CHAPTER XX THE ULTIMATE DISCOVERY

Jean had so few acquaintances in Saintsbury that there was little chance of finding her off on a visit. I went to the railway station and tried to discover whether anyone there had seen her or sold a ticket to Dunstan, but I found nothing. I believe it was superstition¹ more than anything else that sent me finally to Barney. He was at his stand, selling papers as calmly as though this chaotic² day were like any other.

"Barney, Miss Benbow is lost," I said, without preliminary. "She has left Mr. Ellison's house, and told the maid she was not coming back. I have been to the station to inquire. For heaven's sake, suggest something that I can do."

Barney listened sympathetically, but without any manifestation³ of concern.

"Gone, has she? And not coming back! And I'll warrant you haven't had a chance to talk to her since I got her home from the church."

"Of course I haven't. I've been at the jail. Barney, we've arrested Garney, and he is the man that killed Barker, and Benbow will be cleared. But I am not going to talk about anything until I find that girl. So don't ask questions. Tell me something to do."

Barney's eyes grew round as saucers, but he was an old soldier. He knew when to obey. But he would do it in his own way.

"I'm thinking, Mr. Hilton, that if ye mind your own affairs, ye'll best be mindin' hers."

"Is that impertinence, Barney?"

"Divil a bit, your honor, and you with a face on you that would scare a banshee into saying prayers!"

"Then, I am in no mood for guessing riddles⁴."

He gave me a glance that made me feel inexpressibly young.

"I'm thinkin' I saw the young leddy go up yonder," he said, nodding toward the building where I had my office. "If she was goin' away forever, maybe she wanted to say good-bye!"

Could it be possible? I dashed across the street and up the stairs without waiting for the slow elevator. I opened the door,--and there lay a pathetic little heap on the Daghestan rug on my floor.

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There lay a pathetic little heap on the Daghestan rug on my floor. Page 290.

It was a moment before I realized that the tired child was merely asleep. I had dropped down beside her and lifted her head upon my arm, when she opened her eyes with a start. Then something wonderful and dazzling swam up from her unconscious eyes to meet my gaze,--and I knew in a bewildering flash that it was no child but a woman that I held in my arms. My heart went from me. I did not realize that I had kissed her.

She lay quite still for a moment, but her white eyelids⁵ fell slowly to hide her eyes from mine.

"Thank heaven you are safe!" I murmured. "How could you frighten me so?"

She withdrew herself gently from my arms and rose. Her hat was on my desk, between the inkstand and the mucilage. She picked it up and proceeded to stab it to her head.

"I must have fallen asleep," she murmured, keeping her downcast eyes from me. "I just came in to say good-bye, and I waited, and told Mr. Fellows he could leave the door unlocked, because I was sure you would come, and I was so tired,--"

"Good-bye indeed! Where do you think you are going?"

"I am going back to Miss Elwood's School," she said, with the gentle inflexibility⁶ I always enjoyed. "I seem to do nothing but get into trouble when I am away from there. I didn't tell anyone but Minnie, because I didn't want to have to argue about it, but I thought I ought to say good-bye to you,--"

"I am glad you remembered to be polite to me," I said, getting possession of her hands, "because I have a lot of things to tell you. That is,--if you will promise to marry me first!"

"Don't!" she said, breathlessly, drawing away. "You--forget!"

"Forget what?"

"The other girl!"

"There is no other girl,--never was and never will be," I protested. "What in the world do you mean, child?"

She looked at me with troubled eyes. "Katherine Thurston said that you said there was--someone."

"Oh!" I gasped⁷. That foolish, forgotten incident of the locket! I felt myself blushing,--at least I had that grace.

"Let me explain, dear. When Mrs. Whyte introduced me to Miss Thurston, I thought she would be more willing to be friends if she were assured that I was not going to bother her with any love-making. So, just to make things pleasant, I showed her a miniature which I had in my pocket and told her that it was a picture of the only woman in the world to me."

"And wasn't that true?" she asked gravely.

"It was,--but it isn't true now. Darling, it was my mother's face,--the one I took out of this locket." I touched the jeweled trifle which lay upon her breast.

"Oh!" A look of terror came into her eyes, as though she drew back from an abyss. "Oh, and I might have married that man!"

"Jean! Did that have anything to do with it?"

"Why, I thought that, since I should never marry anyone else, it would be awfully⁸ selfish to refuse to save Gene⁹," she said simply. "And if you were going to marry some strange person, why,--it didn't matter. That's what I thought."

"Oh, Jean, Jean!" I cried, taking her into my arms. What was the use of talking common-sense to a creature like that? I gave it up, and talked her own tongue instead! But after awhile she looked up under her lashes¹⁰.

"Was I foolish to believe Mr. Garney?"

"Of course you were, my darling. But perhaps it was a guided foolishness. Jean, what you told me about his recognizing that locket gave me a clue to the man who shot Barker. Dear, it was not Gene. It was Mr. Garney himself."

"Oh! Can it be true?"

"Only too true." I told her some of the strange disconnected links which had at last been knit into a strong chain of evidence.

"Was that what he meant to tell me when we were married?" she asked, her eyes full of horror.

"No, I do not believe he ever meant to tell you anything,--or at most some wild tale like that one about Fellows,--which might have made trouble for us, too, if the real discovery had not come so soon. He merely wanted to get you to marry him, by hook or crook¹¹. He felt perfectly¹² safe, I am sure. He thought he had the whole thing in his hands when he forced Gene to believe and to confess what would forever close future investigation¹³."

"And Gene will now go free?"

"Perfectly free,--free to dance at our wedding. Don't forget that," I said.

She laughed,--which was what I wanted. I could not let her break nervously¹⁴ under all this emotional strain.

"Then everything has turned out happily except for poor Mr. Clyde!" she said, clasping her hands hard together.

"Oh, my precious child, I quite forgot all about Mr. Clyde! He is just as happy as the rest of us. That letter of yours, you angel of all good tidings, is going to save him. It was from your father, you know, and it proves that Mr. Clyde was not in Houston that fatal night. I had to leave him to come back to look after you, but that is going to be all straightened out in a very short time. All because of that letter, dearest girl! See how things have worked out!"

She looked at me, breathless, bewildered, trying to understand all these marvels¹⁵. Then suddenly she burst into nervous tears. It was just as well. It relieved the emotional strain--and it gave me a chance to comfort her.

It was some time before I remembered that Miss Thurston and Mr. Ellison and Mrs. Whyte and the police department were still uninformed that Miss Jean Benbow need not be the object of further search.

"You see!" I pointed¹⁶ out to her. "You put all the rest of the world out of my mind. Now stand here and tell me what I shall say to Mrs. Whyte." And I took down the office telephone.

"Tell her that since I have lost my train, I'll come back for awhile," she said demurely¹⁷.

"Is that your only reason for staying, young lady?"

"Isn't that enough?"

"There are other trains!"

"But I have lost the one I wanted!"

"What have you found instead?"

She would not answer.

"What have you found?" I insisted, drawing her to me.

But what my Story-Book Girl told me I shall not repeat.

The End

1 superstition   

n.迷信，迷信行为

参考例句：

• It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
• Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。

2 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

3 manifestation   

n.表现形式；表明；现象

参考例句：

• Her smile is a manifestation of joy.她的微笑是她快乐的表现。
• What we call mass is only another manifestation of energy.我们称之为质量的东西只是能量的另一种表现形态。

4 riddles   

n.谜（语）( riddle的名词复数 )；猜不透的难题，难解之谜

参考例句：

• Few riddles collected from oral tradition, however, have all six parts. 但是据收集的情况看，口头流传的谜语很少具有这完整的六部分。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• But first, you'd better see if you can answer riddles. 但是你首先最好想想你会不会猜谜语。 来自辞典例句

5 eyelids   

n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色

参考例句：

• She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。
• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 inflexibility   

n.不屈性，顽固，不变性；不可弯曲；非挠性；刚性

参考例句：

• One basic advantage of organization planning is avoidance of organizational inflexibility. 组织规划的一个基本优点就是可避免组织缺乏弹性。 来自辞典例句
• Allenda was brought down by his own incompetence and inflexibility. 阿连德之所以倒台，是由于他自己的无能和固执。 来自辞典例句

7 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》

8 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

9 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

10 lashes   

n.鞭挞( lash的名词复数 )；鞭子；突然猛烈的一击；急速挥动v.鞭打( lash的第三人称单数 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• Mother always lashes out food for the children's party. 孩子们聚会时，母亲总是给他们许多吃的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Never walk behind a horse in case it lashes out. 绝对不要跟在马后面，以防它突然猛踢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 crook   

v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处)

参考例句：

• He demanded an apology from me for calling him a crook.我骂他骗子，他要我向他认错。
• She was cradling a small parcel in the crook of her elbow.她用手臂挎着一个小包裹。

12 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

13 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

14 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

15 marvels   

n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor's treatment has worked marvels : the patient has recovered completely. 该医生妙手回春，病人已完全康复。 来自辞典例句
• Nevertheless he revels in a catalogue of marvels. 可他还是兴致勃勃地罗列了一堆怪诞不经的事物。 来自辞典例句

16 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。

17 demurely   

adv.装成端庄地，认真地

参考例句：

• "On the forehead, like a good brother,'she answered demurely. "吻前额，像个好哥哥那样，"她故作正经地回答说。 来自飘（部分）
• Punctuation is the way one bats one's eyes, lowers one's voice or blushes demurely. 标点就像人眨眨眼睛，低声细语，或伍犯作态。 来自名作英译部分