CHAPTER XIX. A REAPPEARANCE

"I Am glad to see you, Blair. Sit down and have some breakfast."

"Aha!" The inspector¹ rubbed his hands as he looked at the well-spread table. "I never say no to a good offer. Thank you, Mr. Thorold, I will peck a bit."

"You are looking well, Blair."

"Never felt better in my life, Mr. Thorold. I have good cause to look jolly."

"Enjoyed your holiday, no doubt," said Alan, as he assisted the officer liberally to ham and eggs. "Where did you spend it?"

"In Brighton--pleasant place, Brighton."

Blair looked so jocular, and chuckled² in so pleasant a manner that the Squire³ guessed he had good news. However, he resolved to let Blair tell his story in his own way.

"What took you to Brighton of all places?" he asked tentatively.

"Well, you might guess. Joe Brill took me."

"Joe Brill?"

The inspector nodded.

"I followed him there."

"But I have seen Joe. He tells me he was at Southampton and in London."

"No doubt--a clever fellow Joe. He knows how to hold his tongue. Well, Mr. Thorold, I hope your troubles about this matter of the lost body will soon be at an end."

"Blair!" Alan bent⁴ forward in a state of great excitement. "You have found out something about it?"

"Yes, enough to gain me a thousand pounds."

"Not enough to gain you two thousand pounds?"

"No." Blair's face fell. "But I intend to get that also. However, I have learned all about the theft of Mr. Marlow's body--how it was removed, and why it was removed."

"By Jove! How did you find out?"

"Through Joe Brill. Somehow I suspected Joe from the first. That sovereign he gave Cicero Gramp, you know--I always fancied there was something behind his anxiety to get that man away. So I had him watched, and applied⁵ for leave of absence. When he left Heathton I followed as a tourist," chuckled Blair. "Oh, I assure you, Mr. Thorold, I make a very good tourist."

"And he went to Brighton?"

"Yes, direct to Brighton. I went there and found out all about it."

"You don't mean to say that he stole the body!"

"Ay, but I do and with the best intentions, too."

"Was he the short man Cicero Gramp saw with Warrender?"

"He was the short man," replied Blair, finishing his coffee.

"Then, why did he not tell me?" Alan burst out angrily. "I saw him last night, yet he said nothing. He knew how anxious Miss Marlow is about the loss of her father's body."

"Not her father," corrected the inspector. "Achille Lestrange was her father."

"What!" Alan started from his seat. "You know that?"

"I know all--the elopement in Jamaica; the kidnapping of Marie Lestrange, whom we know as Sophy Marlow; the coming of Jean Lestrange to blackmail⁶ the girl, and--and--all the rest of it. You see, Mr. Thorold, I interviewed Joe Brill this morning, and he told me all about your conversation with that rascal⁷. I am posted up to date, sir."

"Joe Brill had no business to keep me in the dark," said the squire angrily. "He should have relieved my mind and Miss Marlow's.

"Miss Lestrange," hinted Blair.

"No, sir--Sophia Marlow she is, and Sophia Marlow she will remain until she changes her name for mine. Her father is dead, and Jean Lestrange has no claim on her. Sophia Marlow, Mr. Inspector, if you please."

"Well, well--as you please. We shan't quarrel about a name. Have you anything to smoke, Mr. Thorold?"

Alan got him an excellent cigar, and returned to the point.

"Why did Joe keep me and Miss Marlow in the dark?" he asked.

"Acted under orders, Mr. Thorold."

"Whose orders?"

"Mr. Marlow's, or rather, I should say Mr. Beauchamp's."

"Blair!"

Alan gasped⁸ out the name. His face was white and he was appalled⁹ at the news. For the moment he believed the inspector must have taken leave of his senses.

"Oh, I dare say your astonishment¹⁰ is natural," said the inspector, lighting¹¹ his cigar. "I was astonished myself to find the dead man alive and kicking. Yet I should not have been, for I suspected the truth."

Alan had not yet recovered from his amazement¹².

"You suspected that Mr. Marlow was alive!" he said faintly. "On what evidence?"

"On circumstantial evidence," said Blair smartly. "When I examined the coffin¹³ with Mr. Phelps I noticed what he did not. At the sides small holes were bored in inconspicuous places, and the shell of the leaden case was pierced. Only one inference could be drawn¹⁴ from this--that the man had designedly been buried alive. The design must have been carried out by Warrender and the short man. I suspected Joe, from the fact of his having given that sovereign to Cicero, and I watched him. Presuming my belief to be correct, I made certain that sooner or later he would rejoin his master. As I say, he went to Brighton. I followed close on his heels to a boarding-house in Lansdowne Place. There I saw Mr. Marlow."

"Did he recognize you?"

