Nick went up the stairs and stopped in front of a small, dingy5 office, presided over by a slatternly woman of middle age.
"Is Misto Mannion stayin' heah?" he asked, with an engaging smile.
"Room eighteen, this flo'." was the short answer.
"Ah'm gretly ableeged, Mistis. Ah'll fine hit, mahse'f. Don' yo' stir you' bones on mah 'count." As the woman made no effort to move, but simply stared at him, the false negro's courtesy seemed not to have been required.
Before the room, whose windows overlooked the back[140] yard, Nick stopped, for inside a man was singing softly to himself. The voice was a light tenor6 and was pleasing to the ear.
"The fellow is in happy spirits, apparently," thought the detective. "Hope I won't agitate7 him too much."
He knocked gently and presently the door opened and a tall, rather handsome young man, with dark face, red, womanish lips, cold blue eyes set close together, and a low forehead confronted him. Women might be deceived in respect to his character. Men of sense would not be likely to trust him. He was dressed in the height of fashion and seemed, entirely8 at his ease.
His eyes, in cool inquiry9, sought the face of the black-faced caller, whose form trembled slightly.
"Ise—Ise de pusson yo' talked to tudder day down by de w'arf, sah," said Nick humbly11. "Yo' gimme dat bank-bill fo' ter git changed, sah. Don' yo' 'member dat perceedin'?"
"Yes." A change, swift as lightning, swept over Mannion's countenance12. He was no longer cool and nonchalant, but keen, alert, on his guard. "What about it?"
"Get into trouble? How can you get into any trouble? The bill was all right, and, anyhow, you didn't change it. You gave it back to me."
"Dat's truf, sah, but de coppers13 done foun' hit an' days er keepin' hit. Dat's wat eatin' mah heart out, sah.[141] Wat do de coppers want wid dat bill? Lucy Miranda—dat's mah ole woman—she say dat de bill is a hoodoo, an' dat I gotter hab dat young man wat gib hit ter me go git it an' take de hoodoo off."
Nick, looking at Mannion closely, thought he observed signs of perturbation.
"Have you spoken to any one about our transaction the other day?"
"No, sah. Ise bin16 erfraid ter speak, an' Lucy Miranda wouldn' tole de debble ef he was ter come in an' ast her."
Mannion drew a breath of relief. "I'll go down-town and get the bill," he said, "so don't bother your head about it any more. To tell the truth, I hadn't missed it, or I would have tried to find out what had become of it."
Mannion regarded the false negro sharply, but any suspicion that might have entered his brain was dissipated at sight of the honest, disturbed countenance of the speaker.
Mannion did not say anything for a few moments. Then he asked this question, in what was meant to be a careless manner: "Have you heard any talk about the bill—that is, any talk in connection with the place where it was found?"
"Yes, sah, I hab," replied Nick hesitatingly, as he cast down his eyes and fumbled18 with his hat. "Ise heard a[142] heap o' talk. Some say dat de man wat drapped dat bill is sho' 'sponsible fo' de murder." Before Mannion could open his mouth Nick went on: "Yo' los' dat bill, sah, an' yo' sho' gotter fine dat killer19 else de coppers may git after yo', sah."
"Come inside," said Mannion, his face now as pale as death. Nick entered and the door was closed. "Now be seated and tell me every word you have heard. This—this is terrible"—meeting Nick's look of innocent inquiry—"that the man who found that bill, which I carelessly dropped, should be the murderer the officers are looking for."
The great detective had come to Mannion's room in pursuance of a definite plan, which he had not seen fit to divulge20 to any one. He might have told both Chick and Patsy, for they were to be trusted; but every detective is human, and Nick may be pardoned for desiring to give his assistants a surprise. Ever since he had looked upon the dead face of the murdered man, he had had a card up his sleeve. In examining the neck upon which the marks of cruel fingers were discernible, he had made two important discoveries—first, that the marks on the right side of the neck were heavier than those on the left side; second, that between the first and second marks, the first being that of the thumb, was a space of twice the width of each of the other spaces.
It is the business of a detective who hopes to make a success of his vocation21 to seize upon what to the layman22 would appear as the slightest trifles. Nick Carter's[143] eyes, trained to see every point that would aid him in the investigation23 of a criminal case, had let nothing escape him when he entered the morgue. Now, seated in front of Arthur Mannion, he knew that he was in the presence of the murderer of James Playfair.
The heavy finger-marks on the right side of Playfair's neck showed to the expert that the murderer was not only left-handed, but that the muscular power of the two hands and arms had been reversed from the ordinary. Once, while the talk was going on at the door, Mannion had shown that he was left-handed. Twice since entering the room he had made a similar exhibition. He had raised the window with his left hand, and with his left hand he dragged from a corner a heavy Morris chair.
But the most damning discovery was, that half of the forefinger24 of the left hand was missing. It was not a deformity, as Nick could plainly see. The finger had been amputated at the middle joint25.
"Why don't you speak?" Mannion said irritably26, for Nick, lost in his reflections, had not answered promptly27 the question that had been put to him.
"Yes, yes."
"Well, Ise heahed a heap o' gossip, an' all de talk is des one way. De killer had dat hoodoo bill."
"Is any one suspected?"
"Yes, sah—dat man Craven is speculated."
[144]
"Craven? Who is he?"
There was apparent unconcern in the way the question was asked. And there was something more. Nick Carter, shrewd student of human nature as he was, knew that he was now treading on dangerous ground. But he cared not. He had made his point, and in a few minutes he would prepare to close in.
"Don' yo' know, sah?" looking at Mannion in a surprised way.
"No, I don't. Never heard of the man before."
Arthur Mannion, with a glint in his blue eyes, which spoke15 of a sudden resolution, arose to his feet and went to the wash-basin. Taking a towel from the rack, he advanced toward the detective, who, divining what was coming, remained seated. One hand was in his coat pocket, the other rested on his knee. The hand had gone into the pocket while Mannion's back was turned.
With the towel concealed29 behind his back, Mannion came to Nick's side. Suddenly, without a word, the hand with the towel appeared, when, like a flash, out came Nick's hand from his pocket, and the villain30, looking down into the muzzle31 of a revolver, saw sudden death and knew that his purpose was stayed.
"I didn't need the towel to tell me you were a cursed detective in disguise."
[145]
"And I didn't need much more evidence to prove that you are the man I want," retorted Nick, in his own character. "So divest33 yourself of your weapons and hold out those pretty wrists. The handcuffs are ready for them. Come, be quick about it"—the voice was now stern and menacing—"and don't try to come any of your California tricks, for at the first treacherous34 move I'll make a shambles35 out of the room."
Mannion gritted36 his teeth, cast a murderous glance at the triumphant37 man-hunter, and then, from his hip38 pocket, produced a silver-mounted revolver.
"It is a pity to give this up," he said surlily, as he fondled it in his hand, without, however, turning the muzzle in Nick's direction.
"Throw it on the bed or——"
The sentence was not finished, for in an access of desperation, and in entire disregard of his personal safety, Mannion, as swift as thought almost, sent the weapon whirling through the air. It struck Nick Carter squarely on the forehead, cutting the flesh, and sent him tumbling out of the chair. The next instant, Mannion brushed past his fallen enemy, opened the door, and rushed to the head of the stairs.
There he hesitated, for the thought struck him at the moment that the great detective he had just left had not, probably, come to the house alone; that there were officers down-stairs, ready to give assistance whenever it should be needed. Therefore, turning from the[146] stair landing, he hurried to a vacant room fronting the street.
The door was open, and he entered the room just as Nick Carter reached the corridor. The blow he had received had been a severe one; but the detective had bathed his face and head, removing the black paste that disguised him, and had not lost consciousness. Though weak and dizzy, he was fixed39 in the resolve to follow and arrest the murderer, no matter what the danger to himself might be.
Mannion crossed the room and was raising the window to step upon the scaffolding, when a bullet from Nick's revolver cut a lock of hair from his head. The detective could have easily killed the man, but it was not his desire to do so. Mannion must be taken alive and must be made, under the law's direction, to suffer for his crime. What the fugitive40's object was in seeking the scaffolding, Nick at the time could not conjecture41.
But it was evident that he believed he was taking the most available way, both to escape from the house and from the detectives who might be in waiting on the sidewalk. As was afterward42 learned, Mannion's intention was to follow the planking of the scaffolding to the side of the house, around which it ran for a few feet, then descend43 into the garden and make his way through the grounds to the street in the rear.
The shot fired by the detective did not stop Mannion in his flight. It accelerated it. He was out of the window and on the planking as another bullet whizzed by his[147] head. Chick and Patsy, who had been stationed below, around the corner of the house, saw Mannion come out of the window, and did a little pistol-practise themselves, but the fugitive, who by this time must have arrived at the conclusion that bullets were harmless, kept on his way.
He was at the front end of the scaffold when Nick Carter passed through the window. The great detective saw his enemy, and his lips parted in a grim smile. The man could not escape while he, Nick, was alive, and Chick and Patsy were below. "Keep an eye on him," he shouted to Chick, "and we'll get him, sure."
The words were spoken as the detective reached the planking, but the next moment something happened which was not down on Nick Carter's program. The scaffold, weakly put together, gave way, through the breaking of one of the supports, there was a crash, and then sudden death. It all happened in the twinkling of an eye, and Dimitri Goloff, who was passing on the sidewalk on his way to Mannion's room, was the victim. As the support yielded, down went Nick, his body falling with crushing weight on the head of the Russian.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
inter
|
|
| v.埋葬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
odds
|
|
| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
bout
|
|
| n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
mattress
|
|
| n.床垫，床褥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
dingy
|
|
| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
tenor
|
|
| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
agitate
|
|
| vi.(for,against)煽动，鼓动；vt.搅动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
inquiry
|
|
| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
curtly
|
|
| adv.简短地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
humbly
|
|
| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
coppers
|
|
| 铜( copper的名词复数 )； 铜币 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
wan
|
|
| (wide area network)广域网 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
bin
|
|
| n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
awed
|
|
| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
fumbled
|
|
| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
killer
|
|
| n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
divulge
|
|
| v.泄漏(秘密等)；宣布，公布 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
vocation
|
|
| n.职业，行业 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
layman
|
|
| n.俗人，门外汉，凡人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
investigation
|
|
| n.调查，调查研究 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
forefinger
|
|
| n.食指 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
joint
|
|
| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
irritably
|
|
| ad.易生气地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
promptly
|
|
| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
den
|
|
| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
concealed
|
|
| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
villain
|
|
| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
muzzle
|
|
| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
hissed
|
|
| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
divest
|
|
| v.脱去，剥除 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
treacherous
|
|
| adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
shambles
|
|
| n.混乱之处；废墟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
gritted
|
|
| v.以沙砾覆盖（某物），撒沙砾于( grit的过去式和过去分词 )；咬紧牙关 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
triumphant
|
|
| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
hip
|
|
| n.臀部，髋；屋脊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
fugitive
|
|
| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
conjecture
|
|
| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
afterward
|
|
| adv.后来；以后 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
descend
|
|
| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |