A Voice in the Dark
by W. H. Davies
COMPREHENSION
1. Answer the following questions.
a. What time of year was it when this incident took place? How do you know?
= It was winter season when this incident took place.
The snow was still deep and the mornings and evenings were cold. There were still ice and snow on the rail track.
b. What kind of train was it - diesel, electric or steam? How do you know?
= It was a steam train.
The train steamed into the station without making much noise. There were engineer and fireman to operate the engine of the train.
c. What in the story is described as being 'insignificant'? What does this mean?
= Little station is described as being 'insignificant' in the story.
This means that the station is unimportant. As the train was simply a local train, it was halting at every unimportant little stations.
d. How did the author and his companion know that the train was shortly going to arrive at the station?
= The author and his companion knew that the train was shortly going to arrive at the station because passengers were already pacing the platform, the luggage was placed in readiness, and a number of curious people, having nothing else to do, had assembled here to see the coming and going of the train.
e. Why did Davies allow his companion to jump on the train first?
= Davies allowed his companion to jump on the train first owing to his maimed hand.
f. What is meant by a 'blind baggage car'?
= A 'blind baggage car' meant that the end nearest to the engine was blind in having no door.
g. Does Davies blame the man for the accident? How do we know?
= Davies does not blame the man for the accident.
According to him, his companion Jack proceeded to clear the step for him very deliberately.
h. Why was a sensation caused in the local press? What does this mean?
= A sensation was caused in the local press as the author took out his pipe and started smoking.
This means that everyone became surprised to know the character of the severely injured person. How can a man start smoking ignoring his pain of the wound.
These questions are more difficult. Discuss them first.
i. Why do you think the man jumping on the train before the author hesitated? How is his hesitation described by the author? What might have happened if the man had not hesitated?
= I think the man jumped on the train before the author hesitated owing to his maimed hand. Jack had only three fingers on one hand. This might made him hesitate about the possibility to get good grip of the handle-bar.
Instead of at once taking his place on the platform, his companion stood thoughtlessly irresolute on the step, leaving the author no room to make the attempt.
If the man had not hesitated, the author could get enough space to put his feet and he might not fall.
j. What do you think is meant by the statement 'For whoever saw Pity make the same speed as Fear'? Why are two of the words beginning with capital letters?
= I think the statement 'For whoever saw Pity make the same speed as Fear' meant that anyone wanted to help him, became scared of him and refused to do the same. People began to think the author was under a ghostly impression.
Two of the words beginning with capital letters are emphasising on the antithesis used in the sentence. Pity is the opposite of fear. People can not help the author in spite of holding empathy for the author. The two opposite ideas have been shown by the two words beginning with capital letters.
2. Explain what is meant by the groups of words italicized in the following sentences.
a. We slipped out unobserved and took possession of an empty car.
= The author and Jack left the waiting room tip-toed without letting anyone observe them. Then they took position on an empty railway carriage and waited for the train to come.
b. With this object we sat in the station's waiting room till evening.
= They wanted to board a fast overland passenger train. That train would take them four or five hundred miles before daybreak. They sat in the station's waiting room till evening to catch the respective train.
c. 'Come,' I said, 'there is no time to lose.'
= They had to board the fast overland passenger train keeping pace along with its speed. So there was least time to do the task. They had to run along the train and hold the handle-bar and keep their feet on the steps of the train.
d. The train pulled slowly out of the station.
= The train had started again after halting at the station for some time. At the beginning, the train moves at a very slow speed.
e. I shouted to him to clear the step.
= The Author asked his companion Jack to move his feet aside so that the author could put his feet after holding the handle-bar of the train.
f. My foot came short of the step.
= The train was moving at a rapid speed. Jack was not prompt to move his feet aside and give the author proper place to keep his feet. Along with the rapid speed, the author's feet slipped from the step and he fell off there.
g. Coming forward quickly the man looked me over.
= A workman on the line came forward to the author and he observed him properly before rescuing him. He inspected the situation properly to understand the urgency of the matter. Then he went away and in a minute or two returned with the assistance of several others to convey the author to the station.
About the Author:
W. H. Davies was born in 1871 in Newport, South Wales. He left school at an early age and began to learn a trade but then took to a tramping life in England and America. This excerpt is taken from The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp (1908), which is the story of his life on the road. Later on he wrote two more books about his life, A Poet's Pilgrimage (1918) and Later Days (1925). He also wrote a lot of poetry, the best of his poems being on the subject of nature.