День триффидов
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Ifyoulikeus,you’llstay—butevenifyoudon’t,Ithinkyou’llfindtheChannelIslesabetterspotthanthisislikelytobeafewyearsfromnow."
Intheevening,afterIvanhadtakenoffandvanishedawaytothesouthwest,Iwentandsatonmyfavoritebenchinacornerofthegarden.
Ilookedacrossthevalley,rememberingthewell-drainedandtendedmeadowsthathadbeenthere.Nowitwasfaronitswaybacktothewild.Theneglectedfieldsweredottedwiththickets,bedsofreeds,andstagnantpools.Thebiggertreeswereslowlydrowninginthesoddensoil.
IthoughtofCokerandhistalkoftheleader,theteacher,andthedoctor—andofalltheworkthatwouldbeneededtosupportusonourfewacres.Ofhowitwouldaffecteachofusifwehadbeenimprisonedhere.Ofthethreeblindones,stillfeelinguselessandfrustratedastheygrewolder.OfSusan,whoshouldhavethechanceofahusbandandbabies.OfDavid,andMary’slittlegirl,andanyotherchildrentheremightbewhowouldhavetobecomelaborersassoonastheywerestrongenough.OfJosellaandmyselfhavingtoworkstillharderaswebecameolder,becausetherewouldbemoretofeedandmoreworkthatmustbedonebyhand...
Thentherewerethetriffidspatientlywaiting.Icouldseehundredsoftheminadarkgreenhedgebeyondthefence.Theremustberesearch—somenaturalenemy,somepoison,adebalancerofsomekind,somethingmustbefoundtodealwiththem;theremustberelieffromotherworkforthat—andsoon.Timewasonthetriffids’side.
