New York editor Jonas Faukman had just climbed into bed for the night when the telephone rang.
A little late for callers, he grumbled1, picking up the receiver.
An operator's voice asked him, "Will you accept charges for a collect call from Robert Langdon?"Puzzled, Jonas turned on the light. "Uh... sure, okay."The line clicked. "Jonas?""Robert? You wake me up and you charge me for it?""Jonas, forgive me," Langdon said. "I'll keep this very short. I really need to know. The manuscriptI gave you. Have you—""Robert, I'm sorry, I know I said I'd send the edits out to you this week, but I'm swamped. NextMonday. I promise.""I'm not worried about the edits. I need to know if you sent any copies out for blurbs2 withouttelling me?"Faukman hesitated. Langdon's newest manuscript—an exploration of the history of goddessworship—included several sections about Mary Magdalene that were going to raise someeyebrows. Although the material was well documented and had been covered by others, Faukmanhad no intention of printing Advance Reading Copies of Langdon's book without at least a fewendorsements from serious historians and art luminaries5. Jonas had chosen ten big names in the artworld and sent them all sections of the manuscript along with a polite letter asking if they would bewilling to write a short endorsement3 for the jacket. In Faukman's experience, most people jumpedat the opportunity to see their name in print.
"Jonas?" Langdon pressed. "You sent out my manuscript, didn't you?"Faukman frowned, sensing Langdon was not happy about it. "The manuscript was clean, Robert,and I wanted to surprise you with some terrific blurbs."A pause. "Did you send one to the curator of the Paris Louvre?""What do you think? Your manuscript referenced his Louvre collection several times, his books arein your bibliography6, and the guy has some serious clout7 for foreign sales. Saunière was a no-brainer."The silence on the other end lasted a long time. "When did you send it?""About a month ago. I also mentioned you would be in Paris soon and suggested you two chat. Didhe ever call you to meet?" Faukman paused, rubbing his eyes. "Hold on, aren't you supposed to bein Paris this week?""I am in Paris."Faukman sat upright. "You called me collect from Paris?""Take it out of my royalties8, Jonas. Did you ever hear back from Saunière? Did he like themanuscript?""I don't know. I haven't yet heard from him.""Well, don't hold your breath. I've got to run, but this explains a lot Thanks.""Robert—"But Langdon was gone.
Faukman hung up the phone, shaking his head in disbelief Authors, he thought. Even the sane9 onesare nuts.
Inside the Range Rover, Leigh Teabing let out a guffaw10. "Robert, you're saying you wrote amanuscript that delves11 into a secret society, and your editor sent a copy to that secret society?"Langdon slumped12. "Evidently.""A cruel coincidence, my friend."Coincidence has nothing to do with it, Langdon knew. Asking Jacques Saunière to endorse4 amanuscript on goddess worship was as obvious as asking Tiger Woods to endorse a book on golf.
Moreover, it was virtually guaranteed that any book on goddess worship would have to mention thePriory of Sion.
"Here's the million-dollar question," Teabing said, still chuckling13. "Was your position on the Prioryfavorable or unfavorable?"Langdon could hear Teabing's true meaning loud and clear. Many historians questioned why thePriory was still keeping the Sangreal documents hidden. Some felt the information should havebeen shared with the world long ago. "I took no position on the Priory's actions.""You mean lack thereof."Langdon shrugged14. Teabing was apparently15 on the side of making the documents public. "I simplyprovided history on the brotherhood16 and described them as a modern goddess worship society,keepers of the Grail, and guardians17 of ancient documents."Sophie looked at him. "Did you mention the keystone?"Langdon winced18. He had. Numerous times. "I talked about the supposed keystone as an example ofthe lengths to which the Priory would go to protect the Sangreal documents."Sophie looked amazed. "I guess that explains P.S. Find Robert Langdon."Langdon sensed it was actually something else in the manuscript that had piqued19 Saunière'sinterest, but that topic was something he would discuss with Sophie when they were alone.
"So," Sophie said, "you lied to Captain Fache.""What?" Langdon demanded.
"You told him you had never corresponded with my grandfather.""I didn't! My editor sent him a manuscript.""Think about it, Robert. If Captain Fache didn't find the envelope in which your editor sent themanuscript, he would have to conclude that you sent it." She paused. "Or worse, that you hand-delivered it and lied about it."When the Range Rover arrived at Le Bourget Airfield20, Rémy drove to a small hangar at the far endof the airstrip. As they approached, a tousled man in wrinkled khakis hurried from the hangar,waved, and slid open the enormous corrugated21 metal door to reveal a sleek22 white jet within.
