Bruce put his latchkey in the door and let himself in. As he did so a motor came up and pulled to the pavement. The whole concern was a dull black, like silk; it was absolutely the most noiseless machine Gordon Bruce had ever seen. It came like a ghost out of the darkness; like a black phantom2 it stood to command.
The driver was clad in goggles3 and leather coat, thereby4 proclaiming the fact that he was used to a high rate of speed. He placed a note in Bruce's hand; there was an interrogative gleam in his eyes.
"For me?" Bruce asked.
The man merely made a gesture with his hands. Then followed a sign, by which Bruce knew that he was speaking to a dumb man, a startling affliction for a smart chauffeur5.
Not that it mattered much, seeing that the letter was addressed to Bruce. The note inside was evidently dashed off in a violent hurry. It was an agitated6 request to the recipient7 to come in the motor at once; there was no address, nothing more than this agitated plea. Under the circumstances there was nothing startling in the presence of the automobile8.
Bruce started off, only staying long enough to get his professional black bag. He might have satisfied a little of his curiosity on the way, only his companion's affliction prevented that. He was on familiar ground presently as the car flew along smoothly9 as a boat sails down stream, until at length it pulled up with a jerk at the end of Lytton-avenue.
The car had stopped just before the corner house!
Evidently it was going to be a night of surprises. If Bruce had any astonishment10 he concealed11 it behind his professional manner. For the corner house was dark and deserted12 no longer. A brilliant light burnt in the hall. The door was opened presently by a woman who had a Spanish mantilla over her head. Her hair was down, and in the gleam of the lamplight Bruce could see that it was wonderfully long and fair and beautiful. Bruce spoke13 to her, but she only replied in what he deemed to be Spanish.
So far as he could see there were no signs of dust or desolation about the corner house. The hall was clean and bright, there was a thick carpet on the stairs. Every door was shut save one on the first floor, into which the fair beauty with the lovely hair led the way. Four or five gas jets were flaring14 away with a hissing15 roar. A draught16 from somewhere made them flicker17 restlessly on a large room absolutely devoid18 of furniture save for an old-fashioned four-post bedstead in the middle. The air was close and stuffy19, as if the window had not been opened for months. There were barred shutters20 before them.
The Spanish beauty said something, and pointed21 to the bed. A man in a deep sleep lay there--so deep a sleep that at first Bruce took him to be dead. But there was just the slightest flicker of a pulse, a quiver of the eyelids22. On a table close by was a glass containing, from the odour of it, laudanum. A half-empty phial of it was clenched23 in the patient's hand.
A small, twisted man, with a nose all crooked24 on one side, and fingers covered with huge orange-coloured freckles25! Bruce choked down a cry of amazement26. It was indeed proving a night of surprises.
Here was the very man whom Hetty had seen at the window of the corner house--the very man whose features, as seen from the morning room, had been reflected in the mirror. It was impossible that there could be any coincidence here. Once seen the man could never be forgotten. It looked as if the new mystery of the corner house was going to be explained.
Just for a moment Bruce almost lost his self-possession. The beauty with the fair hair was regarding him curiously27. He felt half annoyed that he had been so near betraying himself. The medical man was uppermost now. Evidently the patient was in a state of almost collapse28 from alcoholic29 poisoning. As is usual in such instances, sleep had forsaken30 the wretched man, and he had had recourse to drugs. He had taken an overdose and medical aid had been summoned just in the nick of time.
The corner house, the mystery--everything was now forgotten. Bruce called for hot water, he made a sign for it, he simulated the mixing of mustard in a pot. Fortunately his companion's native intelligence was equal to the strain. She vanished with a quick nod of her head.
The house was wonderfully quiet; not a sound came from anywhere. The repulsive31 figure of the man lay there like some new and hideous32 form of death. Who he was and why he came there Bruce did not dare to think for the present. Perhaps the dark owner of the house had returned; perhaps this was the very man himself. Certainly there was no foul33 play here, no audacious criminal invasion of the house, seeing that the light in the hall could be seen from the street.
Surely they were a long time getting that hot water. In such a case as this hurry was everything. Bruce crept from the room and looked over the banisters. The whole place was in darkness!
Bruce caught his breath sharply. He had scarcely time to consider what it all meant when the light flared34 up again, and the fair woman returned with a kettle and basin and a tin of mustard.
The doctor slipped off his dress-coat and turned up his sleeves. In a prim35 sort of way his fair attendant took the coat away and hung it up carefully in the dim recesses36 of a big cupboard at the far side of the room. With great care and patience Bruce contrived37 to coax38 a quantity of the hideous mixture of mustard and water down the unconscious man's throat.
