Seated in Bourgonef's room, in the old place, each with a cigar, and chatting as of old on public affairs, I gradually approached the subject of the recent murder.
"Is it not strange," I said, "that both these crimes should have happened while we were casually2 staying in both places?"
"Perhaps we are the criminals," he replied, laughing. I shivered slightly at this audacity3. He laughed as he spoke4, but there was a hard, metallic5, and almost defiant6 tone in his voice which exasperated7 me.
"Perhaps we are," I answered, quietly. He looked full at me; but I was prepared, and my face told nothing. I added, as in explanation, "The crime being apparently8 contagious9, we may have brought the infection from Nuremberg."
"Do you believe in that hypothesis of imitation?"
"I don't know what to believe. Do you believe in there being only one murderer? It seems such a preposterous10 idea. We must suppose him, at any rate, to be a maniac11."
"Not necessarily. Indeed there seems to have been too much artful contrivance in both affairs, not only in the selection of the victims, but in the execution of the schemes. Cunning as maniacs12 often are they are still maniacs, and betray themselves."
"If not a maniac," said I, hoping to pique13 him, "he must be a man of stupendous and pitiable vanity,—perhaps one of your constant- minded friends, whom you refuse to call bloodthirsty."
"Constant-minded, perhaps; but why pitiably vain?"
"Why? Because only a diseased atrocity14 of imagination, stimulating15 a nature essentially16 base and weak in its desire to make itself conspicuous17, would or could suggest such things. The silly youth who 'fired the Ephesian dome,' the vain idiot who set fire to York Minster, the miserable18 Frenchmen who have committed murder and suicide with a view of making their exit striking from a world in which their appearance had been contemptible19, would all sink into insignificance20 beside the towering infamy21 of baseness which—for the mere22 love of producing an effect on the minds of men, and thus drawing their attention upon him, which otherwise would never have marked him at all—could scheme and execute crimes so horrible and inexcusable. In common charity to human nature, let us suppose the wretch23 is mad; because otherwise his miserable vanity would be too loathsome24." I spoke with warmth and bitterness, which increased as I perceived him wincing25 under the degradation26 of my contempt.
"If his motive27 WERE vanity," he said, "no doubt it would be horrible; but may it not have been revenge?"
"Revenge!" I exclaimed; "what! on innocent women?"
"Good God! do you know anything to the contrary?"
"Not I. But as we are conjecturing29, I may as well conjecture30 it to have been the desire to produce a startling effect."
"Simply enough. We have to suppose a motive; let us say it was revenge, and see whether that will furnish a clue."
"But it can't. The two victims were wholly unconnected with each other by any intermediate acquaintances, consequently there can have been no common wrong or common enmity in existence to furnish food for vengeance32."
"How so?"
"It is human nature. Did you ever observe a thwarted34 child striking in its anger the unoffending nurse, destroying its toys to discharge its wrath35? Did you ever see a schoolboy, unable to wreak36 his anger on the bigger boy who has just struck him, turn against the nearest smaller boy and beat him? Did you ever know a schoolmaster, angered by one of the boy's parents, vent37 his pent-up spleen upon the unoffending class? Did you ever see a subaltern punished because an officer had been reprimanded? These are familiar examples of vicarious vengeance. When the soul is stung to fury, it must solace38 itself by the discharge of that fury—it must relieve its pain by the sight of pain in others. We are so constituted. We need sympathy above all things. In joy we cannot bear to see others in distress39; in distress we see the joy of others with dismal40 envy which sharpens our pain. That is human nature."
"And," I exclaimed, carried away by my indignation, "you suppose that the sight of these two happy girls, beaming with the quiet joy of brides, was torture to some miserable wretch who had lost his bride."
I had gone too far. His eyes looked into mine. I read in his that he divined the whole drift of my suspicion—the allusion41 made to himself. There often passes into a look more than words can venture to express. In that look he read that he was discovered, and I read that he had recognized it. With perfect calmness, but with a metallic ring in his voice which was like the clash of swords, he said:
"I did not say that I supposed this; but as we were on the wide field of conjecture—utterly42 without evidence one way or the other, having no clue either to the man or his motives—I drew from the general principles of human nature a conclusion which was just as plausible43—or absurd if you like—as the conclusion that the motive must have been vanity."
"As you say, we are utterly without evidence, and conjecture drifts aimlessly from one thing to another. After all, the most plausible explanation is that of a contagion44 of imitation."
I said this in order to cover my previous imprudence. He was not deceived—though for a few moments I fancied he was—but replied:
"I am not persuaded of that either. The whole thing is a mystery, and I shall stay here some time in the hope of seeing it cleared up. Meanwhile, for a subject of conjecture, let me show you something on which your ingenuity45 may profitably be employed."
He rose and passed into his bedroom. I heard him unlocking and rummaging46 the drawers, and was silently reproaching myself for my want of caution in having spoken as I had done, though it was now beyond all doubt that he was the murderer, and that his motive had been rightly guessed; but with this self-reproach there was mingled47 a self-gratulation at the way I had got out of the difficulty, as I fancied.
He returned, and as he sat down I noticed that the lower part of his surtout was open. He always wore a long frogged and braided coat reaching to the knees—as I now know, for the purpose of concealing48 the arm which hung (as he said, withered) at his side. The two last fastenings were now undone49.
He held in his hand a tiny chain made of very delicate wire. This he gave me, saying:
"Now what would you conjecture that to be?"
"Had it come into my hands without any remark, I should have said it was simply a very exquisite50 bit of ironwork; but your question points to something more out of the way."
"It IS iron-work," he said.
Could I be deceived? A third fastening of his surtout was undone!
I had seen but two a moment ago.
"And what am I to conjecture?" I asked.
