"Spring," Leonard declared, fanning himself with his straw hat and breathing in the ozone1 from the waves which rippled2 up to within a few yards of our chairs, "is upon us."
"I must get some new frocks," Rose murmured absently.
"Jolly good-looking girl that was with the party from the Grange at the show last night," Leonard continued reminiscently. "I liked the way her eyelashes curled. Jolly fine figure, too."
"The tutor man is quite handsome," Rose ruminated6. "He ties his black evening bow just the way I like."
"Handsome!" I scoffed7. "Why, he's got a cast in his eye! He reminds me, more than[Pg 168] anything, of the plaster villains8 in the Chamber9 of Horrors at Madame Tussaud's."
"I didn't notice any cast," Rose sighed, her eyes turned dreamily seawards. "He looked at me hard enough, too, when I was dancing."
"They're a strange crew at the Grange," I observed, lighting11 a cigarette from the case which Leonard had thrown me. "I can't altogether size them up."
Rose turned towards me reproachfully.
"You are becoming obsessed12, Maurice, with your love of adventures," she complained gently. "You think of nothing else. Surely, in this dear, old-world place we can have a little rest; we can drop the tenseness of the last few months and become just simple, natural human beings again."
"The chief didn't send us down here for nothing," I ventured.
"Don't forget," she reminded me, "that at our last supper at Brighton I begged for a little rest. Only a few weeks afterwards, he sent us here. I am quite certain that nothing ever happened at Greymarshes. If we get[Pg 169] into any trouble here, it will simply be because the spring is so disturbing."
She looked at me lazily, almost affectionately. Then she looked at Leonard. His hat was tilted13 over his eyes and his hands were clasped around his knees. There was very little of his good-natured, pudgy face to be seen.
"I wonder," she continued, with a little sigh, "why neither of you ever make love to me. I'm very attractive."
"The situation," Leonard began, taking his hat off and sitting up——
"Oh, hang the situation!" Rose interrupted irritably14. "If you can't make up your minds which of you it is to be, you might toss up or something. Here's spring coming on. I'm twenty-two years old, and I haven't got a young man. You will drive me to answer some of the desperate notes which are showered upon me by lovesick youths from the front row. I had another last night from Arthur. I believe that he really loves me."
"I'm afraid Arthur will have to be spanked," I said.
"There is such a thing, Mr. Maurice Lister," she declared, "as playing the watchdog just a little too zealously—especially in the springtime. See who's coming. I think I shall turn round and smile."
We both looked along the sands in the direction which she had indicated by her parasol. A tall, weedy young man, dressed with the utmost care in a grey flannel4 suit, brown shoes and linen16 spats17, a Panama hat and a quaintly18 impossible tie, came slowly towards us, swinging a stick in his hand. As he drew near, he diffused19 multitudinous odours. His pimply20 face was suffused21 with a deep flow of colour. We realised at once what was going to happen. The young man whom we knew by repute only as Mr. Arthur Dompers, established at the Grange with a tutor and a small company of satellites, had evidently made up his mind to speak to us.
He came to a standstill, sidled round to the front of us, and raised his hat.
"Good morning! I say, you'll forgive my[Pg 171] saying so—what? Awfully22 jolly show of yours! Ripping!"
Now I cannot say that any of us took to this young man, and, considering our Bohemian manner of life, we none of us had a fancy for chance acquaintances. The gentle rebuke23 which we had meditated24, however, died away, first on Rose's lips and then on mine. It became apparent to us that the boy was horribly nervous.
"Glad you like it," I rejoined.
"So nice of you," Rose murmured.
"Quite a crowd from your place last night, wasn't there?" Leonard observed.
"That's right," the young man acquiesced25. "We all weighed in—had dinner early on purpose. Jolly place you've got here."
"Won't you sit down?" Rose invited.
The boy squatted26 promptly27 at her feet. He wore pink socks and he reeked28 of scent5, yet there was something a little pathetic in his obvious desire to be friendly.
"I was supposed to go in for the Army,"[Pg 172] was the dubious30 reply, "but the exams are so jolly difficult. I failed for Sandhurst twice. Now they're trying to get me in at Cambridge so that I can join a cadet corps31."
"The exams are so much stiffer since the war," Rose remarked consolingly.
The boy shook his head.
"I haven't any people to speak of," he confided33, "except an uncle I have scarcely ever seen. Another uncle—my father's brother—left me all my money. Sometimes," the young man added, with a queer flash of seriousness which made one forget his socks and his tie and his pimples34, "I wish he hadn't."
