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首页 » 经典英文小说 » The Piccadilly Puzzle » CHAPTER XV. A STARTLING DISCOVERY.
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CHAPTER XV. A STARTLING DISCOVERY.
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Perhaps among all his friends Myles had no warmer supporter than Spencer Ellersby. The young man appeared to be genuinely sorry that his evidence about meeting Desmond in St. James' Street should be used against him.

"Hang it!" he said to Marton, as they were seated at their club, "if I had only known how it would have been twisted, I'd not have said a word, but that detective fellow got it out of me somehow--brute of a fellow--killed my dog, you know, Pickles1."

"Well, I hear they'll not be able to prove the dagger2 in Desmond's possession was the one used," said Marton, "good for poor old Myles--hey!"

"I think it's d--d rubbish, the whole thing," retorted Ellersby, hotly; "what the deuce should Myles kill this woman for, she was nothing to him; more likely Calliston knows more about it."

"Well, he'll soon be asked at all events," said Marton, with a chuckle3. "The Seamew's back at Brighton."

"What!" cried Ellersby astonished. "And Lady Balscombe?"

"Oh, she's on board also," said Marton. "Sir Rupert has gone down, I hear, to see his wife--what a deuce of a row there'll be, hey!" and the old reprobate4 rubbed his hands.

"Well, there is one thing to be said," observed Ellersby ringing for a brandy and soda5, "Calliston can't marry Miss Penfold now."

"All the better for Desmond, dear boy, hey?"

"I don't see that," retorted Ellersby coolly, "even if Desmond's acquitted6, he'll have a stain on his name--she won't marry him."

"Hey!" said The Town-crier, all on the alert for news. "What do you mean?"

"Simply this, that I'm going to have a look in at the heiress myself."

"Bosh!"

"Fact, the matrimonial stakes are open to any one, and I don't see why Miss Penfold shouldn't marry me."

"She might if Desmond was out of the way, but as it is--pish!"

"Well, we'll see," retorted Ellersby, lighting7 a cigarette. "I've fallen in love with her, and I'm going to ask her to be my wife.

"Bet you a hundred to one she don't have you," said Marton, producing his pocket-book.

"Done," and the bet was booked immediately.

"Why hang it," said Marton, when this little transaction was concluded, "you're not fit to marry--drink, dear boy--bad thing, hey?"

"Oh, I'll give all that sort of thing up when I'm married," replied Ellersby, carelessly.

"You'll have to give up half your life then," retorted his friend rudely, "for you always seem to be at the brandy bottle."

Ellersby laughed, in nowise offended.

"If you had had as many agues and fevers as I have, you'd be at it too; but you needn't be afraid, when I become Benedict I'll take the pledge. By the way, come and see my new rooms, I've got 'em all done up."

"Right, dear boy, right," said Marton, and the two gentlemen left the club chatting about the Piccadilly murder and the possible result thereof.

While this interesting conversation was going on, Sir Rupert, Dowker, and Norwood were all in a first-class carriage on their way to Brighton. As Marton had informed Ellersby, the Seamew had returned to England the previous day, and now the trio were going down to see if Lady Balscombe could give them any information likely to solve the mystery of the murder of Lena Sarschine. Of course Sir Rupert fully8 recognised the truth of the proverb "Every man for himself," but now the guilty passion of his wife appeared a secondary consideration to the desire of saving an innocent man from a shameful9 death.

On the way down, Norwood told Dowker the discovery he had made about the dagger, at which the detective was much astonished.

"If; as you say," he remarked, "the lodging-house servant can prove the broken dagger was in the house all the time, it certainly cannot have been the weapon used, and yet it corresponds in every particular with the other weapon I took from Cleopatra Villa10. I can quite understand Miss Sarschine taking it and the manner in which it came into Desmond's possession, but if this was not the weapon used, where is the weapon that was."

"There are plenty of these daggers11," suggested Norwood.

"Certainly--but the coincidence in this case is that the dagger found in Mr. Desmond's rooms, which came from the house of the murdered woman, was poisoned, and Lena Sarschine was killed by a poisoned instrument."

"There were no other daggers taken from the house I suppose?" asked Norwood.

"Not that I know of," replied the detective, "but I am convinced that the whole secret of this crime lies in the conversation between Mr. Desmond and Lady Balscombe."

"You do not say my wife is guilty of this murder?" said Sir Rupert angrily.

"I say nothing," replied Dowker evasively, "till I see Lady Balscombe."

When the trio arrived at Brighton it was growing late, so they went to the "Ship" Hotel and had something to eat. Finding out from the waiter that the Seamew was lying a short distance from the pier12 they went down, and hiring a boat rowed to the yacht. When they climbed up on to the deck they were accosted13 by one of the officers, who wanted to know their business.

"We want to see Lord Calliston," said Balscombe quietly.

"I'm afraid that's impossible," replied the officer, "as he went up to town to-day on business."

"Is there not a lady on board?" asked Norwood.

"Yes--you mean----"

"Never mind telling us her name," said Balscombe shortly, feeling a horror at hearing his wife's name mentioned. "Can we see her?"

