CHAPTER I. A MYSTERIOUS CRIME.

 “Help! Help!”

 

This thrilling cry rang out upon the night air in one of the side streets of New York City.

 

The few pedestrians¹ in the bleak², storm-swept vicinity paused and instinctively³ looked for the cause of this blood-curdling appeal.

 

Someone was in trouble.

 

That was certain.

 

But who was it and what was the nature of the trouble?

 

As usual, no officer chanced to be within call. Two men who were on their way home from business, however crossed the street with long strides and plunged⁴ into a dingy⁵ area.

 

It was illy lighted by a gaslight over the door of a wretched tenement⁶.

 

No person could be seen in the area, but one of the men, whose name was Mortimer Smith, bent⁷ over and cried:

 

“My soul! This looks as if murder had been done!”

 

His companion, a merchant named Benjamin Hanks, echoed:

 

“Murder beyond a doubt!”

 

The snow in the area was trodden and saturated⁸ with blood. All the ghostly evidences of a crime save the body of the victim were there.

 

The trail of blood led to the door of the wretched dwelling⁹.

 

The two men noted¹⁰ this, and for a moment seemed about to enter the dwelling. But Smith said:

 

“We had better call the police.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Undoubtedly they have taken the body of the victim into that house.”

 

“That is true.”

 

“Let us give the alarm.”

 

These two well-meaning and worthy¹¹ citizens started for an officer. They reached the nearest corner and found a patrolman just pulling in an electric call.

 

Upon their statement of the case the officer made it a hurry call, and then hastily returned to the area with them.

 

He tried the door of the tenement.

 

It was locked.

 

He pressed his weight upon the door and forced it in.

 

A dark hallway was seen. All was silence of the tomb.

 

Naturally the guardian¹² of the peace hesitated ere entering the place alone and in the dark.

 

It was a rough quarter where crimes were of common occurrence.

 

But just at this moment the hurry wagon¹³ arrived with more officers.

 

A quick consultation¹⁴ was held.

 

The police captain at once surrounded the house. That is, men went to the alley¹⁵ in its rear while the place was entered from the front.

 

2

The two citizens, Smith and Hanks, were held as witnesses.

 

But just as the officers with dark-lanterns entered the tenement they were met by a sudden wall of smoke.

 

The crackling of flames was heard.

 

“Fire!” cried the police captain.

 

The word was echoed by the others. The inference was easy.

 

The criminals had sought to conceal¹⁶ the evidences of their crime by means of the flames.

 

The fire alarm was given and into the street now there dashed the fire companies.

 

Lines of hose were quickly run into the building and preparations made to subdue¹⁷ the fire.

 

Not one of the inmates¹⁸ of the place had thus far put in an appearance. Indeed, it seemed deserted¹⁹.

 

But while the police had been hesitating about entering the smoke-filled dwelling, two men had joined them.

 

“Hello! What is wrong here?” said one of them, a tall, strong-framed man, dressed in a tightly-buttoned blue coat, old-fashioned stock collar and wide-brimmed slouch hat.

 

“Ah, Old King Brady!” cried the police captain. “Here is a case for you. It looks like murder and attempt to conceal it by means of arson²⁰.”

 

“Who has entered the place?”

 

“Nobody as yet.”

 

“Is anybody in there?”

 

“We do not know.”

 

“Humph! What are you waiting for?”

 

“The smoke is so dense²¹ that it is not safe. The firemen will soon have the blaze under control.”

 

“Bah!” cried Old King Brady. “By that time evidence of the crime will be missing. Come on, Harry²²!”

 

This to his younger companion. The officers were startled and the police captain cried:

 

“Why, Brady, you don’t think of entering that place?”

 

“Yes, I do!”

 

“Why, that is foolhardy. You’ll not come out alive!”

 

“No matter. It is my duty!”

 

“You must not attempt it!”

 

The man with the wide-brimmed hat laughed sardonically²³.

 

“Come on, Harry,” he said to his young companion, “this is work for us.”

 

“All right, partner.”

 

And then before the police could recover from their surprise, both plunged into the dark hallway and the smoke.

 

“Here, stop them!” cried the police captain. “They are going to their death.”

 

But it was too late.

 

The Bradys, detectives of the first class, and the best in the Secret Service, were out of sight.

 

The men in that police squad²⁴ were what might be ordinarily termed brave men.

 

But not one of them cared to follow the two detectives.

 

But Old King Brady, Gotham’s greatest detective, and his protege and pupil, Harry Brady, knew that if the mystery was to be solved, great risk must be incurred²⁵.

 

So they plunged unhesitatingly into the burning dwelling. The possibility of death never deterred²⁶ either from exact fulfillment of duty.

 

They dashed through the smoke and reached the foot of a flight of stairs.

 

As near as he could, Old King Brady located the fire.

 

He believed that it was confined to a point in the rear of the tenement and had, as yet, not extended beyond one room.

 

Each of the detectives carried a dark-lantern.

 

It could hardly furnish light enough to penetrate²⁷ the pall²⁸ of stifling²⁹ smoke, but yet enabled them to find their way up the stairs.

 

Choking and gasping³⁰ they made their way bravely from room to room.

 

The dwelling was humbly³¹ furnished.

 

It was plainly the abode³² of people of small means. It was dingy and meagre.

 

The Bradys looked for a clew to the supposed crime.

 

Suddenly Harry went down on his knees and focused his lantern on the floor.

 

He cried excitedly:

 

“Ah, here is the clew!”

 

A trail of blood marked the floor. In the trail lay a white handkerchief of dainty texture³³.

 

The detectives examined it closely. Harry gave an exclamation³⁴.