For the next hour the struggle between life and death was a severe one. Once the strong emetic39 had done its work something like consciousness returned. The patient staggered backwards40 and forwards across the room on Bruce's arm until the latter was fagged and weary and the moisture dripped from his forehead. The first faint streaks41 of dawn were breaking as Bruce donned his coat and deemed it safe to proceed home. He made the woman with the golden hair understand that he would come again.
She shook her head and smiled as she held out three pounds and three shillings.
Evidently this kind of thing had happened before, and this was the fee usually paid. Bruce slipped the money in his pocket, feeling that he had earned it. The guide picked up a Bradshaw from the table and indicated Dover therein. Two strapped42 portmanteaus were on the floor.
The meaning of this was all plain enough. Bruce had had his fee and was dismissed because these strange people were leaving for the Continent at once, provided the patient was well enough to travel. Suddenly the hall light went out again, and once more the house was in darkness. There was the sound of a heavy footfall outside. Bruce put his back to the wall prepared for eventualities.
A scraping of a match, a flood of light again, a queer half-amused smile on the Spaniard's face, as she noted43 Bruce's expression. Then the front door was opened, and he was bowed out politely. Before he had time to cross the road the light was out again, and the whole house in darkness.
The cool morning air was grateful after the stuffy atmosphere of the corner house. Here was an adventure to think about and ponder over. Strange coincidence that he of all men should have been called there! It never occurred to Bruce that the thing could be anything but coincidence.
Should he keep the whole matter to himself, he wondered. At any rate he need not tell anybody but Hetty. Perhaps that drunken lunatic was some relation to the master of the corner house; he might have found his way into Lytton Square in a state of semi-insanity by favour of a careless servant. The thing was capable of a very practical solution.
Bruce put the thing out of his mind for the time being. The next morning was a busy one. When the back of it was broken he drove to Tottenham Court Road, where he managed to secure the old-fashioned furniture which had so taken his fancy. He felt pleased with his bargain, but as he repaired to the Lotus Club to lunch with Gilbert Lawrence nothing remained of the old Dutchman's banknotes.
Lawrence was deep in the early edition of "The Star." He nodded to Bruce and looked up from his paper eagerly.
"By Jove, listen to this," he exclaimed. "Here's a strange thing for you. Some houses seem famed for tragedy, like some men are."
"Something in your line?" Bruce asked.
"Well, I should say so. Listen:"
"'The Tragedy of the Corner House.'"
"'The Corner House keeps up its reputation. A mysterious murder in Raven44 Street where an undiscovered crime happened years ago.
"'At a little past twelve today a policeman on duty in Raven Street saw that the door of an unoccupied furnished house was open, and proceeded to investigate the premises45. In a room upstairs he found the body of a man with his throat cut and a horrible wound at the back of his head. Robbery appears to be the motive46. The matter is all the more mysterious as the place called the Corner House has been supposed to be shut up for years. It was here that the famous "Corner House" poisoning mystery took place.
"'Later.--The murdered man is described as being of misshapen appearance, a nose very much hooked on one side, and long hands, covered with orange-coloured warts----'"
"What?" Bruce cried. "Read that over again."
"Do you mean to say you know anything about it?" Lawrence asked.
"He was my patient," Bruce said hoarsely47. "I was with him at daybreak."
Lawrence dropped "The Star" and gazed at the speaker with absolute amazement.
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1
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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3
goggles
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| n.护目镜 | |
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thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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chauffeur
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| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
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6
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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recipient
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| a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器 | |
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8
automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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9
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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10
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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11
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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12
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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13
spoke
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| 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 | |
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14
flaring
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| a.火焰摇曳的，过份艳丽的 | |
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15
hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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16
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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17
flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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18
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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19
stuffy
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| adj.不透气的，闷热的 | |
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shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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21
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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23
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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25
freckles
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| n.雀斑，斑点( freckle的名词复数 ) | |
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26
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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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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28
collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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alcoholic
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| adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者 | |
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30
Forsaken
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| adj. 被遗忘的, 被抛弃的 动词forsake的过去分词 | |
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31
repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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32
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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33
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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34
Flared
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| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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35
prim
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| adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地 | |
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36
recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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37
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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38
coax
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| v.哄诱，劝诱，用诱哄得到，诱取 | |
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39
emetic
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| n.催吐剂；adj.催吐的 | |
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40
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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41
streaks
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| n.（与周围有所不同的）条纹( streak的名词复数 )；（通常指不好的）特征（倾向）；（不断经历成功或失败的）一段时期v.快速移动( streak的第三人称单数 )；使布满条纹 | |
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42
strapped
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| adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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43
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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44
raven
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| n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的 | |
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45
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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46
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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47
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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