In the rectory at Great Bradley, Lady Constance Dex arose from a sleepless1 night to confront her placid2 brother at the breakfast table. The Reverend Jeremiah Bangley, a stout3 and easy man, who spent as much of his time in London as in his rectory, was frankly4 nonplussed5 by the apparition6. He was one of those men, common enough, who accept the most extraordinary happenings as being part of life's normal round. An earthquake in Little Bradley which swallowed up his church and the major portion of his congregation would not have interested him any more than the budding of the trees, or a sudden arrival of flower life in his big walled garden. Now, however, he was obviously astonished.
"What brings you to breakfast, Constance?" he asked. "I have not seen you at this table for many years."
"I could not sleep," she said, as she helped herself at the sideboard to a crisp morsel7 of bacon. "I think I will take my writing pad to Moor8 Cottage."
He pursed his lips, this easy going rector of Little Bradley.
"I have always thought," he said, "that Moor Cottage was not the most desirable gift the late Mr. Farrington could have made to you." He paused, to allow her a rejoinder, but as she made no reply, he went on: "It is isolated9, standing10 on the edge of the moor, away from the ordinary track of people. I am always scared, my dear Constance, that one of these days you will have some wretched tramp, or a person of the criminal classes, causing you a great deal of distress11 and no little inconvenience."
There was much of truth in what he said. Moor Cottage, a pretty little one-storied dwelling12, had been built by the owner of the Secret House at the same time that the house itself had been erected13. It was intended, so the builder said, to serve the purpose of a summer house, and certainly it offered seclusion14, for it was placed on the edge of the moor, approached by a by-road which was scarcely ever traversed, since Bradley mines had been worked out and abandoned.
Many years ago when the earth beneath the moor had been tunnelled left and right by the seekers after tin and lead, Moor Cottage might have stood in the centre of a hive of industry. The ramshackle remains15 of the miners' cottage were to be seen on the other side of the hill; the broken and deserted16 headgear of the pit, and the discoloured chimney of the old power house were still visible a quarter of a mile from the cottage.
It suited the owner of the Secret House, however, to have this little cottage erected, though it was nearly two miles from the Secret House, and he had spared neither expense nor trouble in preparing a handsome interior.
Lady Constance Dex had been the recipient17 of many gifts from Mr. Farrington and his friends. There had been a period when Farrington could not do enough for her, and had showered upon her every mark of his esteem18, and Moor Cottage had perhaps been the most magnificent of these presents. Here she could find seclusion, and in the pretty oak-panelled rooms reconstruct those happy days which Great Bradley had at one time offered to her.
"It is a little lonely," she smiled at her brother.
She had a good-natured contempt for his opinion. He was a large, lethargic19 man, who had commonplace views on all subjects.
"But really you know, Jerry, I am quite a capable person, and Brown will be near by, in case of necessity."
He nodded, and addressed himself again to the _Times_, the perusal20 of which she had interrupted.
"I have nothing more to say," he said from behind his newspaper. By and by he put it down.
"Who is this Mr. Smith?" he asked, suddenly.
"Mr. Smith?" she said, with interest. "Which Mr. Smith are you referring to?"
"I think he is a detective person," said the Reverend Jeremiah Bangley; "he has honoured us with a great number of visits lately."
"You mean----?"
"I mean Great Bradley," he explained. "Do you think there is anything wrong at the Secret House?"
"What could there be wrong," she asked, "that has not been wrong for the last ten or twenty years?"
He shrugged21 his massive shoulders.
"I have never quite approved of the Secret House," he said, unnecessarily.
She finished her hurried breakfast and rose.
"You have never approved of anything, Jerry," she said, tapping him on the shoulder as she passed.
She looked through the window; the victoria she had ordered was waiting at the door, with the imperturbable22 Brown sitting on the box.
"I shall be back to lunch," she said.
Looking through a window he saw her mount into the carriage carrying a portfolio23. In that letter case, although he did not know it, were the letters and diaries which Dr. Goldworthy had brought from the Congo. In the seclusion of Moor Cottage she found the atmosphere to understand the words, written now in fire upon her very soul, and to plan her future.
There was no servant at Moor Cottage. She was in the habit of sending one of her own domestic staff after her visit to make it tidy for her future reception.
