LL the books were now once more assembled in the pious3 keeping of Monsieur Sariette. But this happy reunion was not destined4 to last. The following night twenty volumes left their places, among them the Lucretius of Prior de Vend5?me. Within a week the old Hebrew and Greek texts had all returned to the summer-house, and every night during the ensuing month they left their shelves and secretly went on the same path. Others betook themselves no one knew whither.
On hearing of these mysterious occurrences, Monsieur René d'Esparvieu merely remarked with frigidity6 to his librarian:[55]
"My poor Sariette, all this is very queer, very queer indeed."
And when Monsieur Sariette tentatively advised him to lodge7 a formal complaint or to inform the Commissaire de Police, Monsieur d'Esparvieu cried out upon him:
"What are you suggesting, Monsieur Sariette? Divulge8 domestic secrets, make a scandal! You cannot mean it. I have enemies, and I am proud of it. I think I have deserved them. What I might complain about is that I am wounded in the house of my friend, attacked with unheard-of violence, by fervent10 loyalists, who, I grant you, are good Catholics, but exceedingly bad Christians11.... In a word, I am watched, spied upon, shadowed, and you suggest, Monsieur Sariette, that I should make a present of this comic-opera mystery, this burlesque12 adventure, this story in which we both cut somewhat pitiable figures, to a set of spiteful journalists? Do you wish to cover me with ridicule13?"
The result of the colloquy14 was that the two gentlemen agreed to change all the locks in the library. Estimates were asked for and workmen called in. For six weeks the d'Esparvieu household rang from morning till night with the sound of hammers, the hum of centre-bits, and the grating of files. Fires were always going in the abode15 of the philosophers and globes, and the people of the[56] house were simply sickened by the smell of heated oil. The old, smooth, easy-running locks were replaced, on the cupboards and doors of the rooms, by stubborn and tricky16 fastenings. There was nothing but combinations of locks, letter-padlocks, safety-bolts, bars, chains, and electric alarm-bells.
All this display of ironmongery inspired fear. The lock-cases glistened17, and there was much grinding of bolts. To gain access to a room, a cupboard, or a drawer, it was necessary to know a certain number, of which Monsieur Sariette alone was cognisant. His head was filled with bizarre words and tremendous numbers, and he got entangled18 among all these cryptic19 signs, these square, cubic, and triangular20 figures. He himself couldn't get the doors and the cupboards undone21, yet every morning he found them wide open, and the books thrown about, ransacked22, and hidden away. In the gutter23 of the Rue2 Servandoni a policeman picked up a volume of Salomon Reinach on the identity of Barabbas and Jesus Christ. As it bore the book-plate of the d'Esparvieu library he returned it to the owner.
Monsieur René d'Esparvieu, not even deigning24 to inform Monsieur Sariette of the fact, made up his mind to consult a magistrate25, a friend in whom he had complete confidence, to wit, a certain Monsieur des Aubels, Counsel at the Law Courts, who had put through many an important affair. He was[57] a little plump man, very red, very bald, with a cranium that shone like a billiard ball. He entered the library one morning feigning26 to come as a book-lover, but he soon showed that he knew nothing about books. While all the busts27 of the ancient philosophers were reflected in his shining pate28, he put divers29 insidious30 questions to Monsieur Sariette, who grew uncomfortable and turned red, for innocence31 is easily flustered32. From that moment Monsieur des Aubels had a mighty33 suspicion that Monsieur Sariette was the perpetrator of the very thefts he denounced with horror; and it immediately occurred to him to seek out the accomplices34 of the crime. As regards motives35, he did not trouble about them; motives are always to be found. Monsieur des Aubels told Monsieur René d'Esparvieu that, if he liked, he would have the house secretly watched by a detective from the Prefecture.
By six o'clock next morning Mignon was already walking up and down outside the d'Esparvieus' house, his head sunk between his shoulders, wearing love-locks which showed from under the narrow brim of his bowler37 hat, his eye cocked over his shoulder. He wore an enormous dull-black moustache, his hands and feet were huge; in fact, his whole appearance was distinctly memorable38. He[58] paced regularly up and down from the nearest of the big rams39' head pillars which adorn40 the H?tel de la Sordière to the end of the Rue Garancière, towards the apse of St. Sulpice Church and the dome9 of the Chapel41 of the Virgin42.
