“Anne, dear, where have you been? I’ve been worried to death about you. What have you been doing?”
“Why do these things always happen to you?” she demanded plaintively4. “Why does no one gag me and bind5 me hand and foot?”
“You wouldn’t like it if they did,” I assured her. “To tell you the truth, I’m not nearly so keen on having adventures myself as I was. A little of that sort of thing goes a long way.”
Suzanne seemed unconvinced. An hour or two of gagging and binding6 would have changed her views quickly enough. Suzanne likes thrills, but she hates being uncomfortable.
“And what are we all doing now?” she asked.
“I don’t quite know,” I said thoughtfully. “You still go to Rhodesia, of course, to keep an eye on Pagett——”
“And you?”
That was just my difficulty. Had Chichester gone on the Kilmorden, or had he not? Did he mean to carry out his original plan of going to Durban? The hour of his leaving Muizenberg seemed to point to an affirmative answer to both questions. In that case, I might go to Durban by train. I fancied that I should get there before the boat. On the other hand, if the news of my escape were wired to Chichester, and also the information that I had left Cape7 Town for Durban, nothing was simpler for him than to leave the boat at either Port Elizabeth or East London and so give me the slip completely.
“We’ll inquire about trains to Durban anyway,” I said.
“And it’s not too late for morning tea,” said Suzanne. “We’ll have it in the lounge.”
The Durban train left at 8.15 that evening, so they told me at the office. For the moment I postponed9 decision and joined Suzanne for somewhat belated “eleven-o’clock tea.”
“Do you feel that you would really recognize Chichester again—in any other disguise, I mean?” asked Suzanne.
I shook my head ruefully.
“I certainly didn’t recognize him as the stewardess10, and never should have but for your drawing.”
“The man’s a professional actor, I’m sure of it,” said Suzanne thoughtfully. “His make-up is perfectly11 marvellous. He might come off the boat as a navvy or something, and you’d never spot him.”
“You’re very cheering,” I said.
At that minute, Colonel Race stepped in through the window and came and joined us.
“What is Sir Eustace doing?” asked Suzanne. “I haven’t seen him about to-day.”
Rather an odd expression passed over the Colonel’s face.
“He’s got a little trouble of his own to attend to which is keeping him busy.”
“Tell us about it.”
“I mustn’t tell tales out of school.”
“Tell us something—even if you have to invent it for our special benefit.”
“Well, what would you say to the famous ‘Man in the Brown Suit’ having made the voyage with us?”
“What?”
I felt the colour die out of my face and then surge back again. Fortunately Colonel Race was not looking at me.
“It’s a fact, I believe. Every port watched for him and he bamboozled12 Pedler into bringing him out as his secretary!”
“Not Mr. Pagett?”
“Oh, not Pagett—the other fellow. Rayburn, he called himself.”
“Have they arrested him?” asked Suzanne. Under the table she gave my hand a reassuring13 squeeze. I waited breathlessly for an answer.
“He seems to have disappeared into thin air.”
“How does Sir Eustace take it?”
“Regards it as a personal insult offered him by Fate.”
An opportunity of hearing Sir Eustace’s views on the matter presented itself later in the day. We were awakened14 from a refreshing15 afternoon nap by a page-boy with a note. In touching16 terms it requested the pleasure of our company at tea in his sitting-room17.
The poor man was indeed in a pitiable state. He poured out his troubles to us, encouraged by Suzanne’s sympathetic murmurs18. (She does that sort of thing very well.)
“First a perfectly strange woman has the impertinence to get herself murdered in my house—on purpose to annoy me, I do believe. Why my house? Why, of all the houses in Great Britain, choose the Mill House? What harm had I ever done the woman that she must needs get herself murdered there?”
Suzanne made one of her sympathetic noises again and Sir Eustace proceeded in a still more aggrieved19 tone.
“And, if that’s not enough, the fellow who murdered her has the impudence20, the colossal21 impudence, to attach himself to me as my secretary. My secretary, if you please! I’m tired of secretaries, I won’t have any more secretaries. Either they’re concealed22 murderers or else they’re drunken brawlers. Have you seen Pagett’s black eye? But of course you have. How can I go about with a secretary like that? And his face is such a nasty shade of yellow too—just the colour that doesn’t go with a black eye. I’ve done with secretaries—unless I have a girl. A nice girl, with liquid eyes, who’ll hold my hand when I’m feeling cross. What about you, Miss Anne. Will you take on the job?”
