Afterwards I got a room in an obscure hotel. Roland sat down on the edge of the bed, and proceeded to give me his version of the matters that perplexed5 me so. In the middle of a sentence he fell over and slept like a dead man. I stole out and telegraphed Sadie at Amityville that I had him safe and sound. Returning, I sat by the hour watching him. My heart was soft for the human creature I had snatched from the brink6. He looked very boyish and appealing as he lay sleeping. He seemed years younger than I. I cannot tell you how glad I was to think that there was warmth in the young body, and sentience7 under the shut lids.
Shortly after midnight he awoke as suddenly and thoroughly8 as he had fallen asleep. Then he wanted to talk. He was bursting with talk. I swallowed my yawns and set myself to listen. I let him talk in his own way, no questions. For a long time I listened to what I already knew, the tale of his jealous, hopeless passion for Irma. Sometimes he had suspected that she inclined towards him, but it seemed preposterous9 to ask her to give up her profession for him. On the other hand he knew he could not endure sharing his wife with the public. He had decided10 to go away without speaking—and then the miraculous11 legacy12 had dropped from the skies.
"Tell me all about that," I commanded.
"I promised not to tell," he said reluctantly.
"This is a matter of life and death. Why was a promise exacted?"
"To avoid publicity13."
"There will be none," I said. "I pledge myself to guard the secret as well as you could."
"I destroyed the letter I got, with the others," he said. "But I read it so often I can give it to you almost word for word."
"Too bad it was destroyed!" I said.
"Oh, you can verify the contents by the Amsterdam Trust Company who paid me the money."
"But if you have a clear case what did you run for?" I asked amazed.
"You will never understand," he said with a wry14 smile. "I seemed to die at that moment when I saw that Irma believed I was capable of robbing her. What did I care about my case?"
Hearing that, my opinion of Sadie's perspicacity15 went up marvellously. "Go on," I said.
I took down the letter from his dictation. It was written, he said, on expensive note-paper, without address, crest16 or seal, in a large and somewhat old-fashioned feminine hand.
"DEAR MR. QUARLES:
Although you have never heard of me I think of you as my dearest friend. I have followed your career from the time of your first appearance on the stage. I am one of those unfortunates who, condemned17 to live, are cut off from life. I watch life pass from behind my iron screen. It is you who, all unconscious, have supplied me with a dream to cheat my emptiness. I have warmed my cold hands at your fire.
"Now they tell me my release is at hand. I wish to show my gratitude18 to you in the only way that is possible to me. An artist's career is difficult and uncertain. I want to remove a little of the uncertainty19 from yours.
"I must avoid giving rise to silly gossip which would grieve my relatives. To avoid the publicity of probate I am making secret arrangements beforehand. An old friend will carry out my wishes for me when I am gone.
"The doctors give me a week longer. Upon my death this letter will be mailed to you. You will then hear from the Amsterdam Trust Company that a sum of money awaits your order. You will never know my name. But if you should let even the bare facts become known, some busybody would eventually connect them with my name, and unhappy gossip result. Therefore I ask you as a man of honour to keep the whole transaction locked in your breast."
"That is all," said Roland. "It was signed: 'Your grateful friend.'"
"Did you look in the recent obituaries20 for a clue?" I asked.
"Yes," he confessed. "There was none."
"Go ahead with your story. We'll return to the letter later."
"At first I thought it was a hoax," he resumed, "but sure enough, in two or three days I received a letter from the Trust Company asking me to call. I saw the President. He said that the sum of forty thousand dollars had been deposited with them to be turned over to me in cash. He said it had been bequeathed to me by one who desired to remain unknown. He said he did not know himself who my benefactor21 was. He had dealt with a lawyer. He said that there was but one condition attached to the legacy, namely that I give my word never to speak of the matter. I had met this Mr. Ambler22 the president, and he had seen me act, so there was no difficulty about identifying me. I left his office carrying the money, and carried it to my own bank to deposit. That is all there is to that."
"Good!" I said. "The Amsterdam Trust Company is a solid institution, and the president a well-known man. They will still be there if we need them."
"It mustn't get in the newspapers," he said nervously23.
"Trust me for that. I'm not going to make you break your word. Now about the bet you made with Miss Hamerton."
He winced24 at the sound of her name. "There's no more in that than appears on the surface," he said irritably25. "I couldn't have told the paste from the genuine. I wanted to give her a box of gloves. But she never claimed them, and I forgot about it."
"The cryptogram26 you have already explained," said I.
"I did not know there was such a paper in my pocket."
"Hold on," he cried suddenly, "about that bet. I have just remembered that I once had a talk about precious stones, pearls, with a man in the company."
"Milbourne?"
"Sure! How did you know?"
"I believe he took them. But it's going to be a job to prove it."
"It was just a trifling27 conversation," Roland resumed, thinking hard. "I can't remember exactly. He marked the beauty and oddity of Ir—of Miss Hamerton's necklace. I think he said he hoped that she did not risk wearing real pearls on the stage. That may have been to find out if I knew they were artificial. I told him she did not wear the real ones. There was more talk. He seemed to know about pearls, and I believe I asked him how to tell the real from the artificial. I never thought of it then, but looking back I see that it may have been that talk which gave me the idea of making a bet with Ir—with her. Oh, I have been a fool!"
"This is all interesting," I said, "but it doesn't give us anything solid to go on. Now for the main thing. How did the real pearls get in your safe?"
Roland struck his forehead. "I have been everybody's dupe!" he groaned28.
"It's a part we all have to play occasionally," I said soothingly29. "Go ahead."
"About this time I began to get circular letters from a firm of jewellers called Jones and Sanford with an address on Maiden30 Lane, where all the jewellers used to be. They were fac-simile letters, very well written."