"It must be awfully nice, though, to feel that you've plenty of time in life for games and all that sort of thing," Rose remarked, with a mild attempt at consolation35.
"I'm not very good at games," the young man confessed. "Mr. Duncombe and his friends are so much better than I am, and they always laugh at me."
[Pg 173]"That is a very untutorlike thing to do," Rose declared indignantly.
The young man looked frightened.
"Mr. Duncombe is very good to me—very kind indeed," he repeated, in parrot-like fashion.
"He has no end of people down so that we shouldn't be dull," the young man went on. "There's his sister—she's very kind to me, too. I think I shall have to marry her."
"Why?" Rose asked in bewilderment.
"I think Mr. Duncombe would like me to," was the resigned reply. "I am very fond of Ella. She sings and dances beautifully."
"How old are you?" Rose enquired.
The boy seemed on the point of making another parrot-like reply. Then he chanced to meet the kindly37 expression in Rose's face as she leaned towards him. He hesitated.
"There's a sort of secret about my age," he confided. "Mr. Duncombe likes me to tell every one that I am twenty."
He shook his head.
[Pg 174]"I shall be twenty-one on Saturday," he said. "I shall be able to sign cheques of my own then—and make my will."
"What do you want to make your will for?" Rose asked. "You're strong enough, aren't you?"
"It is the duty of every one with a great deal of money to make their will directly they are twenty-one," the boy declared, as though repeating a lesson. "If I had my own way," he added, looking up at Rose, "I should leave a great deal of money to you, but I don't suppose I shall be allowed to."
"Good gracious, Mr. Dompers!" Rose exclaimed. "Why, I scarcely know you!"
"I like your face," the young man continued earnestly. "If you saw the faces of the people who are staying at the Grange, you would know what I mean. They all look as though they wanted something. They remind me sometimes of a pack of hounds. And they pretend not to, but they are always watching me."
We had been so engrossed39 in the self-disclosures of this half-witted young man that we had not noticed the approach of another prom[Pg 175]enader along the sands. It was a very different person who now accosted40 us, hat in hand and a courteous41 smile upon his lips. There was not a single criticism in which the most fastidious might indulge against Hilary Duncombe's address, his manners or his clothes.
The young man scrambled42 at once to his feet and stood, awkward and speechless, a little apart. His tutor, the very prototype of kindly and aristocratic ease, addressed a few kindly remarks to us.
"I am so thankful," he went on, "when Arthur finds courage to speak to any one. He is a good boy, but he finds conversation with strangers as a rule difficult."
"We haven't found him at all shy," Rose assured him, with a smile at the subject of these remarks. "On the contrary, he has been entertaining us quite nicely."
"You are very kind," he said. "I am sure[Pg 176] that Arthur has already told you how charmed we were with your performance last night. My guests are agitating46 for a permanent change in our dinner hour, that we may be more frequent attendants."
"How nice!" Rose murmured. "It does make quite a difference to see some civilised people in the reserved seats."
"My sister," Duncombe continued, "would be delighted to make your acquaintance. We may, perhaps, persuade you to pay us a little visit at the Grange after the performance one evening. Arthur," he went on, "we must get back now. Ella is waiting for a set of tennis."
They moved off together. The impression they left behind was an unpleasant one.
"A second Ardalmont case," Leonard suggested.
"In which case," I reflected gloomily, "the mystery of our presence here is solved."
We were a little depressed47 as we returned to the hotel—a long, grey-stone building, once a farmhouse48 and still entirely49 unpretentious. Our worst prognostications were promptly verified. The maidservant who[Pg 177] waited upon us in the coffee room brought me a note with a typewritten address.
"This was left here by a motor-cyclist soon after you went out, sir," she announced.
I tore open the envelope and we pored over it:
Accept any hospitality proffered50 from the Grange. Encourage the young man, Arthur Dompers, to talk, watch Duncombe, and report on the situation.
"Dull as ditchwater!" I exclaimed, as I tore up the communication in disgust. "An unprepossessing cub51 of a boy, whom his tutor permits to be fleeced at billiards52 and whom he is probably going to marry to his sister. Sordid53 as it can be. Not a thrill in it for us."
"This may be my show," Rose mused54, her blue eyes very wide open and innocent. "I may be able to guide the young man from the matrimonial noose55. I wonder if he is really very rich. Perhaps I'll marry him myself. I suppose I could keep him on a chain."
I sipped56 my apéritif gloomily. The taste of true adventures was still upon my palate, and the obviousness of this one repelled57.