“How often shall I have to hold your hand?” I asked, laughing.
“I shan’t get much typing done at that rate,” I reminded him.
“That doesn’t matter. All this work is Pagett’s idea. He works me to death. I’m looking forward to leaving him behind in Cape Town.”
“He is staying behind?”
“Yes, he’ll enjoy himself thoroughly24 sleuthing about after Rayburn. That’s the sort of thing suits Pagett down to the ground. He adores intrigue25. But I’m quite serious in my offer. Will you come? Mrs. Blair here is a competent chaperon, and you can have a half-holiday every now and again to dig for bones.”
“Thank you very much, Sir Eustace,” I said cautiously, “but I think I’m leaving for Durban to-night.”
“Now don’t be an obstinate26 girl. Remember, there are lots of lions in Rhodesia. You’ll like lions. All girls do.”
“Will they be practising low jumps?” I asked, laughing. “No, thank you very much, but I must go to Durban.”
Sir Eustace looked at me, sighed deeply, then opened the door of the adjoining room and called to Pagett.
“If you’ve quite finished your afternoon sleep, my dear fellow, perhaps you’d do a little work for change.”
Guy Pagett appeared in the doorway27. He bowed to us both, starting slightly at the sight of me, and replied in a melancholy28 voice:
“I have been typing that memorandum29 all this afternoon, Sir Eustace.”
“Well, stop typing it then. Go down to the Trade Commissioner’s Office, or the Board of Agriculture, or the Chamber30 of Mines, or one of these places, and ask them to lend me some kind of a woman to take to Rhodesia. She must have liquid eyes and not object to my holding her hand.”
“Yes, Sir Eustace. I will ask for a competent short-hand-typist.”
“Pagett’s a malicious31 fellow,” said Sir Eustace, after the secretary had departed. “I’d be prepared to bet that he’ll pick out some slab-faced creature on purpose to annoy me. She must have nice feet too—I forgot to mention that.”
I clutched Suzanne excitedly by the hand and almost dragged her along to her room.
“Now, Suzanne,” I said, “we’ve got to make plans—and make them quickly. Pagett is staying behind here—you heard that?”
“Yes. I suppose that means that I shan’t be allowed to go to Rhodesia—which is very annoying, because I want to go to Rhodesia. How tiresome32.”
“Cheer up,” I said. “You’re going all right. I don’t see how you could back out at the last moment without its appearing frightfully suspicious. And, besides, Pagett might suddenly be summoned by Sir Eustace, and it would be far harder for you to attach yourself to him for the journey up.”
“It would hardly be respectable,” said Suzanne, dimpling. “I should have to pretend a fatal passion for him as an excuse.”
“On the other hand, if you were there when he arrived, it would all be perfectly simple and natural. Besides, I don’t think we ought to lose sight of the other two entirely33.”
“Oh, Anne, you surely can’t suspect Colonel Race or Sir Eustace?”
“I suspect everybody,” I said darkly, “and if you’ve read any detective stories, Suzanne, you must know that it’s always the most unlikely person who’s the villain34. Lots of criminals have been cheerful fat men like Sir Eustace.”
“Colonel Race isn’t particularly fat—or particularly cheerful either.”
“Sometimes they’re lean and saturnine,” I retorted. “I don’t say I seriously suspect either of them, but, after all, the woman was murdered in Sir Eustace’s house——”
“Yes, yes, we needn’t go over all that again. I’ll watch him for you, Anne, and if he gets any fatter and any more cheerful, I’ll send you a telegram at once. ‘Sir E. swelling35. Highly suspicious. Come at once.’”
“Really, Suzanne,” I cried, “you seem to think all this is a game!”
“I know I do,” said Suzanne, unabashed. “It seems like that. It’s your fault, Anne. I’ve got imbued36 with your ‘Let’s have an adventure’ spirit. It doesn’t seem a bit real. Dear me, if Clarence knew that I was running about Africa tracking dangerous criminals, he’d have a fit.”
“Why don’t you cable him about it?” I asked sarcastically37.
Suzanne’s sense of humour always fails her when it comes to sending cables. She considered my suggestion in perfectly good faith.
“I might. It would have to be a very long one.” Her eyes brightened at the thought. “But I think it’s better not. Husbands always want to interfere38 with perfectly harmless amusements.”
