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[00:02.24]CHAPTER 9 THE HOUSE ON THE LAKE
[00:08.15]When the lights came on, Raoul ran．
[00:12.23]He ran down stairs and along passages,
[00:15.64]through the Opera House to the back of the stage．
[00:19.67]In the passage outside Christine's dressing room,
[00:23.13]a hand took his arm．
[00:26.81]'What's the matter,my young friend?
[00:29.81]Where are you run ning to,so quickly?'
[00:33.78]Raoul turned and saw the long face of the Persian under his black hat．
[00:41.21]'Christine!'Raoul said quickly．
[00:44.62]'Erik's got her．Where is she?
[00:47.77]Help me! How do I get to his house on the lake?'
[00:52.93]'Come with me,'said the Persian．
[00:56.78]They went quickly into Christine's dressing－room.
[01:01.23]The Persian closed the door
[01:03.62]and went to the big mirror on one wall．
[01:07.46]'There's only one door into this room,'Raoul began．
[01:12.24]'Wait,'the Persian said．
[01:15.61]He put his hands on the big mirror, first here, then there．
[01:21.42]For a minute nothing happened．
[01:24.16]Then the mirror began to move and turn,
[01:28.58]and a big dark hole opened in it．Raoul stared．
[01:35.02]'Quick!Come with me,but be careful,'the Persian said．
[01:41.62]'I know Erik．I understand his secrets．
[01:46.19]Put your right hand up near your head,
[01:48.63]like this,and keep it there all the time．
[01:53.16] 'But why?'Raoul asked．
[01:56.56]'Remember Joseph Buquet,
[01:58.68]and the rope around his neck?
[02:01.26]Erik is a clever man with ropes in the dark．'
[02:07.23]They went down, down, down,under the Opera House．
[02:13.34]They went through secret doors in the floors,
[02:16.43]then along pas sages and down dark stairs.
[02:21.52]The Persian listened carefully all the time for strange noises．
[02:27.96]'When do we get to the lake?' Raoul whispered．
[02:32.84]'We're not going by the lake．
[02:35.40]Erik watches it all the time．
[02:37.94]No,we go round the lake and get into Erik's house from the back．
[02:43.86]I know some secret doors．'
[02:47.36]Soon they were there．
[02:50.46]In the dark,the Persian felt the wall carefully with his hands．
[02:55.44]'Ah,here it is,'he whispered．
[03:00.36]The wall moved under his hands and a small door opened．
[03:06.08]Very quietly,they went through,
[03:09.59]and then the door closed behind them．
[03:12.65]They could not get out．
[03:16.39]Inside the room it was very dark．
[03:19.65]They waited and listened．
[03:22.14]The Persian put his hands on the wall．
[03:25.52]'Oh no!'he whispered．
[03:28.69]'It was the wrong door!
[03:31.05]This is Erik's torture room-the room of mirrors!
[03:35.01]We are dead men,Vicomte de Chagny,dead men!'
[03:40.22]At first Raoul did not understand．
[03:43.57]But he soon learnt．
[03:46.01]The lights came on, and they heard a man's laugh．
[03:50.30]Erik knew they were there．
[03:53.67]The room was all mirrors-walls,floor,ceiling．
[03:59.49]There were pictures in the mirrors of trees and flowers and rivers.
[04:04.19]The pictures moved and danced in front of their eyes．
[04:08.30]And the room was hot．
[04:10.66]It got hotter and hotter and hotter．
[04:16.17]Raoul was thirsty,hot and thirsty,
[04:20.64]and the rivers in the pictures danced and laughed at him．
[04:24.81]He closed his eyes,but the rivers still danced．
[04:29.81]Water,he needed water,
[04:33.83]but the mirrors laughed at him．
[04:37.27]Soon he could not move or speak, or open his eyes．
[04:43.72]He was not thirsty now,just tired,so tired．
[04:51.24]'Oh Christine, I'm sorry,'he thought．
[04:55.42]'I wanted to help you,
[04:57.86]and now I'm dying…'
[05:01.85]Through a mirror in the wall Christine watched her lover in the torture room．
[05:07.80]Behind her Erik stood,with his hands on her arms．
[05:13.44]'He's dying,Christine,dying．
[05:18.01]Watch him carefully．
[05:20.30]No,don't close your eyes．Watch him!'
[05:26.23]Christine could not speak．
[05:28.72]She wanted to scream,but no words came．
[05:32.99]Then she found her voice again．
[05:36.66]How can you do this,Erik!
[05:39.31]Why don't you kill me?'
[05:42.81]'Because I love you,Christine．
[05:46.31]Marry me,be my wife,and love me．
[05:51.37]Then Raoul and the Persian can live．'
[05:55.74]Slowly,Christine turned．
[05:59.35]She looked into Erik's terrible,
[06:01.80]ugly face,and spoke again,very quietly．
[06:07.47]'Yes,Erik．From this minute I am your wife．'
[06:14.76]She put her arms around Erik's neck,
[06:18.10]and kissed him-kissed him slowly and lovingly on his ugly mouth．
[06:25.72]Then she took her arms away and said slowly,
[06:30.88]'Poor,unhappy Erik．'
[06:35.95]Erik stared at her．
[06:39.09]You kissed me! he whispered．
[06:43.36]' I didn't ask you,but you kissed me-freely!
[06:49.59]Oh Christine,my angel!
[06:54.11]That was my first kiss from a woman．
[06:57.85]Even my mother never kissed me!
[07:00.99]She gave me my first mask when I was two years old．
[07:06.84]She turned her face away from me every time I came near her.'
[07:12.92]Erik put his ugly face in his hands and cried．
[07:17.99]Then he went down on the floor at Christine's feet．
[07:22.41]'You are free,Christine,free!
[07:25.99]Go away and marry your Raoul,and be happy．
[07:30.41]But remember Erik,sometimes．
[07:34.06]Go now,quickly!Take Raoul and the Persian,and go!'