《the sniper》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《the sniper（4页珍藏版）》请在金锄头文库上搜索。
1、The Sniperby Liam OFlaherty (1897-1984)The long June twilight faded into night. Dublin lay enveloped in darkness but for the dim light of the moon that shone through fleecy clouds, casting a pale light as of approaching dawn over the streets and the dark waters of the Liffey. Around the beleaguered
2、Four Courts the heavy guns roared. Here and there through the city, machine guns and rifles broke the silence of the night, spasmodically, like dogs barking on lone farms. Republicans and Free Staters were waging civil war.On a rooftop near OConnell Bridge, a Republican sniper lay watching. Beside h
3、im lay his rifle and over his shoulders was slung a pair of field glasses. His face was the face of a student, thin and ascetic, but his eyes had the cold gleam of the fanatic. They were deep and thoughtful, the eyes of a man who is used to looking at death.He was eating a sandwich hungrily. He had
4、eaten nothing since morning. He had been too excited to eat. He finished the sandwich, and, taking a flask of whiskey from his pocket, he took a short drought. Then he returned the flask to his pocket. He paused for a moment, considering whether he should risk a smoke. It was dangerous. The flash mi
5、ght be seen in the darkness, and there were enemies watching. He decided to take the risk.Placing a cigarette between his lips, he struck a match, inhaled the smoke hurriedly and put out the light. Almost immediately, a bullet flattened itself against the parapet of the roof. The sniper took another
6、 whiff and put out the cigarette. Then he swore softly and crawled away to the left.Cautiously he raised himself and peered over the parapet. There was a flash and a bullet whizzed over his head. He dropped immediately. He had seen the flash. It came from the opposite side of the street.He rolled ov
7、er the roof to a chimney stack in the rear, and slowly drew himself up behind it, until his eyes were level with the top of the parapet. There was nothing to be seen-just the dim outline of the opposite housetop against the blue sky. His enemy was under cover.Just then an armored car came across the
8、 bridge and advanced slowly up the street. It stopped on the opposite side of the street, fifty yards ahead. The sniper could hear the dull panting of the motor. His heart beat faster. It was an enemy car. He wanted to fire, but he knew it was useless. His bullets would never pierce the steel that c
9、overed the gray monster.Then round the corner of a side street came an old woman, her head covered by a tattered shawl. She began to talk to the man in the turret of the car. She was pointing to the roof where the sniper lay. An informer.The turret opened. A mans head and shoulders appeared, looking
10、 toward the sniper. The sniper raised his rifle and fired. The head fell heavily on the turret wall. The woman darted toward the side street. The sniper fired again. The woman whirled round and fell with a shriek into the gutter.Suddenly from the opposite roof a shot rang out and the sniper dropped
11、his rifle with a curse. The rifle clattered to the roof. The sniper thought the noise would wake the dead. He stooped to pick the rifle up. He couldnt lift it. His forearm was dead. Im hit, he muttered.Dropping flat onto the roof, he crawled back to the parapet. With his left hand he felt the injure
12、d right forearm. The blood was oozing through the sleeve of his coat. There was no pain-just a deadened sensation, as if the arm had been cut off.Quickly he drew his knife from his pocket, opened it on the breastwork of the parapet, and ripped open the sleeve. There was a small hole where the bullet
13、 had entered. On the other side there was no hole. The bullet had lodged in the bone. It must have fractured it. He bent the arm below the wound. the arm bent back easily. He ground his teeth to overcome the pain.Then taking out his field dressing, he ripped open the packet with his knife. He broke
14、the neck of the iodine bottle and let the bitter fluid drip into the wound. A paroxysm of pain swept through him. He placed the cotton wadding over the wound and wrapped the dressing over it. He tied the ends with his teeth.Then he lay still against the parapet, and, closing his eyes, he made an eff
15、ort of will to overcome the pain.In the street beneath all was still. The armored car had retired speedily over the bridge, with the machine gunners head hanging lifeless over the turret. The womans corpse lay still in the gutter.The sniper lay still for a long time nursing his wounded arm and plann
16、ing escape. Morning must not find him wounded on the roof. The enemy on the opposite roof coverd his escape. He must kill that enemy and he could not use his rifle. He had only a revolver to do it. Then he thought of a plan.Taking off his cap, he placed it over the muzzle of his rifle. Then he pushed the rifle slowly upward over the parapet, until the cap was visible from the opposite side of the street. Almost immediately there was a report, and a bullet pierced the center
