Of embarrassment3 not the slightest sign. Everybody knew that Théodore Massignac was the fellow with the broad face and the wide-cleft mouth who was attracting the general attention. And everybody was fully5 aware that Théodore Massignac was the man of straw who had carried out the whole business and made away with Noël Dorgeroux. But nothing interfered6 with Théodore Massignac's jovial7 mood: not the sneers8, nor the apparent hostility9 of the public, nor the more or less discreet10 supervision11 of the detectives attached to his person.
He had even had the effrontery12 to paste on boardings, to the right and left of the entrance, a pair of great posters representing Noël Dorgeroux's handsome face, with its grave and candid14 features!
These posters gave rise to a brief altercation15 between us. It was pretty lively, though it passed unnoticed by others. Scandalized by the sight of them, I went up to him, a little while before the time fixed16 for the opening; and, in a voice trembling with anger, said:
"Remove those at once. I will not have them displayed. The rest I don't care about. But this is too much of a good thing: it's a disgrace and an outrage17."
"An outrage? You call it an outrage to honour your uncle's memory and to display the portrait of the talented inventor whose discovery is on the point of revolutionizing the world? I thought I was doing homage20 to him."
I was beside myself with rage:
"You shan't do it," I spluttered. "I will not consent, I will not consent to be an accomplice21 in your infamy22."
"Oh, yes, you will!" he said, with a laugh. "You'll consent to this as you do to all the rest. It's all part of the game, young fellow. You've got to swallow it. You've got to swallow it because Uncle Dorgeroux's fame must be made to soar above all these paltry23 trifles. Of course, I know, a word from you and I'm jugged. And then? What will become of the great invention? In the soup, that's where it'll be, my lad, because I am the sole possessor of all the secrets and all the formulae. The sole possessor, do you understand? Friend Velmot, the man with the glasses, is only a super, a tool. So is Bérangère. Therefore, with Théodore Massignac put away, there's an end of the astounding24 pictures signed 'Dorgeroux.' No more glory, no more immortality25. Is that what you want, young man?"
Without waiting for any reply, he added:
"And then there's something else; a word or two which I overheard last night. Ha, ha, my dear sir, so we're in love with Bérangère! We're prepared to defend her against all dangers! Well, in that case—do be logical—what have I to fear? If you betray me, you betray your sweetheart. Come, am I right or wrong? Daddy and his little girl . . . hand and glove, you might say. If you cut off one, what becomes of the other? . . . Ah, you're beginning to understand! You'll be good now, won't you? There, that's much better! We shall see a happy ending yet, you'll have heaps of children crowding round your knee and who will thank me then for getting him a nice little settlement? Why, Victorien!"
But some people were coming up and he turned his back on me, after whispering:
I restrained myself. The horrible brute30 was right. I was condemned31 to silence by motives32 so powerful that Théodore Massignac would soon be able to fulfil his task without having to fear the least revolt of conscience on my part. Noël Dorgeroux and Bérangère were watching over him.
Meanwhile, the amphitheatre was filling; and the motorcars continued to arrive in swift succession, pouring forth33 the torrent34 of privileged people who, because of their wealth or their position, had paid from ten to twenty louis for a seat. Financiers, millionaires, famous actresses, newspaper-proprietors, artistic35 and literary celebrities36, Anglo-Saxon commercial magnates, secretaries of great labour unions, all flocked with a sort of fever towards that unknown spectacle, of which no detailed37 programme was obtainable and which they were not even certain of beholding38, since it was impossible to say whether Noël Dorgeroux's processes had really been recovered and employed in the right way. Indeed, no one, among those who believed the story, was in a position to declare that Théodore Massignac had not taken advantage of the whole business in order to arrange the most elaborate hoax40. The very tickets and posters contained the anything but reassuring41 words:
"In the event of unfavourable weather, the tickets will be available for the following day. Should the exhibition be prevented by any other cause, the money paid for the seats will not be refunded42; and no claims to that effect can be entertained."
Yet nothing had restrained the tremendous outburst of curiosity. Whether confident or suspicious, people insisted on being there. Besides, the weather was fine. The sun shone out of a cloudless sky. Why not indulge in the somewhat anxious gaiety that filled the hearts of the crowd?
Everything was ready. Thanks to his wonderful activity and his remarkable43 powers of organization, Théodore Massignac, assisted by architects and contractors44 and acting4 on the plans worked out, had completed and revised Noël Dorgeroux's work. He had recruited a numerous staff, especially a large and stalwart body of men, who, as I heard, were lavishly45 paid and who were charged with the duty of keeping order.
As for the amphitheatre, built of reinforced concrete, it was completely filled up, well laid out and very comfortable. Twelve rows of elbowed seats, supplied with movable cushions, surrounded a floor which rose in a gentle slope, divided into twelve tiers arranged in a wide semicircle. Behind these was a series of spacious46 private boxes, and, at the back of all, a lounge, the floor of which, nevertheless, was not more than ten or twelve feet above the level of the ground.
Opposite was the wall.