[Pg 178]Our ideas as to the menacing nature of Arthur Dompers' surroundings were to some extent modified by our first visit to the Grange, which took place that night after the performance. Ella Duncombe was a rather slangy, somewhat unpleasant-looking young woman of apparently58 twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age. She had a bad temper, which she scarcely troubled to conceal59, and conducted herself generally towards her brother's charge with more contempt than toleration. She scarcely fulfilled one's idea of an adventuress. Major Lethwaite, a guest in the house whom we had fixed60 upon as the person accustomed to play Arthur Dompers for a hundred pounds at billiards whenever finances ran low, was to all appearance a perfectly61 harmless person who played sixpenny points at bridge and thought sixpenny pool excessive. Laura Richardson, a friend of Ella's, was just an ordinary, fairly well-bred, good-looking but rather boisterous62 young person. Mrs. Scatterwell, whose place apparently was that of chaperon, was a handsome and rather silent woman, whose sole interest[Pg 179] seemed to be centred in Duncombe himself. The ménage was perhaps a curious one, but scarcely suspicious. Our host himself appeared to have no reserves except on the subject of his young charge.
"After the war was a bit of a knock for most of us," he remarked meditatively63, as we men sat in the smoking room of the Grange after a very excellent supper. "Here are you, Lister, with a game arm, going round the country entertaining, more or less, I take it, for your living. I tried every job that was offered me and did very little good at any of them. Last of all I took this bear-leading on, and, between you and me, I sometimes wish to God I hadn't!"
"He seems so," Duncombe assented65 drily, "but the fact of it is that he is innately66 clumsy and innately deceitful. There is no sport for which he shows the least aptitude67. I've tried them all with the same result. The only thing he can do is swim, and even then it's hard work to get him into the sea unless the sun shines.[Pg 180] He hasn't the slightest taste; I am bound by the trustees' deed to allow him pocket money at the rate of a hundred pounds a month, and half of it he spends in buying most outrageous68 clothes. You know who he is, I suppose?"
"Not an idea," I replied.
"Dear me!" he exclaimed. "I took it for granted that you knew the story. He is the Welsh miner's orphan70, who inherited two and a quarter million from Jacob Dompers of New York. A nice little windfall for a cub like this, isn't it?"
I remembered reading the story in the newspapers some years ago. So did Leonard.
"What about his relatives?" the latter asked.
"The only one with whom I have had any communication," Duncombe replied, "was a Welsh Baptist Minister who declined to have anything to say to the young man, and who wrote me on half a sheet of brown grocery paper, pointing out by means of many Biblical texts that no person with a banking71 ac[Pg 181]count could hope to escape the flames of the bottomless pit."
"Who placed the boy in your charge, then?" I enquired.
"The London agents for the New York solicitors72. I answered an advertisement. I think they realise," he went on, "that I have done my best. I have tried to fit him for one or two professions, in vain."
"How long have you had him?" Leonard asked.
Duncombe's long fingers played for a moment with his small black moustache. There was a quick light in his eyes as he glanced towards Leonard.
"Three years this June," he answered.
"Then he was sixteen when he came to you?"
Duncombe assented with a little motion of his head.
"You probably think that he is backward now for nineteen," he said. "You should have seen him when he came to me."
"I suppose he is backward," I admitted,[Pg 182] "and yet, to tell you the truth, I should have thought him older."
"His twentieth birthday is this week," Duncombe told us. "I am getting a thousand a year and my expenses for looking after him, and I haven't any prospects73 of a job when he is out of my hands, but I wish to heavens it was his twenty-first!—I suppose we ought to see what the others are doing."
We made our way out into the hall, which was the main living room of the Grange. Arthur was playing billiards with Lethwaite, playing sullenly75 and without interest, and turning around after every stroke to listen to the conversation between Rose and the other two girls, who were seated upon a lounge, watching. Lethwaite, just as we appeared, went out with a stroke which was an obvious fluke. Arthur flung half a crown across the table and put up his cue ill-humoredly.
He strode over with his hands in his pockets to where Rose was seated. Miss Duncombe[Pg 183] watched him approach with a sombre light in her dark eyes.
"Bad-tempered78 again, Arthur?" she observed.
"He's a rotten fluker," the young man rejoined surlily. "He wins all my pocket money."
For a single moment the whole situation seemed to be commonplace, almost absurd. Here was a sulky, ill-conditioned boy, pitchforked into the charge of a very ordinary little company of gentlepeople, who were doing their best to make him one of themselves. Duncombe's rebuke was free from all severity, and it was certainly merited.
