I returned to the den1 to cook myself a meal, of which I stood in great need, as well as to care for my horse, whom I had somewhat neglected in the morning. From time to time I went down to the edge of the wood; but there was no change in the pavilion, and not a human creature was seen all day upon the links. The schooner2 in the offing was the one touch of life within my range of vision. She, apparently3 with no set object, stood off and on or lay to, hour after hour; but as the evening deepened, she drew steadily4 nearer. I became more convinced that she carried Northmour and his friends, and that they would probably come ashore5 after dark; not only because that was of a piece with the secrecy6 of the preparations, but because the tide would not have flowed sufficiently7 before eleven to cover Graden Floe8 and the other sea quags that fortified9 the shore against invaders10.
All day the wind had been going down, and the sea along with it; but there was a return towards sunset of the heavy weather of the day before. The night set in pitch dark. The wind came off the sea in squalls, like the firing of a battery of cannon11; now and then there was a flaw of rain, and the surf rolled heavier with the rising tide. I was down at my observatory12 among the elders, when a light was run up to the masthead of the schooner, and showed she was closer in than when I had last seen her by the dying daylight. I concluded that this must be a signal to Northmour’s associates on shore; and, stepping forth13 into the links, looked around me for something in response.
A small footpath14 ran along the margin15 of the wood, and formed the most direct communication between the pavilion and the mansion-house; and, as I cast my eyes to that side, I saw a spark of light, not a quarter of a mile away, and rapidly approaching. From its uneven16 course it appeared to be the light of a lantern carried by a person who followed the windings17 of the path, and was often staggered and taken aback by the more violent squalls. I concealed18 myself once more among the elders, and waited eagerly for the newcomer’s advance. It proved to be a woman; and, as she passed within half a rod of my ambush20, I was able to recognise the features. The deaf and silent old dame21, who had nursed Northmour in his childhood, was his associate in this underhand affair.
I followed her at a little distance, taking advantage of the innumerable heights and hollows, concealed by the darkness, and favoured not only by the nurse’s deafness, but by the uproar22 of the wind and surf. She entered the pavilion, and, going at once to the upper storey, opened and set a light in one of the windows that looked towards the sea. Immediately afterwards the light at the schooner’s masthead was run down and extinguished. Its purpose had been attained23, and those on board were sure that they were expected. The old woman resumed her preparations; although the other shutters24 remained closed, I could see a glimmer25 going to and fro about the house; and a gush26 of sparks from one chimney after another soon told me that the fires were being kindled27.
Northmour and his guests, I was now persuaded, would come ashore as soon as there was water on the floe. It was a wild night for boat service; and I felt some alarm mingle28 with my curiosity as I reflected on the danger of the landing. My old acquaintance, it was true, was the most eccentric of men; but the present eccentricity29 was both disquieting30 and lugubrious31 to consider. A variety of feelings thus led me towards the beach, where I lay flat on my face in a hollow within six feet of the track that led to the pavilion. Thence, I should have the satisfaction of recognising the arrivals, and, if they should prove to be acquaintances, greeting them as soon as they had landed.
Some time before eleven, while the tide was still dangerously low, a boat’s lantern appeared close in shore; and, my attention being thus awakened32, I could perceive another still far to seaward, violently tossed, and sometimes hidden by the billows. The weather, which was getting dirtier as the night went on, and the perilous34 situation of the yacht upon a lee shore, had probably driven them to attempt a landing at the earliest possible moment.
A little afterwards, four yachtsmen carrying a very heavy chest, and guided by a fifth with a lantern, passed close in front of me as I lay, and were admitted to the pavilion by the nurse. They returned to the beach, and passed me a second time with another chest, larger but apparently not so heavy as the first. A third time they made the transit35; and on this occasion one of the yachtsmen carried a leather portmanteau, and the others a lady’s trunk and carriage bag. My curiosity was sharply excited. If a woman were among the guests of Northmour, it would show a change in his habits and an apostasy36 from his pet theories of life, well calculated to fill me with surprise. When he and I dwelt there together, the pavilion had been a temple of misogyny. And now, one of the detested37 sex was to be installed under its roof. I remembered one or two particulars, a few notes of daintiness and almost of coquetry which had struck me the day before as I surveyed the preparations in the house; their purpose was now clear, and I thought myself dull not to have perceived it from the first.