She let herself in through the little door placed under the green-covered porch.
"You can unharness the horse; I shall be here two hours," she said to the waiting Brown.
The man touched his hat. He was used to these excursions and was possessed25 of the patience of his class. He backed the victoria on to the moor by the side of the fence which surrounded the house. There was a little stable at the back, but it was never used. He unharnessed the horse, fixed26 his nosebag, and sat down to read his favourite newspaper; a little journal which dealt familiarly with the erratic27 conduct of the upper classes. He was not a quick reader, and there was sufficient in the gossipy journal to occupy his attention for three or four hours. At the end of an hour he thought he heard his lady's voice calling him, and jumping up, he walked to the door of the cottage.
He listened, but there was no other sound, and he came back to his previous position, and continued his study of the decadent28 aristocracy. Four hours he waited, and assailed29 by a most human hunger, his patience was pardonably exhausted30.
He rose slowly, harnessed the horse, and drove the victoria ostentatiously before the window of the little sitting-room31 which Lady Constance Dex used as a study. Another half an hour passed without any response, and he got down from his box and knocked at the door.
There was no answer; he knocked again; still no reply.
In alarm he went to the window and peered in. The floor was strewn with papers scattered32 in confusion. A chair had been overturned. More to the point, he saw an overturned inkpot, which was eloquent33 to his ordered mind of an unusual happening.
Increasingly alarmed, he put his shoulder to the door, but it did not yield. He tried the window; it was locked.
It was at that moment that a motor came swiftly over the hill from the direction of the rectory. With a jar it came to a sudden stop before the house, and T. B. Smith leapt out.
Brown had seen the detective before on his visits to the rectory, and now hailed him as veritably god-sent.
"Where is Lady Constance?" asked T. B., quickly.
The man pointed34 to the house with trembling finger.
"She's in there somewhere," he said, fretfully, "but I can't make her answer ... and the room appears to be very disordered."
He led the way to the window. T. B. looked in and saw that which confirmed his worst fears.
"Stand back," he said.
He raised his ebony stick and sent it smashing through the glass. In a second his hand was inside unlocking the latch35 of the window; a few seconds later he was in the room itself. He passed swiftly from room to room, but there was no sign of Lady Constance. On the floor of the study was a piece of lace collar, evidently wrenched36 from her gown.
"Hullo!" said Ela, who had followed him. He pointed to the table. On a sheet of paper was the print of a bloody37 palm.
"Farrington," said T. B., briefly38, "he has been here; but how did he get out?"
He questioned the coachman closely, but the man was emphatic39.
"No, sir," he said, "it would have been impossible for anybody to have passed out of here without my seeing them. Not only could I see the cottage from where I sat, but the whole of the hillside."
"Is there any other place where she could be?"
"There is the outhouse," said Brown, after a moment's thought; "we used to put up the victoria there, but we never use it nowadays in fine weather."
The outhouse consisted of a large coachhouse and a small stable. There was no lock to the doors, T. B. noticed, and he pulled them open wide. There was a heap of straw in one corner, kept evidently as a provision against the need of the visiting coachman. T. B. stepped into the outhouse, then suddenly with a cry he leant down, and caught a figure by the collar and swung him to his feet.
"Will you kindly40 explain what you are doing here?" he asked, and then gave a gasp41 of astonishment42, for the sleepy-eyed prisoner in his hands was Frank Doughton.
"It is a curious story you tell me," said T. B.
"I admit it is curious," said Frank, with a smile, "and I am so sleepy that I do not know how much I have told you, and how much I have imagined."
"You told me," recapitulated43 T. B., "that you were kidnapped last night in London, that you were carried through London and into the country in an unknown direction, and that you made your escape from the motor-car by springing out in the early hours of this morning, whilst the car was going at a slackened speed."
"That is it," said the other. "I have not the slightest idea where I am; perhaps you can tell me?"
"You are near Great Bradley," said T. B., with a smile. "I wonder you do not recognize your home; for home it is, as I understand."
Frank looked round with astonished eyes.
"What were they bringing me here for?" he demanded.
"That remains to be discovered," replied T. B.; "my own impression is that you----"
"Do you think I was being taken to the Secret House?" interrupted the young man, suddenly.