"Arthur," he said, "you should never accuse your opponent of fluking at any game. Take your defeat in silence if you cannot be pleasant about it. Mr. Lister or Mr. Cotton would tell you that I am giving you good advice."
"It was rather hard lines," Rose remarked, smiling up at him.
The change in the boy's face was almost amazing.
[Pg 184]"You see, I was ninety-eight," he explained, "and that's the seventh half-crown I've lost following, just on the last stroke—Miss Mindel—I say—would you sing something?"
Rose got up and made her way to the piano, followed by the young man. For a moment I saw precisely79 the look in Miss Duncombe's dark eyes as had flashed in her brother's a few minutes before, a look, I fancied, of patient but subdued80 malevolence81. Almost as I realised it, however, it passed. She motioned me to sit by her side.
"Mr. Lister," she said, "I envy you your profession. I think that anything in the world must be better than being bear-leader to a boy like Arthur."
"Your brother seems to have quite a great deal of influence over him," I observed.
"As much as any one could have, perhaps," she agreed. "After all, what can one expect? You can't make bricks without straw, and it's hard to give even the appearance of a gentleman to the son of a Welsh miner. Look at him now!"
[Pg 185]Arthur was standing82 by the piano, listening to Rose, who had commenced to sing. He was awkward, self-conscious and ill at ease. He kept on thrusting his hands into his pockets and taking them out again. There was an expression in his eyes which angered me.
"I suppose he's rather a handful," I said.
Duncombe, who had been strolling about the room, joined us just in time to hear the last remark.
"He is that," he admitted, "and yet, after all, I suppose I ought not to grumble77. I'm well enough paid for looking after him. A word with you, Lister."
He drew me away to the farther end of the room. We stepped out of the open window on to the broad gravel83 path. It was a soft, dark night, with jagged masses of black cloud stretched across the sky. Below us was the sandy beach, and away westwards we could hear the waves crashing amongst the rocks of the Greymarshes Bay.
"It's like this, you see, Lister," Duncombe began, speaking a little jerkily and watching me closely. "I've an agreement to look after[Pg 186] this cub for five years—a thousand a year and every mortal expense. I must say the lawyers are generous about expenses. I don't mind admitting that they cover the whole cost of my housekeeping, and I'm able to save practically the lot. I'm going in for fruit farming when the job comes to an end, but the boy's health is uncertain. I can't help wondering what would happen to me if he were to die."
"I suppose," I ventured, "that your job would come to an end."
"I couldn't afford that," Duncombe declared. "I want to secure against it if I can. You're a stranger. You can look at this matter with an open mind. What do you think about insuring his life for, say, five or ten thousand pounds?"
"I wouldn't think of it," I told him bluntly, "while the boy is under your charge."
He seemed disappointed, but he nodded understandingly.
"Strikes you like that, does it?" he sighed. "Well, I was afraid it might. I expect you're right, too. Reminiscent of the Ardalmont mystery, and all that sort of thing, eh?"
[Pg 187]"As you say," I assented, a little grimly.
The three of us were inclined to be gloomy during our walk home.
"They're all right in their way," Leonard observed dubiously86, "but they seem all of them to hate their job so. If they're paid for looking after that young cub, they ought to stomach their prejudices and do it."
"I don't like him," Rose pronounced abruptly87. "I thought he was just simple and foolish at first, but I've come to the conclusion that I don't like him. There isn't a single member of the household I do like. They're just sordid and peevish88. I think the chief might have found us something better to do."
"Perhaps he looks upon this in the light of a holiday task," I suggested.
Rose had a flash of inspiration just then. She passed her arm through mine, and notwithstanding the warm wind, she shivered a little.
"There is just one person in that household," she said, "of whom I am terrified."
[Pg 188]"Who is it?" Leonard asked.
She shook her head.
"Wait," she begged.
A few days later, we were invited to a picnic party at Greymarshes Bay to celebrate Arthur's supposed twentieth birthday. Duncombe had hired a little petrol launch, and we took our lunch and bathing clothes along the coast. It was a hot, almost breathless day, and we entered the water eagerly for our pre-luncheon89 bathe. Every one except Mrs. Scatterwell bathed, and she busied herself with one of the servants, preparing luncheon in a shady spot. Somehow or other, perhaps because of the brilliancy of the weather, every one was in better spirits. Even Duncombe and his pupil seemed to be on quite good terms. They vied with one another in diving feats90, and Arthur, exulting91 in his one accomplishment92, clambered up the rocks more than once to a considerable height, before he made his plunge93. Presently, however, we all tired a little of the sport. Rose was already dressing94 in a convenient cave. I was lying at full length, enjoying a sun bath on the shingle95, when I heard Dun[Pg 189]combe's voice from behind a great rocky promontory96 jutting97 out from the sea a little to my left.
