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13 - The Island of Dr Moreau - H G Wells · Science Fiction Books

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  Speaker 1: Thirteen a parley. I turned again and went on down
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  Speaker 1: towards the sea. I found the hot stream broadened out
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  Speaker 1: to a shallow, weedy sand, in which an abundance of
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  Speaker 1: crabs and long bodied, many legged creatures started From my footfall.
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  Speaker 1: I walked to the very edge of the salt water,
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  Speaker 1: and then I felt I was safe. I turned and
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  Speaker 1: stared arms akimbo at the thick green behind me, into
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  Speaker 1: which the steamy ravine cut like a smoking gash. But
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  Speaker 1: as I say, I was too full of excitement, and
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  Speaker 1: a true saying, though those who have never known danger
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  Speaker 1: may doubt it, too desperate to die. Then it came
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  Speaker 1: into my head that there was one chance before me. Yet,
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  Speaker 1: while Moreau and Montgomery and their bestial rabble chased me
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  Speaker 1: through the island, might I not go round the beach
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  Speaker 1: until I came to their enclosure, make a flank, march
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  Speaker 1: upon them, in fact, and then, with a rock lugged
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  Speaker 1: out of their loosely built wall, perhaps smash it in
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  Speaker 1: the lock of a smaller door, and see what I
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  Speaker 1: could find knife, pistol or what not to fight them
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  Speaker 1: with when they returned. It was, at any rate something
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  Speaker 1: to try. So I turned to the westward and walked
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  Speaker 1: along by the water's edge. The setting sun flashed his
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  Speaker 1: blinding heat into my eyes. The slight pacific tide was
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  Speaker 1: running in with a gentle ripple. Presently, the shore fell
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  Speaker 1: away southward, and the sun came round upon my right hand. Then, suddenly,
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  Speaker 1: far in front of me, I saw first one and
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  Speaker 1: then several figures emerging from the bushes, Moreau with his
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  Speaker 1: gray staghound, then Montgomery and two others. At that I stopped.
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  Speaker 1: They saw me and began gesticulating and advancing. I stood
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  Speaker 1: watching them approach. The two beast men came running forward
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  Speaker 1: to cut me off from the undergrowth inland. Montgomery came
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  Speaker 1: running also, but straight towards me. Moreau followed slower with
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  Speaker 1: the dog. At last, I roused myself from my inaction, and,
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  Speaker 1: turning seaward, walked straight into the water. The water was
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  Speaker 1: very shallow at first. I was thirty yards out before
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  Speaker 1: the waves reached to my waist. Dimly, I could see
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  Speaker 1: the intertidal creatures darting away from my feet. What are
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  Speaker 1: you doing, man, cried Montgomery. I turned, standing ways steep
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  Speaker 1: and stared at them. Montgomery stood panting at the margin
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  Speaker 1: of the water. His face was bright red with exertion,
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  Speaker 1: his long flaxen hair blown about his head, and his
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  Speaker 1: dropping nether lip showed his irregular teeth. Moreau was just
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  Speaker 1: coming up, his face pale and firm, and the dog
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  Speaker 1: at his hand barked at me. Both men had heavy whips.
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  Speaker 1: Farther up the beach, stared the beast men. What am
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  Speaker 1: I doing? I'm going to drown myself, said I. Montgomery
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  Speaker 1: and Moreau looked at each other. Why, asked Moreau. Because
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  Speaker 1: that is better than being tortured by you. I told you, though,
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  Speaker 1: said Montgomery, and Moreau said something in a low tone.
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  Speaker 1: What makes you think I shall torture you? Asked Moreau.
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  Speaker 1: What I saw, I said, And those yonder hush, said Moreau,
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  Speaker 1: and held up his hand. I will not, said I.
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  Speaker 1: They were men, What are they now? I, at least
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  Speaker 1: will not be like them. I looked past my interlocutors.
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  Speaker 1: Up the beach were imling Montgomery's attendant and one of
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  Speaker 1: the white swathed brutes from the boat. Farther up, in
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  Speaker 1: the shadow of the trees, I saw my little ape man,
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  Speaker 1: and behind him some other dim figures. Who are these creatures?
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  Speaker 1: Said I, pointing to them, and raising my voice more
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  Speaker 1: and more that it might reach them. They were men,
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  Speaker 1: men like yourselves, whom you have infected with some best
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  Speaker 1: you'll taint, Men whom you have enslaved in, whom you
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  Speaker 1: still fear. You who listen, I cried, pointing now to
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  Speaker 1: Moreau and shouting past him to the beastmen, you who listen,
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  Speaker 1: Do you not see these men still fear you go
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  Speaker 1: and dread of you? Why then do you fear them?
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  Speaker 1: You are many? For god sake, cried Montgomery. Stop that prendick, prindick,
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  Speaker 1: cried Moreau. They both shouted together as if to drown
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  Speaker 1: my voice, and behind them lowered the staring faces of
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  Speaker 1: the beast men, wondering, the deformed hands hanging down, their
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  Speaker 1: shoulders hunched up. They seemed, as I fancied, to be
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  Speaker 1: trying to understand me, to remember I thought something of
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  Speaker 1: their human past. I went on shouting. I scarcely remember
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  Speaker 1: what that Moreau and Montgomery could be killed, that they
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  Speaker 1: were not to be feared. That was the burden of
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  Speaker 1: what I put into the heads of the beast people.