"Where that iron came from? It was NOT from a mine." I looked at it again, and examined it attentively51. On raising my eyes in inquiry—fortunately with an expression of surprise, since what met my eyes would have startled a cooler man—I saw the fourth fastening undone!
"You look surprised," he continued, "and will be more surprised when I tell you that the iron in your hands once floated in the circulation of a man. It is made from human blood."
"Human blood!" I murmured.
He went on expounding53 the physiological54 wonders of the blood,—how it carried, dissolved in its currents, a proportion of iron and earths; how this iron was extracted by chemists and exhibited as a curiosity; and how this chain had been manufactured from such extracts. I heard every word, but my thoughts were hurrying to and fro in the agitation55 of a supreme56 moment. That there was a dagger57 underneath58 that coat—that in a few moments it would flash forth— that a death-struggle was at hand,—I knew well. My safety depended on presence of mind. That incalculable rapidity with which, in critical moments, the mind surveys all the openings and resources of an emergency, had assured me that there was no weapon within reach—that before I could give an alarm the tiger would be at my throat, and that my only chance was to keep my eyes fixed59 upon him, ready to spring on him the moment the next fastening was undone, and before he could use his arm.
At last the idea occurred to me, that as, with a wild beast, safety lies in attacking him just before he attacks you, so with this beast my best chance was audacity. Looking steadily60 into his face, I said slowly:
"And you would like to have such a chain made from my blood." I rose as I spoke. He remained sitting, but was evidently taken aback.
"What do you mean?" he said.
"I mean," said I, sternly, "that your coat is unfastened, and that if another fastening is loosened in my presence, I fell you to the earth."
"You're a fool!" he exclaimed.
I moved towards the door, keeping my eye fixed upon him as he sat pale and glaring at me.
"YOU are a fool," I said—" and worse, if you stir."
At this moment, I know not by what sense, as if I had eyes at the back of my head, I was aware of some one moving behind me, yet I dared not look aside. Suddenly two mighty61 folds of darkness seemed to envelop62 me like arms. A powerful scent63 ascended64 my nostrils65. There was a ringing in my ears, a beating at my heart. Darkness came on, deeper and deeper, like huge waves. I seemed growing to gigantic stature66. The waves rolled on faster and faster. The ringing became a roaring. The beating became a throbbing67. Lights flashed across the darkness. Forms moved before me. On came the waves hurrying like a tide, and I sank deeper and deeper into this mighty sea of darkness. Then all was silent. Consciousness was still.
. . . . . .
How long I remained unconscious, I cannot tell. But it must have been some considerable time. When consciousness once more began to dawn within me, I found myself lying on a bed surrounded by a group of eager, watching faces, and became aware of a confused murmur52 of whispering going on around me. "Er Lebt" (he lives) were the words which greeted my opening eyes—words which I recognized as coming from my landlord.
I had had a very narrow escape. Another moment and I should not have lived to tell the tale. The dagger that had already immolated68 two of Bourgonef's objects of vengeance would have been in my breast. As it was, at the very moment when the terrible Ivan had thrown his arms around me and was stifling69 me with chloroform, one of the servants of the hotel, alarmed or attracted by curiosity at the sound of high words within the room, had ventured to open the door to see what was going on. The alarm had been given, and Bourgonef had been arrested and handed over to the police. Ivan, however, had disappeared; nor were the police ever able to find him. This mattered comparatively little. Ivan without his master was no more redoubtable70 than any other noxious71 animal. As an accomplice72, as an instrument to execute the will of a man like Bourgonef, he was a danger to society. The directing intelligence withdrawn73, he sank to the level of the brute74. I was not uneasy, therefore, at his having escaped. Sufficient for me that the real criminal, the mind that had conceived and directed those fearful murders, was at last in the hands of justice. I felt that my task had been fully75 accomplished76 when Bourgonef's head fell on the scaffold.
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1
elicit
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| v.引出,抽出,引起 | |
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casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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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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metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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defiant
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| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
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exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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contagious
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| adj.传染性的，有感染力的 | |
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10
preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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maniac
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| n.精神癫狂的人；疯子 | |
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maniacs
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| n.疯子（maniac的复数形式） | |
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pique
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| v.伤害…的自尊心，使生气 n.不满，生气 | |
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atrocity
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| n.残暴，暴行 | |
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stimulating
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| adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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contemptible
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| adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的 | |
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insignificance
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| n.不重要；无价值；无意义 | |
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infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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loathsome
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| adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的 | |
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wincing
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的现在分词 ) | |
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degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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conjecturing
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| v. & n. 推测，臆测 | |
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conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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31
justify
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| vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护 | |
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32
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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avenger
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| n. 复仇者 | |
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thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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wreak
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| v.发泄；报复 | |
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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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solace
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| n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和 | |
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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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dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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42
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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43
plausible
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| adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的 | |
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44
contagion
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| n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延 | |
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45
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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46
rummaging
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| 翻找，搜寻( rummage的现在分词 )； 海关检查 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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48
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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49
undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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50
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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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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52
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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53
expounding
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| 论述，详细讲解( expound的现在分词 ) | |
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54
physiological
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| adj.生理学的，生理学上的 | |
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55
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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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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dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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58
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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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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60
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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61
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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62
envelop
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| vt.包，封，遮盖；包围 | |
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63
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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64
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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66
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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immolated
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| v.宰杀…作祭品( immolate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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stifling
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| a.令人窒息的 | |
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70
redoubtable
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| adj.可敬的；可怕的 | |
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71
noxious
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| adj.有害的，有毒的；使道德败坏的，讨厌的 | |
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72
accomplice
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| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
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73
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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74
brute
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| n.野兽，兽性 | |
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75
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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