"One more, Arthur. I've found a new place. It's the best of the lot."
I watched the young man climb obediently up the jagged boulder98 of rock. The topmost ledge99 must have been at least twenty or thirty feet high, and he was well on his way to it, with his back turned to me, when I became conscious of a queer feeling of apprehension100. The space of water into which Arthur was to plunge was out of my sight, but there was a little foam101 at the corner, and I remembered how once on a stormy day I had stood and seen the broken waves thunder along this opening. I rose to my feet, waded102 in as far as I could, and swam on my side towards the promontory. Arthur by now had reached the summit and was cautiously scrambling104 to his feet. There was no sign anywhere of Duncombe. I swam on a few more strokes, until I was suddenly conscious of a current. I swam round it, until I was directly facing Arthur,[Pg 190] now standing upright and commencing to poise105.
"Wait a moment, Arthur," I called out.
"Get out of the way, then," he replied. "I'm coming over. Where's Duncombe?"
I looked around but there was no sign of him, yet I knew very well that he could not be more than a few yards away.
"One moment, Arthur," I shouted back.
He dropped his arms and stood there impatiently. The water beneath me was a green colour, full and sullen74, but there were little eddies106 which I could not understand considering the width of the channel. Then, with a shock which, notwithstanding the hot sun, brought a shiver of fear through my body, I discovered the truth. Scarcely three feet under water was a long line of jagged rock. I turned over on my back and held up my hand.
"Arthur!"
"Get out of the way, will you?" he shouted. "I'm coming."
His hands were already upraised. There was no time for anything but the truth.
[Pg 191]
"Don't be a fool," I answered. "There's a submerged rock right across here. You couldn't miss it. Climb down, do you hear?"
His arms fell to his sides. For a single moment he stood there, immovable. Not even his youth, his bathing costume, and the clear background of blue sky and sunlit air could lend him any grace of form or outline. He seemed, indeed, from his short neck and hunched107 shoulders, as he turned away, almost deformed108. I looked all around. There was no sign anywhere of Duncombe. I raised my voice and shouted.
"Hello, Duncombe!"
I heard a splash, as though he had slipped off the ledge of the rock behind me. Presently he came swimming round the corner.
"What's the matter?" he shouted. "And where's Arthur?"
"He's climbing down from that rock," I answered, as Duncombe came alongside. "I've just stopped his diving into this pool."
"Why?"
He was by my side now and I pointed84 down[Pg 192]wards to the dark line of cruelly jagged rock. He looked for a moment concerned.
"Jove, I've never noticed those!" he muttered.
"They're barely three feet," I answered. "I can reach them."
Duncombe turned over on his back. We were in the shadow, almost surrounded by rocks. The voices of the others, preparing the lunch, sounded a long way away. I suddenly felt as though I were cut off, as though I could read the thoughts at the back of this man's brain, as though I myself were in danger. All the time he was drawing a little closer to me.
Leonard and Ella Duncombe suddenly appeared upon the summit of one of the lower ranges of rocks.
"Come along to lunch," the former shouted.
The moment had passed. Duncombe began to swim vigorously for the shore. He was quite himself when he stepped out on to the sand.
"I wouldn't make a fuss about that, if I were you, Lister," he suggested. "It looks as though I weren't careful enough. As a[Pg 193] matter of fact, I don't think the boy would have come to any harm."
Arthur was seated by himself on the sands, his arms clenched109 around his knees, his face turned away from all of us. He seemed to have ignored the summons to prepare for lunch.
"Probably not," I answered, trying to speak in as unconcerned a tone as possible. "Boys and drunken men have a wonderful knack110 of avoiding accidents."
"Come along," he said, "they're waiting luncheon for us."
Arthur turned and looked at him. I could not say that there was anything either malicious112 or reproachful in that look, and yet it worried me. He made no answer in words. A few moments later, however, he scrambled to his feet and went to the rock behind which his clothes were lying.
Duncombe seemed determined113 that nothing which had happened should interfere114 with the success of the picnic. He abandoned all his[Pg 194] reserve, related anecdotes115, chaffed everybody in turn, opened wine, and absolutely created an atmosphere of pleasure. Leonard told stories and Rose sang to us and danced upon the sands. Arthur, after a preliminary fit of gloom, drank far too much champagne116 for his age and became, in his rather clumsy way, as light-hearted as the rest. He and Ella sat for some time apart from the others, his arm drawn117 through hers, until presently they wandered off together to look for Venetian shells, the spoils of some long-forgotten shipwreck118. On the whole, the excursion which I had seen foredoomed to failure, turned out a great success. Duncombe only once, during the rest of the afternoon, referred to the disturbing subject.
"You don't suppose," he suggested, "that Arthur is thinking any more about that little affair, eh?"
"Why should he?" I answered coolly. "He must know that you made a mistake."
"Naturally," Duncombe assented. "I still don't think he'd have come to any harm unless[Pg 195] he bungled119 his dive, but I'm glad, all the same, that you noticed the rocks."
That marked the end of the incidents worthy120 of note connected with the picnic, except that Arthur and Ella stayed away for over an hour, and that when they returned she was clinging to his arm with an almost protective air. That night, for the first time, not a single member from the Grange turned up at our performance.
Somehow or other, when I started for my customary early morning walk on the following day, I knew that there was tragedy in the air. A strange mist, presage121 of storm and heat, hung like an oppressive curtain over the land and stretched out seawards. I almost regretted, as I stood at the end of the little jetty, that I had not departed from my usual custom and bathed. The thought made me look back towards the shore. Duncombe, in his dressing gown, had just left the gardens of the Grange and was descending122 the shingle to the sands. I watched him throw off his gown and wade103 into the water. Presently he turned on his side and began swimming slowly[Pg 196] out. Watching him, I felt more than ever inclined to go and fetch my own bathing clothes. Then, as I hesitated, I noticed Arthur, following through the Grange gardens, scramble43 down the shingle, throw off his dressing gown and also plunge into the sea. Something a little furtive123 about the manner in which he made his way across the lawn, keeping always to the side of the hedge as though to escape observation, and his subsequent almost crawling progress along the shingle, puzzled me. I had been down here many mornings, but I had never seen Arthur bathing before. He was in the water now, and swimming out with long, powerful strokes towards Duncombe.
Whilst Arthur was still almost undistinguishable in the sea, and Duncombe was lying lazily on his back, as yet unconscious of his pupil's approach, I began to feel my first misgivings124. There was something unnatural125 in the very atmosphere that morning, the sulphurous gloom, the entire absence of sunshine, the still, oily water. I found myself straining my eyes to catch a nearer glimpse of the boy's[Pg 197] face, asking myself all the time why he had chosen this particular morning to bathe for the first time before breakfast. Nearer and nearer he came. He passed me within a matter of fifty yards, but he took no notice of my shout of greeting. Then, as he rolled from side to side, I caught a glimpse of his face. He seemed to be swimming in entire unconsciousness of any physical effort. His chin was a little protruded126, his eyes were fixed in an unnatural stare upon the spot where Duncombe lay floating. For a moment or two I felt a queer sensation of helplessness. I called out again, and I knew this time, although I would not acknowledge it to myself, that my cry was meant to be a warning to Duncombe. He heard me, turned over on his side, and to my horror began to swim away from the approaching form, to swim away like a man in fear.
I really did all that a man could do. Attached by a rope to the end of the jetty were several rowing boats. I unfastened one, clambered down some steps and jumped into it. As I swung it round, I was just in time to see the boy alter his pace a little, as though to[Pg 198] intercept127 Duncombe, who had made for the jetty. Duncombe, seeing himself cut off, hesitated. I held up my hand and shouted.
Arthur took not the slightest notice of me. He was now within a yard or so of Duncombe, and he suddenly seemed to raise himself from the water. I had no doubt whatever then but that this was tragedy. His mouth was opened, and his rather prominent teeth showed in a wholly animal fashion. His eyes seemed like specks129 of fire. He was by the side of Duncombe now, and from where I was I can only say that it seemed to me as though he sprang at him just as a sea cat might have done, if such a creature had ever existed. His arms went round the other man's neck, his legs around his loins. Then for the first time Duncombe cried out, a horrible cry, the cry of a man face to face with a hideous130 death, a cry which died away only as the water filled his mouth. Very slowly, Duncombe struggling in the other's pitiless clasp like a weakling in the grip of an octopus131, the two bodies disappeared.[Pg 199] I rowed about for more than half an hour without seeing a sign of either. They were washed up two days later.
The supper at a Midland Hotel, where our chief bade us meet him a few evenings later, was one of the least festive132 of all our meetings. Our depression was so noticeable that he presently commented upon it.
"For whom this sorrow?" he enquired coldly. "For the tutor or his charge?"
"For the boy," Rose declared. "After all, he was very young."
"I'm sorry for Duncombe," Leonard admitted frankly133. "Whatever he'd been up to, it was the most horrible death any one could die."
"I'm sorry for both," I insisted. "I think that somehow we ought to have prevented it."
Mr. Thomson looked at us, one by one, out of his bright piercing eyes. It was obvious that he was out of sympathy with us.
"I continually forget," he said coldly, "that I have to deal with sentimentalists. No person who looked upon life from a sane134 point of[Pg 200] view, and who possessed135 full knowledge of all the facts, could possibly regret the departure of either of them."
"Was Duncombe's story really true?" Rose asked.
"This one is, at any rate," our host replied. "Arthur Dompers was the orphan son of a Welsh miner. When he was fourteen years of age, a relative in America died intestate and this boy was discovered to be the heir. Some lawyers in London were entrusted136 with the charge of him. He was sent to four private schools, from each one of which he was expelled. Three tutors one by one relinquished137 the task of training him up in the way he should go. Duncombe was the fourth."
"Tell us about Mr. Duncombe, please," Rose begged.
"Duncombe was one of those criminals who are too clever to come under the ban of the law," Thomson continued. "He was also a person against whom I had a very strong grievance138. When I heard that the boy, Arthur Dompers, had been committed to his charge, I felt that, if carefully watched, Duncombe's[Pg 201] time had come at last. By some irony139 of fate, the fortune left to Arthur Dompers became trebled and quadrupled in the hands of his trustees. Duncombe's appetite for plunder140, already insatiable, must have become a fever. He was clever, though. He bided141 his time. For three years he had charge of Arthur Dompers, and during that three years he improved him immensely. It was perfectly clear what he was waiting for—for the only period when the boy could be of real service to him—namely after his twenty-first birthday. He made his plans a long way ahead. With great cunning he kept secret the day of the boy's majority. You attended a picnic, I think—a birthday party?"
"It was supposed to be his twentieth birthday," Leonard observed.
"In reality his twenty-first," Thomson went on. "On the morning of that day, the boy made his will, leaving the bulk of his estate to Ella Duncombe, and large legacies142 to the rest of the family. He also left a letter addressed to Ella Duncombe, in which he made clear the relations between them and spoke of[Pg 202] their impending143 marriage. With those documents in his possession, Duncombe had no more use for the boy. There is no doubt, from your report, Lister, that he deliberately144 made his first attempt upon his life on that very morning. There is no doubt, also, that the boy, half-witted though he was, in his sullen way saw through the whole thing. His hate for Duncombe became a slow-burning passion—and there, I think, is the story of the tragedy."
"And the will?" I asked.
"It was committed to the flames on the morning of the tragedy by Duncombe's sister—also the letter. The estate goes to the Crown."
Rose sighed.
"All that money and no one any better off!"
"The lawyers to the estate," he told us, "have made over ten thousand pounds to the Duncombe family."
I took my courage into my hands.
"I know your attitude towards questions, sir," I said, "but I feel bound to ask you[Pg 203] one concerning this episode. What on earth did you expect to gain by bringing us in touch with it?"
Our host sipped his wine thoughtfully.
"I do not welcome questions," he admitted, "but bearing in mind the fact that this affair has been without any features of interest for you, I will reply. I knew perfectly well that Duncombe would make some attempt upon the life of Arthur Dompers. You were there to watch for it. You succeeded. Your report would have released the boy from Duncombe's control. Events, however, marched too quickly."
"On whose behalf, then, were we acting," Leonard asked, "you and all of us? Were we philanthropists or detectives?"
Our host shrugged his shoulders and helped himself to a cigar.