Langdon stared at the glistening23 fuselage. "That's Elizabeth?"Teabing grinned. "Beats the bloody24 Chunnel."The man in khakis hurried toward them, squinting25 into the headlights. "Almost ready, sir," hecalled in a British accent. "My apologies for the delay, but you took me by surprise and—" Hestopped short as the group unloaded. He looked at Sophie and Langdon, and then Teabing.
Teabing said, "My associates and I have urgent business in London. We've no time to waste. Pleaseprepare to depart immediately." As he spoke26, Teabing took the pistol out of the vehicle and handedit to Langdon.
The pilot's eyes bulged27 at the sight of the weapon. He walked over to Teabing and whispered, "Sir,my humble28 apologies, but my diplomatic flight allowance provides only for you and yourmanservant. I cannot take your guests.""Richard," Teabing said, smiling warmly, "two thousand pounds sterling29 and that loaded gun sayyou can take my guests." He motioned to the Range Rover. "And the unfortunate fellow in theback."
《纽约时报》编辑琼纳斯。福克曼刚爬上床，准备睡觉，电话铃就响了起来。现在还打电话来，未免太晚了点吧。他嘟哝着，抓起了话筒。
接线员在电话另一端问他："你要不要把罗伯特，兰登打给你的对方付款电话转过来？"
琼纳斯一脸疑惑，拧亮了电灯："哦……当然，接过来吧。"
电话线里传来滴滴答答的声音。
"是琼纳斯吗？"
"罗伯特，哪有这个道理：你吵醒了我，还要我为你付电话费？"
"对不起，琼纳斯。我很快就会说完的。不过我真的想知道，我的手稿你是不是……？"
"很抱歉，罗伯特。我知道我说过会在这周将校对好的样稿寄给你，不过我实在太忙了。下星期一吧，我答应你。""我倒不是担心这个，我只想知道你是否没告诉我就把书稿寄出大肆宣扬去了？"
福克曼踌躇了一下。最近，兰登写的一部作品是探索女神崇拜历史的力作，其中包括几篇关于抹大拉的玛利亚的章节，这无疑将会吸引读者的注意力。虽然这部作品史料翔实，并获得其他人的好评，但如果没得到正统历史学家以及艺术大师的肯定，福克曼还是不想急于将它出版。因此，他在艺术界选择了十位大名鼎鼎的人物，将所有的书稿复印件寄给他们，并附上了一封措辞谦恭的信，询问他们能否给该书的封套写一段简短的评述性文字。不过，按照福克曼过去的经验，大多数人，是不会轻易放过这个使自己扬名的机会的。
"琼纳斯，你把我的文稿寄出去了是不是？"兰登的语气有点咄咄逼人。
福克曼皱了皱眉，察觉到兰登对此很不乐意。
"罗伯特，你的书稿本身没有问题，不过我也是想通过为此书大作宣传来给你一个惊喜。"对方短暂地沉默。
"那，你有没有将书稿寄给卢浮宫艺术博物馆的馆长？"
"你是怎么想的？你在书稿里几次三番提到卢浮宫收藏的艺术作品，况且他写的书也出现在你的参考书目里，偏偏索尼埃对这种事又很精明！这家伙可不是容易对付的人呐。"罗伯特沉默良久："那你是什么时候寄出去的？"
"大约有一个月了吧。我还告诉他你不久会去巴黎，并建议你们两人私下里聊聊，他打电话约你见面了吗"福克曼停下来，擦了擦眼睛："耐心点儿，你不是说这个星期要去巴黎吗？"
"我已经在巴黎了。"
福克曼惊的挺起了身子："这么说你是从巴黎打来的电话？"
"至于电话费，你从我版税里扣掉就是了。琼纳斯，那索尼埃有没有给你回音？他喜不喜欢我的作品？"
"不知道，我还没收到他的回信呢！"
"那好，你也别那么紧张。我要挂了，不过这足以说明问题了，谢谢。"
"罗伯特--"
然而罗伯特已经挂了。
福克曼挂了电话，满腹狐疑地摇了摇头。就算是心智都很健全的作家，大概有时候也免不了犯傻劲吧，他想。
在"陆虎揽胜"车里，雷。提彬捧腹大笑："罗伯特，你刚才不是说你写了一部调查某个秘密组织的书稿，可你的编辑竟然把复印好的书稿寄给了那个秘密组织吗？"
兰登沮丧的倒在椅子上。"是这样啊。"
"朋友，这真是令人痛苦的巧合。"
不过，兰登很清楚这跟巧合没有任何的关系。很显然，邀请雅克。索尼埃莱给女神崇拜的书稿作出评价，简直就像请泰格。伍兹给高尔夫球的书籍写评论那样得心应手。更何况，任何涉及到女神崇拜的作品实际上都会提到郇山隐修会。
"这可是个棘手的问题呢。"提彬仍然在咯咯地笑。"对于郇山隐修会，你是支持，还是反对？"
兰登其实明白提彬想说什么。许多历史学家还在怀疑，郇山隐修会为什么至今还要将《圣杯文献》隐藏起来。有人认为这些文献早该拿出来与世人分享了。"我对郇山隐修会的做法说不上有什么看法。""你是说没有必要对它评头论足了？"
兰登耸了耸肩，看得出提彬是赞成将《圣杯文献》公开的。
"我只是提供了有关该组织的一些历史背景，并将他们描述成一个当代女神崇拜的组织、圣杯的监护者、古代文献的保护人罢了。"索菲注视着他："那你提到了拱心石没有？"
兰登退缩了一下。他提到过，而且是无数次地提到过。"我谈到所谓的拱心石，是把它当作郇山隐修会将会出面保护圣杯文件的详尽的例子提出来的。"索菲大为惊奇："我还以为可以用来解释"P.S.：找到罗伯特。兰登"的原因呢。"
兰登感到是文稿里的其他一些东西引起了索尼埃的兴趣，但这种话题，只有在他与索菲单独相处时他才会谈起。
索菲说道："这么说你向法希上尉撒谎了。"
"你说什么？"兰登反问。
"你不是说你从未跟我祖父联系过吗？"