While I was thus reflecting, a second lantern drew near me from the beach. It was carried by a yachtsman whom I had not yet seen, and who was conducting two other persons to the pavilion. These two persons were unquestionably the guests for whom the house was made ready; and, straining eye and ear, I set myself to watch them as they passed. One was an unusually tall man, in a travelling hat slouched over his eyes, and a highland38 cape39 closely buttoned and turned up so as to conceal19 his face. You could make out no more of him than that he was, as I have said, unusually tall, and walked feebly with a heavy stoop. By his side, and either clinging to him or giving him support — I could not make out which — was a young, tall, and slender figure of a woman. She was extremely pale; but in the light of the lantern her face was so marred40 by strong and changing shadows, that she might equally well have been as ugly as sin or as beautiful as I afterwards found her to be.
When they were just abreast41 of me, the girl made some remark which was drowned by the noise of the wind.
“Hush!” said her companion; and there was something in the tone with which the word was uttered that thrilled and rather shook my spirits. It seemed to breathe from a bosom42 labouring under the deadliest terror; I have never heard another syllable43 so expressive44; and I still hear it again when I am feverish45 at night, and my mind runs upon old times. The man turned towards the girl as he spoke46; I had a glimpse of much red beard and a nose which seemed to have been broken in youth; and his light eyes seemed shining in his face with some strong and unpleasant emotion.
But these two passed on and were admitted in their turn to the pavilion.
One by one, or in groups, the seamen47 returned to the beach. The wind brought me the sound of a rough voice crying, “Shove off!” Then, after a pause, another lantern drew near. It was Northmour alone.
My wife and I, a man and a woman, have often agreed to wonder how a person could be, at the same time, so handsome and so repulsive48 as Northmour. He had the appearance of a finished gentleman; his face bore every mark of intelligence and courage; but you had only to look at him, even in his most amiable49 moment, to see that he had the temper of a slaver captain. I never knew a character that was both explosive and revengeful to the same degree; he combined the vivacity50 of the south with the sustained and deadly hatreds51 of the north; and both traits were plainly written on his face, which was a sort of danger signal. In person he was tall, strong, and active; his hair and complexion52 very dark; his features handsomely designed, but spoiled by a menacing expression.
At that moment he was somewhat paler than by nature; he wore a heavy frown; and his lips worked, and he looked sharply round him as he walked, like a man besieged53 with apprehensions54. And yet I thought he had a look of triumph underlying55 all, as though he had already done much, and was near the end of an achievement.
Partly from a scruple56 of delicacy57 — which I dare say came too late — partly from the pleasure of startling an acquaintance, I desired to make my presence known to him without delay.
I got suddenly to my feet, and stepped forward. “Northmour!” said I.
I have never had so shocking a surprise in all my days. He leaped on me without a word; something shone in his hand; and he struck for my heart with a dagger58. At the same moment I knocked him head over heels. Whether it was my quickness, or his own uncertainty59, I know not; but the blade only grazed my shoulder, while the hilt and his fist struck me violently on the mouth.
I fled, but not far. I had often and often observed the capabilities60 of the sand-hills for protracted61 ambush or stealthy advances and retreats; and, not ten yards from the scene of the scuffle, plumped down again upon the grass. The lantern had fallen and gone out. But what was my astonishment62 to see Northmour slip at a bound into the pavilion, and hear him bar the door behind him with a clang of iron!
He had not pursued me. He had run away. Northmour, whom I knew for the most implacable and daring of men, had run away! I could scarce believe my reason; and yet in this strange business, where all was incredible, there was nothing to make a work about in an incredibility more or less. For why was the pavilion secretly prepared? Why had Northmour landed with his guests at dead of night, in half a gale63 of wind, and with the floe scarce covered? Why had he sought to kill me? Had he not recognised my voice? I wondered. And, above all, how had he come to have a dagger ready in his hand? A dagger, or even a sharp knife, seemed out of keeping with the age in which we lived; and a gentleman landing from his yacht on the shore of his own estate, even although it was at night and with some mysterious circumstances, does not usually, as a matter of fact, walk thus prepared for deadly onslaught. The more I reflected, the further I felt at sea. I recapitulated64 the elements of mystery, counting them on my fingers: the pavilion secretly prepared for guests; the guests landed at the risk of their lives and to the imminent65 peril33 of the yacht; the guests, or at least one of them, in undisguised and seemingly causeless terror; Northmour with a naked weapon; Northmour stabbing his most intimate acquaintance at a word; last, and not least strange, Northmour fleeing from the man whom he had sought to murder, and barricading66 himself, like a hunted creature, behind the door of the pavilion. Here were at least six separate causes for extreme surprise; each part and parcel with the others, and forming all together one consistent story. I felt almost ashamed to believe my own senses.
As I thus stood, transfixed with wonder, I began to grow painfully conscious of the injuries I had received in the scuffle; skulked67 round among the sand-hills; and, by a devious68 path, regained69 the shelter of the wood. On the way, the old nurse passed again within several yards of me, still carrying her lantern, on the return journey to the mansion-house of Graden. This made a seventh suspicious feature in the case — Northmour and his guests, it appeared, were to cook and do the cleaning for themselves, while the old woman continued to inhabit the big empty barrack among the policies. There must surely be great cause for secrecy, when so many inconveniences were confronted to preserve it.
So thinking, I made my way to the den. For greater security, I trod out the embers of the fire, and lit my lantern to examine the wound upon my shoulder. It was a trifling70 hurt, although it bled somewhat freely, and I dressed it as well as I could (for its position made it difficult to reach) with some rag and cold water from the spring. While I was thus busied, I mentally declared war against Northmour and his mystery. I am not an angry man by nature, and I believe there was more curiosity than resentment71 in my heart. But war I certainly declared; and, by way of preparation, I got out my revolver, and, having drawn72 the charges, cleaned and reloaded it with scrupulous73 care. Next I became preoccupied74 about my horse. It might break loose, or fall to neighing, and so betray my camp in the Sea-Wood. I determined75 to rid myself of its neighbourhood; and long before dawn I was leading it over the links in the direction of the fisher village.
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1
den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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floe
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| n.大片浮冰 | |
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fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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invaders
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| 入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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observatory
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| n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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footpath
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| n.小路，人行道 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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uneven
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| adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的 | |
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windings
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| （道路、河流等）蜿蜒的，弯曲的( winding的名词复数 )； 缠绕( wind的现在分词 )； 卷绕； 转动（把手） | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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ambush
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| n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵；v.埋伏；伏击 | |
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dame
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| n.女士 | |
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uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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glimmer
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| v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光 | |
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gush
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| v.喷，涌；滔滔不绝(说话)；n.喷，涌流；迸发 | |
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kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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eccentricity
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| n.古怪，反常，怪癖 | |
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disquieting
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| adj.令人不安的，令人不平静的v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的现在分词 ) | |
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lugubrious
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| adj.悲哀的，忧郁的 | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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transit
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| n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过 | |
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apostasy
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| n.背教，脱党 | |
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detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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highland
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| n.(pl.)高地，山地 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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40
marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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abreast
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| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
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42
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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44
expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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45
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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46
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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47
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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48
repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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49
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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50
vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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51
hatreds
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| n.仇恨，憎恶( hatred的名词复数 )；厌恶的事 | |
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52
complexion
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| n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格 | |
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53
besieged
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| 包围，围困，围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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apprehensions
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| 疑惧 | |
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underlying
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| adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的 | |
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56
scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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58
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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capabilities
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| n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力 | |
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protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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recapitulated
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| v.总结，扼要重述( recapitulate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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barricading
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| 设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的现在分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守 | |
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67
skulked
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| v.潜伏，偷偷摸摸地走动，鬼鬼祟祟地活动( skulk的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68
devious
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| adj.不坦率的，狡猾的；迂回的，曲折的 | |
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regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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70
trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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72
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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74
preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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