It stood well away from the seats, being built on a foundation of masonry47 and separated from the spectators by an empty orchestra. Furthermore, a grating, six feet high, prevented access to the wall, at least as regards its central portion; and, when I say a grating, I mean a businesslike grating, with spiked48 rails and cross-bars forming too close a mesh49 to allow of the passage of a man's arm.
The central part was the screen, which was raised to about the level of the fourth or fifth tier of seats. Two pilasters, standing50 at eight or ten yards' distance from each other, marked its boundaries and supported an overhanging canopy51. For the moment, all this space was masked by an iron curtain, roughly daubed with gaudy52 landscapes and ill-drawn views.
At half-past three there was not a vacant seat nor an unoccupied corner. The police had ordered the doors to be closed. The crowd was beginning to grow impatient and to give signs of a certain irritability53, which betrayed itself in the hum of a thousand voices, in nervous laughter and in jests which were becoming more and more caustic54.
"If the thing goes wrong," said a man by my side, "we shall see a shindy."
I had taken up my stand, with some journalists of my acquaintance, in the lounge, amid a noisy multitude which was all the more peevish55 inasmuch as it was not comfortably seated like the audience in the stalls.
Another journalist, who was invariably well-informed and of whom I had seen a good deal lately, replied:
"Yes, there will be a shindy; but that is not the worthy56 Massignac's principal danger. He is risking something besides."
"What?" I asked.
"Arrest."
"Do you mean that?"
"I do. If the universal curiosity, which has helped him to preserve his liberty so far, is satisfied, he's all right. If not, if he fails, he'll be locked up. The warrant is out."
"And you may be sure," my acquaintance continued, "that he is fully alive to what is hanging over his head and that he is feeling anything but chirpy at heart."
"At heart, perhaps," replied one of the others. "But he doesn't allow it to appear on the surface. There, look at him: did you ever see such swank?"
A louder din13 had come from the crowd. Below us, Théodore Massignac was walking along the pit and crossing the empty space of the orchestra. He was accompanied by a dozen of those sturdy fellows who composed the male staff of the amphitheatre. He made them sit down on two benches which were evidently reserved for them and, with the most natural air, gave them his instructions. And his gestures so clearly denoted the sense of the orders imparted and expressed so clearly what they would have to do if any one attempted to approach the wall that a loud clamour of protest arose.
Massignac turned towards the audience, without appearing in the least put out, and, with a smiling face, gave a careless shrug59 of the shoulders, as though to say:
"What's the trouble? I'm taking precautions. Surely I'm entitled to do that!"
And, retaining his bantering60 geniality61, he took a key from his waist-coat pocket, opened a little gate in the railing and entered the last enclosure before the wall.
This manner of playing the lion-tamer who takes refuge behind the bars of his cage made so comic an impression that the hisses62 became mingled63 with bursts of laughter.
"The worthy Massignac is right," said my friend the journalist, in a tone of approval. "In this way he avoids either of two things: if he fails, the malcontents won't be able to break his head; and, if he succeeds, the enthusiasts64 can't make a rush for the wall and learn the secret of the hoax. He's a knowing one. He has prepared for everything."
There was a stool in the fortified65 enclosure. Théodore Massignac sat down on it half facing the spectators, some four paces in front of the wall, and, holding his watch towards us, tapped it with his other hand to explain that the decisive hour was about to strike.
The extension of time which he thus obtained lasted for some minutes. But then the uproar66 began anew and became deafening67. People suddenly lost all confidence. The idea of a hoax took possession of every mind, all the more as people were unable to grasp why the spectacle should begin at any particular time rather than another, since it all depended solely68 on Théodore Massignac.
"Curtain! Curtain!" they cried.
After a moment, not so much in obedience69 to this order as because the hands of his watch seemed to command it, he rose, went to the wall, slipped back a wooden slab70 which covered two electric pushes and pressed one of them with his finger.
The screen appeared in its entirety, in broad daylight and of larger proportions than the ordinary.
I shuddered before this flat surface, over which the mysterious coating was spread in a[Pg 158] dark-grey layer. And the same tremor72 ran through the crowd, which was also seized with the recollection of my depositions73. Was it possible that we were about to behold39 one of those extraordinary spectacles the story of which had given rise to so much controversial discussion? How ardently74 I longed for it! At this solemn minute, I forget all the phases of the drama, all the loathing75 that I felt for Massignac, all that had to do with Bérangère, the madness of her actions, the anguish76 of my love, and thought only of the great game that was being played around my uncle's discovery. Would what I had seen vanish in the darkness of the past which I myself, the sole witness of the miracles, was beginning to doubt? Or would the incredible vision arise once again and yet again, to teach the future the name of Noël Dorgeroux? Had I been right in sacrificing to the victim's glory the vengeance77 called for by his death? Or had I made myself the accomplice of the murderer in not denouncing his abominable78 crime?
Yes, I was becoming his accomplice and even, deep down in my consciousness, his collaborator79 and his ally. Had I imagined that Massignac had need of me, I would have hastened to his side. I would have encouraged him with all my confidence and assisted him to the full extent of my ability. First and foremost I wished him to emerge victoriously80 from the struggle which he had undertaken. I wanted my uncle's secret to come to life again. I wanted light to spring from the shadow. I did not wish twenty years of study and the supreme81 idea of that most noble genius to be flung back into the abyss.
