Дживс, вы – гений! / Thank you, Jeeves!

”

I jumped up. Horror-stricken. Trembling like a leaf.

“I don’t want to go to bed!”

Chuffy stroked my arm soothingly.

“It’s all right, Bertie. Quite all right. We understand. No wonder you were frightened. Beastly great spider. Enough to frighten anyone. But it’s all right now. Voules and I will come up to your room with you and kill it. You aren’t scared of spiders, Voules?”

“No.”

“You hear that, Bertie? Voules will stand by you. Voules can tackle any spider[71 - can tackle any spider – может справиться с любым пауком].

“Ninety-six.”

“Big ones, if I remember rightly?”

“Enormous.”

“There, Bertie. You see there’s nothing to be afraid of. You take this arm, Sergeant. I’ll take the other. Just relax, Bertie. We’ll hold you up.”

Looking back, I am not certain whether I didn’t do the wrong thing. I punched the sergeant in the tummy and ran away.

Well, you can’t go far fast in a dark littered shed. I fell with a dull, sickening thud, and in a minute I found I was being carried through the summer night in the direction of the house. Chuffy had got me under the arms, and Sergeant Voules was attached to my feet. And, thus linked, we passed through the front door and up the stairs.

We had reached the bedroom door now, and what I was asking myself was, What will be when Chuffy opens the door?

“Chuffy,” I said, and I spoke earnestly, “don’t go into that room!”

“I know, I know,” he said.

I considered his manner offensive, and would have said so, but at this moment speech was wiped from my lips. With a quick heave, my bearers had suddenly dumped me on the bed, and there were only a blanket and pillow on it. No girl in pyjamas.

I lay there, wondering. Chuffy had found the candle and lighted it, and I was now in a position to look about me.

“Thanks, Sergeant. I can manage now,” said Chuffy

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, it’s quite all right. He will sleep.”

“Then I’ll be going. It’s a bit late for me.”

“Yes. Good night.”

“Good night.”

The sergeant clumped down the stairs, and Chuffy took off my boots.

“That’s my little man,” he said. “Now you lie quite quiet, Bertie, and take things easy.