"You see," said Granger, as now he and Bufton made their way on foot early, and not waiting for the afternoon--on foot, because thus attention would be less likely to be attracted--"how fortune favours us. A better day it would be impossible to desire. Until the victims are near at hand, close to where the boat will be alongside the shore, all will be invisible. Yet not that it matters much, for down where that will lie none ever come after dark, and not many by daylight."
They neared now an inn which, in the days of George II., and those of his successor--at this time so close at hand--stood in the Marshes. It was a low-roofed, one-storied place; whitewashed5 so that, it was said, vessels6 coming up the river might discern it as a landmark7; and it was used for more than one nefarious8 practice. For smuggling9 purposes it was not particularly well adapted, since, by the time vessels had got so far up as to be off it in the river, they had little enough in them which had escaped the revenue officers; yet, even then, they occasionally had something to dispose of. Sometimes it was a small barrel of spirits inside a larger one, the space between the two being filled up with fresh water, whereby, if tapped, the latter fluid alone ran out, leaving that which was more valuable intact in its case; sometimes, too, bottles of cheap common wine on which a small duty had been paid, but which, below the first and second layers, contained things far more valuable and subject to a higher duty, such as Mechlin, Brussels, Valenciennes, and Chateau10 Thierry lace stuffed into them; and also other matters. There was not, however, as has been said, much to be done in this way, the place being so far inland and twenty miles from the sea as the crow flies, and it was more in the traffic of human beings than aught else that the landlord of the "Red Rover" made his money. For many a man had been taken off drunk from his house (who had come into it perfectly11 sober, and meaning only to have "one half-pint" before continuing his journey) to some ship lying hard by; many a girl and woman now slaving their hearts out in the colonies had been inveigled13 into the inn by pretended lovers and sold in the same way. Thus the landlord had done a roaring trade, and still did one--or would have done if men had been forthcoming--by supplying sailors to His Majesty's fleet; while, to add as well to his income, the fellow was under the rose a fence of the worst description, and over and over again the proceeds of successful housebreaking in the surrounding counties--proceeds such as silver salvers, coffee-pots, and antique tankards--had, after lying in his vaults14 or being buried in his fumier at the back of the house for some time, gone to grace the sideboards of Carolina or Virginia planters.
"Here," said Granger, "you can rest at your ease until night comes. The house is of none too good repute, yet 'twill serve your purpose. Also, the landlord is away. I protest we are a strange people in this England of ours! Vagabond as the man is, he is now serving on a jury at Chelmsford, where it should be strange if he does not help to try many of his own kidney. Strange, too, 'twill be if, some day, he is not tried himself."
"What will you do?" asked Bufton, when they had been shown into a private parlour, a fire had been lighted, and something brought to warm them, he ignoring Granger's description of the landlord's present occupation. "You must help me, you know; I rely on you."
"Have I ever failed?" Granger asked, with a fierce glance--a glance of assumed fierceness. "And--as to what I have to do! Why, man, countless15 things. First, to warn the master of the schooner16 that he must be ready to drop down the river at any time after six this evening. Next, to get the letter delivered, and also to see that the women set out. That is, unless now, even at the last, you resolve to spare them."
"Spare them!" repeated Bufton contemptuously, fiercely. "Let us not talk folly17."
"So be it, since you are resolute18. Well! I must away. Now, keep close and snug19; but quit not this room. No questions will be asked: though, should any arise, you are a gentleman, a planter, taking passage to Delaware. That will suffice."
"You think of everything! Granger, at my mother's death you shall be paid in full----"
"No matter for that now. Evilly as you once treated me, I know that I shall be paid in full," the other said, hoping, even as he did so, that he had not emphasised his words too strongly.
"I will sleep, and eat, and drink," said Bufton; "thus the time will pass. And I did not sleep very well last night; to-night, when all is accomplished20, I shall rest. I shall be content."
"Doubtless! I hope so." With which words Granger turned and left the other. Yet, as he reached the door he uttered another word or two--
"The master of the Nederland will expect that fifty guineas," he said, "if--if--Anne is--to--well! to fling herself overboard. You understand?"