T. B. shook his head.
"I should think that was unlikely. I suspect our friend Poltavo of having carried out this little coup44 entirely45 on his own. I further suspect his having brought the car in this direction with no other object than to throw suspicion upon our worthy24 friends across the hill--and how did you come to the outhouse?"
"I was dead beat," explained Frank. "I had a sudden spasm46 of strength which enabled me to out-distance those people who were pursuing me, but after I had shaken them off I felt that I could drop. I came upon this cottage, which seemed the only habitation in view, and after endeavouring to waken the occupants I did the next best thing, I made my way into the coachhouse and fell asleep."
T. B. had no misgivings47 so far as this story was concerned; he accepted it as adding only another obstacle to the difficulties of his already difficult task.
"You heard no sound whilst you lay there?"
"None whatever," said the young man.
"No sound of a struggle, I mean," said T. B., and then it was that he explained to Frank Doughton the extraordinary disappearance48 of the owner of Moor Cottage.
"She must be in the house," said Frank.
They went back and resumed their search. Upstairs was a bedroom, and adjoining a bath-room. On the ground floor were two rooms: the study he had quitted and a smaller room beautifully decorated and containing a piano. But the search was fruitless; Lady Constance Dex had disappeared as though the earth had opened and swallowed her up. There was no sign of a trap in the whole of the little building, and T. B. was baffled.
"It is a scientific axiom," he said, addressing Ela with a thoughtful glint in his eye, "that matter must occupy space, therefore Lady Constance Dex must be in existence, she cannot have evaporated into thin air, and I am not going to leave this place until I find her."
Ela was thinking deeply, and frowning at the untidiness of the table.
"Do you remember that locket which you found on one of the dead men in Brakely Square?" he asked suddenly.
T. B. nodded. He put his hand in his waistcoat pocket, for he had carried that locket ever since the night of its discovery.
"Let us have a look at the inscription49 again," said Ela.
They drew up chairs to the table and examined the little circular label which they had found in the battered50 interior.
"Mor: Cot.
God sav the Keng."
Ela shook his head helplessly.
"I am perfectly51 sure there is a solution here," he said. "Do you see those words on the top? 'Mor: Cot.'--that stands for Moor Cottage."
"By Jove, so it does," said T. B., picking up the locket; "that never struck me before. It was the secret of Moor Cottage which this man discovered, and with which he was trying to blackmail52 our friend. So far as the patriotic53 postscript54 is concerned that is beyond my understanding."
"There is a meaning to it," said Ela, "and it is not a cryptogram55 either. You see how he has forgotten to put the 'e' in 'save'? And he has spelt 'king' 'keng.'"
They waited before the house whilst Brown drove to the rectory, and then on to the town. Jeremiah Bangley arrived in a state of calm anticipation56. That his sister had disappeared did not seem to strike him as a matter for surprise, though he permitted himself to say that it was a very remarkable57 occurrence.
"I have always warned Constance not to be here alone, and I should never have forgiven myself if Brown had not been on the spot," he said.
"Can you offer any explanation?"
The rector shook his head. He was totally ignorant of the arrangements of the house, had never, so he said, put foot in it in his life. This was perfectly true, for he was an incurious man who did not greatly bother himself about the affairs of other people. The local police arrived in half an hour, headed by the chief inspector58, who happened to be in the station when the report was brought in.
"I suppose I had better take this young man to the station?" he said, indicating Frank.
"Why?" asked T. B. calmly; "what do you gain by arresting him? As a matter of fact there is no evidence whatever which would implicate59 Mr. Doughton, and I am quite prepared to give you my own guarantee to produce him whenever you may require him.
"The best thing you can do is to get back to town," he said kindly to that young man; "you need a little sleep. It is not a pleasant prelude60 to your marriage. By the way, that is to-morrow, is it not?" he asked, suddenly.
Frank nodded.
"I wonder if that has anything to do with your kidnapping," said T. B. thoughtfully. "Is there any person who is anxious that this marriage should not come about?"
Frank hesitated.
"I hardly like to accuse a man," he said, "but Poltavo----"
"Poltavo?" repeated T. B. quickly.
"Yes," said Frank; "he has some views on the question of Miss Gray."
