小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 经典英文小说 » The Mystery of the Downs唐斯之谜 » CHAPTER XXVI
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
CHAPTER XXVI
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。
“Am I the first man to whom you have told this story?” asked Crewe, in a gentle voice.
 
“Yes,” said Marsland. “It is not a story that I would care to tell to many. It is not a story that reflects any credit on me—my company wiped out through treachery on the part of two of my men.”
 
“But when you came back to England, wouldn’t it have been better to have reported the matter to the military authorities and have had Brett and Lumsden tried by court martial1?”
 
“I did not know they were in England until I came down here: I thought that if they were not dead they were prisoners in Germany. I have no witnesses for a court martial, and after being off my head in the hospital for a couple of months I doubt if a court martial would believe my story. Counsel for the defence would say I was suffering from delusions2. And it would have driven me mad if such a scoundrel as Brett had been acquitted3 by a court martial for want of evidence. Besides, the satisfaction of having him shot was not to be compared with the satisfaction of shooting him down myself just as if he were a dog.”
 
“But it is a terribly grave thing to take human life—to send a man to his death without trial.”
 
“I have seen so many men die, Crewe, that death seems to me but a little thing. If a man deserves death, if he knows himself that he deserves it a hundredfold, why waste time in proving it to others? If I had shot Brett I should doubtless have had to stand my trial for murder. But if the police searched all over England could they have found a jury who would convict me if I saw fit to tell my story in the dock? Told by a man in the dock it would carry conviction; but told by a man in the witness-box at a court martial it might not.”
 
“I believe there is some truth in that,” said Crewe, in a firm, quiet voice. “But it is a matter which must be put to the test.”
 
Marsland stood up and fixed4 on him an intent gaze.
 
“What do you mean?” he said. “If Brett is dead he died by accident—by a fall over the cliff. The law cannot touch me.”
 
The detective did not speak, but his eyes held the young man’s glance intently for a moment, and then traveled slowly to the portrait of Frank Lumsden on the wall.
 
“I mean that,” he said slowly.
 
“Do you know all?” Marsland asked, in a voice which was little more than a whisper.
 
“I know that it was you who shot Frank Lumsden.”
 
“Yes, I shot him!” The young man sprang to his feet and uttered the words in a loud, excited tone which rang through the empty house. “And so little do I regret what I have done, that if I had the chance to recall the past I would not falter—I would shoot him again.”
 
“Sit down again,” said Crewe kindly5. “Do not excite yourself. You and I can discuss this thing quietly whatever else is to happen afterwards.”
 
“How long have you known that I did it?” asked Marsland, after a pause.
 
“It was not until yesterday that I felt quite certain. What annoys me—what offends my personal pride—is that my impetuous young friend Gillett picked you out as the right man before I did. He was wrong in his facts, wrong in his deductions6, wrong in his theories, and hopelessly wrong in his reconstruction7 of the crime. He had no more chance of proving a case against you than against the first man he might pick out blindfolded8 from a crowd, and yet he was right. True, he came to the conclusion that he was wrong when I put him right as to the circumstances under which the tragedy occurred, but that doesn’t soothe9 my pride altogether. If there is one lesson I have learned from this case, it is that humility10 is a virtue11 that becomes us all.
 
“But, after all, I do not think I have been so very long in solving the problem,” the detective continued. “It is only thirteen days since the tragedy took place, and from the first I saw it was a complicated case. I never ruled out the possibility of your being the right man after Brett and Miss Maynard tried to sheet home Lumsden’s death to you. I do not think she was fully12 in Brett’s confidence—in fact, it is fairly obvious that he would not tell her the story of his treachery. But he knew that you had shot Lumsden and she caught at his conviction without being fully convinced herself. Brett’s conduct was inconsistent with guilt13. But it was consistent with the knowledge that Lumsden had met his death at your hands and that he himself would share the same fate if you encountered him.
 
“I am under the impression that he reached Lumsden a few minutes after you rode away from the spot, and that Lumsden was then alive. Probably he was able to breathe out your name to Brett. The latter helped the dying man into the motor-car and started to drive back to Staveley for medical aid, and after passing the thatched cottage on the right he became aware that Lumsden had collapsed14 and was past human aid. So he decided15 to take the body to the farm, and in order to disappear, without drawing immediate16 suspicion on himself, he tried to indicate that Lumsden was shot in the house.
 
“Then he disappeared because he was afraid of you. If he had got you under lock and key he might have risked coming into the open and giving evidence against you. But I rather fancy that his intention was to get away to a foreign country with old Lumsden’s money, and then put the police on your track by giving the true circumstances under which Lumsden was shot.”
 
“Did he write to you?” asked Marsland.
 
“No.”
 
“I was always afraid he would. What put you on my track?”
 
“The conviction that you had warned this girl to clear out as Gillett had obtained some awkward facts against her. You were the only person who had any object in warning her, though Gillett thinks you had even less reason to do so than Brett. I regarded you merely as an average human being and not actuated by Quixotic impulses. I remembered that she had tried to sheet home the crime to you and therefore you had little cause to be grateful to her—so far I am in accord with Gillett. But if you knew that she had nothing to do with the tragedy, and if you felt that Gillett’s close questioning might lead to information from Brett which would tell against you, it was common sense on your part to get her out of the way.”
 
“It is wonderful how you have divined my mind and the line of thought I followed,” said the young man. His even tones were an indication that he was regaining17 his composure.
 
