"I shan't go out to-day," said Thorndyke, "though I shall come down presently. It is very inconvenient4, but one must accept the inevitable5. I have had a knock on the head, and, although I feel none the worse, I must take the proper precautions—rest and a low diet—until I see that no results are going to follow. You can attend to the scalp wound and send round the necessary letters, can't you?"
I expressed my willingness to do all that was required and applauded my friend's self-control and good sense; indeed, I could not help contrasting the conduct of this busy, indefatigable6 man, cheerfully resigning himself to most distasteful inaction, with the fussy7 behaviour of the ordinary patient who, with nothing of importance to do, can hardly be prevailed upon to rest, no matter how urgent the necessity. Accordingly, I breakfasted alone, and spent the morning in writing and despatching letters to the various persons who were expecting visits from my colleague.
Shortly after lunch (a very spare one, by the way, for Polton appeared to include me in the scheme of reduced diet) my expectant ear caught the tinkle8 of a hansom approaching down Crown Office Row.
"Here comes your fair companion," said Thorndyke, whom I had acquainted with my arrangements, "Tell Hornby, from me, to keep up his courage, and, for yourself, bear my warning in mind. I should be sorry indeed if you ever had cause to regret that you had rendered me the very valuable services for which I am now indebted to you. Good-bye; don't keep her waiting."
I ran down the stairs and came out of the entry just as the cabman had pulled up and flung open the doors.
"Holloway Prison—main entrance," I said, as I stepped up on to the footboard.
"There ain't no back door there, sir," the man responded, with a grin; and I was glad that neither the answer nor the grin was conveyed to my fellow-passenger.
"You are very punctual, Miss Gibson," I said. "It is not half-past one yet."
"Yes; I thought I should like to get there by two, so as to have as long a time with him as is possible without shortening your interview."
I looked at my companion critically. She was dressed with rather more than her usual care, and looked, in fact, a very fine lady indeed. This circumstance, which I noted9 at first with surprise and then with decided10 approbation11, caused me some inward discomfort12, for I had in my mind a very distinct and highly disagreeable picture of the visiting arrangements at a local prison in one of the provinces, at which I had acted temporarily as medical officer.
"I suppose," I said at length, "it is of no use for me to re-open the question of the advisability of this visit on your part?"
"Not the least," she replied resolutely13, "though I understand and appreciate your motive14 in wishing to do so."
"Then," said I, "if you are really decided, it will be as well for me to prepare you for the ordeal15. I am afraid it will give you a terrible shock."
"Indeed?" said she. "Is it so bad? Tell me what it will be like."
"In the first place," I replied, "you must keep in your mind the purpose of a prison like Holloway. We are going to see an innocent man—a cultivated and honourable16 gentleman. But the ordinary inmates17 of Holloway are not innocent men; for the most part, the remand cases on the male side are professional criminals, while the women are either petty offenders18 or chronic19 inebriates20. Most of them are regular customers at the prison—such is the idiotic21 state of the law—who come into the reception-room like travellers entering a familiar hostelry, address the prison officers by name and demand the usual privileges and extra comforts—the 'drunks,' for instance, generally ask for a dose of bromide to steady their nerves and a light in the cell to keep away the horrors. And such being the character of the inmates, their friends who visit them are naturally of the same type—the lowest outpourings of the slums; and it is not surprising to find that the arrangements of the prison are made to fit its ordinary inmates. The innocent man is a negligible quantity, and no arrangements are made for him or his visitors."
"But shall we not be taken to Reuben's cell?" asked Miss Gibson.
"Bless you! no," I answered; and, determined22 to give her every inducement to change her mind, I continued: "I will describe the procedure as I have seen it—and a very dreadful and shocking sight I found it, I can tell you. It was while I was acting23 as a prison doctor in the Midlands that I had this experience. I was going my round one morning when, passing along a passage, I became aware of a strange, muffled24 roar from the other side of the wall.
"'What is that noise?' I asked the warder who was with me.
"'Prisoners seeing their friends,' he answered. 'Like to have a look at them, sir?'