Henceforth it became impossible to enter or leave the d'Esparvieus' house without feeling that one's every action, that one's very thoughts, were being spied upon. Mignon was a prodigious43 person endowed with powers that Nature denies to other mortals. He neither ate nor slept. At all hours of the day and night, in wind and rain, he was to be found outside the house, and no one escaped the X-rays of his eye. One felt pierced through and through, penetrated44 to the very marrow45, worse than naked, bare as a skeleton. It was the affair of a moment; the detective did not even stop, but continued his everlasting46 walk. It became intolerable. Young Maurice threatened to leave the paternal47 roof if he was to be so radiographed. His mother and his sister Berthe complained of his piercing look; it offended the chaste48 modesty49 of their souls. Mademoiselle Caporal, young Léon d'Esparvieu's governess, felt an indescribable embarrassment50. Monsieur René d'Esparvieu was sick of the whole business. He never crossed his own threshold without crushing his hat over his eyes to avoid the investigating ray and without wishing old Sariette, the fons et origo[59] of all the evil, at the devil. The intimates of the household, such as Abbé Patouille and Uncle Gaétan, made themselves scarce; visitors gave up calling, tradespeople hesitated about leaving their goods, the carts belonging to the big shops scarcely dared stop. But it was among the domestics that the spying roused the most disorder51.
The footman, afraid, under the eye of the police, to go and join the cobbler's wife over her solitary52 labours in the afternoon, found the house unbearable53 and gave notice. Odile, Madame d'Esparvieu's lady's-maid, not daring, as was her custom after her mistress had retired54, to introduce Octave, the handsomest of the neighbouring bookseller's clerks, to her little room upstairs, grew melancholy55, irritable56 and nervous, pulled her mistress's hair while dressing57 it, spoke58 insolently59, and made advances to Monsieur Maurice. The cook, Madame Malgoire, a serious matron of some fifty years, having no more visits from Auguste, the wine-merchant's man in the Rue Servandoni, and being incapable60 of suffering a privation so contrary to her temperament61, went mad, sent up a raw rabbit to table, and announced that the Pope had asked her hand in marriage. At last, after a fortnight of superhuman assiduity, contrary to all known laws of organic life, and to the essential conditions of animal economy, Mignon, the detective, having observed nothing abnormal, ceased his surveillance[60] and withdrew without a word, refusing to accept a gratuity62. In the library the dance of the books became livelier than ever.
"That is all right," said Monsieur des Aubels. "Since nothing comes in nor goes out, the evil-doer must be in the house."
The magistrate thought it possible to discover the criminal without police-warrant or enquiry. On a date agreed upon at midnight, he had the floor of the library, the treads of the stairs, the vestibule, the garden path leading to Monsieur Maurice's summer-house, and the entrance hall of the latter, all covered with a coating of talc.
The following morning Monsieur des Aubels, assisted by a photographer from the Prefecture, and accompanied by Monsieur René d'Esparvieu and Monsieur Sariette, came to take the imprints63. They found nothing in the garden, the wind had blown away the coating of talc; nothing in the summer-house either. Young Maurice told them he thought it was some practical joke and that he had brushed away the white dust with the hearth-brush. The real truth was, he had effaced65 the traces left by the boots of Odile, the lady's-maid. On the stairs and in the library the very light print of a bare foot could be discerned, it seemed to have sprung into the air and to have touched the ground at rare intervals66 and without any pressure. They discovered five of these traces. The clearest was[61] to be found in the abode of the busts and spheres, on the edge of the table where the books were piled. The photographer took several negatives of this imprint64.
"This is more terrifying than anything else," murmured Monsieur Sariette.
Monsieur des Aubels did not hide his surprise.
Three days later the anthropometrical department of the Prefecture returned the proofs exhibited to them, saying that they were not in the records.
