This was so even when life was running calmly for him and without excitement. To-night, his mind, bearing the load it did, firmly declined even to consider the question of slumber4. The hour of two, chiming from the clock over the stables, found him as wide awake as ever he was at high noon.
Lying in bed in the darkness, he reviewed the situation as far as he had the data. Shortly before he retired5, Miss Simmons had made her report about the bedrooms. Though subjected to the severest scrutiny6, neither Psmith’s boudoir nor Cootes’s attic7 nor Eve’s little nook on the third floor had yielded up treasure of any[p. 246] description. And this, Miss Simmons held, confirmed her original view that the necklace must be lying concealed8 in what might almost be called a public spot—on some window-ledge, maybe, or somewhere in the hall. . . .
Baxter lay considering this theory. It did appear to be the only tenable one; but it offended him by giving the search a frivolous9 suggestion of being some sort of round game like Hunt the Slipper10 or Find the Thimble. As a child he had held austerely11 aloof12 from these silly pastimes, and he resented being compelled to play them now. Still . . .
He sat up, thinking. He had heard a noise.
* * * * *
The attitude of the majority of people towards noises in the night is one of cautious non-interference. But Rupert Baxter was made of sterner stuff. The sound had seemed to come from downstairs somewhere—perhaps from that very hall where, according to Miss Simmons, the stolen necklace might even now be lying hid. Whatever it was, it must certainly not be ignored. He reached for the spectacles which lay ever ready to his hand on the table beside him: then climbed out of bed, and, having put on a pair of slippers13 and opened the door, crept forth14 into the darkness. As far as he could ascertain15 by holding his breath and straining his ears, all was still from cellar to roof; but nevertheless he was not satisfied. He continued to listen. His room was on the second floor, one of a series that ran along a balcony overlooking the hall; and he stood, leaning over the balcony rail, a silent statue of Vigilance.
* * * * *
The noise which had acted so electrically upon the[p. 247] Efficient Baxter had been a particularly noisy noise; and only the intervening distance and the fact that his door was closed had prevented it sounding to him like an explosion. It had been caused by the crashing downfall of a small table containing a vase, a jar of potpourri16, an Indian sandalwood box of curious workmanship, and a cabinet-size photograph of the Earl of Emsworth’s eldest17 son, Lord Bosham; and the table had fallen because Eve, en route across the hall in quest of her precious flower-pot, had collided with it while making for the front door. Of all indoor sports—and Eve, as she stood pallidly19 among the ruins, would have been the first to endorse20 this dictum—the one which offers the minimum of pleasure to the participant is that of roaming in pitch darkness through the hall of a country-house. Easily navigable in the daytime, these places become at night mere21 traps for the unwary.
Eve paused breathlessly. So terrific had the noise sounded to her guilty ears that every moment she was expecting doors to open all over the castle, belching22 forth shouting men with pistols. But as nothing happened, courage returned to her, and she resumed her journey. She found the great door, ran her fingers along its surface, and drew the chain. The shooting back of the bolts occupied but another instant, and then she was out on the terrace running her hardest towards the row of flower-pots.
Up on his balcony, meanwhile, the Efficient Baxter was stopping, looking, and listening. The looking brought no results, for all below was black as pitch; but the listening proved more fruitful. Faintly from down in the well of the hall there floated up to him a peculiar23 sound like something rustling24 in the darkness. Had he reached the balcony a moment earlier, he would[p. 248] have heard the rattle25 of the chain and the click of the bolts; but these noises had occurred just before he came out of his room. Now all that was audible was this rustling.
He could not analyse the sound, but the fact that there was any sound at all in such a place at such an hour increased his suspicions that dark doings were toward which would pay for investigation26. With stealthy steps he crept to the head of the stairs and descended27.
One uses the verb “descend” advisedly, for what is required is some word suggesting instantaneous activity. About Baxter’s progress from the second floor to the first there was nothing halting or hesitating. He, so to speak, did it now. Planting his foot firmly on a golf-ball which the Hon. Freddie Threepwood, who had been practising putting in the corridor before retiring to bed, had left in his casual fashion just where the steps began, he took the entire staircase in one majestic28, volplaning sweep. There were eleven stairs in all separating his landing from the landing below, and the only ones he hit were the third and tenth. He came to rest with a squattering thud on the lower landing, and for a moment or two the fever of the chase left him.
The fact that many writers in their time have commented at some length on the mysterious manner in which Fate is apt to perform its work must not deter29 us now from a brief survey of this latest manifestation30 of its ingenious methods. Had not his interview with Eve that afternoon so stimulated31 the Hon. Freddie as to revive in him a faint yet definite desire to putt, there would have been no golf-ball waiting for Baxter on the stairs. And had he been permitted to negotiate the stairs in a less impetuous manner, Baxter would not at this juncture32 have switched on the light.
[p. 249]It had not been his original intention to illuminate33 the theatre of action, but after that Lucifer-like descent from the second floor to the first he was taking no more chances. “Safety First” was Baxter’s slogan. As soon, therefore, as he had shaken off a dazed sensation of mental and moral collapse34, akin18 to that which comes to the man who steps on the teeth of a rake and is smitten35 on the forehead by the handle, he rose with infinite caution to his feet and, feeling his way down by the banisters, groped for the switch and pressed it. And so it came about that Eve, heading for home with her precious flower-pot in her arms, was stopped when at the very door by a sudden warning flood of light. Another instant, and she would have been across the threshold of disaster.