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1
ozone
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| n.臭氧，新鲜空气 | |
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2
rippled
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| 使泛起涟漪（ripple的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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flannels
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| 法兰绒男裤； 法兰绒( flannel的名词复数 ) | |
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flannel
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| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
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5
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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6
ruminated
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| v.沉思( ruminate的过去式和过去分词 )；反复考虑；反刍；倒嚼 | |
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scoffed
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| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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8
villains
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| n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼 | |
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9
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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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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11
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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12
obsessed
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| adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的 | |
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13
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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14
irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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15
grimace
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| v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭 | |
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16
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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17
spats
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| n.口角( spat的名词复数 )；小争吵；鞋罩；鞋套v.spit的过去式和过去分词( spat的第三人称单数 )；口角；小争吵；鞋罩 | |
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18
quaintly
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| adv.古怪离奇地 | |
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19
diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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20
pimply
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| adj.肿泡的；有疙瘩的；多粉刺的；有丘疹的 | |
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21
suffused
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| v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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22
awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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23
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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24
meditated
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| 深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑 | |
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25
acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
squatted
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| v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的过去式和过去分词 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。 | |
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27
promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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28
reeked
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| v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的过去式和过去分词 )；散发臭气；发出难闻的气味 (of sth)；明显带有（令人不快或生疑的跡象） | |
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29
cramming
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| n.塞满，填鸭式的用功v.塞入( cram的现在分词 )；填塞；塞满；（为考试而）死记硬背功课 | |
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30
dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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31
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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32
enquired
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| 打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问 | |
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33
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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34
pimples
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| n.丘疹，粉刺，小脓疱( pimple的名词复数 ) | |
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35
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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36
queried
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| v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的过去式和过去分词 )；询问 | |
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37
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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38
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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39
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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40
accosted
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| v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭 | |
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41
courteous
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| adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的 | |
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42
scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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43
scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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44
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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45
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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46
agitating
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| 搅动( agitate的现在分词 )； 激怒； 使焦虑不安； （尤指为法律、社会状况的改变而）激烈争论 | |
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47
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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48
farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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49
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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50
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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51
cub
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| n.幼兽，年轻无经验的人 | |
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52
billiards
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| n.台球 | |
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53
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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54
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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55
noose
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| n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑 | |
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56
sipped
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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57
repelled
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| v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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58
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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59
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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60
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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61
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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62
boisterous
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| adj.喧闹的，欢闹的 | |
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63
meditatively
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| adv.冥想地 | |
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64
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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65
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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66
innately
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| adv.天赋地；内在地，固有地 | |
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67
aptitude
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| n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资 | |
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68
outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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69
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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70
orphan
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| n.孤儿；adj.无父母的 | |
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71
banking
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| n.银行业，银行学，金融业 | |
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72
solicitors
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| 初级律师( solicitor的名词复数 ) | |
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73
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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74
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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75
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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76
grumbled
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| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
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77
grumble
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| vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声 | |
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78
bad-tempered
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| adj.脾气坏的 | |
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79
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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80
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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81
malevolence
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| n.恶意，狠毒 | |
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82
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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83
gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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84
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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85
detest
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| vt.痛恨，憎恶 | |
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86
dubiously
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| adv.可疑地，怀疑地 | |
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87
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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88
peevish
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| adj.易怒的，坏脾气的 | |
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89
luncheon
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| n.午宴，午餐，便宴 | |
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90
feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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91
exulting
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| vi. 欢欣鼓舞，狂喜 | |
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92
accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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93
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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94
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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95
shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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96
promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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97
jutting
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| v.（使）突出( jut的现在分词 )；伸出；（从…）突出；高出 | |
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98
boulder
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| n.巨砾；卵石，圆石 | |
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99
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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100
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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101
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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102
waded
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| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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103
wade
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| v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉 | |
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104
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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105
poise
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| vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信 | |
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106
eddies
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| （水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 ) | |
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107
hunched
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| （常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的 | |
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108
deformed
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| adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的 | |
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109
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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110
knack
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| n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法 | |
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111
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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malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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114
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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115
anecdotes
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| n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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116
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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117
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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118
shipwreck
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| n.船舶失事，海难 | |
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119
bungled
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| v.搞糟，完不成( bungle的过去式和过去分词 )；笨手笨脚地做；失败；完不成 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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121
presage
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| n.预感，不祥感；v.预示 | |
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122
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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124
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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protruded
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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127
intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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128
bawled
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| v.大叫，大喊( bawl的过去式和过去分词 )；放声大哭；大声叫出；叫卖（货物） | |
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129
specks
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| n.眼镜；斑点，微粒，污点( speck的名词复数 ) | |
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130
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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131
octopus
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| n.章鱼 | |
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132
festive
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| adj.欢宴的，节日的 | |
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133
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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134
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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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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relinquished
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| 交出，让给( relinquish的过去式和过去分词 )； 放弃 | |
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138
grievance
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| n.怨愤，气恼，委屈 | |
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139
irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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140
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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141
bided
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| v.等待，停留( bide的过去式 )；居住；等待；面临 | |
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142
legacies
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| n.遗产( legacy的名词复数 )；遗留之物；遗留问题；后遗症 | |
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143
impending
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| a.imminent, about to come or happen | |
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144
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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145
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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conundrum
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| n.谜语；难题 | |
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