"The kind that are made to look like personal letters, but like false teeth, deceive nobody?"
"Precisely31. I got one every few days. They were all to the effect that the writers as brokers32, were prepared to sell precious stones at prices much under those asked by the big jewellers. There was a lot of rigmarole about saving on overhead charges, interest on valuable stocks and so on, about what you would expect in such letters. There were a lot of imposing-looking references, too."
"At first I paid no attention to the letters; precious stones didn't interest me. But when I got all that money I began to read them. You see I—I wanted to make Irma a present, and I knew she loved pearls better than anything else in the world."
I let a whistle of astonishment33 out of me. "Do you mean to say you bought Miss Hamerton's pearls with the idea of presenting her with them, to add to her collection?"
He nodded shamefacedly. "I didn't know she had been robbed."
"How long had you had them?"
"Just a few days."
He told me that he had asked Miss Hamerton to marry him, and intended the necklace for a wedding-gift if she consented.
"You were a downy bird!" I exclaimed.
"Wait till I tell you," he said. "They were a slick pair. You might have been taken in yourself."
"Did they know you?" I asked, still full of amazement34.
"Certainly. I paid for them by check, certified35 check."
"Which they cashed within half an hour!"
"Maybe. I never enquired36."
"Sold Miss Hamerton's pearls back to Miss Hamerton's leading man!" I cried. "My boy, we have something out of the common in crooks37 to deal with!"
"They had a well-furnished suite38 on an upper floor of a first-class office building," he resumed. "I was there three or four times. I saw other customers coming and going. Everything was business-like and all right looking. Even the stenographer39 had a prim40 New England air. They showed me all kinds of precious stones. I bit at the pearls because I recognised that they were the same kind Irma had. They asked eight thousand dollars for them."
"You knew, didn't you, that Miss Hamerton's necklace was worth much more than that?"
"Yes. But I had been told hers were very fine and perfect. I supposed these to be not so good."
"And so you paid your money on a chance, and took them home."
"Not quite as fast as that. The jewellers seemed to take it as a matter of course that I would have the pearls examined by an expert before purchasing. They suggested that I take them up to Dunsany's."
"Dunsany's?" I said amazed.
"Yes. Wasn't that enough to lull41 suspicion? Dunsany's is more than a jewelry42 store; it's a national institution."
"But you never took them there?"
"Indeed I did," was the surprising answer. "Sanford and Jones' clerk went with me. We saw Mr. Freer, the firm's expert on pearls."
I whistled again. Freer, the man at Dunsany's to whom I had told my little fiction of the fiction-writer, and who had looked so queer when I mentioned blue pearls!
"Large gentleman, elegantly-dressed, with a face like a boiled dumpling?"
"Sure!" cried Roland. "Do you know him, too?"
"Go on with your story!" I said.
"Mr. Freer examined the pearls and told me they were genuine, and of good quality. He valued them at about twelve thousand dollars."
"The devil he did!" I cried. "This case is spreading wider and wider. Freer is in the gang, too. To think of their having a picket43 in Dunsany's!"
"How do you know?"
"Because he like everybody else in the trade had been informed that the only necklace of blue-black pearls in the world had been stolen. He knew, moreover, that it was worth——" But here prudence44 stopped my tongue.
"Worth what?" asked Roland.
"Well, much more than twelve thousand."
"The only blue pearls in the world?" he said, puzzled.
"There's a lot about this necklace you don't know," I said smiling. "All in good time. Go on with your story."
"Well, that's all, isn't it?" said he. "At least you know the rest. Why these fellows were so careful of details, you will even find their imprint45 in gold inside the case. Jones and Sanford, such and such a number, Maiden Lane."
"Hm! I have a case on my hands now!" I said meditatively46. "It may take me six months or more to clean this up."
"I'll work with you," he said.
"My dear fellow, I like you better every minute," I said, smiling at him. "But you'd make the worst detective in the world."
"Oh, well, maybe I would," he said.
"There's no need for you to await the outcome of the case," I said. "We have the evidence right in hand to clear you. I'll lay it before Miss Hamerton to-morrow morning."
My young friend surprised me again. He leaped up with his dark eyes positively47 blazing. "You'll do nothing of the kind!" he cried passionately48. "That affair is done, done for ever. If you interfere49, I won't be responsible for the consequences. She has her pearls back. Let her be. My time will come when she reads of the capture and the trial of the real thieves in the public newspapers!"
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1
ravenous
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| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
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zest
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| n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣 | |
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inveighed
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| v.猛烈抨击，痛骂，谩骂( inveigh的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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sentience
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| n.感觉性；感觉能力；知觉 | |
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8
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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legacy
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| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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publicity
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| n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告 | |
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wry
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| adj.讽刺的；扭曲的 | |
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perspicacity
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| n. 敏锐, 聪明, 洞察力 | |
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crest
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| n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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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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obituaries
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| 讣告，讣闻( obituary的名词复数 ) | |
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benefactor
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| n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人 | |
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ambler
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| n.以溜步法走的马，慢慢走的人 | |
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nervously
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| adv.神情激动地，不安地 | |
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winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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cryptogram
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| n.密码 | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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brokers
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| n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排… | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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certified
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| a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的 | |
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enquired
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| 打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问 | |
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crooks
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| n.骗子( crook的名词复数 )；罪犯；弯曲部分；（牧羊人或主教用的）弯拐杖v.弯成钩形( crook的第三人称单数 ) | |
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suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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stenographer
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| n.速记员 | |
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prim
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| adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地 | |
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lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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jewelry
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| n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝 | |
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picket
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| n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫 | |
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prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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imprint
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| n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记 | |
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meditatively
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| adv.冥想地 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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49
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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