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  Speaker 1: I saw the green eyed man in the dark rags
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  Speaker 1: who had met me on the evening of my arrival.
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  Speaker 1: Come out from among the trees, and others followed him
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  Speaker 1: to hear me better. At last, for want of breath,
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  Speaker 1: I paused. Listen to me for a moment, said the
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  Speaker 1: steady voice of Moreau. And then say what you will, well,
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  Speaker 1: said I. He coughed, thought and shouted Latin prindic bad
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  Speaker 1: Latin schoolboy Latin. But try and understand. Hi, non sunt
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  Speaker 1: homonez sont anamelia quinos habimis vivisected a humanizing process. I
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  Speaker 1: will explain. Come ashore, I laughed. A pretty story, said I.
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  Speaker 1: They talk build houses, they were men. It's likely I'll
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  Speaker 1: come ashore. The water just beyond you where you stand
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  Speaker 1: is deep and full of sharks. That's my way, said I,
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  Speaker 1: short and sharp. Presently, wait a minute. He took something
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  Speaker 1: out of his pocket that flashed back the sun and
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  Speaker 1: dropped the object at his feet. That's a loaded revolver,
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  Speaker 1: said he. Montgomery here will do the same. Now we
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  Speaker 1: are going up the beach. Until you are satisfied the
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  Speaker 1: distance is safe, then come and take the revolvers. Not I.
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  Speaker 1: You have a third one between you. I want you
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  Speaker 1: to think over things pre dick. In the first place,
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  Speaker 1: I never asked you to come upon this island. If
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  Speaker 1: we vivisected men, we should import men, not beasts. In
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  Speaker 1: the next we had you drugged last night, had we
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  Speaker 1: wanted to work you any mischief, And in the next.
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  Speaker 1: Now your first panic is over, and you can think
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  Speaker 1: a little. Is Montgomery here quite up to the character
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  Speaker 1: you give him. We have chased you for your good
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  Speaker 1: because this island is full of inimical phenomena. Besides, why
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  Speaker 1: should we want to shoot you when you have just
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  Speaker 1: offered to drown yourself? Why did you set your people
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  Speaker 1: unto me when I was in the hut. We felt
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  Speaker 1: sure of catching you and bringing you out of danger. Afterwards,
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  Speaker 1: we drew away from the scint for your own good.
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  Speaker 1: I'm mused, it seemed possible. Then I remembered something again.
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  Speaker 1: But I saw, said I in the enclosure, that was
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  Speaker 1: the puma. Look here, Prindick, said Montgomery, your thilly ath
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  Speaker 1: come out of the water and take thee through volverth
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  Speaker 1: and talk. We can't do anything more than we could
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  Speaker 1: do now. I will confess that then, and indeed, always
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  Speaker 1: a distrusted and dreaded Moreau. But Montgomery was a man
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  Speaker 1: I felt I understood. Go up the beach, said I,
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  Speaker 1: after thinking, and added holding up your hands. Can't do that,
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  Speaker 1: said Montgomery, with an explanatory nod over his shoulder, undignified.
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  Speaker 1: Go up the trees, then said I, as you please.
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  Speaker 1: It's a damn thilly ceremony, said Montgomery. Both turned and
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  Speaker 1: faced the six or seven grotesque creatures who stood there
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  Speaker 1: in the sunlight, solid casting shadows, moving and yet so
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  Speaker 1: incredibly unreal. Montgomery cracked his whip at them and forthwith.
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  Speaker 1: They all turned and fled helter skelter into the trees.
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  Speaker 1: And when Montgomery and Moreau were at a distance, I
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  Speaker 1: judged sufficient, I waded ashore and picked up and examined
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  Speaker 1: the revolvers. To satisfy myself against the subtlest trickery, I
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  Speaker 1: discharged one at a round lump of lava and had
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  Speaker 1: the satisfaction of seeing the stone pulverized and the beach
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  Speaker 1: splashed with lead. Still I hesitated for a moment. I'll
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  Speaker 1: take the risk, said I at last, and with a
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  Speaker 1: revolver in each hand, I walked up the beach towards them.
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  Speaker 1: That's better, said Moreau, without affection, As it is, you
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  Speaker 1: have wasted the better part of my day with your
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  Speaker 1: confounded imagination, and with a touch of contempt which humiliated me.
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  Speaker 1: He and Montgomery turned and went on in silence. Before me,
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  Speaker 1: the knot of the beast men, still wandering, stood back
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  Speaker 1: among the trees. I passed them as serenely as possible.
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  Speaker 1: One started to follow me, but retreated again when Montgomery
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  Speaker 1: cracked his whip. The rest stood silent, watching. They may
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  Speaker 1: once have been animals, but I never before saw an
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  Speaker 1: animal trying to think.