For a moment paralysis36 gripped her. The light had affected37 her like someone shouting loudly and unexpectedly in her ear. Her heart gave one convulsive bound, and she stood frozen. Then, filled with a blind desire for flight, she dashed like a hunted rabbit into the friendly shelter of a clump38 of bushes.
* * * * *
Baxter stood blinking. Gradually his eyes adjusted themselves to the light, and immediately they had done so he was seized by a fresh frenzy39 of zeal40. Now that all things were made visible to him he could see that that faint rustling sound had been caused by a curtain flapping in the breeze, and that the breeze which made the curtain flap was coming in through the open front door.
Baxter wasted no time in abstract thought. He acted swiftly and with decision. Straightening his spectacles on his nose, he girded up his pyjamas41 and galloped42 out into the night.
* * * * *
[p. 250]The smooth terrace slept under the stars. To a more poetic43 man than Baxter it would have seemed to wear that faintly reproachful air which a garden always assumes when invaded at unseemly hours by people who ought to be in bed. Baxter, never fanciful, was blind to this. He was thinking, thinking. That shaking-up on the stairs had churned into activity the very depths of his brain and he was at the fever-point of his reasoning powers. A thought had come like a full-blown rose, flushing his brow. Miss Simmons, arguing plausibly44, had suggested that the stolen necklace might be concealed in the hall. Baxter, inspired, fancied not. Whoever it was that had been at work in the hall just now had been making for the garden. It was not the desire to escape which had led him—or her—to open the front door, for the opening had been done before he, Baxter, had come out on to the balcony—otherwise he must have heard the shooting of the bolts. No. The enemy’s objective had been the garden. In other words, the terrace. And why? Because somewhere on the terrace was the stolen necklace.
Standing45 there in the starlight, the Efficient Baxter endeavoured to reconstruct the scene, and did so with remarkable46 accuracy. He saw the jewels flashing down. He saw them picked up. But there he stopped. Try as he might, he could not see them hidden. And yet that they had been hidden—and that within a few feet of where he was now standing—he felt convinced.
He moved from his position near the door and began to roam restlessly. His slippered47 feet padded over the soft turf.
* * * * *
Eve peered out from her clump of bushes. It was not[p. 251] easy to see any great distance, but Fate, her friend, was still with her. There had been a moment that night when Baxter, disrobing for bed, had wavered absently between his brown and his lemon-coloured pyjamas, little recking of what hung upon the choice. Fate had directed his hand to the lemon-coloured, and he had put them on; with the result that he shone now in the dim light like the white plume48 of Navarre. Eve could follow his movements perfectly49, and, when he was far enough away from his base to make the enterprise prudent50, she slipped out and raced for home and safety. Baxter at the moment was leaning on the terrace wall, thinking, thinking, thinking.
* * * * *
It was possibly the cool air, playing about his bare ankles, that at last chilled the secretary’s dashing mood and brought the disquieting51 thought that he was doing something distinctly dangerous in remaining out here in the open like this. A gang of thieves are ugly customers, likely to stick at little when a valuable necklace is at stake, and it came to the Efficient Baxter that in his light pyjamas he must be offering a tempting52 mark for any marauder lurking—say in those bushes. And at the thought, the summer night, though pleasantly mild, grew suddenly chilly53. With an almost convulsive rapidity he turned to re-enter the house. Zeal was well enough, but it was silly to be rash. He covered the last few yards of his journey at a rare burst of speed.
It was at this point that he discovered that the lights in the hall had been switched off and that the front door was closed and bolted.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
jealousy
|
|
| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
sleeper
|
|
| n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
slumber
|
|
| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
retired
|
|
| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
scrutiny
|
|
| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
attic
|
|
| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
concealed
|
|
| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
frivolous
|
|
| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
slipper
|
|
| n.拖鞋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
austerely
|
|
| adv.严格地，朴质地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
aloof
|
|
| adj.远离的；冷淡的，漠不关心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
slippers
|
|
| n. 拖鞋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
ascertain
|
|
| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
potpourri
|
|
| n.混合之事物；百花香 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
eldest
|
|
| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
akin
|
|
| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
pallidly
|
|
| adv.无光泽地，苍白无血色地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
20
endorse
|
|
| vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
belching
|
|
| n. 喷出，打嗝 动词belch的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
rustling
|
|
| n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
rattle
|
|
| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
investigation
|
|
| n.调查，调查研究 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
descended
|
|
| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
majestic
|
|
| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
deter
|
|
| vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
manifestation
|
|
| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
stimulated
|
|
| a.刺激的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
juncture
|
|
| n.时刻，关键时刻，紧要关头 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
illuminate
|
|
| vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
collapse
|
|
| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
smitten
|
|
| 猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
paralysis
|
|
| n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
affected
|
|
| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
clump
|
|
| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
frenzy
|
|
| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
zeal
|
|
| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
pyjamas
|
|
| n.（宽大的）睡衣裤 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
galloped
|
|
| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
poetic
|
|
| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
plausibly
|
|
| 似真地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
slippered
|
|
| 穿拖鞋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
plume
|
|
| n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
prudent
|
|
| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
disquieting
|
|
| adj.令人不安的，令人不平静的v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
tempting
|
|
| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
chilly
|
|
| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |