"Ah, well, you was always one for your little games, sir," he said. "Take care of that dog for you? Of course I will. And a rare beauty he is. Is there anything else, gentlemen?"
"No," Venables explained. "Mind the dog is for sale if anybody asks questions. You have had him for some time, and you want a big price for him. Maybe we shall be able to find a job for you after dark tonight, but as to that I can say nothing for the present. At any rate, there is a five-pound note for you so long as you are discreet7 and silent. I suppose I can come into your house and write a letter? I'll get you to post it presently."
Perks intimated that his house was at the disposal of the visitors, and they all trooped inside. The place looked cosy8 and comfortable enough, though it was somewhat untidy. At one end of the table was a china bowl, which was filled with odds9 and ends of small gold and silver ornaments10. Venables winked12 at Perks, and the latter grinned sheepishly. He snatched up the bowl, and hastily removed it to a side table. Ravenspur held out a detaining hand.
"One moment," he said, "I am rather fond of those kind of things. I don't wish to be inquisitive13, or to ask idle questions, but unless I am greatly mistaken you have a Commonwealth14 porringer amongst those things. I should like to look at it."
Perks bowed to the inevitable15. He cursed himself slightly under his breath for his folly16 in not removing everything, but he felt safe in the hands of his visitors. They would not be likely to ask any questions as to whence the plunder17 came. By the time that Venables had written and stamped his letter, Lord Ravenspur came forward with a small metal disc in his hand.
"This is a bit of a curio in its way," he said. "Intrinsically it is worth very little, only a few shillings at the outside. If you like to take a sovereign for it----"
Perks fell in with the suggestion eagerly enough. There was no reason to stay any longer, and the trio set out for the hotel, feeling now that it was possible to move without the slightest fear of alarming the inhabitants of the cottage on the common.
"I suppose that was stolen property we caught Perks looking over?" Ravenspur asked.
"Not the slightest doubt of it," Venables said coolly. "I daresay if we had been voted suspicious the signal would have been flashed back to the house to hide it at once. But if you thought it was stolen property, Lord Ravenspur, why did you invest in that little disc which you took such a fancy to?"
"I am going to tell you something startling," Ravenspur replied. "Walter, you recollect18 that little ornament11 which I bought in Rome, and subsequently gave to poor Delahay who took a great fancy to it? I had his initials engraved19 on the back. He wore it on his watch-chain."
"I recollect it perfectly20 well," Walter said. "Delahay was wearing it the last time I ever saw him. But what has all this got to do with your purchase of this morning?"
"Only that it happens to be the same thing," Ravenspur said quietly. "I recognised it in a moment. Oh, there is no mistake. Here is the disc for you to examine for yourself. You will see the initials and the date on the back of it. As soon as we get time, we must ascertain21 from Inspector22 Dallas if Delahay's watch was missing when his body was found. If so, then this opens quite a new phase of the mystery. On the whole, I am not at all sorry that we came here to-day. Of course, I kept my knowledge to myself, because I didn't want to arouse Perks' suspicions. But if we can contrive23 to find out from whom he bought this thing we shall be going a long way to clear up the mystery of poor Delahay's death."
The matter was discussed at some length over the breakfast, to which all of them did ample justice. Once this was finished, they made their way back to the common again, and sat down on the grass to mature their plan of campaign.
"Now what we want to do," Venables began, "is this. We want to be in a position to make a close study of yonder house without arousing the suspicions of the people there. I racked my brain for a long time before I could think of a feasible scheme. And then it came to to me like an inspiration. What could we do better than pass ourselves off as an Ordnance24 Survey party down here on business? That is why I procured25 the official looking caps, to say nothing of the theodolite and the notebooks. Now you, Lord Ravenspur, have only got to look wise and give us directions. You look exactly like the head of an exploring party. We will pretend to work the theodolite, and make measurements, and all that kind of thing."
"Inside the grounds?" Walter asked.
"Of course," Venables went on; "that is the beauty of the scheme. No spot of ground is sacred to an Ordnance party. I have actually seen them work inside a church. All we have got to do is to go about our business boldly and be quite firm if anybody attempts to molest26 us. It may be news to you that nobody can be prosecuted27 for trespass28 unless specific damage is done."
The instruments were recovered presently from the hiding-place, and with the theodolite on his shoulder Venables stepped boldly on to the lawn in front of the house, and gravely went to work. The blinds were all up by this time. The windows were opened, and a glimpse of well-furnished rooms could be seen in the background. A couple of maids stood in one of the windows, and watched the strangers curiously29.
"It looks respectable enough," Venables muttered, pretending to be exceedingly busy. "You may depend upon it, this is a tougher job than we anticipated. These servants are all right. You may be sure that they know nothing of what is going on. However, to make certain, I'll ask them for myself."
Venables approached the window and asked civilly for the loan of a small piece of string. He came back presently, after a chat of a minute or two, and once more appeared to be wholly engrossed30 in his instrument. At the same time, he was telling his companions the information which he had gleaned31.
"I knew I was right," he said. "The house has been let furnished to an Italian gentleman called something or another, I didn't quite catch what, and the people only came down yesterday. Those servants go with the freehold, so to speak, and they have all been in their present situation for some considerable time. Their master is a City stockbroker32, who, with his family, is on the Continent for the next month or two. If we are lucky we shall probably get a sight of the Italian presently, though I expect we have all got a pretty shrewd notion who the gentleman is."
The work proceeded gravely for a quarter of an hour. Levels appeared to be taken, and there was much entering of figures in the notebooks. Presently, as Walter glanced around him, he drew a deep breath, for there was no mistaking the identity of the slim figure that emerged from one of the open French windows and came striding eagerly down the lawn.
"Silva," Walter said under his breath. "Don't pretend to see him till he gets quite close. I think it would be a good thing if we left all the interviewing to Venables."
The Italian approached the group and superciliously33 demanded to know what they were doing there. He looked quite the master of the place in his cool, flannel34 suit. He had a cigarette between his strong, white teeth.
"Why are you trespassing35 here?" he demanded. "Don't you know that this is private property? Go, or I will call in the police and give you into custody36."
"The police won't help you in this case," Venables said with the air of a military man who is quite sure of his ground. "We are here on Government business. I don't know if you understand what I mean, but we are surveying, and nobody has a right to interfere37 with us, providing we do no damage. We can come into the house if we like. Indeed, I am not quite sure that we shan't have to. I see you have got a flat roof, sir, with railings round. If we have occasion to take the theodolite up there I will ring the bell and let you know."
The whole thing was so coolly and naturally done that Silva was taken aback for the moment. Evidently he had come out of the house full of suspicion, and with the fixed38 intention of getting rid of these intruders as soon as possible. There was an uneasy look in his eyes as Venables suggested the roof of the house as the field of action. He deemed it wise to shift his ground altogether.
"That will be very inconvenient," he said, in quite another voice. "I hope you will be able to manage without that if you can. However, if you will give me an hour's notice, I daresay----"
But Walter was no longer listening. He was standing39 up regarding the house with a professional eye. His gaze vaguely40 took in a dormer window immediately under the roof. There were bars to the window, pointing to the fact that at some time or another the room had been used as a nursery. The window was blank for a moment, then a face appeared and looked out.
That instant was enough for Walter. There was no mistaking those features. They were those of Vera Rayne.
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1
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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4
intensified
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| v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lank
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| adj.瘦削的；稀疏的 | |
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perks
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| 额外津贴，附带福利，外快( perk的名词复数 ) | |
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7
discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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8
cosy
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| adj.温暖而舒适的，安逸的 | |
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9
odds
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| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
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10
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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11
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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12
winked
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| v.使眼色( wink的过去式和过去分词 )；递眼色（表示友好或高兴等）；（指光）闪烁；闪亮 | |
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13
inquisitive
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| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
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commonwealth
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| n.共和国，联邦，共同体 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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17
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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contrive
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| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
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ordnance
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| n.大炮，军械 | |
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procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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molest
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| vt.骚扰，干扰，调戏 | |
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prosecuted
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| a.被起诉的 | |
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trespass
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| n./v.侵犯，闯入私人领地 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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31
gleaned
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| v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗 | |
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stockbroker
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| n.股票（或证券），经纪人（或机构） | |
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superciliously
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| adv.高傲地；傲慢地 | |
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34
flannel
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| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
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35
trespassing
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| [法]非法入侵 | |
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36
custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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37
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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39
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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