"He unlocked a small door and, as he threw it open, the distant, muffled sound swelled25 into a deafening26 roar. I passed through the door and found myself in a narrow alley27 at one end of which a warder was sitting. The sides of the alley were formed by two immense cages with stout28 wire bars, one for the prisoners and the other for the visitors; and each cage was lined with faces and hands, all in incessant29 movement, the faces mouthing and grimacing30, and the hands clawing restlessly at the bars. The uproar31 was so terrific that no single voice could be distinguished32, though every one present was shouting his loudest to make himself heard above the universal din2. The result was a very strange and horrid33 illusion, for it seemed as if no one was speaking at all, but that the noise came from outside, and that each one of the faces—low, vicious faces, mostly—was silently grimacing and gibbering, snapping its jaws34 and glaring furiously at the occupants of the opposite cage. It was a frightful35 spectacle. I could think of nothing but the monkey-house at the Zoo. It seemed as if one ought to walk up the alley and offer nuts and pieces of paper to be torn to pieces."
"Horrible!" exclaimed Miss Gibson. "And do you mean to say that we shall be turned loose into one of these cages with a herd36 of other visitors?"
"No. You are not turned loose anywhere in a prison. The arrangement is this: each cage is divided by partitions into a number of small boxes or apartments, which are numbered. The prisoner is locked in one box and his visitor in the corresponding box opposite. They are thus confronted, with the width of the alley between them; they can see one another and talk but cannot pass any forbidden articles across—a very necessary precaution, I need hardly say."
"Yes, I suppose it is necessary, but it is horrible for decent people. Surely they ought to be able to discriminate37."
"Why not give it up and let me take a message to Reuben? He would understand and be thankful to me for dissuading38 you."
"No, no," she said quickly; "the more repulsive39 it is the greater the necessity for me to go. He must not be allowed to think that a trifling40 inconvenience or indignity41 is enough to scare his friends away. What building is that ahead?"
We had just swung round from Caledonian Road into a quiet and prosperous-looking suburban42 street, at the end of which rose the tower of a castellated building.
"That is the prison," I replied. "We are looking at it from the most advantageous43 point of view; seen from the back, and especially from the inside, it is a good deal less attractive."
Nothing more was said until the cab drove into the courtyard and set us down outside the great front gates. Having directed the cabman to wait for us, I rang the bell and we were speedily admitted through a wicket (which was immediately closed and locked) into a covered court closed in by a second gate, through the bars of which we could see across an inner courtyard to the actual entrance to the prison. Here, while the necessary formalities were gone through, we found ourselves part of a numerous and very motley company, for a considerable assemblage of the prisoners' friends was awaiting the moment of admission. I noticed that my companion was observing our fellow-visitors with a kind of horrified44 curiosity, which she strove, however, and not unsuccessfully, to conceal45; and certainly the appearance of the majority furnished eloquent46 testimony47 to the failure of crime as a means of worldly advancement48. Their present position was productive of very varied49 emotions; some were silent and evidently stricken with grief; a larger number were voluble and excited, while a considerable proportion were quite cheerful and even inclined to be facetious50.
At length the great iron gate was unlocked and our party taken in charge by a warder, who conducted us to that part of the building known as "the wing"; and, in the course of our progress, I could not help observing the profound impression made upon my companion by the circumstance that every door had to be unlocked to admit us and was locked again as soon as we had passed through.
"It seems to me," I said, as we neared our destination, "that you had better let me see Reuben first; I have not much to say to him and shall not keep you waiting long."
"Why do you think so?" she asked, with a shade of suspicion.
"Well," I answered, "I think you may be a little upset by the interview, and I should like to see you into your cab as soon as possible afterwards."
"Yes," she said; "perhaps you are right, and it is kind of you to be so thoughtful on my account."
A minute later, accordingly, I found myself shut into a narrow box, like one of those which considerate pawnbrokers51 provide for their more diffident clients, and in a similar, but more intense, degree, pervaded52 by a subtle odour of uncleanness. The woodwork was polished to an unctuous53 smoothness by the friction54 of numberless dirty hands and soiled garments, and the general appearance—taken in at a glance as I entered—was such as to cause me to thrust my hands into my pockets and studiously avoid contact with any part of the structure but the floor. The end of the box opposite the door was closed in by a strong grating of wire—excepting the lower three feet, which was of wood—and looking through this, I perceived, behind a second grating, Reuben Hornby, standing55 in a similar attitude to my own. He was dressed in his usual clothes and with his customary neatness, but his face was unshaven and he wore, suspended from a button-hole, a circular label bearing the characters "B.31"; and these two changes in his exterior56 carried with them a suggestiveness as subtle as it was unpleasant, making me more than ever regretful that Miss Gibson had insisted on coming.
"It is exceedingly good of you, Dr. Jervis, to come and see me," he said heartily57, making himself heard quite easily, to my surprise, above the hubbub58 of the adjoining boxes; "but I didn't expect you here. I was told I could see my legal advisers59 in the solicitor's box."
"So you could," I answered. "But I came here by choice because I have brought Miss Gibson with me."
"I am sorry for that," he rejoined, with evident disapproval60; "she oughtn't to have come among these riff-raff."
"I told her so, and that you wouldn't like it, but she insisted."
"I know," said Reuben. "That's the worst of women—they will make a beastly fuss and sacrifice themselves when nobody wants them to. But I mustn't be ungrateful; she means it kindly61, and she's a deuced good sort, is Juliet."
"She is indeed," I exclaimed, not a little disgusted at his cool, unappreciative tone; "a most noble-hearted girl, and her devotion to you is positively62 heroic."
The faintest suspicion of a smile appeared on the face seen through the double grating; on which I felt that I could have pulled his nose with pleasure—only that a pair of tongs63 of special construction would have been required for the purpose.
"Yes," he answered calmly, "we have always been very good friends."
A rejoinder of the most extreme acidity64 was on my lips. Damn the fellow! What did he mean by speaking in that supercilious65 tone of the loveliest and sweetest woman in the world? But, after all, one cannot trample66 on a poor devil locked up in a jail on a false charge, no matter how great may be the provocation67. I drew a deep breath, and, having recovered myself, outwardly at least, said—
"I hope you don't find the conditions here too intolerable?"
"Oh, no," he answered. "It's beastly unpleasant, of course, but it might easily be worse. I don't mind if it's only for a week or two; and I am really encouraged by what Dr. Thorndyke said. I hope he wasn't being merely soothing68."
"You may take it that he was not. What he said, I am sure he meant. Of course, you know I am not in his confidence—nobody is—but I gather that he is satisfied with the defence he is preparing."
"If he is satisfied, I am," said Reuben, "and, in any case, I shall owe him an immense debt of gratitude69 for having stood by me and believed in me when all the world—except my aunt and Juliet—had condemned70 me."
He then went on to give me a few particulars of his prison life, and when he had chatted for a quarter of an hour or so, I took my leave to make way for Miss Gibson.
Her interview with him was not as long as I had expected, though, to be sure, the conditions were not very favourable71 either for the exchange of confidences or for utterances72 of a sentimental73 character. The consciousness that one's conversation could be overheard by the occupants of adjacent boxes destroyed all sense of privacy, to say nothing of the disturbing influence of the warder in the alley-way.
When she rejoined me, her manner was abstracted and very depressed74, a circumstance that gave me considerable food for reflection as we made our way in silence towards the main entrance. Had she found Reuben as cool and matter-of-fact as I had? He was assuredly a very calm and self-possessed lover, and it was conceivable that his reception of the girl, strung up, as she was, to an acute pitch of emotion, might have been somewhat in the nature of an anticlimax75. And then, was it possible that the feeling was on her side only? Could it be that the priceless pearl of her love was cast before—I was tempted76 to use the colloquial77 singular and call him an "unappreciative swine!" The thing was almost unthinkable to me, and yet I was tempted to dwell upon it; for when a man is in love—and I could no longer disguise my condition from myself—he is inclined to be humble78 and to gather up thankfully the treasure that is rejected of another.
I was brought up short in these reflections by the clank of the lock in the great iron gate. We entered together the gloomy vestibule, and a moment later were let out through the wicket into the courtyard; and as the lock clicked behind us, we gave a simultaneous sigh of relief to find ourselves outside the precincts of the prison, beyond the domain79 of bolts and bars.
I had settled Miss Gibson in the cab and given her address to the driver, when I noticed her looking at me, as I thought, somewhat wistfully.
"Can't I put you down somewhere?" she said, in response to a half-questioning glance from me.
I seized the opportunity with thankfulness and replied—
"You might set me down at King's Cross if it is not delaying you;" and giving the word to the cabman, I took my place by her side as the cab started and a black-painted prison van turned into the courtyard with its freight of squalid misery80.
"I don't think Reuben was very pleased to see me," Miss Gibson remarked presently, "but I shall come again all the same. It is a duty I owe both to him and to myself."
I felt that I ought to endeavour to dissuade81 her, but the reflection that her visits must almost of necessity involve my companionship, enfeebled my will. I was fast approaching a state of infatuation.
"I was so thankful," she continued, "that you prepared me. It was a horrible experience to see the poor fellow caged like a wild beast, with that dreadful label hanging from his coat; but it would have been overwhelming if I had not known what to expect."
As we proceeded, her spirits revived somewhat, a circumstance that she graciously ascribed to the enlivening influence of my society; and I then told her of the mishap82 that had befallen my colleague.
"What a terrible thing!" she exclaimed, with evidently unaffected concern. "It is the merest chance that he was not killed on the spot. Is he much hurt? And would he mind, do you think, if I called to inquire after him?"
I said that I was sure he would be delighted (being, as a matter of fact, entirely83 indifferent as to his sentiments on the subject in my delight at the proposal), and when I stepped down from the cab at King's Cross to pursue my way homewards, there already opened out before me the prospect84 of the renewal85 of this bitter-sweet and all too dangerous companionship on the morrow.
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1
attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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inconvenient
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| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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indefatigable
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| adj.不知疲倦的，不屈不挠的 | |
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fussy
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| adj.为琐事担忧的，过分装饰的，爱挑剔的 | |
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tinkle
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| vi.叮当作响；n.叮当声 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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inmates
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| n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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offenders
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| n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物） | |
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chronic
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| adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的 | |
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inebriates
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| vt.使酒醉，灌醉（inebriate的第三人称单数形式） | |
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idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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deafening
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| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
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alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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grimacing
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| v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的现在分词 ) | |
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uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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herd
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| n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起 | |
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discriminate
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| v.区别，辨别，区分；有区别地对待 | |
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dissuading
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| 劝（某人）勿做某事，劝阻( dissuade的现在分词 ) | |
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repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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indignity
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| n.侮辱，伤害尊严，轻蔑 | |
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suburban
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| adj.城郊的，在郊区的 | |
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advantageous
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| adj.有利的；有帮助的 | |
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horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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advancement
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| n.前进，促进，提升 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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facetious
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| adj.轻浮的，好开玩笑的 | |
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pawnbrokers
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| n.当铺老板( pawnbroker的名词复数 ) | |
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pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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unctuous
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| adj.油腔滑调的，大胆的 | |
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friction
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| n.摩擦，摩擦力 | |
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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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exterior
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| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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hubbub
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| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
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advisers
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| 顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授 | |
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disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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tongs
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| n.钳；夹子 | |
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acidity
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| n.酸度，酸性 | |
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supercilious
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| adj.目中无人的，高傲的；adv.高傲地；n.高傲 | |
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trample
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| vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯 | |
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provocation
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| n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因 | |
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soothing
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| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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71
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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72
utterances
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| n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论 | |
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73
sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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74
depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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75
anticlimax
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| n.令人扫兴的结局；突降法 | |
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76
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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77
colloquial
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| adj.口语的，会话的 | |
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78
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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79
domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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80
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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81
dissuade
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| v.劝阻，阻止 | |
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82
mishap
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| n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸 | |
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83
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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84
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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85
renewal
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| adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来 | |
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