It was on the second day after the arrival of the furniture that the surcharged storm, that had so long been lowering over the caretaker’s head, burst in an explosion of thunder that was near attended with tragic1 consequences.
In the interval2 Mr. Tuke had been too greatly occupied with other business to give consideration to, or take action in, that little matter of the worthy3 Mr. Breeds and his far-too-heady wine. Glancing askance, indeed, at the subject with his mind’s eye now and again, he felt a degree of perplexity as to the course it would be anything less than futile4 for him to pursue; inasmuch as nothing definite in the way of roguery had succeeded his drugging, and it was quite open to the landlord to affirm that a dog-tired guest had fallen sound asleep over his bottle. But for the present, adequate debate of the subject must be adjourned5 sine die; and, in the meantime, the gentlemen of the “Dog and Duck” were leaving him, to all appearance, peaceably alone.
Now, on that particular morning, he took stock of his newly-equipped and carpeted rooms with a feeling of satisfaction such as a rescinded6 sentence of exile might have afforded him. A few days more would see the advent7 of such servants as he had thought himself justified8 in engaging through his agent; and then his house would be ordered for all immediate9 purposes, and he himself served and tended somewhat as befitted his condition.
“Delsrop” furnished was a very different living-place to the gusty10 and melancholy11 habitation of his hitherto experience; and for the first time since his arrival he was feeling a certain sense of homeliness—shadowy, indeed, but with a faint warmth in it that was a little earnest of comfort to come. Much, of course, remained to do—so much, in fact, that, in moments of depression, he would liken his present accomplishment12 to putting new wine into old bottles. The grounds were still a wilderness13; the out-buildings tottering14 to their fall; the canker of decay was eaten into the very plaster-epidermis of the house itself. Still, the husk remained splendidly durable—a stubborn fortress15 from which to direct operations; and in this at least was matter for most sincere self-congratulation.
In the prospect16 of an established household, he was considerably17 exercised in his mind as to what course to pursue with Whimple and his overburdening sister. Did he consult his own common-sense, he would get rid of them both without any further humouring of indecision. But to this outright18 action he could not bring himself, and that from an aggravating19 sentiment no less than a motive20 of policy. As to the latter, he must needs hesitate before returning to the enemy their possible confederate, whose weakness lay in his unconsciousness of surveillance. As to the former, inexplicable21 and irritating as it was, he could not deny even to himself that, for some unaccountable reason, he took a secret interest in the poor creature’s personality—was aware of a perverse22 desire in his own heart that the man would by some means succeed in disabusing23 him of the prejudice he had formed against him, and end by becoming his devoted24 and confidential25 servant. Against this last wish or emotion, unformulated as it was, he would bitterly rebel; but the germ of it quickened in him nevertheless.
Now, having dined and smoked a pipe of good tobacco, he wandered off into his grounds, easy and ruminative26, and gave thought pleasantly to the brighter side of things. Pushing, presently, into the dense27 shrubbery that skirted the Stockbridge road, he came suddenly upon a little clearing amongst the bushes, in the middle of which was a bricked dome28 or segment of masonry29, something after the shape of an Esquimaux hut, which protruded30 from the ground and was accessible by way of a low door or trap of rotted wood. Against this last he kicked, driving it open, and was aware of a pit within, deepish, but half-choked with weedy rubbish—a disused ice-house, by every token of shape and situation.
“Mouth of Hades on the dead plains of Enna!” he murmured, with a little self-preening smile over his remembered classics; and he fell a-dreaming, as he strolled away, in that trance of paganism that enwraps many who give licence to their imaginations in silent woods.
“But who shall be my Persephone?” he breathed, and thought of one or other of two most meet for abduction. He felt his arms about—whom? No matter. The broken cellar served his fancy for a spell, and, unguessed by him, was to serve his experience by and by with tougher matter than day-dreams.
Suddenly, issuing from a dank, dumb little track amongst the bushes, he found himself looking over the ruined garden to the rear of the lodge31. He jerked to a halt. Amongst the compact weediness of depraved vegetable stuff, thridding the cumbered paths and alleys32 of straggled fruit trees, moved the girl Darda. She sang to herself in that odd wild voice of hers, the stinging disharmonies of which seemed to flicker33 up in the flame of her hair. Then, in a moment she had drifted into the gloom of the porch and vanished.
At that the watcher came out into the open, and stepping softly, followed in silent pursuit. He could not have explained what impelled34 him to it. Only it seemed to him a natural counter-move in that game of secrecy35 and suspicion he had set his wits to master.
Stealthily he stole down the littered passage—stealthily put foot in the dusk room where the museum was. He might pad it like an Ojibbeway, but she heard him. She heard him and turned, her eyes opening chatoyant.
She was standing36 near the loaded shelves, fingering something—a round yellow flint-stone, by the look of it—that she had lifted from its place amongst the collection.
“What have you there?” said he, curious and masterful at once.
She did not answer. But she snatched the object to her bosom37 and glinted at him with adumbrated38 pupils.
“Let me see it,” he said, advancing a step.
At that she gave out a thin little tale of screams, like the cry of a shot rat, and, retreating into a black corner, hugged her treasure with a frantic39 closeness.
“It’s not for you!” she cried. “It’s his—Dennis’s. It was thrown through the window to him that night you went a-wooing to ‘Chatters.’”
“How should I know? The shadows were thick about the house. They cried to get back to their dark hole under the floor against daylight. But he wouldn’t let them, and they stormed and wept. I would have opened the door and given them passage; but he is wise, my wise brother, and he forbade me. ‘They must bid higher first,’ said he.”
It was as if a dark veil fell over the listener’s face.
“Go on,” he muttered.
“They cried to him; but he withdrew, and would give no answer. And they entreated41 long, till my heart sobbed42 for them. ‘Let them in, Dennis,’ I prayed. But he said, ‘They must bid higher.’ Then they threw this thing, and it cracked through the lattice; and he crept softly and took it up and read and cast it down again. ‘Make no sound,’ he whispered to me; ‘and they will think we are gone.’ But I went secretly and picked up the stone; and all night long the shadows moaned about the house.”
She screamed again, with a note of fury startled out of terror, for her master had pounced43 upon her and wrung44 the treasure from her grasp. She fought with him, clawing and spitting like a cat; but he beat her off, as he would have any wild animal, and rushed out to the light.
Here, in a moment’s gain of time, he looked and read what was roughly scrawled45 in pencil upon the smooth surface of the stone.
“Half the profits,” were the words—“if you lead us to the Lake of Wine.”
He had space to no more than decipher this when the wild creature was upon him again.
“Stand off!” he cried furiously, backing from her, with a white face. “Stand off! I must have a word with your brother.”
He heard her swift step behind him as he raced up the drive. He might have been conscious of a certain lack of dignity in the situation, had his passion allowed his reason a moment to itself.
It did not. It leapt—a white consuming blaze that seemed to roar the louder with the wind of his going.
For here, at last, he held in his very hand a damning proof of the guilt46 he had so long suspected. In the fierce triumph of its possession, he forgot caution, policy—everything but the lust47 to crush under a savage48 heel the reptile49 he had warmed and cherished at his hearth50. No doubt that little rebellious51 emotion we wot of was reacting upon itself with a double hate of its own weakness. He writhed52 to think that he had ever admitted it to his counsels; but his revenge should be proportionate.
An evil chance drove him upon his victim on the very threshold of the hall; and he had him by the throat before the poor wretch53 could so much as guess his purpose.
“Here, here!” he yelled, holding up the stone. “I have the proof at length. You dog—you currish hypocrite, to be in the league against me!”
The man’s face had gone of a mortal whiteness. He struggled feebly.
The other’s fury came to a bestial55 head. He threw down the stone and struck the poor creature on the mouth.
