小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 英文短篇小说 » The Red House on Rowan Street » CHAPTER IX A POINTED WARNING
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
CHAPTER IX A POINTED WARNING
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。
Burton did not know exactly what he expected to happen, or what he would gain by staying, but something more than a sense of his responsibility to Rachel made him want to see the thing through. That suspicion should have buzzed so long about Henry Underwood and nothing yet be proved could only be due to a combination of luck and circumstances which could not be expected to continue indefinitely. With Selby hot on the trail, the police were likely to have some effective assistance. Malevolence1 is a great sharpener of the wits.

Wouldn't it be possible to get Henry out of town? Had he gone far enough in his hint to the doctor? Possibly if he saw Henry alone he could convey a warning that would be understood. He determined2 to see Henry.

But Henry was not at home. His disappointment in this information might have been greater if it had not been conveyed by Miss Underwood. He found it very easy to extend his inquiry3 into a call, and when he finally rose to take his leave he was surprised to find how time had flown. Philip was justified4. The only thing to wonder at was Philip's discrimination. He must have been caught merely by her beauty, but even to appreciate her beauty at its right value was more than he had given Philip credit for. But what was the outcome to be? If the family were involved in a scandal, Philip was not the man to stand by her. He would be dominated by Rachel's prejudices, and Rachel would think the whole thing simply unspeakable. Yet things had gone so far that it would be impossible for Philip to withdraw without humiliating the girl,--and that, Burton now saw clearly, was the one impossible thing. No, the only way out was to stop the scandal from going further. Henry must be suppressed.

He had been revolving5 these thoughts as he walked the streets back to the hotel, when all at once his eye was caught by the sign:

ORTON SELBY
CONTRACTOR6 AND BUILDER

It swung above the door of a prosperous looking place, and he looked at the premises7 with interest. So this was where Mr. Selby did business! As he looked, Mrs. Bussey came out of the office door, and scuttled8 off down the street like a frightened animal finding itself out of bounds. Possibly she was bringing some of her crippled son's carving9 to his employer. The connection was obvious and the relation was well understood, but somehow he did not like the idea of an inmate10 of the Underwood house having this side relation with a man who was an enemy. If anything were to be done to save Henry, it must be done skilfully11 and promptly12. The atmosphere of the place was not favorable.

"There's a letter for you," the clerk said, as he handed Burton his key.

Burton took it with some wonder. He was not expecting mail here. But this letter had never gone through the mails. It was unstamped. The envelope was addressed in a heavy blunt penciling that he had seen before.

"Who left this?" he asked.

"I found it on the desk. I didn't see who left it there," the clerk said.

Burton did not open it until he reached his room. Then his premonition was confirmed. The scrap13 of paper was covered with the same heavy-lined writing that had been on the warning paper he had found in the morning. The message read:

"You have had one warning. This is the second. The third will be the last. You may as well understand that your help is not wanted."

And the clerk did not know how it came on his desk! There seemed to be a very conspiracy14 of stupidity and malice15 in the place. He examined it carefully. It was addressed to him by his full name,--and his circle of acquaintances in High Ridge16 was extremely limited! Henry had not been at home when he called there. The letter had been left by some one who could come into the hotel and go out without exciting comment,--then clearly a familiar figure in the town. Burton's lips curled cynically17. And the meaning of the message was quite plain! His "help" was not wanted. Whom was he trying to help, except the Underwoods?

He put the letter, envelope and all, into a large envelope which he sealed and directed to himself. He did not wish to destroy it just yet, neither did he wish to leave it where it would fall under another eye.

He dined in the public dining-room, without seeing either Ralston or Selby, and, being in no mood to cultivate new acquaintances, returned at once to his own room. He lit a cigar and got a book from his bag and settled down to read himself into quietness; but his mind would not free itself from the curious situation in which he found himself, and presently he tossed the book aside and went to the table where he had left the sealed letter addressed to himself. It was gone. It had been abstracted from his locked room while he was down at dinner.

Suddenly, as he stood there thinking, there was a sharp "ping," and a pane18 of his window crashed into splinters and fell into the room. A thud near his head caused him to turn, and there in the wall was a small hole where a bullet had buried itself in the plaster. The third warning!

Burton went down the stairs two steps at a time and out into the street. The hotel was on the main street, and Burton's room on the second floor looked toward the front. Across the street from the hotel was a small park, full of trees and shadows. It was clear that the shot through his front window had come from the direction of this park, and also that it would be futile19 to try to discover any one who might have been in hiding there. There were a hundred avenues of unseen escape. It was already dark enough to make the streets obscure.

