“What does this mean? What are you trying to do, anyhow? Isn’t it enough for you to have disabled this ship, and so, indirectly4, have caused the collision, without trying anything more?”
“Don’t speak so loudly! Come with me! To my cabin! I can explain everything!” hoarsely5 whispered the little man, variously dubbed6 the pepper-pot, from his quick, impulsive7 way, and “le cochon,” a name given by Marie, the restaurant girl.
[190]
“Not much!” cried Ned. “I see your game! You want to get rid of me as, perhaps by accident, you got rid of Bob, Jerry, and Professor Snodgrass!”
“Ah! Professor Snodgrass! He—he is impossible! A mere8 dabbler9! A charlatan10!” cried the other, with something of his former manner. “I alone hold the secret! I shall give it to the world! Now that he is gone, I can work freely and openly. I will redouble my efforts! I will beat him!” His voice was triumphant11.
“Yes, beat him, coward, now that he’s gone!” cried Ned. “I don’t want to have anything to do with you! I’m going to tell——”
Ned swung aside and was going to turn back to avoid what he thought was a lunge on the part of the strange man, a lunge that, the lad thought, meant danger, when he collided with some one hurrying along the passage.
There were many mutual12 grunts13, for the impact had not been a gentle one, and, half dazed, Ned looked up to observe Captain Munson.
“Oh!” exclaimed Ned.
“What is the trouble?” asked the captain, and he smiled at Ned and the little man—smiled in such a way as to convince the Motor Boy that either there was nothing wrong, or else that the captain himself was deceived as to the character of his passenger.
[191]
“There is no trouble at all, Captain,” replied the pepper-pot. “Now that my rival has gone, I——”
“You mean Professor Snodgrass,” the captain said. “Yes, unfortunately he is gone. We hope he and the others may have saved themselves, and perhaps have floated off on some bit of wreckage14 our boats did not observe, but it hardly seems possible. I suppose you do not need a guard any longer?” he smilingly asked of the little man.
“No, thank you, my secret is in no further danger of being taken away by an unscrupulous charlatan!” was the emphatic15 answer.
And Ned, puzzled, observed with amazement16 Captain Munson deliberately17 winking18 at him the eye that was concealed19 from the pepper-pot.
“Captain Munson!” exclaimed Ned, “this—this man is trying to——”
The pepper-pot interrupted.
“I can now tell everything!” he said eagerly. “Please let me explain to him, Captain. I was taking him to my cabin to let him understand the whole situation, when he broke away from me and——”
“If you wish to listen to Dr. Hallet’s story I am sure you would find it interesting, to say the least,” broke in the commander. “Of course don’t go with him if you don’t want to, but in view of what has taken place perhaps it will be best to let him[192] tell his side of it. If you wish any further light you may come to me. I will give orders to have the marines withdrawn20 from in front of your cabin, Dr. Hallet,” he added.
“Do you mean to say—I mean is everything all right? Isn’t there any danger——” began Ned. And then as he looked at the little man, and compared his own splendid physique with that of le cochon, he felt just a little bit ashamed of the exhibition he had made. Certainly he was sure he could hold his own in a struggle, though there was no denying that the pepper-pot—or Dr. Hallet, to give him his right name—had a powerful grip.
“You may safely go with Dr. Hallet,” said the captain. “I am sorry there has been any misunderstanding. I would have explained before, but so many things have happened, it seemed impossible. As I say, if you are not satisfied with what he tells you, come to me,” and having nodded to Ned, with whom he had talked several times following the fatal crash, the commander passed on.
“Now are you satisfied?” asked the little man, and, somehow, in the light of the events of the last few moments, his face seemed more friendly to Ned.
“Well, I don’t in the least understand what it’s all about,” admitted Ned. “You acted so queerly in the restaurant, and then on board the transport;[193] and so much has happened—my friends being missing and all that—you can’t blame me for——”
“Not in the least, my dear boy! Not in the least!” was the suave21 answer. “If you will come to my cabin I can explain everything to your satisfaction. But first let me ask: You do not seriously believe that I caused the collision with the derelict and the disappearance22 of your friends, do you?”
Ned thought for a minute. Clearly he could answer in but one way. In spite of what the captain had said, this man might be guilty of having caused the disablement of the Sherman. And so, indirectly, he might be responsible for what happened to her afterward23. But to accuse him of having caused Jerry, Bob, the professor and others to fall overboard, even though such accident was the direct result of the collision, was going a little too far. Ned had to admit this. At least it could not be called premeditated, for Dr. Hallet could not have known the derelict was going to drift past.
And so, after hastily thinking the matter over, Ned came to the conclusion that he might better accompany the little man to his cabin, and hear what he had to say.
“But I’ll be on my guard,” mused24 Ned. “He’s got a grip that’s hard to break. Must have been[194] quite an athlete in his youth. But I’ve got an automatic, and I sha’n’t hesitate to use it if I have to.”
Ned slipped a hand to his hip3 pocket where he was carrying a small but very effective weapon he had bought in Paris. “It might come in useful,” he reflected.
“I’ll come with you,” he said to Dr. Hallet, “but I warn you I’m not very much prepossessed in your favor, and——”
“I will explain everything, my dear boy,” declared his companion. “And then, if you wish to hold enmity against me—— But come to my cabin. We are likely to be disturbed here.”
This was true enough. Officers and soldiers were constantly passing along the “alley” of the ship, and Ned was kept busy saluting25, while several of his acquaintances, coming back from their mess, looked curiously26 at him and his companion.
To the very same cabin in front of which two marines had been on guard and within which Ned and his chums had once seen Professor Snodgrass, Dr. Hallet now led the Motor Boy. And it needed but a single glance around it to disclose to Ned one fact, at least.
This was that Dr. Hallet was a rival of Professor Snodgrass—or, if not a rival, then a scientist engaged in the same pursuits.
For there were the same sort of specimen27 boxes, microscopes, notebooks, and other materials scattered[195] about as always marked the abiding28 place of Professor Snodgrass. There were even live bugs29 crawling in cases, and Ned recognized one or two as exactly similar to some he had helped Professor Snodgrass catch at different times.
“Now if you will sit down, my boy, I’ll begin to explain,” said Dr. Hallet. “It will take some little time, but I am sure at the end you will have a different feeling toward me.”
“I may, but I’m going to be perfectly30 frank, and tell you I have my doubts!” declared Ned. “You can start explaining whenever you are ready,” and he let his hand swing around behind him as he took a seat, making sure that his pistol was within ready reach.
“In the first place,” began Dr. Hallet, “I want to say that I—— Oh, I nearly forgot! I haven’t fed my fleas31!”
Ned nearly laughed aloud, this was so like what Professor Snodgrass might have said. Dr. Hallet quickly arose, and, going over to a tiny green box, opened the top and sprinkled something in. He then quickly closed the receptacle.
“Have to be sharp with fleas,” he said. “These have bitten persons afflicted32 with trench33 fever and mustard gas poisoning, and I am going to make a test to see if those diseases are capable of being transmitted by the bite of insects. I don’t want any of these infected fleas to get on you.”
[196]
“I don’t want it, myself,” murmured Ned, as he moved somewhat away from the little green box.
“Well, now that I have given them food enough to last until we land, I hope, I will go on,” resumed the doctor. “As I was going to say, you are much mistaken if you think that Professor Snodgrass and I are enemies.”
Ned started.
“Well,” he said slowly, “if you are a friend of his you take a very queer way of showing it.”
“Professional feeling, my dear boy! Professional feeling; that’s all. Call it jealousy34, if you like,” said Dr. Hallet, with something like a chuckle35. “As a matter of fact, both he and I are working along the same lines to benefit humanity, and if I said anything harsh against him——”
“Which you certainly did!” interrupted Ned.
“Well, it was in a Pickwickian sense only—merely Pickwickian,” and this time the doctor laughed. “You have read Dickens, I dare say?” he went on.
“Yes,” admitted Ned. “I know my Pickwick Papers.”
“Then you’ll understand. As a matter of fact, Professor Snodgrass is my very dear friend, and we are mutually, though perhaps in a rival manner, seeking the same certain end.”
“Well, if you are,” asked Ned in amazement,[197] “why did you act so? Why did you call him a ‘charlatan’? And why were you put under guard? And did you try to blow up the transport with a bomb? If you did——”
Ned’s words died away, for at that moment the Sherman was shaken from stem to stern by a violent concussion36, and after a period of portentous37 silence confused shouting broke out all over the ship.
Ned looked strangely at Dr. Hallet and drew his automatic pistol.
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收听单词发音
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1
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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2
braced
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| adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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3
hip
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| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
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indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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5
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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6
dubbed
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| v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制 | |
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7
impulsive
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| adj.冲动的，刺激的；有推动力的 | |
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8
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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9
dabbler
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| n. 戏水者, 业余家, 半玩半认真做的人 | |
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charlatan
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| n.骗子；江湖医生；假内行 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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13
grunts
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说； 石鲈 | |
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14
wreckage
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| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
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emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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16
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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18
winking
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| n.瞬眼，目语v.使眼色( wink的现在分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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19
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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20
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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21
suave
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| adj.温和的；柔和的；文雅的 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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saluting
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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26
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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abiding
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| adj.永久的，持久的，不变的 | |
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29
bugs
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| adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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31
fleas
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| n.跳蚤( flea的名词复数 )；爱财如命；没好气地（拒绝某人的要求） | |
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32
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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34
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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35
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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36
concussion
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| n.脑震荡；震动 | |
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37
portentous
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| adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的 | |
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