One day in July 1902, M. Antoine d'Hergemont, the author of a series of well-known studies on the megalithic monuments of Brittany, was walking in the Bois with his daughter Véronique, when he was assaulted by four men, receiving a blow in the face with a walking-stick which felled him to the ground.
After a short struggle and in spite of his desperate efforts, Véronique, the beautiful Véronique, as she was called by her friends, was dragged away and bundled into a motor-car which the spectators of this very brief scene saw making off in the direction of Saint-Cloud.
It was a plain case of kidnapping. The truth became known next morning. Count Alexis Vorski, a young Polish nobleman of dubious2 reputation but of some social prominence3 and, by his own account, of royal blood, was in love with Véronique d'Hergemont and Véronique with him. Repelled4 and more than once insulted by the father, he had planned the incident entirely5 without Véronique's knowledge or complicity.
Antoine d'Hergemont, who, as certain published letters showed, was a man of violent and morose6 disposition7 and who, thanks to his capricious temper, his ferocious8 egoism and his sordid9 avarice10, had made his daughter exceedingly unhappy, swore openly that he would take the most ruthless revenge.
He gave his consent to the wedding, which took place two months later, at Nice. But in the following year a series of sensational11 events transpired12. Keeping his word and cherishing his hatred13, M. d'Hergemont in his turn kidnapped the child born of the Vorski marriage and set sail in a small yacht which he had bought not long before.
The sea was rough. The yacht foundered14 within sight of the Italian coast. The four sailors who formed the crew were picked up by a fishing-boat. According to their evidence M. d'Hergemont and the child had disappeared amid the waves.
When Véronique received the proof of their death, she entered a Carmelite convent.
These are the facts which, fourteen years later, were to lead to the most frightful15 and extraordinary adventure, a perfectly16 authentic17 adventure, though certain details, at first sight, assume a more or less fabulous18 aspect. But the war has complicated existence to such an extent that events which happen outside it, such as those related in the following narrative19, borrow something abnormal, illogical and at times miraculous20 from the greater tragedy. It needs all the dazzling light of truth to restore to those events the character of a reality which, when all is said, is simple enough.
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1 upheavals | |
突然的巨变( upheaval的名词复数 ); 大动荡; 大变动; 胀起 | |
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2 dubious | |
adj.怀疑的,无把握的;有问题的,靠不住的 | |
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3 prominence | |
n.突出;显著;杰出;重要 | |
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4 repelled | |
v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 );使厌恶;排斥;推开 | |
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5 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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6 morose | |
adj.脾气坏的,不高兴的 | |
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7 disposition | |
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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8 ferocious | |
adj.凶猛的,残暴的,极度的,十分强烈的 | |
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9 sordid | |
adj.肮脏的,不干净的,卑鄙的,暗淡的 | |
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10 avarice | |
n.贪婪;贪心 | |
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11 sensational | |
adj.使人感动的,非常好的,轰动的,耸人听闻的 | |
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12 transpired | |
(事实,秘密等)被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 ); 泄露; 显露; 发生 | |
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13 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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14 foundered | |
v.创始人( founder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15 frightful | |
adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
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16 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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17 authentic | |
a.真的,真正的;可靠的,可信的,有根据的 | |
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18 fabulous | |
adj.极好的;极为巨大的;寓言中的,传说中的 | |
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19 narrative | |
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的 | |
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20 miraculous | |
adj.像奇迹一样的,不可思议的 | |
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