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- Нил Гейман
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- Стр. 1/82
Never
The
night
before
he
went
to
London
,
Richard
Mayhew
was
not
enjoying
himself
.
He
had
begun
the
evening
by
enjoying
himself
:
he
had
enjoyed
reading
the
good
-
bye
cards
,
and
receiving
the
hugs
from
several
not
entirely
unattractive
young
ladies
of
his
acquaintance
;
he
had
enjoyed
the
warnings
about
the
evils
and
dangers
of
London
,
and
the
gift
of
the
white
umbrella
with
the
map
of
the
London
Underground
on
it
that
his
friends
had
chipped
in
money
to
buy
;
he
had
enjoyed
the
first
few
pints
of
ale
;
but
then
,
with
each
successive
pint
he
found
that
he
was
enjoying
himself
significantly
less
;
until
now
he
was
sitting
and
shivering
on
the
sidewalk
outside
the
pub
in
a
small
Scottish
town
,
weighing
the
relative
merits
of
being
sick
and
not
being
sick
,
and
not
enjoying
himself
at
all
.
Inside
the
pub
,
Richard
’
s
friends
continued
to
celebrate
his
forthcoming
departure
with
an
enthusiasm
that
,
to
Richard
,
was
beginning
to
border
on
the
sinister
.
He
sat
on
the
sidewalk
and
held
on
tightly
to
the
rolled
-
up
umbrella
,
and
wondered
whether
going
south
to
London
was
really
a
good
idea
.
"
You
want
to
keep
a
eye
out
,
"
said
a
cracked
old
voice
.
"
They
’
ll
be
moving
you
on
before
you
can
say
Jack
Robinson
.
Or
taking
you
in
,
I
wouldn
’
t
be
surprised
.
"
Two
sharp
eyes
stared
out
from
a
beaky
,
grimy
face
.
"
You
all
right
?
"
"
Yes
,
thank
you
,
"
said
Richard
.
He
was
a
fresh
-
faced
,
boyish
young
man
,
with
dark
,
slightly
curly
hair
and
large
hazel
eyes
;
he
had
a
rumpled
,
just
-
woken
-
up
look
to
him
,
which
made
him
more
attractive
to
the
opposite
sex
than
he
would
ever
understand
or
believe
.
The
grimy
face
softened
.
"
Here
,
poor
thing
,
"
she
said
,
and
pushed
a
fifty
-
pence
piece
into
Richard
’
s
hand
.
"
‘
Ow
long
you
been
on
the
streets
,
then
?
"
"
I
’
m
not
homeless
,
"
explained
Richard
,
embarrassed
,
attempting
to
give
the
old
woman
her
coin
back
.
"
Please
—
take
your
money
.
I
’
m
fine
.
I
just
came
out
here
to
get
some
air
.
I
go
to
London
tomorrow
,
"
he
added
.
She
peered
down
at
him
suspiciously
,
then
took
back
her
fifty
pence
and
made
it
vanish
beneath
the
layers
of
coats
and
shawls
in
which
she
was
enveloped
.
"
I
’
ve
been
to
London
,
"
she
confided
.
"
I
was
married
in
London
.
But
he
was
a
bad
lot
.
Me
mam
told
me
not
to
go
marrying
outside
,
but
I
was
young
and
beautiful
,
although
you
’
d
never
credit
it
today
,
and
I
followed
my
heart
.
"
"
I
’
m
sure
you
did
,
"
said
Richard
.
The
conviction
that
he
was
about
to
be
sick
was
starting
,
slowly
,
to
fade
.
"
Fat
lot
of
good
it
done
me
.
I
been
homeless
,
so
I
know
what
it
’
s
like
,
"
said
the
old
woman
.
"
That
’
s
why
I
thought
you
was
.
What
you
going
to
London
for
?
"