After dinner Monsieur René showed the photographs to his brother Gaétan, who examined them with profound attention, and after a long silence exclaimed:
"No wonder they have not got this at the Prefecture; it is the foot of a god or of an athlete of antiquity67. The sole that made this impression is of a perfection unknown to our races and our climates. It exhibits toes of exquisite68 grace, and a divine heel."
René d'Esparvieu cried out upon his brother for a madman.
"He is a poet," sighed Madame d'Esparvieu.
"Uncle," said Maurice, "you'll fall in love with this foot if you ever come across it."
"Such was the fate of Vivant Denon, who accompanied Bonaparte to Egypt," replied Gaétan.[62] "At Thebes, in a tomb violated by the Arabs, Denon found the little foot of a mummy of marvellous beauty. He contemplated69 it with extraordinary fervour, 'It is the foot of a young woman,' he pondered, 'of a princess—of a charming creature. No covering has ever marred70 its perfect shape.' Denon admired, adored, and loved it. You may see a drawing of this little foot in Denon's atlas71 of his journey to Egypt, whose leaves one could turn over upstairs, without going further afield, if only Monsieur Sariette would ever let us see a single volume of his library."
Sometimes, in bed, Maurice, waking in the middle of the night, thought he heard the sound of pages being turned over in the next room, and the thud of bound volumes falling on the floor.
One morning at five o'clock he was coming home from the club, after a night of bad luck, and while he stood outside the door of the summer-house, hunting in his pocket for his keys, his ears distinctly heard a voice sighing:
But entering the two rooms he saw nothing, and told himself that his ears must have deceived him.
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1
query
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| n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑 | |
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rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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3
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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vend
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| v.公开表明观点，出售，贩卖 | |
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frigidity
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| n.寒冷；冷淡；索然无味；（尤指妇女的）性感缺失 | |
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7
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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8
divulge
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| v.泄漏(秘密等)；宣布，公布 | |
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dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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10
fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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12
burlesque
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| v.嘲弄，戏仿；n.嘲弄，取笑，滑稽模仿 | |
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13
ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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14
colloquy
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| n.谈话，自由讨论 | |
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15
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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tricky
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| adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的 | |
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17
glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
entangled
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| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19
cryptic
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| adj.秘密的，神秘的，含义模糊的 | |
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20
triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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21
undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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22
ransacked
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| v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
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23
gutter
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| n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟 | |
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24
deigning
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| v.屈尊，俯就( deign的现在分词 ) | |
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25
magistrate
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| n.地方行政官，地方法官，治安官 | |
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26
feigning
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| 假装，伪装( feign的现在分词 )； 捏造（借口、理由等） | |
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27
busts
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| 半身雕塑像( bust的名词复数 )； 妇女的胸部； 胸围； 突击搜捕 | |
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28
pate
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| n.头顶；光顶 | |
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29
divers
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| adj.不同的；种种的 | |
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30
insidious
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| adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧 | |
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31
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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32
flustered
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| adj.慌张的；激动不安的v.使慌乱，使不安( fluster的过去式和过去分词) | |
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33
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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34
accomplices
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| 从犯，帮凶，同谋( accomplice的名词复数 ) | |
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35
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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36
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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37
bowler
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| n.打保龄球的人，（板球的）投（球）手 | |
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38
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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39
rams
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| n.公羊( ram的名词复数 )；(R-)白羊（星）座；夯；攻城槌v.夯实（土等）( ram的第三人称单数 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
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40
adorn
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| vt.使美化，装饰 | |
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41
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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42
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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43
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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44
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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45
marrow
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| n.骨髓；精华；活力 | |
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46
everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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47
paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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48
chaste
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| adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的 | |
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49
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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50
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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51
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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52
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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53
unbearable
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| adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的 | |
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54
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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55
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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56
irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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57
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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58
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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59
insolently
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| adv.自豪地，自傲地 | |
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60
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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61
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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62
gratuity
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| n.赏钱，小费 | |
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63
imprints
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| n.压印( imprint的名词复数 )；痕迹；持久影响 | |
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64
imprint
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| n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记 | |
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65
effaced
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| v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；超越；使黯然失色 | |
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66
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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67
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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68
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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69
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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70
marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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71
atlas
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| n.地图册，图表集 | |
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72
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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