CHAPTER XXIV THE MIDNIGHT BURIAL

 Darkness had barely fallen when I was back again in the Monastery¹ wood. Von Lindheim had offered to accompany me, but I had thought it better not to bring him. In the first place I anticipated little to be done except watching, and one pair of eyes would be as good there as two. Then if he came with me the chances of being discovered would be increased, since two men are easier seen than one. Beyond these there was a stronger reason for leaving him behind. I was convinced that pluckily² as he fought against it, his nerve was seriously shaken. He had brightened up considerably³ since leaving Sch?nvalhof, still it is no joke—although, brave fellow that he was, he tried hard to treat it as one—it is no joke to go for weeks in hourly fear of secret assassination⁴. It was manifest that he felt his utter helplessness to escape ultimately from Rallenstein’s long arm, and indeed all the police in Europe cannot safeguard a man from foes⁵ who, cost what it may, are resolved on his death. Von Lindheim’s nerves were hardly equal to his spirit, and certainly his life since the day he fled from Buyda had been depressing enough. So I dissuaded⁶ him from coming with me; his help might have been useful, even indispensable, but I thought the chances were rather the other way. So I left him with some literature we had brought from Carlzig and set off alone. The Monastery was as dark [Pg 151]and silent as ever. Indeed, the strange character of the place was its utter absence of any indication of life within. All the same, I could not but imagine it under that silent exterior⁷ to be full of active villainy. Yet the dark stillness of the place seemed to chill the nerves, and I felt glad Von Lindheim was not with me.

Now my plan was to keep watch near the grave, which I first of all ascertained⁸ was still as it had been left the night before. After some little searching in the dark wood I found a tree, with its trunk less bare than the rest, which I could climb and so command a view of the grave, to which it stood quite close, without much chance of being detected. I took pains to mark its exact position, so that I could find it at once, if in a hurry; then I went down to the moat and, taking my stand opposite the postern door, watched and waited.

My vigil was a long one; a light wind swept through the trees and just ruffled⁹ the placid¹⁰ water before me. A gentle shower fell, then the moon came out in her glory, making the house of death yet more sombre in its grey inscrutableness. Clouds drifted across the light, hour followed hour, the great house was as grim and hushed as ever; not a sound broke the stillness save the overhead rustle¹¹ of the trees and the occasional “tw-hoo” of an owl¹². Still I waited on, content with the solace¹³ of my pipe, till at last my patience was rewarded.

My eyes, accustomed to the normal look of the objects before them, caught on the wall opposite a faint gleam of light, which I knew did not fall from the moon. It came from the point where I should have expected it, the door I was watching so keenly. I rose, slipped my pipe into my pocket, and stood in anxious expectation, ready to retreat to my hiding-place.

The light was now more noticeable, glancing to and [Pg 152]fro; it was difficult, owing to the shadow of the buttress¹⁴, to make out anything clearly, but I was certain that dark figures were moving about the door. Presently I just caught the faint sound of the grazing of the boat’s side against the steps. They, the dark figures, were getting into it now; the time they took and their movements assured me that they were bringing with them the dread¹⁵ burden I anticipated. In another moment they would push off, so I judged it time to make for my perch¹⁶ of observation. My last glimpse as I retreated was of the dark boat-load slowly advancing towards the point I had quitted. In a few minutes more I had climbed up the tree and swung myself into a secure position amid the thick branches.

If ever a man felt sick at heart I did then, perched there waiting for the last scene of that ghastly business. My imagination would picture the poor girl’s death agony, almost a relief when it came to end that hopeless suspense¹⁷. How had their vile¹⁸ work been done? Was it poison, the knife, or perhaps that mysterious death-touch that had struck down poor Szalay? My mind would run on the imagined scene till the approaching sound of men’s feet drew my thoughts to actualities.

I could now see a light through the trees. The man who carried it in a lantern was followed by two others, bearing between them an improvised¹⁹ stretcher on which was no doubt a human body. Certainly as I had expected this, the sight made my heart give a great throb²⁰, and I trembled as I had never done before. The men set their burden down by the grave (it was wrapped round in some dark cloth or canvas), and then proceeded to remove the hurdles²¹, the first man still holding the light. Once when he raised it to the level of his face I recognized him; he was the same who had fetched the priest that afternoon from [Pg 153]Carlzig. Not a word was spoken by any one of the three, at least that I could hear. One of the hurdles was placed beside the body, which was then laid on it; two ropes were produced and passed underneath²². One man, the dwarf²³, took the ropes at the foot, while the fellow who held the lantern came forward to help the other man. As he did so he stooped down, and lifting the covering from the dead face held the light to it. An irresistible²⁴ fascination²⁵ overcame my desire to avert²⁶ my eyes, and it was as well it did so.

For with a great shock of something like relief I recognized not the face of Asta von Winterstein, but that of the priest we had seen that day in Carlzig.

1 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

2 pluckily   

adv.有勇气地，大胆地

参考例句：

• He was Brentford's defensive star in pluckily holding out the determined Reading raids for long periods. 他是布伦特福德队的防守明星，长期坚持抗击雷丁队的猛攻。 来自互联网
• A crushing setback, pluckily overcome, is a good plot motif to carry the yarn forward. 如果你的公司曾遭受过一次毁灭性的打击，但你的勇气让公司度过了难关，那么这个情节也很不错，能推动故事的发展。 来自互联网

3 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

4 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

5 foes   

敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They steadily pushed their foes before them. 他们不停地追击敌人。
• She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。

6 dissuaded   

劝（某人）勿做某事，劝阻( dissuade的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was easily dissuaded from going. 他很容易就接受劝告不走了。
• Ulysses was not to be dissuaded from his attempt. 尤利西斯想前去解救的决心不为所动。

7 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

8 ascertained   

v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The previously unidentified objects have now been definitely ascertained as being satellites. 原来所说的不明飞行物现在已证实是卫星。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I ascertained that she was dead. 我断定她已经死了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 ruffled   

adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
• All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。

10 placid   

adj.安静的，平和的

参考例句：

• He had been leading a placid life for the past eight years.八年来他一直过着平静的生活。
• You should be in a placid mood and have a heart-to- heart talk with her.你应该心平气和的好好和她谈谈心。

11 rustle   

v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声

参考例句：

• She heard a rustle in the bushes.她听到灌木丛中一阵沙沙声。
• He heard a rustle of leaves in the breeze.他听到树叶在微风中发出的沙沙声。

12 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

13 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

14 buttress   

n.支撑物；v.支持

参考例句：

• I don't think they have any buttress behind them.我认为他们背后没有什么支持力量。
• It was decided to buttress the crumbling walls.人们决定建造扶壁以支撑崩塌中的墙。

15 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

16 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。

17 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

18 vile   

adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的

参考例句：

• Who could have carried out such a vile attack?会是谁发起这么卑鄙的攻击呢？
• Her talk was full of vile curses.她的话里充满着恶毒的咒骂。

19 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

20 throb   

v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动

参考例句：

• She felt her heart give a great throb.她感到自己的心怦地跳了一下。
• The drums seemed to throb in his ears.阵阵鼓声彷佛在他耳边震响。

21 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

22 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

23 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

24 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

25 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

26 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。