"Well, I have seen some queer things in my time, but, as the poet says, 'never aught like this,'" Rigby said, with teeth that chattered7 a little. "I really must have one of my own cigarettes."
Despite his excitement, Rigby was conscious that he ought to be just a little ashamed of himself. He had always prided himself upon the fact that his nerves were perfectly8 under control and that nothing ever put him out, otherwise he would not have occupied the position he did at the Planet office. He began to feel the effect of the cool night air, which braced9 him like a tonic10. As he stood there waiting for something--though he would have found it difficult to say what--a policeman came slowly down the street. Rigby stooped and pretended to be busy with his stock of papers.
Some spirit of mischief11 moved him to chaff12 the representative of the law, and at the same time test to the utmost the disguise that he was wearing.
"Paper, sir?" he asked. "All the winners--horrible murder in Grosvenor Square. Ain't you going to buy one?"
Apparently13 the officer was one of the good-tempered sort, for he only smiled, and in a more or less gruff voice ordered the news-vender to move on.
"Just waiting for my pal14, sir," Rigby explained. "I have never come down this street before, an' I'll take good care never to come down here again. Why, half these houses seem to be empty. Look at that show opposite. 'Ow long since anybody has lived there?"
"Before I came on the beat, anyway," the policeman explained. "Do you want to take one?"
With a laugh at his own pleasantry the policeman stalked off down the street, leaving Rigby easier in his mind and quite satisfied that his disguise would stand any ordinary test.
He leaned against the area railings absolutely undecided as to what to do next. With a certain new caution almost amounting to cowardice--a feeling of which he would be ashamed at any other time--Rigby turned his back upon the man who was advancing down the street. At the same time, so full was he of the horrors that he had lately witnessed, the amateur detective quite forgot the fragrant16 cigarette so out of keeping with his character. The stranger pulled up and, crossing the pavement, tapped Rigby familiarly on the shoulder.
"You are not so clever as you think you are," the stranger remarked coolly. "You may be a very smart chap, Dick, and I may be a very dull one, but I have certainly sufficient brains to know that the average newspaper tout17 does not smoke Turkish cigarettes. Besides, after our conversation this morning, I felt pretty certain that you would make an attempt to get inside that house."
Rigby laughed in a way that suggested that his nerves were in a considerably18 frayed19 condition.
"So that's you, Jack20," he said, with a sigh of relief. "Yes, you are quite right; in fact, I told you I should not rest to-night until I had seen the inside of that house."
"And did the expedition come up to expectations?" Masefield asked eagerly.
"My dear fellow, I have had some weird21 experiences in my time, but I would not go through the last hour again for the wealth of the Indies. In fact, if I tell you what I've seen, you would set me down for a doddering lunatic."
The look of self-satisfaction on Jack's face faded away. He shivered with a strange weird feeling, that strange presentiment22 of something dire23 about to happen. Again, why should he doubt the fact that something terribly out of the common had happened to Rigby after his own amazing experiences?
With his hand on the arm of his friend, he walked abstractedly the whole of the terrace. Here a great arc light threw a stream of pallid24 blue upon the motley coloring displayed upon a big hoarding25. In the centre of the hoarding, well displayed, was the terrible placard disclosing the grinning features of Nostalgo.
"By Heaven!" Jack exclaimed, "there is no getting away from the features of that grinning devil. I know as well as if I had seen it down in black and white that the awful experiences which have so changed you lately have to do with that yellow face."
"I am not going to deny it," Rigby replied; "and, what is more, I am not going to tell you what I have seen in the last two hours--at least, not at present. And now tell me, to change the subject, what is your private opinion of Spencer Anstruther?"
To say that Jack was taken aback by the suddenness of the question would be a mistake. It will be remembered that on the occasion Masefield last dined with Anstruther he had pointed26 out to Claire the amazing likeness27 between Nostalgo and her guardian28. Not that it was possible for anybody to notice this except when Anstruther was moved to great emotion; but the fact remained. And now to find that Rigby's mind was so strangely moved in the same train of thought was, to say the least of it, disturbing.