“Silence!” he shrieked56. “I know it all!—I’ve heard all the truth, I tell you. You shall swing for it, by God! You shall——”
Mad to give expression to his ungovernable rage, he flung himself upon the shivering form, and seized and tore it along the passage, while it pleaded to him in hoarse57 terror, and clutched vainly at whatever projections58 came in its way.
Suddenly, conscious of his purpose, it gave up a shrill59 scream, and writhed frantically60 in his hands.
“No, no!” cried the man. “Not there—not there! Give me time to speak! Oh, my God! I shall go mad of the horror of that place!”
They had struggled to within a few feet of the “Priest’s Hole.” The flap yet remained open as Mr. Tuke had left it.
“You will go in,” panted the latter, beating under his victim by mere61 furious force of muscle. “You will go in, and lie and rot till I can carry you to Winton Gaol62. Down with you!”
In his stumbling wrestle63 with the half-fainting creature, he twisted about, saw something, and let go his prey64 for a moment. Whimple fell back as if he were dying, and on the instant the other struck up and caught Darda by the wrist. A thin flash of steel went above their heads, and there was the sound of a knife ringing on the boards. There was no blood-letting; but the moral was as if there had been. The fever of passion in the man was subdued65 to a worser coldness of cruelty.
“Not yet!” he said, in a low voice, his eyes holding her like evil magnets. “Not yet, you pretty animal!”
In a moment he leapt at her, lifted her light form in his arms, and, clapping his hand over her shrill voluble mouth, bore her to the front of the house, and, rolling her without, closed and bolted the door upon her.
Then he returned with smiling lips to the other.
Tuke leaned and took the impassive form under the arms. With his foot he shuffled67 the limp trailing legs over into the pit, and so lowered the body with a single heave. It went down unresistingly, save for a broken moan or two, and sank into a huddled68 heap at the bottom.
He raised the flap, and stood an instant looking down. There was little motion below him, or sign of life but a weak fitful whimpering.
Feeling as one who stubbornly signs his own soul to the devil, he closed the pit-mouth, secured it, and walked away with his heart thumping69. And there rose up to and pursued him a long dreary70 whine71 like that of a dog baying the moon.
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1
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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2
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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3
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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4
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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5
adjourned
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| （使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6
rescinded
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| v.废除，取消( rescind的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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8
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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9
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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10
gusty
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| adj.起大风的 | |
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11
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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12
accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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13
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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14
tottering
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| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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15
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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16
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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17
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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18
outright
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| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
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19
aggravating
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| adj.恼人的，讨厌的 | |
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20
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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21
inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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22
perverse
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| adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的 | |
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23
disabusing
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| v.去除…的错误想法( disabuse的现在分词 )；使醒悟 | |
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24
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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25
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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26
ruminative
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| adj.沉思的，默想的，爱反复思考的 | |
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27
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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28
dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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29
masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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30
protruded
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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32
alleys
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| 胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径 | |
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33
flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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34
impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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35
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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36
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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37
bosom
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| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
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38
adumbrated
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| v.约略显示，勾画出…的轮廓( adumbrate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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40
jade
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| n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠 | |
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41
entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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43
pounced
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| v.突然袭击( pounce的过去式和过去分词 )；猛扑；一眼看出；抓住机会（进行抨击） | |
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44
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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45
scrawled
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| 乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
guilt
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| n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责 | |
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47
lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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48
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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49
reptile
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| n.爬行动物；两栖动物 | |
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50
hearth
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| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
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51
rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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52
writhed
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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54
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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55
bestial
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| adj.残忍的；野蛮的 | |
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56
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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57
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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58
projections
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| 预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物 | |
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59
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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60
frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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61
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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62
gaol
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| n.(jail)监狱；(不加冠词)监禁；vt.使…坐牢 | |
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63
wrestle
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| vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付 | |
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64
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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65
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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66
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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67
shuffled
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| v.洗（纸牌）( shuffle的过去式和过去分词 )；拖着脚步走；粗心地做；摆脱尘世的烦恼 | |
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68
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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69
thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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70
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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71
whine
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| v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣 | |
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