Rouletabille, naturally, became the “man of the hour.” On leaving the Palais de Justice, the crowd bore him aloft in triumph. The press of the whole world published his exploits and his photograph. He, who had interviewed so many illustrious personages, had himself become illustrious and was interviewed in his turn. I am glad to say that the enormous success in no way turned his head.
We left Versailles together, after having dined at “The Dog That Smokes.” In the train I put a number of questions to him which, during our meal, had been on the tip of my tongue, but which I had refrained from uttering, knowing he did not like to talk “shop” while eating.
“My friend,” I said, “that Larsan case is wonderful. It is worthy8 of you.”
He begged me to say no more, and humorously pretended an anxiety for me should I give way to silly praise of him because of a personal admiration9 for his ability.
“I’ll come to the point, then,” I said, not a little nettled10. “I am still in the dark as to your reason for going to America. When you left the Glandier you had found out, if I rightly understand, all about Frederic Larsan; you had discovered the exact way he had attempted the murder?”
“Quite so. And you,” he said, turning the conversation, “did you suspect nothing?”
“Nothing!”
“It’s incredible!”
“I don’t see how I could have suspected anything. You took great pains to conceal11 your thoughts from me. Had you already suspected Larsan when you sent for me to bring the revolvers?”
“Yes! I had come to that conclusion through the incident of the ‘inexplicable gallery.’ Larsan’s return to Mademoiselle Stangerson’s room, however, had not then been cleared up by the eye-glasses. My suspicions were the outcome of my reasoning only; and the idea of Larsan being the murderer seemed so extraordinary that I resolved to wait for actual evidence before venturing to act. Nevertheless, the suspicion worried me, and I sometimes spoke12 to the detective in a way that ought to have opened your eyes. I spoke disparagingly13 of his methods. But until I found the eye-glasses I could but look upon my suspicion of him in the light of an absurd hypothesis only. You can imagine my elation14 after I had explained Larsan’s movements. I remember well rushing into my room like a mad-man and crying to you: ‘I’ll get the better of the great Fred. I’ll get the better of him in a way that will make a sensation!’
“I was then thinking of Larsan, the murderer. It was that same evening that Darzac begged me to watch over Mademoiselle Stangerson. I made no efforts until after we had dined with Larsan, until ten o’clock. He was right there before me, and I could afford to wait. You ought to have suspected, because when we were talking of the murderer’s arrival, I said to you: ‘I am quite sure Larsan will be here to-night.’
“But one important point escaped us both. It was one which ought to have opened our eyes to Larsan. Do you remember the bamboo cane15? I was surprised to find Larsan had made no use of that evidence against Robert Darzac. Had it not been purchased by a man whose description tallied16 exactly with that of Darzac? Well, just before I saw him off at the train, after the recess17 during the trial, I asked him why he hadn’t used the cane evidence. He told me he had never had any intention of doing so; that our discovery of it in the little inn at Epinay had much embarrassed him. If you will remember, he told us then that the cane had been given him in London. Why did we not immediately say to ourselves: ‘Fred is lying. He could not have had this cane in London. He was not in London. He bought it in Paris’? Then you found out, on inquiry19 at Cassette’s, that the cane had been bought by a person dressed very like Robert Darzac, though, as we learned later, from Darzac himself, it was not he who had made the purchase. Couple this with the fact we already knew, from the letter at the poste restante, that there was actually a man in Paris who was passing as Robert Darzac, why did we not immediately fix on Fred himself?
“Of course, his position at the Surete was against us; but when we saw the evident eagerness on his part to find convicting evidence against Darzac, nay18, even the passion he displayed in his pursuit of the man, the lie about the cane should have had a new meaning for us. If you ask why Larsan bought the cane, if he had no intention of manufacturing evidence against Darzac by means of it, the answer is quite simple. He had been wounded in the hand by Mademoiselle Stangerson, so that the cane was useful to enable him to close his hand in carrying it. You remember I noticed that he always carried it?
“All these details came back to my mind when I had once fixed20 on Larsan as the criminal. But they were too late then to be of any use to me. On the evening when he pretended to be drugged I looked at his hand and saw a thin silk bandage covering the signs of a slight healing wound. Had we taken a quicker initiative at the time Larsan told us that lie about the cane, I am certain he would have gone off, to avoid suspicion. All the same, we worried Larsan or Ballmeyer without our knowing it.”
“But,” I interrupted, “if Larsan had no intention of using the cane as evidence against Darzac, why had he made himself up to look like the man when he went in to buy it?”
“He had not specially21 ‘made up’ as Darzac to buy the cane; he had come straight to Cassette’s immediately after he had attacked Mademoiselle Stangerson. His wound was troubling him and, as he was passing along the Avenue de l’Opera, the idea of the cane came to his mind and he acted on it. It was then eight o’clock. And I, who had hit upon the very hour of the occurrence of the tragedy, almost convinced that Darzac was not the criminal, and knowing of the cane, I still never suspected Larsan. There are times...”
“There are times,” I said, “when the greatest intellects—...” Rouletabille shut my mouth. I still continued to chide22 him, but, finding he did not reply, I saw he was no longer paying any attention to what I was saying. I found he was fast asleep.
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1
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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2
adjournment
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| 休会； 延期； 休会期； 休庭期 | |
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prosecutor
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| n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人 | |
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adjourned
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| （使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bail
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| v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人 | |
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6
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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7
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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8
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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9
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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10
nettled
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| v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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11
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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12
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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13
disparagingly
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| adv.以贬抑的口吻，以轻视的态度 | |
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14
elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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15
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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16
tallied
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| v.计算，清点( tally的过去式和过去分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合 | |
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recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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18
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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19
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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20
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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21
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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chide
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| v.叱责；谴责 | |
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