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- Джон Уиндем
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- День триффидов
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- Стр. 23/223
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Even
those
who
had
heard
of
Umberto
did
not
yet
connect
him
with
it
.
Its
sudden
appearance
,
and
,
even
more
,
its
wide
distribution
,
promoted
very
puzzled
speculation
.
For
though
it
matured
more
rapidly
in
the
tropics
,
specimens
in
various
stages
of
development
were
reported
from
almost
any
region
outside
the
polar
circles
and
the
deserts
.
People
were
surprised
,
and
a
little
disgusted
,
to
learn
that
the
species
was
carnivorous
,
and
that
the
flies
and
other
insects
caught
in
the
cups
were
actually
digested
by
the
sticky
substance
there
.
We
in
temperate
zones
were
not
ignorant
of
insectivorous
plants
,
but
we
were
unaccustomed
to
finding
them
outside
special
hothouses
,
and
apt
to
consider
them
as
in
some
way
slightly
indecent
,
or
at
least
improper
.
But
actually
alarming
was
the
discovery
that
the
whorl
topping
a
triffid
’
s
stem
could
lash
out
as
a
slender
stinging
weapon
ten
feet
long
,
capable
of
discharging
enough
poison
to
kill
a
man
if
it
struck
squarely
on
his
unprotected
skin
.
As
soon
as
this
danger
was
appreciated
there
followed
a
nervous
smashing
and
chopping
of
triffids
everywhere
,
until
it
occurred
to
someone
that
all
that
was
necessary
to
make
them
harmless
was
the
removal
of
the
actual
stinging
weapon
.
At
this
,
the
slightly
hysterical
assault
upon
the
plants
declined
,
with
their
numbers
considerably
thinned
.
A
little
later
it
began
to
be
a
fashion
to
have
a
safely
docked
triffid
or
two
about
one
’
s
garden
.
It
was
found
that
it
took
about
two
years
for
the
lost
sting
to
be
dangerously
replaced
,
so
that
an
annual
pruning
assured
that
they
were
in
a
state
of
safety
where
they
could
provide
vast
amusement
for
the
children
.
In
temperate
countries
,
where
man
had
succeeded
in
putting
most
forms
of
nature
save
his
own
under
a
reasonable
degree
of
restraint
,
the
status
of
the
triffid
was
thus
made
quite
clear
.
But
in
the
tropics
,
particularly
in
the
dense
forest
areas
,
they
quickly
became
a
scourge
.
The
traveler
very
easily
failed
to
notice
one
among
the
normal
bushes
and
undergrowth
,
and
the
moment
he
was
in
range
the
venomous
sting
would
slash
out
.
Even
the
regular
inhabitant
of
such
a
district
found
it
difficult
to
detect
a
motionless
triffid
cunningly
lurking
beside
a
jungle
path
.
They
were
uncannily
sensitive
to
any
movement
near
them
,
and
hard
to
take
unawares
.
Dealing
with
them
became
a
serious
problem
in
such
regions
.
The
most
favored
method
was
to
shoot
the
top
off
the
stem
,
and
the
sting
with
it
.
The
jungle
natives
took
to
carrying
long
,
light
poles
mounted
with
hooked
knives
,
which
they
used
effectively
if
they
could
get
their
blows
in
first
—
but
not
at
all
if
the
triffid
had
a
chance
to
sway
forward
and
increase
its
range
by
an
unexpected
four
or
five
feet
.
Before
long
,
however
,
these
pike
like
devices
were
mostly
superseded
by
spring
-
operated
guns
of
various
types
.
Most
of
them
shot
spinning
disks
,
crosses
,
or
small
boomerangs
of
thin
steel
.
As
a
rule
they
were
inaccurate
above
about
twelve
yards
,
though
capable
of
slicing
a
triffid
stern
neatly
at
twenty
-
five
if
they
hit
it
.
Their
invention
pleased
both
the
authorities
—
who
had
an
almost
unanimous
distaste
for
the
indiscriminate
toting
of
rifles
—
and
the
users
,
who
found
the
missiles
of
razor
-
blade
steel
f
at
cheaper
and
lighter
than
cartridges
,
and
admirably
adaptable
to
silent
banditry
.
Elsewhere
,
immense
research
into
the
nature
,
habits
,
and
constitution
of
the
triffid
went
on
.
Earnest
experimenters
set
out
to
determine
,
in
the
interests
of
science
,
how
far
and
for
how
long
it
could
walk
;
whether
it
could
be
said
to
have
a
front
,
or
could
perform
its
march
in
any
direction
with
equal
clumsiness
;
what
proportion
of
its
rime
it
must
spend
with
its
roots
in
the
ground
;
what
reactions
it
showed
to
the
presence
of
various
chemicals
in
the
soil
;
and
a
vast
quantity
of
other
questions
,
both
useful
and
useless
.
The
largest
specimen
ever
observed
in
the
tropics
stood
nearly
ten
feet
high
.
No
European
specimen
over
eight
feet
had
been
seen
,
and
the
average
was
little
over
seven
.
They
appeared
to
adapt
easily
to
a
wide
range
of
climate
and
soils
.
They
had
,
it
seemed
,
no
natural
enemies
—
other
than
man
.
