There was a single window in the room, which had a wooden shutter6, swung on leather hinges. This was closed, so effectively that not a particle of light filtered in from outside. It was only by the illumination through the open door that any light entered. Ethel hobbled across the room to the window, and threw open the shutter.
The setting sun threw its rays freely into the interior of the shack7, as the girl looked about her. She saw tiers of bunks9 on either side. In the center of the room were a table and some rough chairs. An oil lamp stood upon the table. In a corner of the room were a cook-stove and the ordinary utensils10 for cooking. A curious conglomeration11 showed on some shelves at one side. In some of the bunks, there were blankets. Ethel regarded those blankets with satisfaction. They would mean warmth for the night, should she be compelled to spend it here.
The Doctor's nerves did not improve. While the girl dropped down to rest on one of the uncomfortable chairs, he walked the floor to and fro in silence. His muscles were twitching12, and his eyes were wide-lidded, though the pupils were only pin-points.
Ethel watched him closely. Now, when at last her suspicions were aroused, she studied as if for her own salvation13 every aspect of this man, whom at first she had looked on as her savior, but now regarded with a dread14 unspeakable.
At last, to relieve the tension of her terror, she requested the Doctor to go out to look for a sail or any craft that he might hail. He went obediently enough. As soon as he had left the room, she moved her seat so that she could watch him.
He walked hurriedly to the boat, where, using water from the jug15, he prepared another measure of the drug and shot it into his arm. When he had done this, he raised the vial that had held the pellet of morphia, and stared at its emptiness with affrighted eyes. Then, at last, with a cry of utter despair, he cast the bit of glass into the sea. The watcher understood that he had used the last atom of the drug. The knowledge filled her with new dismay. She had already learned something as to what must be the tortures of the drug-addict deprived of his supply.
After vainly scanning the horizon for a few minutes, Garnet returned to the hut, carrying the girl's blankets in one hand, the water jug in the other. When he had set the jug by the stove, he went to the cleaner-looking of the bunks, where he deftly16 arranged the blankets for his patient.
The sight of his preparations brought an increase of Ethel's distress17 at the prospect18 of a night to be passed in the company of the distraught man there before her. In her misery19, she murmured passionate20 prayers for the coming of her lover to save her from the unknown perils21 of the night. Her situation seemed to her desperate beyond endurance. Yet, she could not fly from it by reason of her injured ankle. She had no recourse but to remain inactive, helpless, in an agony of dread. She could not take comfort from the thought that the man had always treated her with scrupulous22 respect. Now, he was no longer sane23, and his past courtesy could offer no promise for the future. Had she but known, she might have been comforted by the fact that the long-continued secret indulgence in morphia had killed in him every desire and passion save one—a mad craving24 for the drug itself, and for more, and more.
Ethel urged the Doctor to share with her the food provided for them by Mr. Goodwin. But he refused, declaring that he was too greatly worried over the misfortune in which she was involved. The girl then decided26 that she would not dare to sleep while the crazed man was present with her. She determined27 to remain in her seat. She was so worn with fatigue28 that she did not dare lie down on the comfortable blanket, where she would be unable to resist falling asleep. So she sat huddled29 in a mood of sick misery, while the Doctor ceaselessly paced to and fro the length of the hut, like a wild beast caged.
Presently, Garnet halted, and insisted that Ethel should lie down in the bunk8 to rest. This she refused to do, and she persisted in her refusal when urged a second and a third time. But, after her third refusal, Garnet regarded her with an expression of utter despair. Then he spoke30, in a changed voice, shaken with emotion.
"Miss Marion, I believe that you have become afraid of me!"
Having uttered the words, he sank down heavily on one of the vacant chairs. His breath came hard and fast. He seemed like a man about to suffer a stroke of apoplexy. Then, suddenly, he burst into tears.
The man's loud sobbing31 stirred the girl's sympathies. She even felt a little guilty, since her conduct had caused this final outburst of wretchedness. She was eager to soothe32 him. Certainly, he could not be dangerous now. She hobbled across the room toward him.
But the physician ceased his sobs33 at her approach. He sat erect34 and by a brusque gesture checked her advance. He spoke to her in a toneless voice.