Now not a sound broke the profound silence. The people's faces were set. Their eyes pierced the wall like so many gimlets. They experienced in their turn the anxiety of my own waiting for that which was yet invisible and which was preparing in the depths of the mysterious substance. And the implacable will of a thousand spectators united with that of Massignac, who stood there below, with his back bent82 and his head thrust forward; wildly questioning the impassive horizon of the wall.
He was the first to see the first premonitory gleam. A cry escaped his lips, while his two hands frantically83 beat the air. And, almost at the same second, like sparks crackling on every side, other cries were scattered84 in the silence, which was instantly restored, heavier and denser85 than before.
The Three Eyes were there.
The Three Eyes marked their three curved triangles on the wall.
The onlookers86 had not, in the presence of this inconceivable phenomenon, to submit to the sort of initiation87 through which I had passed. To them, from the outset, three geometrical figures, dismal88 and lifeless though they were, represented three eyes; to them also they were living eyes even before they became animated89. And the excitement was intense when those lidless eyes, consisting of hard, symmetrical lines, suddenly became filled with an expression which made them as intelligible90 to us as the eyes of a human person.
It was a harsh, proud expression, containing flashes of malignant91 joy. And I knew—and we all knew—that this was not just a random92 expression, with which the Three Eyes had been arbitrarily endowed, but that of a being who looked upon real life with that same look and who was about to appear to us in real life.
Then, as always, the three figures began to revolve93 dizzily. The disk turned upon itself. And everything was interrupted. . . .
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
everlasting
|
|
| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
obsequious
|
|
| adj.谄媚的，奉承的，顺从的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
embarrassment
|
|
| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
fully
|
|
| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
interfered
|
|
| v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
jovial
|
|
| adj.快乐的，好交际的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
sneers
|
|
| 讥笑的表情（言语）( sneer的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
hostility
|
|
| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
discreet
|
|
| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
supervision
|
|
| n.监督，管理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
effrontery
|
|
| n.厚颜无耻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
din
|
|
| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
candid
|
|
| adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
altercation
|
|
| n.争吵，争论 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
outrage
|
|
| n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
feigned
|
|
| a.假装的，不真诚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
amazement
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
homage
|
|
| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
accomplice
|
|
| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
infamy
|
|
| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
paltry
|
|
| adj.无价值的，微不足道的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
astounding
|
|
| adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
immortality
|
|
| n.不死，不朽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
jeering
|
|
| adj.嘲弄的，揶揄的v.嘲笑( jeer的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
clenching
|
|
| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
villain
|
|
| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
hush
|
|
| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
brute
|
|
| n.野兽，兽性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
condemned
|
|
| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
motives
|
|
| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
torrent
|
|
| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
artistic
|
|
| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
celebrities
|
|
| n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
detailed
|
|
| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
beholding
|
|
| v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
behold
|
|
| v.看，注视，看到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
hoax
|
|
| v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
reassuring
|
|
| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
refunded
|
|
| v.归还，退还( refund的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
contractors
|
|
| n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
lavishly
|
|
| adv.慷慨地，大方地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
spacious
|
|
| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
masonry
|
|
| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
spiked
|
|
| adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
mesh
|
|
| n.网孔，网丝，陷阱；vt.以网捕捉，啮合，匹配；vi.适合； [计算机]网络 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
canopy
|
|
| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
gaudy
|
|
| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
irritability
|
|
| n.易怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
caustic
|
|
| adj.刻薄的，腐蚀性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
peevish
|
|
| adj.易怒的，坏脾气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
shuddered
|
|
| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
peril
|
|
| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
shrug
|
|
| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
bantering
|
|
| adj.嘲弄的v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的现在分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
geniality
|
|
| n.和蔼，诚恳；愉快 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
hisses
|
|
| 嘶嘶声( hiss的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
mingled
|
|
| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
enthusiasts
|
|
| n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
fortified
|
|
| adj. 加强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
uproar
|
|
| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
deafening
|
|
| adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
solely
|
|
| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
obedience
|
|
| n.服从，顺从 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
slab
|
|
| n.平板，厚的切片；v.切成厚板，以平板盖上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
descended
|
|
| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
tremor
|
|
| n.震动，颤动，战栗，兴奋，地震 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
depositions
|
|
| 沉积（物）( deposition的名词复数 )； （在法庭上的）宣誓作证； 处置； 罢免 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
ardently
|
|
| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
loathing
|
|
| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
anguish
|
|
| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
vengeance
|
|
| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
abominable
|
|
| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
collaborator
|
|
| n.合作者，协作者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
victoriously
|
|
| adv.获胜地，胜利地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
supreme
|
|
| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
frantically
|
|
| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
denser
|
|
| adj. 不易看透的, 密集的, 浓厚的, 愚钝的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
onlookers
|
|
| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
initiation
|
|
| n.开始 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
dismal
|
|
| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
animated
|
|
| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
intelligible
|
|
| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
malignant
|
|
| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
random
|
|
| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
revolve
|
|
| vi.(使)旋转；循环出现 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |