For we were certain that we should be followed, and that attempts would be made to get quietly rid of the witnesses of that fatal marriage. How the next blow would be aimed, from what quarter it would come, we could not even conjecture8. But that it was to be looked for we all were certain. If there was one quality which in Chancellor9 Rallenstein was distinguished10 above another, it was tenacity11 of purpose. To him a temporary baffling was but a provocative12; the slightest hint of opposition13 at once banished14 all hesitation15. So we had every reason to feel sure that he would draw the net round us. Still, [Pg 67]life was strong in the two marked victims, and the longer we could put off the stroke the more chance there might be of fate coming to our rescue. Nothing but that, they felt. Help from outside it was vain to look for. For in that small independent State the supreme16 power, that is, of the Chancellor, was a law unto itself. His authority was boundless17 and answerable to no one, and if the deaths of two or three of the King’s subjects were necessary for motives18 of State policy, why, short of a revolution, Rallenstein had no reckoning to fear. My case, as a British subject, I felt was different; not that I could consider myself by any means outside the danger line. I was in the galère, or—what was more to the point—in the secret, and had little doubt that a “regrettable accident” was being prepared for me. Our one satisfaction was in the thought that the Jaguar19 would have to crawl warily20 and strike silently, knowing that a bungle21 would probably mean the publishing of the secret he was taking so much trouble to keep. And this was where I, vaguely22 enough, saw a ray of hope.
For two or three days we lived quietly without the smallest sign of molestation23; no stranger, nothing abnormal was noticed about the place—and I kept a sharp look-out—till we almost began to fancy that we were to be let alone. A formal letter had been sent informing the authorities of Von Lindheim’s illness as an excuse for his absenting himself from his duties, and of this a mere24 acknowledgment had been received. That was all. Of Szalay we said nothing, and we hoped Rallenstein’s spies had no scent25 of his whereabouts. Certainly, it would not have been so easy to give a valid26 excuse for his absence.
So, as the days passed, we seemed to gain more confidence and hope from detecting no sign of danger; [Pg 68]at least, we got to look at the bright side of the business, till suddenly a rude awakening27 came.
But first of all, to take the history of those anxious days in order. Von Lindheim received one morning an official letter, inquiring as to his health, and saying, further, that the King had heard with concern of the serious and regretted illness of such an esteemed28 member of his royal service, and had graciously commanded that the Herr Hof-Artzt Beckmeister should pay the patient a visit on behalf of his Majesty29, who trusted to receive a more favourable30 report of Herr von Lindheim’s condition. This letter filled my friends with dismay. But the move was so obvious and natural that the only wonder was it had not been foreseen. I asked what manner of man the Court Physician was.
“He is a dandified old scoundrel; a humbug31 as a doctor, but no fool. And he has skill enough, acting32 upon a hint, to diagnose that I have nothing the matter with me. Of course it is obvious what he is sent down for. He is a creature of Rallenstein’s, who, however, does not employ him when he himself is ill.”
“We must do the best we can with him,” I said, turning over in my mind various tricks to that end. “We can’t keep him from seeing and examining you, and of course that means discovery that you are in more or less robust33 health.”
“But they must think I drank the poison.”
“Yes; that’s in our favour. And that is the idea we must work. The dose was too small, and consequently only partly operative. The physical effects have now passed off, but they have left brain trouble, and your nerves are shattered. Herr Hof-Artzt Beckmeister is presumably no brain specialist nor an authority on the after-effects of certain, or rather uncertain, poisons. His stethoscope and thermometer [Pg 69]will tell him nothing to refute our story; he may have suspicions, but that is all.”
So we planned the conduct of the interview, and I, at any rate, awaited with a certain amused curiosity the arrival of Herr Beckmeister.
He came next morning in a hired carriage from the station. A dressed-up, brushed-up villain34, with diamond rings, studs and pin, a heavy gold watch chain, gold-rimmed eyeglasses, and gold-knobbed malacca stick. A crafty35, sensual face, and a sharp eye that meant business. “Ah,” thought I, “you’ve had your instructions, that’s plain.” But I received him with all the respect which would have been his due had he been the man he pretended, and possibly believed himself, to be.
His Majesty had graciously honoured him with a command to visit my friend. Herr von Lindheim was better to-day, he ventured to hope.
I thereupon described the illness, somewhat differently, perhaps, from the visitor’s expectation. My friend and I had supped on such an evening at the house of a charming lady in Buyda—possibly well known to the Herr Hof-Artzt, the Baroness36 Fornbach. The Herr Hof-Artzt conveyed by a bow and a smirk37 that he was one of that lady’s circle. “On the way home,” I continued, “my friend was taken alarmingly ill. I got him with difficulty to his house; he was put to bed.” I described his symptoms. “But he grew so much worse that we feared he would not live through the night, which was likewise the opinion of the doctor we called in.”
“Who was that?”
“Doctor Rothmer.”
“In the morning, however, my friend felt easier, but in oppressive fear of death. His one idea was to reach his home and die here. The desire seemed so [Pg 70]strong that I hastily procured40 a carriage and brought him hither in the hope that the change would restore him.”
“And it has?” he asked expectantly.
“In a great, great measure. The alarming bodily symptoms have subsided41, but, Herr Doctor, it seems as though a worse calamity42 had befallen us.”
“Indeed?” He looked at me curiously43, but I think could make nothing of my anxious, innocent manner.
“Yes. I fear his brain is affected44. He is painfully nervous, and is under the impression that he has been maliciously45 poisoned. He rambles46 about enemies who are seeking his life, and all my reasoning cannot persuade him of his fallacy.”
Again Herr Beckmeister looked sharply at me, so sharply that I wondered how much of the business he knew. Then he rose, and, pulling out just the watch I should have imagined him to carry, a showy monstrosity, with a gaudily47 enamelled device on each side of the case, suggested, as he wished to catch a certain train back, he should see the patient. As this was inevitable48, I led the way with a great show of alacrity49, even thankfulness, and showing him Von Lindheim’s room, left them together.
We had planned that Von Lindheim should very vaguely, yet with a mad insistence50, take the Doctor into his confidence, and by a long recital51 of supposed danger keep him from a too searching examination. Whether it succeeded or not we never knew. When, after a twenty minutes’ interview, Beckmeister came out of the room, he would give nothing away.
“Your friend,” he said to me, “seems in surprisingly good bodily health after what we have heard of his attack. You will understand, however, that [Pg 71]my report is for His Majesty’s ear, and that etiquette52 forbids me to forecast it even to you.”
So with another flourish of his abominable53 watch, and some vague expressions of sympathy, he bowed himself into the carriage and drove off.
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1
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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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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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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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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deprivation
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| n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困 | |
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conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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provocative
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| adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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jaguar
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| n.美洲虎 | |
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warily
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| adv.留心地 | |
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bungle
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| v.搞糟；n.拙劣的工作 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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molestation
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| n.骚扰，干扰，调戏；折磨 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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valid
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| adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的 | |
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awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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humbug
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| n.花招，谎话，欺骗 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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crafty
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| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
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baroness
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| n.男爵夫人，女男爵 | |
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smirk
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| n.得意地笑；v.傻笑；假笑着说 | |
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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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shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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41
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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42
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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43
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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45
maliciously
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| adv.有敌意地 | |
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46
rambles
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| （无目的地）漫游( ramble的第三人称单数 )； （喻）漫谈； 扯淡； 长篇大论 | |
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47
gaudily
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| adv.俗丽地 | |
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48
inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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49
alacrity
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| n.敏捷，轻快，乐意 | |
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50
insistence
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| n.坚持；强调；坚决主张 | |
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51
recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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52
etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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53
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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