Burton went in and reported the shooting to the clerk. Of the missing letter he said nothing.

"Some boys must have been fooling around in the park with a gun," said the clerk, after viewing the scene of the disaster. "They might have hit you, the idiots. I'll bet they are scared stiff by now,--and serve them right."

"I wish you'd give me another room," said Burton abruptly20.

"Why? You don't think they'll try to pot you again, do you?" smiled the clerk.

"I prefer to take another room," said Burton stiffly.

"Oh, very well. The adjoining room is vacant, if that will suit you."

"Yes. You may have my things moved in. Or, hold on. I'll move them in now, with your assistance, and you needn't say anything about the change downstairs."

The clerk took some pains to make it evident that he was suppressing a smile, but Burton did not particularly care what opinion the young man might form of his courage. He had other things in view.

His new room looked toward the side of the hotel. A driveway ran below his windows, separating the hotel from a large private house adjoining. Burton took a careful survey of his location, and when he settled down again to read, he was careful to select a position which was not in range with the windows.

He was beginning to take the High Ridge mystery seriously.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 malevolence malevolence     
n.恶意,狠毒
参考例句:
  • I had always been aware of a frame of malevolence under his urbanity. 我常常觉察到,在他温文尔雅的下面掩藏着一种恶意。 来自辞典例句
2 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
3 inquiry nbgzF     
n.打听,询问,调查,查问
参考例句:
  • Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
  • The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。
4 justified 7pSzrk     
a.正当的,有理的
参考例句:
  • She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
  • The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。
5 revolving 3jbzvd     
adj.旋转的,轮转式的;循环的v.(使)旋转( revolve的现在分词 );细想
参考例句:
  • The theatre has a revolving stage. 剧院有一个旋转舞台。
  • The company became a revolving-door workplace. 这家公司成了工作的中转站。
6 contractor GnZyO     
n.订约人,承包人,收缩肌
参考例句:
  • The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
  • The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样,有几分要看地势而定。
7 premises 6l1zWN     
n.建筑物,房屋
参考例句:
  • According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定,场内不准饮酒。
  • All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行,不用送到外面去做。
8 scuttled f5d33c8cedd0ebe9ef7a35f17a1cff7e     
v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 );快跑,急走
参考例句:
  • She scuttled off when she heard the sound of his voice. 听到他的说话声,她赶紧跑开了。
  • The thief scuttled off when he saw the policeman. 小偷看见警察来了便急忙跑掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 carving 5wezxw     
n.雕刻品,雕花
参考例句:
  • All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
  • He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。
10 inmate l4cyN     
n.被收容者;(房屋等的)居住人;住院人
参考例句:
  • I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
  • The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。
11 skilfully 5a560b70e7a5ad739d1e69a929fed271     
adv. (美skillfully)熟练地
参考例句:
  • Hall skilfully weaves the historical research into a gripping narrative. 霍尔巧妙地把历史研究揉进了扣人心弦的故事叙述。
  • Enthusiasm alone won't do. You've got to work skilfully. 不能光靠傻劲儿,得找窍门。
12 promptly LRMxm     
adv.及时地,敏捷地
参考例句:
  • He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
  • She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。
13 scrap JDFzf     
n.碎片;废料;v.废弃,报废
参考例句:
  • A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
  • Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。
14 conspiracy NpczE     
n.阴谋,密谋,共谋
参考例句:
  • The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
  • He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。
15 malice P8LzW     
n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋
参考例句:
  • I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
  • There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。
16 ridge KDvyh     
n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭
参考例句:
  • We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
  • The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。
17 cynically 3e178b26da70ce04aff3ac920973009f     
adv.爱嘲笑地,冷笑地
参考例句:
  • "Holding down the receiver,'said Daisy cynically. “挂上话筒在讲。”黛西冷嘲热讽地说。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比
  • The Democrats sensibly (if cynically) set about closing the God gap. 民主党在明智(有些讽刺)的减少宗教引起的问题。 来自互联网
18 pane OKKxJ     
n.窗格玻璃,长方块
参考例句:
  • He broke this pane of glass.他打破了这块窗玻璃。
  • Their breath bloomed the frosty pane.他们呼出的水气,在冰冷的窗玻璃上形成一层雾。
19 futile vfTz2     
adj.无效的,无用的,无希望的
参考例句:
  • They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败,他们全部被杀,无一幸免。
  • Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。
20 abruptly iINyJ     
adv.突然地,出其不意地
参考例句:
  • He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
  • I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。


欢迎访问英文小说网

©英文小说网 2005-2010

有任何问题,请给我们留言,管理员邮箱:[email protected]  站长QQ :点击发送消息和我们联系56065533