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首页 » 儿童英文小说 » Driven From Home Carl Crawford's Experience » CHAPTER VIII. CARL FALLS UNDER SUSPICION.
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CHAPTER VIII. CARL FALLS UNDER SUSPICION.
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 To a person of any age such a sight as that described at the close of the last chapter might well have proved startling. To a boy like Carl it was simply overwhelming. It so happened that he had but twice seen a dead person, and never a victim of violence. The peculiar1 circumstances increased the effect upon his mind.
He placed his hand upon the man’s face, and found that he was still warm. He could have been dead but a short time.
“What shall I do?” thought Carl, perplexed2. “This is terrible!”
Then it flashed upon him that as he was alone with the dead man suspicion might fall upon him as being concerned in what might be called a murder.
“I had better leave here at once,” he reflected. “I shall have to go away without paying for my meal.”
He started to leave the house, but had scarcely reached the door when two persons—a man and a woman—entered. Both looked at Carl with suspicion.
“What are you doing here?” asked the man.
“I beg your pardon,” answered Carl; “I was very hungry, and seeing no one about, took the liberty to sit down at the table and eat. I am willing to pay for my dinner if you will tell me how much it amounts to.”
“Wasn’t my husband here?” asked the woman.
“I—I am afraid something has happened to your husband,” faltered3 Carl.
“What do you mean?”
Carl silently pointed4 to the chamber5 door. The woman opened it, and uttered a loud shriek6.
“Look here, Walter!” she cried.
Her companion quickly came to her side.
“My husband is dead!” cried the woman; “basely murdered, and there,” pointing fiercely to Carl, “there stands the murderer!”
“Madam, you cannot believe this!” said Carl, naturally agitated7.
“What have you to say for yourself?” demanded the man, suspiciously.
“I only just saw—your husband,” continued Carl, addressing himself to the woman. “I had finished my meal, when I began to search for some one whom I could pay, and so opened this door into the room beyond, when I saw—him hanging there!”
“Don’t believe him, the red-handed murderer!” broke out the woman, fiercely. “He is probably a thief; he killed my poor husband, and then sat down like a cold-blooded villain8 that he is, and gorged9 himself.”
Things began to look very serious for poor Carl.
“Your husband is larger and stronger than myself,” he urged, desperately10. “How could I overpower him?”
“It looks reasonable, Maria,” said the man. “I don’t see how the boy could have killed Mr. Brown, or lifted him upon the hook, even if he did not resist.”
“He murdered him, I tell you, he murdered him!” shrieked11 the woman, who seemed bereft12 of reason. “I call upon you to arrest him.”
“I am not a constable13, Maria.”
“Then tie him so he cannot get away, and go for a constable. I wouldn’t feel safe with him in the house, unless he were tied fast. He might hang me!”
Terrible as the circumstances were, Carl felt an impulse to laugh. It seemed absurd to hear himself talked of in this way.
“Tie me if you like!” he said. “I am willing to wait here till some one comes who has a little common sense. Just remember that I am only a boy, and haven’t the strength of a full-grown man!”
“The boy is right, Maria! It’s a foolish idea of yours.”
“I call upon you to tie the villain!” insisted the woman.
“Just as you say! Can you give me some rope?”
From a drawer Mrs. Brown drew a quantity of strong cord, and the man proceeded to tie Carl’s hands.
“Tie his feet, too, Walter!”
“Even if you didn’t tie me, I would promise to remain here. I don’t want anybody to suspect me of such a thing,” put in Carl.
“How artful he is!” said Mrs. Brown. “Tie him strong, Walter.”
The two were left alone, Carl feeling decidedly uncomfortable. The newly-made widow laid her head upon the table and moaned, glancing occasionally at the body of her husband, as it still hung suspended from the hook.
“Oh, William, I little expected to find you dead!” she groaned14. “I only went to the store to buy a pound of salt, and when I come back, I find you cold and still, the victim of a young ruffian! How could you be so wicked?” she demanded fiercely of Carl.
“I have told you that I had nothing to do with your husband’s death, madam.”
“Who killed him, then?” she cried.
“I don’t know. He must have committed suicide.”
“Don’t think you are going to escape in that way. I won’t rest till I see you hung!”
“I wish I had never entered the house,” thought Carl, uncomfortably. “I would rather have gone hungry for twenty four hours longer than find myself in such a position.”
Half an hour passed. Then a sound of voices was heard outside, and half a dozen men entered, including besides the messenger, the constable and a physician.
“Why was he not cut down?” asked the doctor, hastily. “There might have been a chance to resuscitate15 him.”
“I didn’t think of it,” said the messenger. “Maria was so excited, and insisted that the boy murdered him.”
“What boy?”
Carl was pointed out.
“That boy? What nonsense!” exclaimed Dr. Park. “Why, it would be more than you or I could do to overpower and hang a man weighing one hundred and seventy-five pounds.”
“That’s what I thought, but Maria seemed crazed like.”