“Well,” I said, summing up the situation, “you will keep an eye on Sir Eustace and Colonel Race——”
“I know why I’ve got to watch Sir Eustace,” interrupted Suzanne, “because of his figure and his humorous conversation. But I think it’s carrying it rather far to suspect Colonel Race, I do indeed. Why, he’s something to do with the Secret Service. Do you know, Anne, I believe the best thing we could do would be to confide39 in him and tell him the whole story.”
I objected vigorously to this unsporting proposal. I recognized in it the disastrous40 effects of matrimony. How often have I not heard a perfectly intelligent female say, in the tone of one clinching41 an argument, “Edgar says——” And all the time you are perfectly aware that Edgar is a perfect fool. Suzanne, by reason of her married state, was yearning42 to lean upon some man or other.
However, she promised faithfully that she would not breathe a word to Colonel Race, and we went on with our plan-making.
“It’s quite clear that I must stay here and watch Pagett, and this is the best way to do it. I must pretend to leave for Durban this evening, take my luggage down and so on, but really I shall go to some small hotel in the town. I can alter my appearance a little—wear a fair toupee43 and one of those thick white lace veils, and I shall have a much better chance of seeing what he’s really at if he thinks I’m safely out of the way.”
Suzanne approved this plan heartily44. We made due and ostentatious preparations, inquiring once more about the departure of the train at the office and packing my luggage.
We dined together in the restaurant. Colonel Race did not appear, but Sir Eustace and Pagett were at their table in the window. Pagett left the table half-way through the meal, which annoyed me, as I had planned to say goodbye to him. However, doubtless Sir Eustace would do as well. I went over to him when I had finished.
“Good-bye, Sir Eustace,” I said. “I’m off to-night to Durban.”
Sir Eustace sighed heavily.
“So I heard. You wouldn’t like me to come with you, would you?”
“I should love it.”
“Nice girl. Sure you won’t change your mind and come and look for lions in Rhodesia?”
“Quite sure.”
“He must be a very handsome fellow,” said Sir Eustace plaintively. “Some young whipper-snapper in Durban, I suppose, who puts my mature charms completely in the shade. By the way, Pagett’s going down in the car in a minute or two. He could take you to the station.”
“Oh, no, thank you,” I said hastily. “Mrs. Blair and I have got our own taxi ordered.”
To go down with Guy Pagett was the last thing I wanted! Sir Eustace looked at me attentively45.
“I don’t believe you like Pagett. I don’t blame you. Of all the officious, interfering46 asses—going about with the air of a martyr47, and doing everything he can to annoy and upset me!”
“What has he done now?” I inquired with some curiosity.
“He’s got hold of a secretary for me. You never saw such a woman! Forty, if she’s a day, wears pince-nez and sensible boots and an air of brisk efficiency that will be the death of me. A regular slab-faced woman.”
“Won’t she hold your hand?”
“I devoutly48 hope not!” exclaimed Sir Eustace. “That would be the last straw. Well, good-bye, liquid eyes. If I shoot a lion I shan’t give you the skin—after the base way you’ve deserted49 me.”
He squeezed my hand warmly and we parted. Suzanne was waiting for me in the hall. She was to come down to see me off.
“Let’s start at once,” I said hastily, and motioned to the man to get a taxi.
Then a voice behind me made me start:
“Excuse me, Miss Beddingfeld, but I’m just going down in a car. I can drop you and Mrs. Blair at the station.”
“Oh, thank you,” I said hastily. “But there’s no need to trouble you. I——”
“No trouble at all, I assure you. Put the luggage in, porter.”
I was helpless. I might have protested further, but a slight warning nudge from Suzanne urged me to be on my guard.
“Thank you, Mr. Pagett,” I said coldly.
We all got into the car. As we raced down the road into the town, I racked my brains for something to say. In the end Pagett himself broke the silence.
“I have secured a very capable secretary for Sir Eustace,” he observed. “Miss Pettigrew.”
Pagett looked at me coldly.
“She is a proficient51 shorthand-typist,” he said repressively.
We pulled up in front of the station. Here surely he would leave us. I turned with outstretched hand—but no.
“I’ll come and see you off. It’s just eight o’clock, your train goes in a quarter of an hour.”
