Chapter 66

Collet and his agents burst through the front door of Sir Leigh Teabing's estate with their gunsdrawn. Fanning out, they began searching all the rooms on the first level. They found a bullet holein the drawing room floor, signs of a struggle, a small amount of blood, a strange, barbed leatherbelt, and a partially¹ used roll of duct tape. The entire level seemed deserted².

　　Just as Collet was about to divide his men to search the basement and grounds behind the house, heheard voices on the level above them.

　　"They're upstairs!"Rushing up the wide staircase, Collet and his men moved room by room through the huge home,securing darkened bedrooms and hallways as they closed in on the sounds of voices. The soundseemed to be coming from the last bedroom on an exceptionally long hallway. The agents incheddown the corridor, sealing off alternate exits.

　　As they neared the final bedroom, Collet could see the door was wide open. The voices hadstopped suddenly, and had been replaced by an odd rumbling³, like an engine.

　　Sidearm raised, Collet gave the signal. Reaching silently around the door frame, he found the lightswitch and flicked⁴ it on. Spinning into the room with men pouring in after him, Collet shouted andaimed his weapon at... nothing.

　　An empty guest bedroom. Pristine⁵.

　　The rumbling sounds of an automobile⁶ engine poured from a black electronic panel on the wallbeside the bed. Collet had seen these elsewhere in the house. Some kind of intercom system. Heraced over. The panel had about a dozen labeled buttons:

　　STUDY... KITCHEN... LAUNDRY... CELLAR...

　　So where the hell do I hear a car?

　　MASTER BEDROOM... SUN ROOM... BARN... LIBRARY...

　　Barn! Collet was downstairs in seconds, running toward the back door, grabbing one of his agentson the way. The men crossed the rear lawn and arrived breathless at the front of a weathered graybarn. Even before they entered, Collet could hear the fading sounds of a car engine. He drew hisweapon, rushed in, and flicked on the lights.

　　The right side of the barn was a rudimentary workshop—lawn-mowers, automotive tools,gardening supplies. A familiar intercom panel hung on the wall nearby. One of its buttons wasflipped down, transmitting.

　　GUEST BEDROOM II.

　　Collet wheeled, anger brimming. They lured⁷ us upstairs with the intercom! Searching the other sideof the barn, he found a long line of horse stalls. No horses. Apparently⁸ the owner preferred adifferent kind of horsepower; the stalls had been converted into an impressive automotive parkingfacility. The collection was astonishing—a black Ferrari, a pristine Rolls-Royce, an antique AstinMartin sports coupe, a vintage Porsche 356.

　　The last stall was empty.

　　Collet ran over and saw oil stains on the stall floor. They can't get off the compound. The drivewayand gate were barricaded⁹ with two patrol cars to prevent this very situation.

　　"Sir?" The agent pointed¹⁰ down the length of the stalls.

　　The barn's rear slider was wide open, giving way to a dark, muddy slope of rugged¹¹ fields thatstretched out into the night behind the barn. Collet ran to the door, trying to see out into thedarkness. All he could make out was the faint shadow of a forest in the distance. No headlights.

　　This wooded valley was probably crisscrossed by dozens of unmapped fire roads and huntingtrails, but Collet was confident his quarry¹² would never make the woods. "Get some men spread outdown there. They're probably already stuck somewhere nearby. These fancy sports cars can'thandle terrain¹³.""Um, sir?" The agent pointed to a nearby pegboard on which hung several sets of keys. The labelsabove the keys bore familiar names.

　　DAIMLER... ROLLS-ROYCE... ASTIN MARTIN... PORSCHE...

　　The last peg¹⁴ was empty.

　　When Collet read the label above the empty peg, he knew he was in trouble.

科莱和他手下的特工人员拔出枪，从雷。提彬先生的房子前门蜂拥而入。他们成扇形状散开，开始在底楼所有房间里逐一进行排查。在客厅里的地板上，他们发现了一颗子弹留下的洞眼，一小摊血迹，一条模样古怪带钩刺的皮带，还有一卷部分被用过的电缆线，显然这里曾有过搏斗的迹象。然而眼下，整栋楼房似乎已空无一人。

科莱正打算派手下到地下室以及屋后面的空地里去搜查，这时，他听到楼上有声音。

"他们在楼上！"

科莱带着手下迅速跳上宽阔的楼梯，朝声音传来的方向奔去，他们从这座豪宅的一个房间转移到另一个房间，以确保不漏过任何藏在暗处的床位以及光线黯淡的走廊。声音似乎是从一条特别长的走廊尽头的最后一个房间里传来的。特工们沿着走廊步步紧逼，并封锁了所有的通道。

他们靠近了最后的那个卧室，科莱看到房门洞开着。声音戛然而止，取而代之的是沉闷单调的类似马达的轰鸣声。

科莱举起随身携带的武器，向他手下示意，然后蹑手蹑脚地走到门槛边。在那里，他发现了电灯开关，便"啪"的一声将灯打开了。旋即他和紧跟其后的部下风一般地冲进房里。他大声地喊着，并用枪瞄准……然而他们发现，房子里面什么东西也没有。

这间空荡荡的客房，给人一种极质朴的印象。

类似汽车马达的轰鸣声，不断地从床边墙上的一块黑色电板中传了出来。科莱曾在这宅邸的某些地方见过。这些东西，大概是一些用于内部通信联络的系统装置。他急奔过去。电板上大约有十多个带标签的按钮，上面写着：书房……厨房……洗衣房……地下室……

见鬼，我到底是在哪里听到汽车的声音呢？

……主人卧室……太阳房……谷仓……家庭图书馆……

对了，是在谷仓！科莱在楼下耽搁了数秒，便顺势拖了他的部下，往后门奔去。他的手下则穿过了后面的草坪，屏住呼吸，来到了一间历经多年风雨的灰头土脸的谷仓前。科莱他们人还没进去，就听到了微弱的汽车马达声。他拔出枪，冲了进去，并拉亮了灯。

谷仓右面是一个初级作坊--里面有割草机、机动车工具，还有些园艺专用设备。附近的墙上挂着一块让人觉得很是眼熟的内部通信系统电板。电板上的一个按钮被震落下来，并发出微弱的电波信号。第二号客房。

科莱突然转身，火气腾地窜了上来。原来那些人是在利用内部通信系统装置骗我们上楼啊！科莱又搜查了谷仓的另一边，并发现了一排长长的马厩。然而里面却没有一匹马。

很明显，马厩的主人更偏爱使用另一种马力。他把所有的马厩房都改造成令人印象深刻的汽车展览室。其收藏的数目也蔚为大观：一辆法拉利牌的轿车，一辆古朴的罗尔斯。罗伊思小汽车，一辆老古董的阿斯顿。马丁牌双人小赛车，还有一辆过时的保时捷356.

然而位于最末端的那个马厩却是空的。

科莱跑过去，看到地上沾有油迹。他们不可能是从这院子里跑走的吧！为了防止这种情况发生，他已经派了两辆巡逻车将车道和大门堵住了。

"阁下，你看！"一位侦探指着长长的一排马厩说。

谷仓的后门洞开着，他们从那里可以看到一道黑手乎的泥泞的山坡，山坡上崎岖不平的田地一直延伸到谷仓后面苍茫的黑夜尽头。科莱跑到门边，想看看外面到底有些什么，然而他只看到远处一片树林投下的模糊的暗影，并没有看到什么汽车的头灯。在这个林木茂盛的山谷里，也许横七竖八布满了数十条在地图上根本找不到的道路和狩猎的小径许已经陷在附近的某个地方了。这种豪华赛车，对付这种地形可就不中用了。

"嘿，头儿，你看！"那侦探指了指附近一块挂了几把钥匙的小栓板。钥匙上方的标签上写了一些很熟悉的名字：戴姆勒……罗尔斯。罗伊思……阿斯顿。马丁……保时捷……

但最后的栓子里却是空的。

科莱读了空栓上面的标签，马上明白自己碰上了麻烦。

1 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

2 deserted   

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。

3 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

4 flicked   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
• I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。

5 pristine   

adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的

参考例句：

• He wiped his fingers on his pristine handkerchief.他用他那块洁净的手帕擦手指。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

6 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

7 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

8 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

9 barricaded   

设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守

参考例句：

• The police barricaded the entrance. 警方在入口处设置了路障。
• The doors had been barricaded. 门都被堵住了。

10 pointed   

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。

11 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

12 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

13 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

14 peg   

n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定

参考例句：

• Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。