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.
這是一個陰冷的夜晚，但是在拉波諾姆·維拉鎮的一間拉著窗簾的小客廳裏，爐火正旺，父親和兒子正在下棋。由於父親誤將王放到一個不必要的危險境地，棋局形勢逆轉，就連在火爐邊靜靜織毛衣的白發老太太也過來評論了。
“聽這風聲，”懷特先生說，他看著這一步錯、滿盤皆輸的形勢，試圖用親昵來轉移兒子的注意力，不讓他發現。
“我正聽著呢。”兒子說道，冷冷地看著棋盤，伸出手，“將！”
“我實在不相信他今晚會來。”父親說，泰然自若地手把放在棋盤上方。
“將！”兒子又說。