 

On one corner in ink was marked a name:

 

“Evelyn Grimm.”

 

This was the name.

 

It was a clew.

 

The detectives realized this. At once they began to follow the trail of blood.

 

They felt certain of a sure revelation of the mystery. The blood trail led to the door of a room at the end of the corridor.

 

This door was closed and locked.

 

What was beyond it, the detectives could only guess.

 

But in their mind’s-eye they saw the mangled³⁵ remains³⁶ of the murderer’s victim. So they threw themselves against the door.

 

And beneath their combined weight it gave way.

 

As it crashed in, however, they were met by an impassable barrier.

 

Flames and smoke filled the doorway³⁷ and forbade their entrance. They were driven back.

 

In fact it now became a question of self-preservation.

 

The old building was like a tinder-box.

 

The Bradys seemed to be literally³⁸ penned in by the fire and smoke.

 

There was no time to lose.

 

“No use, Harry!” cried Old King Brady. “We are beaten for just now. We must get out of here.”

 

The detectives reached the stairs. But escape in this direction was cut off. Flames were in their faces.

 

3

At the other end of the corridor was a window opening upon the street. The detectives made a rush for this.

 

They reached it just as the sash was carried away by a stream of water from the firemen’s hose. This gave the detectives a chance.

 

Drawing a deep breath of fresh air they felt returning strength.

 

Harry vaulted³⁹ lightly over the sill. It was fifteen feet to the area below. The firemen shouted, but Harry dropped to the flagging.

 

Old King Brady followed.

 

In another moment they were safe within the fire lines.

 

By this time a great crowd was in the street, attracted in spite of the driving storm.

 

The firemen were badly handicapped by the snow, but yet fought their way bravely while the rickety tenement was being consumed.

 

The fire was not allowed to spread, but the tenement was reduced to ashes.

 

Then the crowd dispersed⁴⁰.

 

The detectives left the scene and returned to their lodgings⁴¹ for the night.

 

One thing was certain.

 

A tragedy had been enacted⁴², which the flames concealed⁴³ and the only clew which the Bradys had secured was the delicate lady’s handkerchief.

 

This alone could furnish the only suggestion to be gained in any way from the affair.

 

Whether it would prove a sufficient means for the complete revelation of the mystery or not, remained to be seen.

 

The detectives hoped it would.

1 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

3 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

5 dingy   

adj.昏暗的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• It was a street of dingy houses huddled together. 这是一条挤满了破旧房子的街巷。
• The dingy cottage was converted into a neat tasteful residence.那间脏黑的小屋已变成一个整洁雅致的住宅。

6 tenement   

n.公寓；房屋

参考例句：

• They live in a tenement.他们住在廉价公寓里。
• She felt very smug in a tenement yard like this.就是在个这样的杂院里，她觉得很得意。

7 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

8 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

9 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

12 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

13 wagon   

n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车

参考例句：

• We have to fork the hay into the wagon.我们得把干草用叉子挑进马车里去。
• The muddy road bemired the wagon.马车陷入了泥泞的道路。

14 consultation   

n.咨询；商量；商议；会议

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。

15 alley   

n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路

参考例句：

• We live in the same alley.我们住在同一条小巷里。
• The blind alley ended in a brick wall.这条死胡同的尽头是砖墙。

16 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

17 subdue   

vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制

参考例句：

• She tried to subdue her anger.她尽力压制自己的怒火。
• He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.他强迫自己克制并战胜恐惧心理。

18 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

20 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

21 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

22 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

23 sardonically   

adv.讽刺地，冷嘲地

参考例句：

• Some say sardonically that combat pay is good and that one can do quite well out of this war. 有些人讽刺地说战地的薪饷很不错，人们可借这次战争赚到很多钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Tu Wei-yueh merely drew himself up and smiled sardonically. 屠维岳把胸脯更挺得直些，微微冷笑。 来自子夜部分

24 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

25 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

26 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

27 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

28 pall   

v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕

参考例句：

• Already the allure of meals in restaurants had begun to pall.饭店里的饭菜已经不像以前那样诱人。
• I find his books begin to pall on me after a while.我发觉他的书读过一阵子就开始对我失去吸引力。

29 stifling   

a.令人窒息的

参考例句：

• The weather is stifling. It looks like rain. 今天太闷热，光景是要下雨。
• We were stifling in that hot room with all the windows closed. 我们在那间关着窗户的热屋子里，简直透不过气来。

30 gasping   

adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
• "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗？”“我巴不得能喝点！”

31 humbly   

adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地

参考例句：

• We humbly beg Your Majesty to show mercy. 我们恳请陛下发发慈悲。
• "You must be right, Sir,'said John humbly. “你一定是对的，先生，”约翰恭顺地说道。

32 abode   

n.住处，住所

参考例句：

• It was ten months before my father discovered his abode.父亲花了十个月的功夫，才好不容易打听到他的住处。
• Welcome to our humble abode!欢迎光临寒舍！

33 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

34 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

35 mangled   

vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• His hand was mangled in the machine. 他的手卷到机器里轧烂了。
• He was off work because he'd mangled his hand in a machine. 他没上班，因为他的手给机器严重压伤了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

36 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

37 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

38 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

39 vaulted   

adj.拱状的

参考例句：

• She vaulted over the gate and ran up the path. 她用手一撑跃过栅栏门沿着小路跑去。
• The formal living room has a fireplace and vaulted ceilings. 正式的客厅有一个壁炉和拱形天花板。

40 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

41 lodgings   

n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍

参考例句：

• When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时，太阳已下山了。
• I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。

42 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

43 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。