"Of course. While he was living at Heathton I had seen Mr. Marlow several times on business. He made no attempt when I saw him at Brighton to disguise himself--not thinking, I suppose, that his clever scheme to frustrate¹⁵ Lestrange would come to light in this way."

"But, Blair, you did not know about Lestrange then!"

"True enough; but I soon heard the whole story. Mr. Marlow told it to me himself. As you may guess, he was in a great way about my having discovered him, and seeing no means of evading¹⁶ the truth, he told it. I insisted upon it, in fact; and now I know all."

"And how did it come about?"

Blair held up his hand.

"No, Mr. Thorold," said he, "I shall leave Mr. Marlow--I think we had better continue to call him so--to tell his own history. He can do it better than I. Besides," added the inspector, rising briskly, "I have business to do."

"What sort of business?"

"You can judge for yourself. I want you to come with me."

"Where--what to do?"

"To see Mrs. Warrender. You see, it was her husband who carried out this scheme of feigned¹⁷ death to deceive Lestrange. Marlow, accused of having murdered Achille in Jamaica, was afraid that this Captain Jean would have him arrested. Now, Warrender was in Beauchamp's house at Falmouth, Jamaica, when Mrs. Lestrange died, and he knew all about it. It is my belief," added the inspector slowly, "that Beauchamp is innocent, as he asserts himself to be, and that Warrender knew as much."

"But, my dear Blair," protested Alan, "in that case Warrender could have told Marlow the truth, and could have stopped Jean Lestrange from making mischief¹⁸."

"I dare say he could, but he did not. Warrender, my dear Mr. Thorold, was a blackmailing¹⁹ scoundrel, who assumed the mask of friendship to bamboozle²⁰ Marlow. I had considerable difficulty in impressing this view on Marlow, for, strange to say, he believed in the doctor. Joe did not, however, and Joe told me a few facts about Warrender's practice in Jamaica, which showed me that the doctor was not the disinterested²¹ person he pretended to be. No, I am sure Warrender knew Beauchamp to be innocent, and kept the fact quiet so as to retain a hold on the man, and get money out of him. Now, do you understand why I want to see his widow?"

"No," replied Alan, not following the inspector's hypothesis, "I do not. If Warrender kept the truth from Marlow, he would most certainly have kept it from his wife. The woman would have babbled²², even against her own interests, as women always do. Mrs. Warrender can tell you nothing--I feel sure of that."

"You forget that the doctor may have left a confession²³ of his knowledge."

"Would he have done that?" said Alan doubtfully. "It would have been a foolish thing."

"And when do criminals do other than foolish things?" was Blair's response. "The murderer usually returns to the scene of his crime--as often as not sets out its details in writing. It is impossible to account for the actions of human beings, Mr. Thorold. It would not surprise me in the least to hear that Warrender had written out the whole story in a diary. If so, his wife must have found it amongst his papers, and she will be disposed to sell it--at a long price."

"If she had found such a document, she would have shown it to me or to Sophy before now."

"By no means. If she knew that Marlow were alive, then, of course, she would realize that the document was valuable. But she believes him to be dead."

"Humph!" said Alan. "You seem very certain that such a document exists."

"Perhaps I am too sanguine," admitted Blair; "but Mr. Marlow gave me a full account of what happened on the night Achille was murdered. Moreover, he swore that he was innocent, and I believe him. As to Warrender, he was a scoundrel, and I am sure that, like all scoundrels, he has left a record of his villainies in black and white. If this is so, I can prove Marlow's innocence²⁴, and he can defy Lestrange."

By this time Alan and the inspector were walking along the road which led to Heathton. It was a bright, sunny morning, and Alan was in high spirits. How happy Blair's news would make Sophy!

"And Warrender, what about his death?" he asked. "Does Marlow know who killed him?"

"Strange as it may seem, he does not, Mr. Thorold. He is as ignorant as you or I. That death is a mystery still."

"But if Warrender was killed on the heath----"

"I can't explain, Mr. Thorold. Hear Marlow's story, and you will be as much in the dark as I am. But I suspect Lestrange."

"So did I," replied Alan, speaking in the past tense. "But I learned for certain that Lestrange was not in England on the night of the murder."

"I proved that, too," said Blair thoughtfully; "yet I can't help thinking there is some trickery. Lestrange is at the Good Samaritan?"

"Yes, dancing on Miss Marlow's doorstep in the hope of getting money."

"Does he receive any letters?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"Merely an idea of mine. I'll tell you later on what I think."

"You are keeping me very much in the dark, Blair," said Alan, somewhat piqued²⁵.

"I don't care to show incomplete work," replied the inspector bluntly. "I believe I can unravel²⁶ the whole of this mystery, but I don't want to show you the raw material. Let me work it out my own way, Mr. Thorold, and judge me by the result."