"I will ask," answered the officer, and he went downstairs to the cabin, from which he soon reascended with the news that they could go down.

Dowker went first, followed by Norwood and Sir Rupert, all feeling in a strange state of excitement at the prospect14 of the coming interview.

The cabin was small, but luxuriously15 fitted up in pale blue silk, and the walls panelled in oak, with small medallions of seascapes around. A lamp hanging from the ceiling shed a soft mellow16 light over all, and on the table below was a work-basket and some embroidery17.

"She has been working, I see," whispered Balscombe with a sneer18 as they entered into the cabin. No one was present, but suddenly they heard the rustle19 of a dress, and a curtain at the end of the cabin parted admitting a woman--a tall fair faced woman, with shining golden hair.

At this sight Norwood and Dowker turned to look on Sir Rupert, to watch the effect of the sight of his wife on him, when they saw he was pale as death and had made a step forward.

"You wish to see me?" asked the lady, advancing towards the group.

"You--you----" cried Sir Rupert in a choked voice. "You are not Lady Balscombe."

"I!" in surprise. "No!--I am not Lady Balscombe."

Dowker and Norwood turned suddenly.

"Who are you?"

"Lena Sarschine!"

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 pickles fd03204cfdc557b0f0d134773ae6fff5     
n.腌菜( pickle的名词复数 );处于困境;遇到麻烦;菜酱
参考例句:
  • Most people eat pickles at breakfast. 大多数人早餐吃腌菜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I want their pickles and wines, and that.' 我要他们的泡菜、美酒和所有其他东西。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
2 dagger XnPz0     
n.匕首,短剑,剑号
参考例句:
  • The bad news is a dagger to his heart.这条坏消息刺痛了他的心。
  • The murderer thrust a dagger into her heart.凶手将匕首刺进她的心脏。
3 chuckle Tr1zZ     
vi./n.轻声笑,咯咯笑
参考例句:
  • He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
  • I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个,我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。
4 reprobate 9B7z9     
n.无赖汉;堕落的人
参考例句:
  • After the fall,god begins to do the work of differentiation between his elect and the reprobate.人堕落之后,上帝开始分辨选民与被遗弃的人。
  • He disowned his reprobate son.他声明与堕落的儿子脱离关系。
5 soda cr3ye     
n.苏打水;汽水
参考例句:
  • She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
  • I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。
6 acquitted c33644484a0fb8e16df9d1c2cd057cb0     
宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 ); 使(自己)作出某种表现
参考例句:
  • The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
  • Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。
7 lighting CpszPL     
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光
参考例句:
  • The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
  • The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。
8 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
9 shameful DzzwR     
adj.可耻的,不道德的
参考例句:
  • It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己,真不害臊。
  • We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。
10 villa xHayI     
n.别墅,城郊小屋
参考例句:
  • We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
  • We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。
11 daggers a5734a458d7921e71a33be8691b93cb0     
匕首,短剑( dagger的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • I will speak daggers to her, but use none. 我要用利剑一样的话刺痛她的心,但绝不是真用利剑。
  • The world lives at daggers drawn in a cold war. 世界在冷战中剑拨弩张。
12 pier U22zk     
n.码头;桥墩,桥柱;[建]窗间壁,支柱
参考例句:
  • The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害,专家担心它已不能负重。
  • The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。
13 accosted 4ebfcbae6e0701af7bf7522dbf7f39bb     
v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 );跟…搭讪;(乞丐等)上前向…乞讨;(妓女等)勾搭
参考例句:
  • She was accosted in the street by a complete stranger. 在街上,一个完全陌生的人贸然走到她跟前搭讪。
  • His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him. 他乐善好施的本性使他不会拒绝走上前向他行乞的任何一个乞丐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 prospect P01zn     
n.前景,前途;景色,视野
参考例句:
  • This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
  • The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。
15 luxuriously 547f4ef96080582212df7e47e01d0eaf     
adv.奢侈地,豪华地
参考例句:
  • She put her nose luxuriously buried in heliotrope and tea roses. 她把自己的鼻子惬意地埋在天芥菜和庚申蔷薇花簇中。 来自辞典例句
  • To be well dressed doesn't mean to be luxuriously dressed. 穿得好不一定衣着豪华。 来自辞典例句
16 mellow F2iyP     
adj.柔和的;熟透的;v.变柔和;(使)成熟
参考例句:
  • These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节,苹果就熟透了。
  • The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时,色彩变得柔和了。
17 embroidery Wjkz7     
n.绣花,刺绣;绣制品
参考例句:
  • This exquisite embroidery won people's great admiration.这件精美的绣品,使人惊叹不已。
  • This is Jane's first attempt at embroidery.这是简第一次试着绣花。
18 sneer YFdzu     
v.轻蔑;嘲笑;n.嘲笑,讥讽的言语
参考例句:
  • He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
  • You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻,但很多人喜欢这种音乐。
19 rustle thPyl     
v.沙沙作响;偷盗(牛、马等);n.沙沙声声
参考例句:
  • She heard a rustle in the bushes.她听到灌木丛中一阵沙沙声。
  • He heard a rustle of leaves in the breeze.他听到树叶在微风中发出的沙沙声。


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