"Miss Marion, when first you regained35 consciousness, you asked me to tell the story of your kidnapping. Owing partly to your condition at that time and partly to a certain dread of my own, I only gave you a part of the story. I promised to tell the rest later. That time has now arrived. I have waited for a moment when I should feel that you had lost confidence in me, for the moment when I should know that you no longer trusted me. I delayed because I hated to confess my weakness. I wished to appear before you still as a strong man. And let me assure you that you are not in any slightest danger from me. It is true, I am a nervous wreck36. And yet, at this moment, my mind is clear. I realize that the time has come for me to make my confession37 to you. In the hope that it will render your judgment38 of me less harsh, I shall tell you my whole story. It begins back in the days when I was taking my course in the medical school."
Ethel was amazed over the change that had so abruptly39 taken place in the man. It seemed indeed that he had recovered, at least in some measure, his accustomed poise40. He appeared less afflicted41 with nervousness in this new eagerness to talk. She returned to her chair and again seated herself. There she sat in rapt attention as she listened to the weird42 narrative43 of a great man's folly44 and degradation45. As the tale unfolded, the girl's heart was like a lute46 swept by chords and dissonances of emotion. She was thrilled to horror, moved to strange sympathy; by turns fearful and sympathetic.
"I believe," the Doctor went on, "that I was a more than ordinarily hard-working student. Night after night I burned the midnight oil. I was ambitious to forge ahead. I was eager to finish my course and to begin the practice of the profession that I so deeply loved. I was possessed47 by a feeling that I had been created for this calling. I believed that I was destined48 to obtain eminence49 in my chosen career.
"Everything went well until I became friends with a certain young tutor in the university. He noticed that I was working hard, and that sometimes I would begin the day tired and depressed50, when, naturally, my mind would not be as bright as it should be.... The man was a vampire51 of viciousness—only desirous to corrupt52.... And I was an easy mark! The only excuse I have to offer is my age.
"This man was a drug-fiend. He used morphia slyly, knowing full well what the outcome must be. It was that hideous53 knowledge that made him eager to enchain others, even as he himself was enchained, so that he would not be alone in the final catastrophe54.
"One day when I was in the dumps, he came to me, placed his hand on my shoulder, and said:
"Gifford, come with me. I want to make a new man out of you.' ... He did!—the kind of man you'll know me to be when my story is done.
"I went with him to his room. From a small bottle, he handed me a pellet, with instruction to swallow it. I must ask no question—merely return to my work, and see if it did not ease my labors55. I did as directed. I found the promised relief—I could do wonders. Very soon, I became the leader of my class. There were no questions asked. Whenever I felt depressed, I went to the tutor's room and he came to my rescue.
"It was nearly a month before I was certain what he was giving me. As you, Miss Marion, have trusted me as a friend, so I trusted this man. One day I went back to this fellow for more 'Brain Food'—as I had innocently begun to term it. I had been accustomed to entering his room without knocking, but on this occasion the door was locked. He heard me rattling56 the knob, and called out to know who was there. I shouted in answer and said it was Garnet after more Brain Food. He then unlatched the door and admitted me. His coat was off and one arm was bare. Upon a small stand was a hypodermic outfit57. I was surprised, for I had never seen the fellow take medicine of any kind. He laughingly remarked that I was just in time—that he was not feeling quite himself and so was taking a little Brain Food 'the other way.'
"I guessed now that the drug I had been taking was indeed morphia. For a moment, I was startled and alarmed. But the fright was of short duration. I had already developed a craving for this thing that so helped me on with my work. The tutor bade me remove my coat, roll up my shirt-sleeve, and allow him to give me a little Brain Food in his way. Needless to say, I did as he ordered. That was my first 'shot'.... Years ago, that man killed himself—perhaps in remorse58 for his crime against me and others corrupted59 by him."
The Doctor sat silent for a long minute in brooding contemplation over this beginning of the vice60 that had mastered him, and now threatened at last to destroy him.
"It was not long after this," he resumed, still with that toneless monotony of voice, "that I began my life-work. Sometimes, I would go for long periods without resorting to the needle. That has helped me in the deception61 of my patients. For long intervals62, I could endure without the drug. Then, during periods of great mental strain and physical depression from all-night vigils, I would invariably fall back upon my old Brain Food. Occasionally, such a relapse would develop into what might be termed a morphia spree. It was at the time of my last spree that—to my destruction, and your discomfiture63 and suffering—I was called to treat you aboard The Isabel."
It seemed to Ethel that Doctor Garnet wearied of his long discourse64. He now arose from his chair, and once again he began to pace the floor uneasily. It appeared that he was debating in his mind whether or not he should continue his narrative.