“I tell you he did it! Are you going to let him go, the red-handed murderer?”
“Loose the cord, and I will question the boy,” said Dr. Park, with an air of authority.
Carl breathed a sigh of relief, when, freed from his bonds, he stood upright.
“I’ll tell you all I know,” he said, “but it won’t throw any light upon the death.”
Dr. Park listened attentively16, and asked one or two questions.
“Did you hear any noise when you were sitting at the table?” he inquired.
“No, sir.”
“Was the door closed?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That of itself would probably prevent your hearing anything. Mrs. Brown, at what hour did you leave the house?”
“At ten minutes of twelve.”
“It is now five minutes of one. The deed must have been committed just after you left the house. Had you noticed anything out of the way in your—husband’s manner?”
“No, sir, not much. He was always a silent man.”
“Had anything happened to disturb him?”
“He got a letter this morning. I don’t know what was in it.”
“We had better search for it.”
The body was taken down and laid on the bed. Dr. Park searched the pockets, and found a half sheet of note paper, on which these lines were written:
“Maria:—I have made up my mind I can ive no longer. I have made a terrible discovery. When I married you, I thought my first wife, who deserted17 me four years ago, dead. I learn by a letter received this morning that she is still living in a town of Illinois. The only thing I can do is to free you both from my presence. When you come back from the store you will find me cold and dead. The little that I leave behind I give to you. If my first wife should come here, as she threatens, you can tell her so. Good-by.
“William.”
The reading of this letter made a sensation. Mrs. Brown went into hysterics, and there was a scene of confusion.
“Do you think I can go?” Carl asked Dr. Park.
“Yes. There is nothing to connect you with the sad event.”
Carl gladly left the cottage, and it was only when he was a mile on his way that he remembered that he had not paid for his dinner, after all.

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1 peculiar cinyo     
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的
参考例句:
  • He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
  • He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。
2 perplexed A3Rz0     
adj.不知所措的
参考例句:
  • The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛,走了又回来,犹豫不决,总怕上当受骗。
  • The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。
3 faltered d034d50ce5a8004ff403ab402f79ec8d     
(嗓音)颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 ); 支吾其词; 蹒跚; 摇晃
参考例句:
  • He faltered out a few words. 他支吾地说出了几句。
  • "Er - but he has such a longhead!" the man faltered. 他不好意思似的嚅嗫着:“这孩子脑袋真长。”
4 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
5 chamber wnky9     
n.房间,寝室;会议厅;议院;会所
参考例句:
  • For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说,牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
  • The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
6 shriek fEgya     
v./n.尖叫,叫喊
参考例句:
  • Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
  • People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧,气愤或疼痛而尖叫。
7 agitated dzgzc2     
adj.被鼓动的,不安的
参考例句:
  • His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定,回答全乱了。
  • She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时,她十分焦虑。
8 villain ZL1zA     
n.反派演员,反面人物;恶棍;问题的起因
参考例句:
  • He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
  • The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。
9 gorged ccb1b7836275026e67373c02e756e79c     
v.(用食物把自己)塞饱,填饱( gorge的过去式和过去分词 );作呕
参考例句:
  • He gorged himself at the party. 在宴会上他狼吞虎咽地把自己塞饱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The men, gorged with food, had unbuttoned their vests. 那些男人,吃得直打饱嗝,解开了背心的钮扣。 来自辞典例句
10 desperately cu7znp     
adv.极度渴望地,绝望地,孤注一掷地
参考例句:
  • He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
  • He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。
11 shrieked dc12d0d25b0f5d980f524cd70c1de8fe     
v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
  • Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫,陆子潇尖声叫:“告诉什么? 来自汉英文学 - 围城
12 bereft ndjy9     
adj.被剥夺的
参考例句:
  • The place seemed to be utterly bereft of human life.这个地方似乎根本没有人烟。
  • She was bereft of happiness.她失去了幸福。
13 constable wppzG     
n.(英国)警察,警官
参考例句:
  • The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
  • The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气,不肯冒起火来。
14 groaned 1a076da0ddbd778a674301b2b29dff71     
v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 );发牢骚;抱怨;受苦
参考例句:
  • He groaned in anguish. 他痛苦地呻吟。
  • The cart groaned under the weight of the piano. 大车在钢琴的重压下嘎吱作响。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 resuscitate 1D9yy     
v.使复活,使苏醒
参考例句:
  • A policeman and then a paramedic tried to resuscitate her.一名警察和一位护理人员先后试图救活她。
  • As instructed by Rinpoche,we got the doctors to resuscitate him.遵照仁波切的指示,我们找来医生帮他进行急救。
16 attentively AyQzjz     
adv.聚精会神地;周到地;谛;凝神
参考例句:
  • She listened attentively while I poured out my problems. 我倾吐心中的烦恼时,她一直在注意听。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She listened attentively and set down every word he said. 她专心听着,把他说的话一字不漏地记下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 deserted GukzoL     
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。


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