"Ay, I understand. And I have them here," touching21 his breast pocket. "When will he desire to receive them?"
"As they go on board, as they are taken on board. To-night, when I return, hand them to me. Then, since you will scarce desire to appear too prominently, I will give them to the man in the boat."
"I have a vizard mask," whispered Bufton.
"So, too, have I. Yet I may not need it. Now, till to-night, farewell."
After which Granger went away, leaving Bufton to his reflections.
He went away, that is to say, so far as to descend22 the stairs with the intention of at once departing for Blackwall, there to have an interview with Anne. For, although the girl had told him that he must contrive23 to inveigle12 Bufton into the neighbourhood of where the schooner was lying without any assistance from her, he still hoped that such assistance might be obtained. Otherwise, he knew that Bufton would depart from the "Red Rover" by the time night had come, and the last chance would then indeed be gone. Nothing, he knew also, would have drawn24 the man to the Marshes but the hope of wreaking25 his vengeance26 on his wife and on--through Ariadne--Sir Geoffrey Barry.
Granger paused now, however, to take a glass of spirits before setting out to walk the two other miles of his journey, and, indeed, the atmosphere which prevailed outside would have justified27 any one on those Marshes in doing so, on such a day as this. For the raw, damp mist had by now turned into a thicker, more raw and clammy fog, so that one could scarcely see thirty yards ahead, while, in the house itself, it seemed to be creeping along the passages and into rooms, and up the flight of stairs which led to the next and only floor above.
"If it continues like this," Granger muttered to himself, as now he pushed open the door of a bar-parlour, and went into the room, "it will serve our--my purpose. That is, if at night one can see at all."
The bar was attended by a slatternly-looking girl, the one who had lit the fire in the sitting-room28 above and served Granger and Bufton with what they had called for; though, because it was early in the morning, she had no customers to draw for. Whereupon, after giving Granger the drink he desired, she locked up the bottles and glasses in their cupboard and went away, leaving him alone. Alone, and as was ever the case when he found himself so, meditating29 deeply on the past. Yet now--and he was surprised at the feelings which had taken possession of him--on this morning of all others--when his last act of revenge was close at hand and Bufton was about to pay for the ruin he had brought upon him--now it almost seemed as if he had grown listless in his desire for that vengeance; as if he scarcely cared to go on with what he had hitherto pursued with such eagerness and tenacity30.
"What is it?" he asked himself, as he stood with the glass in his hand, looking over the red blind of a window in the bar-parlour which gave on to the passage; a window at which the landlord sometimes passed hours in the observation of those who entered and quitted his house--"what is it that is influencing me, slackening my desires?" And, being no student of ethics31, he was not altogether able to tell himself how often listlessness comes, accompanied by a cessation of desire, when, at last, that which we have striven for so hard is within our grasp; is to be had for the taking. Nevertheless, he continued his musings, saying again, "What is it? Am I forgetting my hatred32 of the man above, forgetting all my vows33 of retaliation34 because I am growing well-to-do and am making money fast by my loathsome35 calling? Is that possible--or does the passion for revenge die out at last, as every other passion we possess dies in time? Shall I spare him now, at the last moment? Or tell him to-night that the plot he imagines I have concocted36 has failed--and--let him go free? Shall I do that, or must I force myself to think of my dead mother again, of my lost love, thereby37 to spur myself on to finish what I have begun?"
Meditating thus, Lewis Granger was at his best; his worst--which was what Fate and a scoundrel had made him--was away falling into the background. He was at his best! and that best was triumphing, was triumphant38. He became resolved; to-night Bufton should be told that nothing could be done, that neither Ariadne nor Anne could come, that their trick had failed since the Mignonne had returned. Thus the man himself should be spared. Bufton should go free and his own vengeance sleep for ever. Truly Granger was at his best!
Deciding thus, determined39 that even now--at once--he would return to the room above and tell its occupant that this had happened, he was about to turn away from the window through which he was still glancing heedlessly as he ruminated40, when he saw a man enter the passage, and, after looking round and about the place in a cautious manner, proceed, with an evident attempt to avoid observation if possible, towards the foot of the stairs.