He spoke61 reluctantly, for he was loath62 to introduce Doris' name into the argument.
"Poltavo would have a good reason," mused63 T. B. Smith. "Tell me what happened in the car."
Briefly Frank related the circumstances which had led up to his capture.
"When I found myself in their hands," he said, "I decided64 to play 'possum for a while. The car was moving at incredible speed, remembering your stringent65 traffic regulations,"--he smiled,--"and I knew that any attempt to escape on my part would result in serious injury to myself. They made no bones about their intentions. Before we were clear of London they had pulled the blinds, and one of them had switched on the electric lamp. They were both masked, and were, I think, foreigners. One sat opposite to me, all through the night, a revolver on his knees, and he did not make any disguise of his intention of employing his weapon if I gave the slightest trouble.
"I could not tell, because of the lowered blinds, which direction we were taking, but presently we struck the country and they let down one of the windows without raising the blind and I could smell the sweet scent66 of the fields, and knew we were miles away from London.
"I think I must have dozed67 a little, for very suddenly, it seemed, daylight came, and I had the good sense in waking to make as little stir as possible. I found the man sitting opposite was also in a mild doze68, and the other at my side was nodding.
"I took a very careful survey of the situation. The car was moving very slowly, and evidently the driver had orders to move at no particular pace through the night, in order to economize69 the petrol. There was an inside handle to each of the doors, and I had to make up my mind by which I was to make my escape. I decided upon the near side. Gathering70 up my energies for one supreme71 effort, I suddenly leapt up, flung open the door, and jumped out. I had enough experience of the London traffic to clear the car without stumbling.
"I found myself upon a heath, innocent of any cover, save for a belt of trees about half a mile ahead of me as I ran. Fortunately the down, which was apparently72 flat, was, in fact, of a rolling character, and in two minutes I must have been out of sight of the car--long before they had brought the driver, himself half asleep probably, to an understanding that I had made my escape. They caught sight of me as I came up from the hollow, and one of them must have fired at me, for I heard the whistle of a bullet pass my head. That is all the story I have to tell. It was rather a tame conclusion to what promised to be a most sensational73 adventure."
At the invitation of the Reverend Jeremiah he drove back to the rectory, and left T. B. to continue his search for the missing Lady Constance. No better result attended the second scrutiny74 of the rooms than had resulted from the first.
"The only suggestion I can make now," said T. B., helplessly, "is that whilst our friend the coachman was reading, his lady slipped out without attracting his attention and strolled away; she will in all probability be awaiting us at the rectory."
Yet in his heart he knew that this view was absolutely wrong. The locked doors, the evidence of a struggle in the room, the bloody hand print, all pointed conclusively75 to foul76 play.
"At any rate Lady Constance Dex is somewhere within the radius77 of four miles," he said, grimly, "and I will find her if I have to pull down the Secret House stone by stone."
收听单词发音 |
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sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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nonplussed
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| adj.不知所措的，陷于窘境的v.使迷惑( nonplus的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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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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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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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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recipient
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| a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器 | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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lethargic
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| adj.昏睡的，懒洋洋的 | |
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perusal
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| n.细读，熟读；目测 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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imperturbable
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| adj.镇静的 | |
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portfolio
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| n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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erratic
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decadent
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assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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latch
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| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
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wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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recapitulated
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| v.总结，扼要重述( recapitulate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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coup
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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spasm
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| n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作 | |
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misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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disappearance
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inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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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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blackmail
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| n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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postscript
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| n.附言，又及；(正文后的)补充说明 | |
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cryptogram
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| n.密码 | |
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anticipation
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| n.预期，预料，期望 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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implicate
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| vt.使牵连其中，涉嫌 | |
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prelude
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| n.序言，前兆，序曲 | |
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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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62
loath
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| adj.不愿意的；勉强的 | |
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63
mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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stringent
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| adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的 | |
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66
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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67
dozed
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| v.打盹儿，打瞌睡( doze的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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68
doze
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| v.打瞌睡；n.打盹，假寐 | |
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69
economize
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| v.节约，节省 | |
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70
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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72
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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73
sensational
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| adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的 | |
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scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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conclusively
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| adv.令人信服地，确凿地 | |
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foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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radius
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| n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限 | |
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