Ethel, moved to pity by the man's evident deep distress, suggested that he should put off the further telling until morning when he would be rested. She urged him to repose65 in one of the bunks until the morrow, after which she would listen to him again. But to this he objected, declaring that he had made up his mind to tell the whole story. Unless she should refuse to listen, he would continue. Ethel admitted her willingness to hear the remainder of the narrative.
"I suppose," the Doctor continued, still in that dead level of monotonous66 recitation, "at the time that I boarded the yacht that you were suffering so greatly from your injured ankle that you did not detect my deplorable condition. Of course, I should not have gone in answer to your call. But I realized that you were alone, and I had explicit67 instructions from your father to care for you. So, duty called me. Then, after administering to you a sedative68 of extra strength, in the next instant I injected more of the death-dealing drug into my own arm. From that moment, the Doctor Garnet that you knew and trusted became a Mr. Hyde. Gifford Garnet did not wish to do you harm——"
"But——"
"But Mr. Hyde became obsessed69 with an insane desire to have you—a young woman absolutely pure in heart—to have you enjoy with him the wonderful sensations derived70 from the hideous drug to which he was subject."
The revelation, shocking as it was, brought a profound relief to the listening girl. The confession shone like a sun through the mists of fear that had fallen upon her. She listened now in a mood, not of fright, but all of pity.
"I told you when you asked me about the fate of the kidnappers71 that the ring leader had escaped. That was the truth. He did escape. But he's here to-night, a prisoner—a confessed criminal, in your hands, Miss Marion.
"I drugged the man in charge of the yacht. Then I chained him to the engine. When he aroused from his stupor72, I had everything ready for the yacht's sailing. I forced the man to answer the bells as given from the bridge, under penalty of death. The most of the time I kept you under the influence of my drug. Much of the trip is a blank to me. Why we were not swallowed up in the great waters of the Atlantic, I cannot understand. It must have been, Miss Marion, that God stretched out His Arm to save you.... At the time the yacht struck and was destroyed, I was a raving25 maniac73.
"Then, somehow, I once again became sane. That was while I watched an old fisherman, who rescued you from the pounding seas.
"At last, I remembered the man chained to the engine. It was fear of him that made me flee. When the kindly74 old fisherman went in search of a physician for your sake, I was wild with the desire of flight. I could see always the accusing eyes of that man there in the depths of the sea, staring up at me—his murderer!... So, I took you and fled with you in the tender."
Ethel looked at the man, whom she had known and trusted as the family physician, with widened eyes of horror. This trusted friend, by his own avowal75, was not only thief and kidnapper—he was a murderer!
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收听单词发音
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1
shingles
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| n.带状疱疹；（布满海边的）小圆石( shingle的名词复数 )；屋顶板；木瓦（板）；墙面板 | |
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ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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4
realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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5
demeanor
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| n.行为；风度 | |
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shutter
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| n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置 | |
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shack
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| adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚 | |
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bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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bunks
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| n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话 | |
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utensils
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| 器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物 | |
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11
conglomeration
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| n.团块，聚集，混合物 | |
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12
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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14
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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15
jug
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| n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂 | |
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deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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20
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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22
scrupulous
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| adj.审慎的，小心翼翼的，完全的，纯粹的 | |
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23
sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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raving
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| adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地 | |
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26
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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30
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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31
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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sobs
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| 啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 ) | |
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34
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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38
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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39
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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40
poise
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| vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信 | |
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41
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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42
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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43
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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44
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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45
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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46
lute
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| n.琵琶，鲁特琴 | |
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47
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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48
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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49
eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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50
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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51
vampire
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| n.吸血鬼 | |
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52
corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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53
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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54
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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55
labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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56
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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57
outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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58
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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59
corrupted
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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60
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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61
deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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62
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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63
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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64
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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65
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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66
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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67
explicit
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| adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的 | |
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68
sedative
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| adj.使安静的，使镇静的；n. 镇静剂，能使安静的东西 | |
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69
obsessed
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| adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的 | |
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70
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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71
kidnappers
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| n.拐子，绑匪( kidnapper的名词复数 ) | |
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72
stupor
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| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
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73
maniac
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| n.精神癫狂的人；疯子 | |
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74
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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avowal
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| n.公开宣称，坦白承认 | |
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