"Where have I seen that fellow before?" he thought, even as he edged himself to the blind so that, thereby, he Could follow the newcomer's movements along the passage. "Where? I know him, have seen him lately. That bulldog-looking form and those earrings41 are familiar to me!"
Then, in a moment, he recalled who the man was. He remembered that he was the mate of the Nederland, and that he had observed him at work on the deck of the schooner, and giving orders to the sailors as to the bestowal42 of casks and bales in the hold only a day or so ago when he had visited the master.
Not knowing, or scarcely knowing, why this man's presence here should surprise him, or why, indeed, he should feel any surprise at all, except at the stealthy, cautious way in which he skulked43 along the passage in so surreptitious a manner--since the "Red Rover" was the only place of call on this side of the river for some mile or so--he determined to see where the man was going. Whereon, opening the door of the bar-parlour as quietly as might be, he looked out into the passage and was in time to observe the back of the mate vanishing round the landing of the stairs.
"Strange," he thought to himself; "strange. What business can he have up there? He is not, cannot be, living ashore44 in the house; who then can he desire to see, or what desire to do?"
While, as he so thought, he heard a slight rap given on a door above and a voice call out, "Who is it?"
The voice of Bufton.
Then, standing45 at the foot of the stairs, but sheltered from observation overhead by the dirty ceiling beneath the landing floor--sheltered too from observation by the fog that now filled the house--Granger heard the door of the room Bufton was in opened, and a whispered question and answer. After which the door was closed to again, and he heard no more. The visitor had been admitted.
"So," Granger said to himself, "I am not to have it all my own way, it would seem. The good Bufton has evidently two strings46 to his bow. Yet how in Heaven's name has he done it! How has he formed an intimacy47 with any one on board the schooner? Later, perhaps, I shall know, as well as his reason for doing so. At least let me try for the means of knowing as soon as possible."
The means he took were to proceed at once up the stairs himself, doing so very quietly and as stealthily as he who had gone before him had done; and then, when on the unclean stone passage, he went quietly past the door of the room where the men were until he came to another door next to it.
"This may do," he said. "I think it may. I have slept in most of these rooms when my affairs required my presence here. And if I remember aright--nay! as I know it is, there are communicating doors between these two rooms. I should indeed learn something."
With every precaution that it was possible to take, he opened now the door of the second room, seeing at once as he did so that it had not been let nor occupied overnight; then he shut it, and, finding the key within, locked it. After which, sitting down upon the bedside, he drew off his shoes and laid them on the bed.
"If no one comes to this room for a quarter of an hour," he thought, "as no one is likely to come, since it requires no attention, I ought to hear all I desire."
Upon which he crept quietly to the communicating door, and listened to the conversation that was already being carried on upon the other side of it.
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1
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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2
marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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3
pall
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| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
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4
shrouding
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| n.覆盖v.隐瞒( shroud的现在分词 )；保密 | |
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5
whitewashed
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| 粉饰，美化，掩饰( whitewash的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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7
landmark
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| n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标 | |
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8
nefarious
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| adj.恶毒的，极坏的 | |
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9
smuggling
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| n.走私 | |
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chateau
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| n.城堡，别墅 | |
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11
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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12
inveigle
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| v.诱骗 | |
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inveigled
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| v.诱骗，引诱( inveigle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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15
countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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16
schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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17
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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18
resolute
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| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
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19
snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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20
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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21
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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22
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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23
contrive
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| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
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24
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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25
wreaking
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| 诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的现在分词 ) | |
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26
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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27
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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28
sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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29
meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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30
tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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31
ethics
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| n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准 | |
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32
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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33
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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34
retaliation
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| n.报复，反击 | |
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35
loathsome
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| adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的 | |
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36
concocted
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| v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 )；调制；编造；捏造 | |
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37
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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38
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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40
ruminated
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| v.沉思( ruminate的过去式和过去分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼 | |
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41
earrings
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| n.耳环( earring的名词复数 )；耳坠子 | |
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42
bestowal
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| 赠与，给与； 贮存 | |
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43
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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44
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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45
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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46
strings
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| n.弦 | |
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47
intimacy
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| n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行 | |
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