"What do you mean by asking that question?" Jack said guardedly.
"For goodness' sake do not let us have any of this unnecessary caution between friends like ourselves," Rigby said, with great feeling. "Believe me, my dear friend, I am not asking this question out of idle curiosity. As man to man, is he a magnificent genius or the greatest criminal the world has ever seen?"
Thus put to it, Jack had no hesitation29; indeed, he could have had no hesitation in replying to such a direct question as this.
"I am going to speak quite candidly30 to you," he said. "As you are perfectly well aware, knowing the man quite as well as I do, he is, like most geniuses, an exceedingly poor man. At the same time, unlike most geniuses, he is as unscrupulous as he is clever. I have more than an idea that he could tell us all about this affair, but I prefer to pose as a person who has come into it by accident, and who is only languidly interested. I have had some hesitation in mentioning my estimate of Anstruther's character to his ward15, but I feel very uneasy so far as Claire is concerned. I know for a fact that Anstruther is painfully hard up; really, there are times when his financial straits are absolutely desperate. This being so, it has occurred to me more than once that Claire's money must be a strong inducement to prevent her marrying, for instance, myself."
"That is by no means a remote contingency," Rigby suggested drily.
"My dear fellow, to be perfectly frank with you, Miss Helmsley and myself have been engaged for the past two years. Mind you, this is a dead secret. I have a presentiment, call it foolish if you like, that the announcement of this fact to Anstruther will be the first moment of real danger for Claire. But why do you so suddenly spring this question upon me?"
By way of reply Rigby drew his companion into the comparative shadow of a doorway31. He had hardly done so before another figure came jauntily32 down the street--a tall, slim figure which seemed strangely familiar to Masefield.
"The whole place seems to reek33 of Anstruther to-night," Jack said, "or perhaps it is my disordered imagination. But if that is not Anstruther himself, my eyesight strangely deceives me."
"If you knew as much as I do, or you had learned what I have learned the last hour, you would not be surprised," Rigby said. "However, we will soon settle that. I'll just step across the road and try and sell him a paper." Before Jack could lay a detaining hand on the arm of his friend, Rigby was half way across the street. In the approved raucous34 voice of the tribe, the amateur news-vender tendered Anstruther an Echo. He waved the offer aside, and made his way down the street with the air of one who has a definite object in view. With a whine35 artistically36 uttered, Rigby fell back upon the doorway in which Masefield was concealed37.
"Anstruther beyond all shadow of doubt," Rigby said triumphantly38. "Now, I am not a betting man, but I will lay you any odds39 in reason that our interesting friend enters No. 4. Ah, what did I tell you?"
Surely enough, Anstruther paused in his stride before the dilapidated door of No. 4. With one swift glance up and down the street to make certain that he was not observed, he drew a latch-key from his pocket and disappeared within the dingy40 portals. On the still night air the click of the latch-key and the muffled41 banging of the door could be heard all down the road. Rigby drew a sigh of relief.
"Well, I think that'll do for to-night," he said. "I reckon I have had just about as much as my nerves will stand. No, I am not going to tell you anything, and I have no stomach for further adventures this evening. I am going straight to bed, to sleep if I can. Come around and see me to-morrow afternoon."
But curious as he was, and anxious also as he was, Jack was forced to decline the proffered42 invitation. Besides, he had promised to take Claire to a matinee concert at the Albert Hall, to hear a new violinist who so far had only performed twice before in England. Signor Padini had come to the metropolis43 with a marvelous reputation, but so far he had hardly fulfilled expectations. Still, it was not the habit of music-lovers like Claire and Masefield to accept a verdict of this kind at second-hand44. Therefore they had determined45 to hear the new virtuoso46 for themselves.
Not that any thoughts of a harmonious47 and musical kind were running in Jack's mind as he walked home to-night. Try as he would, he could not dismiss the idea that some grave peril48 was impending49, and that Claire was likely to be the central figure of the tragedy. But it is the blessed privilege of youth to throw off the haunting cares and doubts that assail50 their elders, and Jack suffered little on the ground of sleeplessness51 that night.
All the same, the haunting fears were with him again on waking in the morning.
But perhaps Claire noticed something of this, for she put the direct question to her lover when he called on her the next afternoon. Yet Jack had no intention of saying anything for the present. He began to speak somewhat hurriedly of the new violinist, Signor Padini, and so the conversation lasted till the Albert Hall was reached.
There was nothing particularly attractive in the concert generally, and both waited somewhat impatiently for the foreigner to appear. He came at length, tall, slim, and clean-shaven, and Claire noticed with an amused smile that for once she was in the presence of a master who eschewed52 long hair. She turned and whispered something to this effect to Jack, who did not appear to be listening.
"Now, where have I seen that fellow before?" he muttered. "Call me foolish if you like, say this man is an absolute stranger to England if you please; but I am absolutely prepared to swear that his face is quite familiar to me."
But perhaps it was merely a chance likeness, Claire suggested. She was far too interested in the musician to take much heed53 of what Jack said. Evidently this man knew his business to his finger-tips; the way in which he handled his bow would have proved that to any critic. Claire glanced down the programme; and no sooner did the wild sweeping54 music come streaming from the strings55 than the whole audience thrilled responsive to the master's touch. He was not, after all, playing the piece standing56 against his name on the programme, but the peculiar57 weird and mournful rhapsodie of Chopin's that Jack had heard Anstruther interpreting two nights before. He leaned back; his eyes were half closed with a strange sensation that he was listening to Anstruther now. He turned to suggest something of this to Claire, and to his surprise he noticed that her face was paler than his own.
"Does anything strike you?" he whispered. "Have you a feeling, like myself, of having gone through all this before?"
"Dreadful!" Claire shuddered58. "I know exactly what you mean. It is the same, precisely59 the same, as if my guardian had crept inside the body of Padini---- There! Did you notice that particular slur60, that strange half hesitation? I declare, I feel certain that this Padini was in my guardian's study the other night. Jack, you must get at the bottom of this; there is some mystery here which we must solve, and that without delay."
Jack rose from his seat and buttoned his coat firmly about him.
"Ay," he said, "a deeper mystery than you are aware of. Stay here while I go behind the stage. I am going to see Signor Padini, and get to the bottom of this business at any cost."
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1
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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virile
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| adj.男性的；有男性生殖力的；有男子气概的；强有力的 | |
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6
fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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7
chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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8
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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9
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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10
tonic
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| n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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12
chaff
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| v.取笑，嘲笑；n.谷壳 | |
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13
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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14
pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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16
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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17
tout
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| v.推销，招徕；兜售；吹捧，劝诱 | |
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18
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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19
frayed
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| adj.磨损的v.（使布、绳等）磨损，磨破( fray的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20
jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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21
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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presentiment
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| n.预感，预觉 | |
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dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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25
hoarding
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| n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 ) | |
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26
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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30
candidly
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| adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地 | |
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31
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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32
jauntily
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| adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地 | |
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33
reek
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| v.发出臭气；n.恶臭 | |
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34
raucous
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| adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的 | |
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35
whine
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| v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣 | |
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36
artistically
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| adv.艺术性地 | |
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37
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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38
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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39
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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40
dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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41
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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42
proffered
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| v.提供，贡献，提出( proffer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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44
second-hand
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| adj.用过的，旧的，二手的 | |
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45
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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46
virtuoso
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| n.精于某种艺术或乐器的专家，行家里手 | |
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47
harmonious
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| adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的 | |
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48
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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49
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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50
assail
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| v.猛烈攻击，抨击，痛斥 | |
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51
sleeplessness
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| n.失眠，警觉 | |
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52
eschewed
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| v.（尤指为道德或实际理由而）习惯性避开，回避( eschew的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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54
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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55
strings
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| n.弦 | |
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56
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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57
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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58
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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59
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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60
slur
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| v.含糊地说；诋毁；连唱；n.诋毁；含糊的发音 | |
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