He gave efficient directions to porters. I stood helpless, not daring to look at Suzanne. The man suspected. He was determined52 to make sure that I did go by the train. And what could I do? Nothing. I saw myself, in a quarter of an hour’s time, steaming out of the station with Pagett planted on the platform waving me adieu. He had turned the tables on me adroitly53. His manner towards me had changed, moreover. It was full of an uneasy geniality54 which sat ill upon him, and which nauseated55 me. The man was an oily hypocrite. First he tried to murder me, and now he paid me compliments! Did he imagine for one minute that I hadn’t recognized him that night on the boat? No, it was a pose, a pose which he forced me to acquiesce56 in, his tongue in his cheek all the while.
Helpless as a sheep, I moved along under his expert directions. My luggage was piled in my sleeping compartment—I had a two-berth one to myself. It was twelve minutes past eight. In three minutes the train would start.
But Paggett had reckoned without Suzanne.
“It will be a terribly hot journey, Anne,” she said suddenly. “Especially going through the Karoo to-morrow. You’ve got some eau-de-Cologne or lavender water with you, haven’t you?”
My cue was plain.
“Oh, dear,” I cried. “I left my eau-de-Cologne on the dressing-table at the hotel.”
Suzanne’s habit of command served her well. She turned imperiously to Pagett.
“Mr. Pagett. Quick. You’ve just time. There’s a chemist almost opposite the station. Anne must have some eau-de-Cologne.”
He hesitated, but Suzanne’s imperative57 manner was too much for him. She is a born autocrat58. He went. Suzanne followed him with her eyes till he disappeared.
“Quick, Anne, get out the other side—in case he hasn’t really gone, but is watching us from the end of the platform. Never mind your luggage. You can telegraph about that to-morrow. Oh, if only the train starts on time!”
I opened the gate on the opposite side to the platform and climbed down. Nobody was observing me. I could just see Suzanne standing59 where I had left her, looking up at the train and apparently60 chatting to me at the window. A whistle blew, the train began to draw out. Then I heard feet racing61 furiously up the platform. I withdrew to the shadow of a friendly bookstall and watched.
Suzanne turned from waving her handkerchief to the retreating train.
“Too late, Mr. Pagett,” she said cheerfully. “She’s gone. Is that the eau-de-Cologne? What a pity we didn’t think of it sooner!”
They passed not far from me on their way out of the station. Guy Pagett was extremely hot. He had evidently run all the way to the chemist and back.
“Shall I get you a taxi, Mrs. Blair?”
Suzanne did not fail in her r?le.
“Yes, please. Can’t I give you a lift back? Have you much to do for Sir Eustace? Dear me, I wish Anne Beddingfeld was coming with us to-morrow. I don’t like the idea of a young girl like that travelling off to Durban all by herself. But she was set upon it. Some little attraction there, I fancy——”
They passed out of ear-shot. Clever Suzanne. She had saved me.
I allowed a minute or two to elapse and then I too made my way out of the station, almost colliding as I did so with a man—an unpleasant-looking man with a nose disproportionately big for his face.
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1
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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vent
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| n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄 | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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plaintively
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| adv.悲哀地，哀怨地 | |
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bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 | |
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binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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knotty
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| adj.有结的，多节的，多瘤的，棘手的 | |
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postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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stewardess
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| n.空中小姐，女乘务员 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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bamboozled
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| v.欺骗，使迷惑( bamboozle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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murmurs
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| n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕 | |
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aggrieved
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| adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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impudence
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| n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼 | |
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colossal
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concealed
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gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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thoroughly
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intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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obstinate
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doorway
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melancholy
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memorandum
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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entirely
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villain
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swelling
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imbued
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sarcastically
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interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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confide
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| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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clinching
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| v.（尤指两人）互相紧紧抱[扭]住( clinch的现在分词 )；解决（争端、交易），达成（协议） | |
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42
yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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toupee
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| n.假发 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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interfering
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| adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词 | |
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martyr
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| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
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devoutly
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| adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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50
raving
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| adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地 | |
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51
proficient
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| adj.熟练的，精通的；n.能手，专家 | |
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52
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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53
adroitly
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| adv.熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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geniality
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| n.和蔼，诚恳；愉快 | |
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nauseated
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| adj.作呕的，厌恶的v.使恶心，作呕( nauseate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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acquiesce
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| vi.默许，顺从，同意 | |
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57
imperative
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| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
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58
autocrat
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| n.独裁者；专横的人 | |
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59
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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60
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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