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CHAPTER X THE GUARDIAN OF THE SECRET
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I had some tea at the Plough, with fresh butter and cream which, after those weeks on board the Thrush, were delicious.

Much gratified that I had at last discovered the house of the noble freebooter, I set to work to make inquiries1 regarding the family of Knutton, the hereditary2 guardians3 of the treasure, and of the descendants of Clement5 Wollerton, who, it appeared, had been Bartholomew’s lieutenant6, and whose skeleton I had most probably seen on board the Seahorse.

The innkeeper’s sister was still communicative, so I asked her if she knew any one of either name in the village.

“No, sir, I don’t know any one of such name in Caldecott,” she answered, after reflecting a few moments. “There’s old Ben Knutton, who lives in Rockingham.”

“What kind of a man is he?”

“Well, his character’s not of the best,” she answered; “he’s a labouring man, but he’s a lazy, good-for-nothing old fellow, who frequents every inn in the district.”

“Married?”

“No, a widower7. He lives in a cottage close to the Sonde Arms, in the main street of Rockingham.”

The description she gave was certainly not that of the hereditary guardian4 of the Italian noble’s treasure. Nevertheless, as he was the only person of that name in the district, I decided8 to walk back past the station and on to Rockingham, a distance of about a mile, and make his acquaintance.

It was a lovely summer’s evening, and the walk through the cornfields was delightful9, although my head was filled with the strange, old-world romance which within the past few weeks had been revealed to me. The main point which occupied my attention was whether the treasure was still hidden—or had it ever been hidden?—in that tumble-down old Manor10 House. In order to make secret investigation11 it would be necessary to rent the place and carefully search every hole and corner. Some of those panelled, low-ceilinged rooms above were, to me, attractive. A good deal might be hidden there, or in the roof.

After some inquiries I found the man Knutton’s cottage, small, poorly-furnished, close-smelling, and not over clean. A slatternly girl of fourteen called “Uncle! You’re wanted.” And a gruff voice responded from the upstairs room. He came heavily down the narrow, uncarpeted stairs, a rough-looking type of agricultural labourer, in drab moleskin. His age was about sixty-five, with beery face, grey eyes, round-shouldered, and wearing his trousers tied beneath the knee, and boots that had never known blacking.

“Your name’s Ben Knutton, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Yes, sir. That’s my name.”

“Well, Mr. Knutton,” I said, “I want to have a few minutes’ chat with you alone.”

I noticed that he looked somewhat aghast. Afterwards I learnt that he was an expert poacher, and he probably believed me to be a detective. Through a decade or so he had had a good deal of the Marquis of Exeter’s and Mr. Watson’s game, and the major part of it had found its way by an irregular route to Northampton market.

He first went very red, then white, his hand trembled, and he had to steady himself for a moment.

“Just go out for a minute or two, Annie,” he said to his niece. “I want to speak to this gentleman. Take a seat, sir.” He pulled forward one of the rush-bottomed chairs from beside the rickety old bureau.

“Don’t think, Mr. Knutton, that I’ve come here with any hostile intent,” I said, in order to reassure12 him. “I’ve come to Rockingham expressly to ask you one or two questions regarding your family. I am making some investigations13 about the Knuttons, and perhaps you can assist me. Have you any brothers or sisters living?”

“No, sir, I haven’t. My brother Dick died this ten years ago.”

Dick! Then that man’s name was Richard Knutton!

“Did he leave any sons?” I inquired.

“Only one—young Dick. He enlisted14, and was killed in Afghanistan.”

“He enlisted after his father’s death?”

“Yes, sir,” he answered, more at his ease.

“Your family is a very old one in this neighbourhood, isn’t it?”

“One o’ the oldest, they says. The Knuttons lived at the Manor Farm up at Caldecott for more’n a hundred years. But we’ve come down in the world since then.”

“The Manor Farm is the one attached to the Manor of Caldecott, eh?”

“It’s close to Caldecott Manor House. There’s fifteen hundred acres o’ land with it. And nowadays, sir, I often works on that self-same land for Mr. Banks, what owns it now.”

“Are you the oldest of your family?”

“No, sir, Dick was. I was the second. Dick was the lucky ’un, and was old Mr. Banks’ foreman for years; that was in the present Mr. Banks’ father’s time, when farmin’ was a lot better than what it is now. Lor’, sir, in this district three-quarters of the farms scarcely pay their rents. All the landlords ought to be generous like the Duke o’ Bedford; but they ain’t, and we labourers have to suffer.”

“More work and less beer,” I remarked, with a laugh.

“Well, sir, when you mention beer, I’d be pleased to drink a pint15 at your expense.” A remark which showed the rustic16 cadger17.

“And so you shall when we’ve finished our talk,” I said. “Tell me, have you ever heard or known of any person called Wollerton?”

“Wollerton!” he repeated. “Why, now that I remember, that’s the very question the gentleman asked me the day before yesterday.”

“What gentleman?” I gasped18.

“A gentleman I met in the Sonde Arms. He said he knew me, but I didn’t remember ever having set eyes on him before. He treated me and then asked me a whole lot of questions, some of ’em very similar to what you’ve asked me. I don’t understand what he or you—beggin’ your pardon, sir—are driving’ at.”

“But this person who was so inquisitive19? What kind of man was he?”

“A middle-aged20 gentleman from London. He stayed the night at the Sonde Arms, and left in the morning. He was a tall, fair man, and funnily enough seemed to know a lot about my relations.”

“You don’t know his name?”

“No, he didn’t tell me.”

This fact was certainly strange. Was it possible that some other person was in possession of the secret of the hoard21 and had forestalled22 me in making inquiries?

This beery labourer seemed, without doubt, a descendant of the Richard Knutton whose signature was written upon the faded parchment. As guardians of the treasure, the Knuttons had apparently23 been given the Manor Farm in order to be constantly near the spot where the spoils of war were concealed24. Their residence at the farm through generations appeared to show that instructions had passed from father to son, and had, until seventy years ago, been strictly25 observed. Then the family had fallen upon evil times, and the descendants had degenerated26 into labourers, the youngest enlisting27 as a private soldier.

“I suppose you told this gentleman you met all about your family, just as you’ve told me—eh?”

“Pretty well the same story.”

“What else did he ask you?”

“Well, he wanted to know one or two rather queer things about my family history—things I’d never heard nothing about. My father always did used to say that we were entitled to a big fortune, and he’d heard it from his father. Only that fortune ain’t come, and I don’t suppose it ever will. But both you gentlemen coming to me and asking the same questions has aroused my curiosity.”

“Ah!” I said. “Fortunes that are talked of in families are usually phantom28 ones. Why, there’s scarcely a family in England who don’t believe that they’ve been done out of their rightful inheritance.”

“I know that, sir. I could name twenty people in Rockingham who believe themselves the rightful heirs to property. That’s why I never believed the story about our fortune. My poor old father had to go on the parish before he died—a shilling a week and two loaves. So the idea of the fortune didn’t benefit him much.”

“But what was the story which your father told you?” I inquired.

“Oh, it was quite a romance. Half the people in Rockingham know about it, because when the old man used to get a drop o’ beer he always boasted of the great wealth that would be his some day.”

“But what was the story? Tell it to me as nearly as you can remember it.”

“Well, he used to say that long ago—hundreds of years, I think—the Knuttons were rich, but one son turned an adventurer, and accumulated a big treasure of gold and silver. This he hid away very carefully, because in those times there was no banks and places like there is now; but he left the secret in the hands of the head of the family, to be handed down for a certain number of years.”

“Then has it come down to you?” I asked quickly.

“No, sir, I only wish it had,” he laughed. Although a hard drinker, as I could tell from his puffed29 cheeks and unsteady hand, I was fortunate in finding him on that occasion quite sober.

“Perhaps the term of years ended and the fortune was realized,” I suggested, for to me it seemed more than probable that the secret of the hiding-place had been discovered long ago.

“No, sir, I think not,” was the old man’s prompt reply. “If it had, we should have all been in a better position. No, I believe the whole thing is a fable30, as every one has declared it to be. Why here, in Rockingham, they used to call my father ‘Secret Sammy,’ because when he was drunk he always spoke31 mysteriously of what he called ‘The Secret.’?”

“Have you any idea of the reason your family left the Manor Farm?”

“Owing to several bad seasons on top of each other. They were ruined, like hundreds of others. I’ve heard say that the last of the Knuttons who had the place used very often to go up to London by the coach, and he was fond of gambling32. That was what really ruined him.”

“Do you know anything about the Manor House—who lived there when you were a boy?”

“Why that’s one of the questions the stranger asked me in the Sonde Arms,” he exclaimed.

Very curious certainly, I thought. Who could possibly be aware of the secret given up by the sea except myself, Mr. Staffurth, and Job Seal?

“And you told him, I suppose?”

“I told him that old Squire33 Blacker lived there with his wife and two daughters from my early recollection. They all died, except the elder daughter, who didn’t marry, and lived there for over twenty years, an old maid. When she died the place was bought by a Jew living in Ireland, and there’s been lots o’ tenants34 since. They never stay long because o’ the damp and the rats. I worked there seven years ago, helpin’ to do a drain, and the rats were something awful. I never saw such monsters in all my life. Young Jack35 Sharpe’s terrier killed nearly a couple of hundred of ’em in one day. The stackyard is so close, you see.”