"As you please. So long as you do it, I don't care how you go about it."

"I am working for two thousand pounds," said Blair, "and I don't intend to let any one else have it. That blackguard tramp would like to be the man."

Alan laughed.

"He has already made a clutch at it by accusing me of the theft of Mr. Marlow's body."

The inspector nodded and smiled grimly.

"The two are working in unison," said he, rubbing his hands; "but I'll catch them."

"By the way," said Thorold, "is Mr. Marlow coming back here?"

"To be caught by Lestrange? No, I think not. He is not such a fool. If you want to see him, you must go to Brighton."

"I shall go to-morrow, Blair. I am most anxious to hear the story of that night."

"A strange story--more like fiction than truth."

"Truth is always stranger than fiction."

Blair assented²⁷. They walked on through a steep lane, which led into the High Street of the village. As they breasted this, Mrs. Marry, with a basket on her arm, met them. She was evidently excited.

"Well, Mrs. Marry," said Alan kindly²⁸, "what is it?"

"The poor dear isn't dead, after all," cried the panting woman. "I declare, Mr. Thorold, you could ha' knocked me down wi' a feather when I saw him."

"Saw who?"

"Why, Mr. Brown, sir--the Quiet Gentleman. He has come back!"

1 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

2 chuckled   

轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
• She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情，她就轻轻地暗自发笑。

3 squire   

n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅

参考例句：

• I told him the squire was the most liberal of men.我告诉他乡绅是世界上最宽宏大量的人。
• The squire was hard at work at Bristol.乡绅在布里斯托尔热衷于他的工作。

4 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

5 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

6 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

7 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

8 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

11 lighting   

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。

12 amazement   

n.惊奇，惊讶

参考例句：

• All those around him looked at him with amazement.周围的人都对他投射出惊异的眼光。
• He looked at me in blank amazement.他带着迷茫惊诧的神情望着我。

13 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

14 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

15 frustrate   

v.使失望；使沮丧；使厌烦

参考例句：

• But this didn't frustrate Einstein.He was content to go as far as he could.但这并没有使爱因斯坦灰心，他对能够更深入地研究而感到满意。
• They made their preparations to frustrate the conspiracy.他们作好准备挫败这个阴谋。

16 evading   

逃避( evade的现在分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• Segmentation of a project is one means of evading NEPA. 把某一工程进行分割，是回避《国家环境政策法》的一种手段。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Too many companies, she says, are evading the issue. 她说太多公司都在回避这个问题。

17 feigned   

a.假装的，不真诚的

参考例句：

• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work. 他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。
• He accepted the invitation with feigned enthusiasm. 他假装热情地接受了邀请。

18 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

19 blackmailing   

胁迫，尤指以透露他人不体面行为相威胁以勒索钱财( blackmail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The policemen kept blackmailing him, because they had sth. on him. 那些警察之所以经常去敲他的竹杠是因为抓住把柄了。
• Democratic paper "nailed" an aggravated case of blackmailing to me. 民主党最主要的报纸把一桩极为严重的讹诈案件“栽”在我的头上。

20 bamboozle   

v.欺骗，隐瞒

参考例句：

• He was bamboozled by con men.他被骗子骗了。
• He bamboozled Mercer into defeat.他骗得默瑟认了输。

21 disinterested   

adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的

参考例句：

• He is impartial and disinterested.他公正无私。
• He's always on the make,I have never known him do a disinterested action.他这个人一贯都是唯利是图，我从来不知道他有什么无私的行动。

22 babbled   

v.喋喋不休( babble的过去式和过去分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密

参考例句：

• He babbled the secret out to his friends. 他失口把秘密泄漏给朋友了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She babbled a few words to him. 她对他说了几句不知所云的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

24 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

25 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：

• Their curiosity piqued, they stopped writing. 他们的好奇心被挑起，停下了手中的笔。 来自辞典例句
• This phenomenon piqued Dr Morris' interest. 这一现象激起了莫里斯医生的兴趣。 来自辞典例句

26 unravel   

v.弄清楚（秘密）；拆开，解开，松开

参考例句：

• He was good with his hands and could unravel a knot or untangle yarn that others wouldn't even attempt.他的手很灵巧，其他人甚至都不敢尝试的一些难解的绳结或缠在一起的纱线，他都能解开。
• This is the attitude that led him to unravel a mystery that long puzzled Chinese historians.正是这种态度使他解决了长期以来使中国历史学家们大惑不解的谜。

27 assented   

同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The judge assented to allow the prisoner to speak. 法官同意允许犯人申辩。
• "No," assented Tom, "they don't kill the women -- they're too noble. “对，”汤姆表示赞同地说，“他们不杀女人——真伟大！

28 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。