat at the table and placed him on the other side of it.

She saw him look about the room, then put the gun on the corner of the table between them. But he was in a strange house and did not know that under the table, near her foot, was an electric bell.

"It's like this, Miss," he began. "I'm not a robber and I didn't come here to steal. You see, I had a little mine once, and old Setliffe took it away from me. I had nothing left. And as my friend needs money badly I just came to take something back from your father. I am really taking what is mine."

"I feel you're right," she said. "But still robbery is robbery."

"I know that," he answered. "What is right is not always legal. That's why I must go."

"No, wait." The woman suddenly took up the gun. At the same time she pushed the bell with her foot.

A door opened behind him, and the man heard somebody enter the room. But he did not even turn his head. Without saying a word, he was looking at the woman, into her hard cold eyes.

"Thomas," she said, "call the police."

The servant left the room. The man and the woman sat at the table, looking into each other's eyes. She enjoyed this moment. She already saw the newspapers with the story of the beautiful young Mrs Setliffe who had caught a dangerous robber in her own house.

"When you are in prison," she said coldly, "think of the lesson I've taught you. Now, tell the truth. I didn't believe a single word of your story. You lied to me."

He did not answer.

"Say something," she cried. "Why don't you ask me to let you go?"

"Yes, I'll say something. You looked so kind and soft and all the time you had your foot on the bell. Do you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to get up from this chair and walk out of that door. But you're not going to shoot. It isn't easy to kill a man and I'm sure you can't do it."

With his eyes on her he stood up slowly. She began to pull the trigger.

"Pull harder," he advised. "Pull it, and kill a man."

At the door the man turned round. He spoke to her in a low voice as he called her a bad name.

(Adapted)

NOTES

1. Jack London (John Griffith) (1876-1916) was born in San Francisco in a very poor family. He had worked at factories; he had travelled across the ocean as a sailor; he had walked from San Francisco to New York with an army of jobless workers. After reading the "Communist Manifesto", Jack London became an enthusiastic believer in socialism. During the sixteen years of his literary career, he published about fifty books; short stories, novels, essays. One of his best works is "Martin Eden" (1909).

2. auto: automobile

3. What if...?: А что, если...?