"我确实没有，是我的编辑寄书稿给他，又不是我。"
"罗伯特，你仔细想想吧。如果法希上尉没有找到你的编辑用来寄书稿的信封，他肯定会以为是你寄给他的。"她停了停："更糟糕的是，他甚至会认为是你亲手交给索尼埃的，却回过头来跟他撒了个弥天大谎。"雷米驾着"陆虎揽胜"车来到了布尔歇机场，他把车开到离飞机跑道很远的停机库。等他们靠近时，一个衣着邋遢、身穿满是皱褶的咔叽尼衣服的男子匆匆忙忙地从机库里跑了出来，他摆了摆手，然后推开了一扇巨大的、上面满是波纹的铁门。铁门启开处，露出了一架时髦的白色喷气式飞机。
兰登盯着闪闪发亮的机身："那就是你的"伊丽莎白"吗？"
提彬咧开嘴笑了。"它可比英吉利海峡隧道还要便捷管用呢。"
穿咔叽呢衣服的男人急忙向他们走来，一边眯着眼睛瞅着汽车的前灯。
"先生，差不多准备好了。"他操着英国人的口音说道："我很抱歉耽误了你的时间，不过你真让我吃惊--"等他看到那些人下了车，他猛然打住了。他先是看了看索菲和兰登，然后又望了望提彬。
提彬开口了："我和朋友现有急事要去伦敦。我们就别在这里浪费时间了。快点做准备，赶快出发吧。"提彬说着，从车里取出手枪，递给了兰登。
那位驾驶员一见手枪，顿时将眼睛睁得好大，他走到提彬跟前，低声说："阁下，我很抱歉我只能带上你和你的仆人，而不包括你的客人。"提彬温和的微笑着说："理查德，我给你两千英镑，再用这支上了膛的枪给你一粒子儿，你就会说你能把我的客人--"他走到"陆虎揽胜"车旁边。"还有这绑在车后面的倒霉鬼带上。"
收听单词发音 |
1
grumbled
|
|
| 抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
blurbs
|
|
| n.（尤指印在书籍等护封上的）简介，推荐广告( blurb的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
endorsement
|
|
| n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
endorse
|
|
| vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
luminaries
|
|
| n.杰出人物，名人（luminary的复数形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
bibliography
|
|
| n.参考书目；(有关某一专题的)书目 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
clout
|
|
| n.用手猛击；权力，影响力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
royalties
|
|
| 特许权使用费 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
sane
|
|
| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
guffaw
|
|
| n.哄笑；突然的大笑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
delves
|
|
| v.深入探究，钻研( delve的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
slumped
|
|
| 大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
chuckling
|
|
| 轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
shrugged
|
|
| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
brotherhood
|
|
| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
guardians
|
|
| 监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
winced
|
|
| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
piqued
|
|
| v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 )；激起（好奇心） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
airfield
|
|
| n.飞机场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
corrugated
|
|
| adj.波纹的；缩成皱纹的；波纹面的；波纹状的v.（使某物）起皱褶(corrugate的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
sleek
|
|
| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
glistening
|
|
| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
bloody
|
|
| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
squinting
|
|
| 斜视( squint的现在分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
bulged
|
|
| 凸出( bulge的过去式和过去分词 )； 充满； 塞满（某物） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
humble
|
|
| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
sterling
|
|
| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |