有声书 | 歌声魅影 08 | 自由微信

Christine and Raoul ran down through the Opera House. Suddenly they saw a man standing in their way. The man had dark skin and green eyes. He was wearing an Astrakhan hat① that covered most of his face.

'Go that way!' the man said, and he pointed to another corridor. Christine pulled Raoul in the direction that the man had indicated.

'Who was that?' Raoul asked her as they ran along.

'That was the Persian,' Christine told him. 'He's always here at the Opera.'

At last they arrived at Christine's dressing room.

'We'll be safe here,' Christine told him. 'Erik has promised that he will never come here, and that he will never listen to my conversations here. I believe him.'

'Come away with me now, today,' Raoul said.

'No,' she replied. 'I promised to sing for Erik at tomorrow's performance. It would be cruel not to sing for him. It'll be the last time. Then I'll come to you here and we'll go away together.'

Suddenly the girl began to look around her in fright② and panic③.

'What is it?' Raoul asked.

'Erik's ring, I've lost it!' Christine cried. 'He gave it to me as a sign of his love. He said I would always be safe while I wore it— and now I don't know where it is!'

Raoul tried to comfort④ her, but Christine was very worried.

She was sure that Erik would become her enemy now, and she was frightened.

They discussed their plans to run away after the performance the next evening.

At last Raoul went home to bed. In the middle of the night he woke up and looked around him. There were two red eyes staring at him in the darkness. He picked up his gun and fired it into the darkness. His brother and some servants rushed into the room. They looked on the balcony and saw blood there.

'I hit him!' Raoul said proudly. 'Ghosts don't bleed!' Raoul's brother looked at him strangely.

'You've shot a cat,' he said quietly.

All of the next day Raoul made his preparations for the evening. He ordered a carriage to be ready outside the Opera at the end of the performance, and he made sure that he had a lot of money with him.

Christine was singing in Faust that evening. The Opera was crowded⑤ to hear her. She sang nervously at first, and it was obvious that she was worried and anxious⑥. Then, in the second half of the opera, her courage came back to her. She sang better than ever before. The audiences were very pleased with the performance.

Suddenly all the stage lights went out⑦. There was complete darkness on the stage. The managers acted quickly, and in a few seconds the lights were turned on again — but Christine had disappeared! There was chaos⑧ in the auditorium when the audience realised what had happened. People stood up and left their seats. They walked around discussing what had happened.

Raoul hurried backstage where there was a crowd of excited people. Everyone was talking about the disappearance of the singer. Raoul was sure that Erik had taken her.

He joined a group of men who were going towards the managers' office. He was the last to enter the office. As he walked in, he felt a hand on his shoulder. A voice said quietly:

'Don't discuss Erik's secrets with anyone!'

Raoul turned round quickly to see the Persian standing behind him. The Persian put his fingers on his lips and moved silently away.

Raoul hurried into the office. The two managers were there, as well as a detective. The detective looked suspiciously⑨ at Raoul. Then he asked him some questions.

'Were you going to run away with Mademoiselle⑩ Daae after the performance tonight?'

'Yes, that's true,' Raoul replied.

'Is your carriage waiting outside the Opera?' the detective went on.

'Yes.'

'Did you know that your brother's carriage was also outside the Opera tonight?' the detective asked.

Raoul did not see the importance of this question.

'Was your brother happy about your friendship with Mademoiselle Daae?' the detective asked.

'That's none of your business⑪,' Raoul replied angrily. The detective smiled.

'On the contrary, it is very much my business, Monsieur,' he said with a smile. 'You see, your brother's carriage is not outside the building any more. It is he who has taken Mademoiselle Daae away tonight!'

Raoul jumped up.

'I'll catch them!' he cried furiously⑫. Raoul ran out of the room.

The detective turned to the managers with a smile.

'That's police work for you⑬,' he said proudly. 'I don't know whether the count has really taken Christine Daae with him or not. But I'm sure that his brother is going to find out for us!'

旺

财

旺

福

Words

① astrakhan hat：俄国羔皮帽。

② fright：惊恐。

③ panic：慌乱。

④ comfort：安慰。

⑤ crowded：挤满人的。

⑥ anxious：忧虑的。

⑦ went out：熄灭。

⑧ chaos：混乱。

⑨ suspiciously：怀疑。

⑩ Mademoiselle：小姐（法语）。

⑪ That's none of your business：那不关你的事。

⑫ furiously：粗暴的。

⑬ That's police work for you：这就是警方做事的方式！

“占坑式辩护”，侵犯了谁？

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