There was another knock， and another. The old woman with a sudden wrench broke free and ran from the room. Her husband followed to the landing， and called after her appealingly as she hurried downstairs. He heard the chain rattle back and the bottom bolt drawn slowly and stiffly from the socket. Then the old woman' s voice， strained and panting.
"The bolt， " she cried loudly. "Come down. I can' t reach it."
But her husband was on his hands and knees groping wildly on the floor in search of the paw. If he could only find it before the thing outside got in. A perfect fusillade of knocks reverberated through the house， and he heard the scraping of a chair as his wife put it down in the passage against the door. He heard the creaking of the bolt as it came slowly back， and at the same moment he found the monkey' s paw， and frantically breathed his third and last wish.
The knocking ceased suddenly， although the echoes of it were still in the house. He heard the chair drawn back and the door opened. A cold wind rushed up the staircase， and a long loud wail of disappointment and misery from his wife gave him courage to run down to her side， and then to the gate beyond. The street lamp flickering opposite shone on a quiet and deserted road.
这是一个阴冷的夜晚，但是在拉波诺姆·维拉镇的一间拉着窗帘的小客厅里，炉火正旺，父亲和儿子正在下棋。由于父亲误将王放到一个不必要的危险境地，棋局形势逆转，就连在火炉边静静织毛衣的白发老太太也过来评论了。
“听这风声，”怀特先生说，他看着这一步错、满盘皆输的形势，试图用亲昵来转移儿子的注意力，不让他发现。
“我正听着呢。”儿子说道，冷冷地看着棋盘，伸出手，“将！”
“我实在不相信他今晚会来。”父亲说，泰然自若地手把放在棋盘上方。
“将！”儿子又说。