“As far as you know, your family has never had any connection with the Manor itself?” I asked.

“I never heard it,” he replied. “We were at the Manor Farm for generations, as I’ve told you—but never at the Manor House.”

“And you don’t believe the story about the fortune awaiting you somewhere?”

“Well, sir, I wish I could believe it,” was the old man’s answer. “We’ve been awaiting for it long enough, ain’t we?”

I laughed, as though I shared his view with regard to the legend. At that juncture36 it was not my intention to tell him the object of my inquiries, and when he pressed me I turned the conversation into a different channel.

As I had promised, I went with him across to the Sonde Arms and regaled him with beer. Then when he saw the tangible37 reward for his communicativeness he endeavoured to assist me further.

“I say, missus, what was the name o’ that there gentleman who stayed ’ere the night afore last? You know—the gentleman who talked such a lot to me in yon little parlour?”

“Oh, he gave his name as Purvis—Charles Purvis, of London, is what he wrote in the book,” answered the landlady38. “But I think you were a fool, Ben—a big fool. I didn’t like that man at all. He wanted to know too much about everybody’s business.”

“Yes, he was a bit curious like,” and the old man glanced meaningly at me. “But why was I a fool, missus?”

“Why to sell him that old bit of parchment. If nobody could make it out in Rockingham, there were lots of people up in London who could have read it. Perhaps it has to do with your fortune—you don’t know.”

“What!” I cried, starting to my feet; “did you sell the stranger a parchment? What kind was it?”

“It looked like a deed, or something of the sort,” explained the landlady, “and it’s been in Ben’s family for years and years, they say.”

“Young Dick gave it to me before ’e went a soldierin’. His father had given it to him, telling him to be sure and not part with it. So he gave it to me for fear he might lose it. It had a yellow seal a-hanging to it, and a whole lot o’ scrawly39 signatures. I showed it to lots of people, but nobody could make head nor tail of it.”

“And you sold it—the night before last?” I cried, in utter dismay.

“What was the good o’ keepin’ it? The stranger offered me half a sovereign for it, and I wasn’t the one to refuse that for a bit o’ dirty old parchment what nobody could read.”

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 inquiries 86a54c7f2b27c02acf9fcb16a31c4b57     
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 );疑问;探究;打听
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释,等候进一步调查。
  • I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
2 hereditary fQJzF     
adj.遗传的,遗传性的,可继承的,世袭的
参考例句:
  • The Queen of England is a hereditary ruler.英国女王是世袭的统治者。
  • In men,hair loss is hereditary.男性脱发属于遗传。
3 guardians 648b3519bd4469e1a48dff4dc4827315     
监护人( guardian的名词复数 ); 保护者,维护者
参考例句:
  • Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
  • The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。
4 guardian 8ekxv     
n.监护人;守卫者,保护者
参考例句:
  • The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
  • The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。
5 clement AVhyV     
adj.仁慈的;温和的
参考例句:
  • A clement judge reduced his sentence.一位仁慈的法官为他减了刑。
  • The planet's history contains many less stable and clement eras than the holocene.地球的历史包含着许多不如全新世稳定与温和的地质时期。
6 lieutenant X3GyG     
n.陆军中尉,海军上尉;代理官员,副职官员
参考例句:
  • He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
  • He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官,递上了一张简短的便条进去。
7 widower fe4z2a     
n.鳏夫
参考例句:
  • George was a widower with six young children.乔治是个带著六个小孩子的鳏夫。
  • Having been a widower for many years,he finally decided to marry again.丧偶多年后,他终于决定二婚了。
8 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
9 delightful 6xzxT     
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的
参考例句:
  • We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
  • Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
10 manor d2Gy4     
n.庄园,领地
参考例句:
  • The builder of the manor house is a direct ancestor of the present owner.建造这幢庄园的人就是它现在主人的一个直系祖先。
  • I am not lord of the manor,but its lady.我并非此地的领主,而是这儿的女主人。
11 investigation MRKzq     
n.调查,调查研究
参考例句:
  • In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
  • He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
12 reassure 9TgxW     
v.使放心,使消除疑虑
参考例句:
  • This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点,于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
  • The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。
13 investigations 02de25420938593f7db7bd4052010b32     
(正式的)调查( investigation的名词复数 ); 侦查; 科学研究; 学术研究
参考例句:
  • His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查,但没有发现什么。
  • He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。
14 enlisted 2d04964099d0ec430db1d422c56be9e2     
adj.应募入伍的v.(使)入伍, (使)参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 );获得(帮助或支持)
参考例句:
  • enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
  • He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
15 pint 1NNxL     
n.品脱
参考例句:
  • I'll have a pint of beer and a packet of crisps, please.我要一品脱啤酒和一袋炸马铃薯片。
  • In the old days you could get a pint of beer for a shilling.从前,花一先令就可以买到一品脱啤酒。
16 rustic mCQz9     
adj.乡村的,有乡村特色的;n.乡下人,乡巴佬
参考例句:
  • It was nearly seven months of leisurely rustic living before Michael felt real boredom.这种悠闲的乡村生活过了差不多七个月之后,迈克尔开始感到烦闷。
  • We hoped the fresh air and rustic atmosphere would help him adjust.我们希望新鲜的空气和乡村的氛围能帮他调整自己。
17 cadger bd91e3c365c1a3c4a76db904e245a74f     
n.乞丐;二流子;小的油容量;小型注油器
参考例句:
  • You are to remember that I knew no more of my descent than any cadger's dog. 你们可记得我对于自己的家世,不见得比流浪汉的一头狗知道的更多。 来自辞典例句
18 gasped e6af294d8a7477229d6749fa9e8f5b80     
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
  • People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
19 inquisitive s64xi     
adj.求知欲强的,好奇的,好寻根究底的
参考例句:
  • Children are usually inquisitive.小孩通常很好问。
  • A pat answer is not going to satisfy an inquisitive audience.陈腔烂调的答案不能满足好奇的听众。
20 middle-aged UopzSS     
adj.中年的
参考例句:
  • I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
  • The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。
21 hoard Adiz0     
n./v.窖藏,贮存,囤积
参考例句:
  • They have a hoard of food in the basement.地下室里有他们贮藏的食物。
  • How many curios do you hoard in your study?你在你书房里聚藏了多少古玩?
22 forestalled e417c8d9b721dc9db811a1f7f84d8291     
v.先发制人,预先阻止( forestall的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She forestalled their attempt. 她先发制人,阻止了他们的企图。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I had my objection all prepared, but Stephens forestalled me. 我已做好准备要提出反对意见,不料斯蒂芬斯却抢先了一步。 来自辞典例句
23 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
24 concealed 0v3zxG     
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的
参考例句:
  • The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
  • I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。
25 strictly GtNwe     
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地
参考例句:
  • His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
  • The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。
26 degenerated 41e5137359bcc159984e1d58f1f76d16     
衰退,堕落,退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The march degenerated into a riot. 示威游行变成了暴动。
  • The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track. 铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄,成了一条崎岖不平的小径。
27 enlisting 80783387c68c6664ae9c56b399f6c7c6     
v.(使)入伍, (使)参军( enlist的现在分词 );获得(帮助或支持)
参考例句:
  • He thought about enlisting-about the Spanish legion-about a profession. 他想去打仗,想参加西班牙军团,想找个职业。 来自辞典例句
  • They are not enlisting men over thirty-five. 他们不召超过35岁的人入伍。 来自辞典例句
28 phantom T36zQ     
n.幻影,虚位,幽灵;adj.错觉的,幻影的,幽灵的
参考例句:
  • I found myself staring at her as if she were a phantom.我发现自己瞪大眼睛看着她,好像她是一个幽灵。
  • He is only a phantom of a king.他只是有名无实的国王。
29 puffed 72b91de7f5a5b3f6bdcac0d30e24f8ca     
adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧
参考例句:
  • He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟,狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了,便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
30 fable CzRyn     
n.寓言;童话;神话
参考例句:
  • The fable is given on the next page. 这篇寓言登在下一页上。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
31 spoke XryyC     
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
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
32 gambling ch4xH     
n.赌博;投机
参考例句:
  • They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
  • The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。
33 squire 0htzjV     
n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅
参考例句:
  • I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
  • The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。
34 tenants 05662236fc7e630999509804dd634b69     
n.房客( tenant的名词复数 );佃户;占用者;占有者
参考例句:
  • A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
  • Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
35 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
36 juncture e3exI     
n.时刻,关键时刻,紧要关头
参考例句:
  • The project is situated at the juncture of the new and old urban districts.该项目位于新老城区交界处。
  • It is very difficult at this juncture to predict the company's future.此时很难预料公司的前景。
37 tangible 4IHzo     
adj.有形的,可触摸的,确凿的,实际的
参考例句:
  • The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
  • There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。
38 landlady t2ZxE     
n.女房东,女地主
参考例句:
  • I heard my landlady creeping stealthily up to my door.我听到我的女房东偷偷地来到我的门前。
  • The landlady came over to serve me.女店主过来接待我。
39 scrawly de1564a69f3ec8c839e9bebc0052e0b4     
潦草地写
参考例句:
  • This letter must be from Frank;I recognized his scrawl. 这封信一定是弗兰克写来的,我认得他那潦草的笔迹。
  • His signature was an incomprehensible scrawl. 他的签字是令人看不懂的涂鸦。


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