METROPOLIS (Can you imagine the marriage of ice?) . . . Or if she were to do so. then she would raise herseU up from the man's arms, bright and cool, in the awful, eternal virginity of the soulless .. ," He raised his hand and seized his throat. He tugged something away from him which was not there. He was looking at a house which lay opposite him, on the other side of the street, with a gaze of superstitious hostility, which
made his hands run cold. "What is the matter with you?" asked Freder. There was nothing remarkable about this house, except that it lay next to Rotwang's house. "Hushl" answered Jan, clasping his fingers around Freder's wrist. "AIe you madr' Freder stared at his friend. "Do you think that the house can hear us across this infernal streetr' «It hears usl" said Jan, with an obstinate expression. "It hears usl You think it is a house just like any other? You're wrong ... It began in this house .• :'
"What heganr' "The spirit ...» Feeder felt that his throat was very dry. He cleared it vigorously. He wanted to draw his friend along with him. But he resisted him. He stood at the parapet of the street, ·which sheered down, steep as a gorge, and he was staring at the house opposite. "One day," he said, "this house sent out invitations to all its neighbours. It was the craziest invitation on earth. There was nothing on the card hut: 'Come this evening at teg, o'clockl House 12, 113th StreetI' One took the whole thing to be a joke. But one went. One did not wish to miss the fun. Strangely enough no one knew the house. Nobody could remember ever having entered it, or having known anything of its occupants. One turned up at ten. One was well dressed. One entered the house and found a big party. One was received by an old man, who was exceedingly polite, but who shook hands with nohody. It was an odd thing that all the people collected here seemed to be waiting for something, of which they did not know. One was well waited upon by 132