“Next, there was your attempt to kill Brett instead of helping18 me to capture him. That told against you. True, it indicated that you had what you regarded as a just cause of deadly hatred19. But if you were under the belief that Brett had killed Lumsden it would have suited you better to capture him than to shoot him. Your shot at Brett showed me that you knew it was not Brett who had killed Lumsden, and also that you feared if Brett were arrested he would charge you with shooting Lumsden.”
 
“Go on,” said the young man breathlessly.
 
“There is little more to tell,” said Crewe. “I had to ask Gillett yesterday not to refer to the doubts I had expressed to him regarding Brett’s guilt. I was afraid he might do so in your presence and that would have put you on your guard. The final proof came when Gillett discovered the bullet in the tree where Lumsden fell. At the moment Gillett found the bullet I picked up these in the grass.”
 
Crewe produced from his waistcoat pocket a pair of eye-glasses.
 
“So that is where I lost them!” exclaimed Marsland. “It never occurred to me before. I have no recollection of their dropping off—I suppose I was too excited to notice they had gone.”
 
“Your meeting with him was accidental?” said Crewe.
 
“Quite. I had been out riding on the downs and when I struck the road I wasn’t sure which way I had to go to get home. I saw a man coming along the road and I rode up to him. It was Lumsden. I tell you, Crewe, he was terrified at the sight of me—no doubt he thought that I had been killed in France. As I was dismounting and tying up my horse he pleaded for his life. He grovelled20 at my feet in the dirt. But I didn’t waste much time or pity. I told him that he had earned death a hundredfold, and that the only thing I was sorry for was that I could kill him only once. He sprang up the bank in the hope of getting away, but I brought him down with a single shot. I saw that he was done for and I left him gasping21 in the agony of death. I had no pity—I had seen so many men die, and I had seen my company of good men go to their deaths because of his treachery.
 
“I rode back over the downs, and caring little which way I went I lost my way and was overtaken by the storm. Eventually I saw the farm and went there for shelter. And upstairs I found the dead body of this man Lumsden. It was the strangest experience of my life. I did not know what to think—I could not make out how the body had got there. And when Miss Maynard asked me to say nothing to the police about her having been there I thought it was the least I could do for her. I knew that whatever errand had brought her there she had nothing to do with his death.”
 
There was a long pause during which the two men looked at one another.
 
“You think that I had just cause for shooting him?” said Marsland.
 
“I think you had no right to take upon yourself the responsibility of saying ‘The law will fail to punish these men and therefore I will punish them without invoking22 the aid of the law!’”
 
“I do not regret what I have done. As I said before, if I had to go through it again I would not hesitate to shoot him. Perhaps it is because I have lived so much with death while I was at the front that human life does not seem to me a sacred thing. These two men deserved death if ever men did.”
 
“You believe that no jury would convict you?” said Crewe.
 
“I do not see how a jury of patriotic23 Englishmen could do so. But I do not care about that. I have finished with my life; I do not care what becomes of me. When I recall what I have been through over there in France, when I think of the thousands of brave men who have died agonized24 deaths, when I see again the shattered mutilated bodies of my men in the shell-hole with me—I want to forget that I have ever lived. All that remains25 to be done is that you should hand me over to the police.”
 
“That is a responsibility which I should like to be spared,” said Crewe gravely. “I think we may leave it to Brett.”
 
“To Brett!” exclaimed Marsland, springing to his feet again in renewed excitement. “Do you think he has escaped death; do you think he has got away?”
 
“I feel sure he was killed. But if his body is recovered the police will learn from it that it was you who shot Lumsden.”
 
“How will they find that out?”
 
“The girl Maynard has told them that he had an important paper in his possession when he was drowned and that is why they are so anxious to recover the body. They do not know the contents of the document but it is an easy matter to divine them. Let us look at this matter in the way in which Brett must have looked at it after thinking it over carefully. He knew that you had shot Lumsden; he knew that if he met you his life would not be worth a moment’s purchase. The shot you fired at him when he was breaking into your room at Staveley was an emphatic26 warning on that point, if he needed any warning.
 
“Do you think that he would not take steps to bring his death and Lumsden’s death home to you in the event of his being shot down? If he had got out of the country, as no doubt he had hoped to do, he would have put the police on your track for shooting Lumsden. If the police recover Brett’s body, they will find on it a document setting forth27 Brett’s account of how Lumsden met his death. No doubt his and Lumsden’s treachery will be glossed28 over, but your share in the tragedy will be plainly put.”
 
“I overlooked all this,” said Marsland quietly. “Let us walk across to the cliffs and see what they are doing.”
 
They left the farm and walked slowly towards the cliffs, each immersed in his own thoughts. There were a few groups of people on the road, and another group at the top of the hill. Suddenly there arose a shout, and the people on the road started running towards the cliffs.
 
“They’ve found it!” The cry of the people on the beach below was carried up to the cliffs, and Crewe and Marsland, looking down, saw the fishermen in one of the boats close to the cliff lift from the water the dripping, stiffened29 figure of a man which had been brought to the surface by the grappling irons.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 martial bBbx7     
adj.战争的,军事的,尚武的,威武的
参考例句:
  • The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
  • The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。
2 delusions 2aa783957a753fb9191a38d959fe2c25     
n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 );谬见;错觉;妄想
参考例句:
  • the delusions of the mentally ill 精神病患者的妄想
  • She wants to travel first-class: she must have delusions of grandeur. 她想坐头等舱旅行,她一定自以为很了不起。 来自辞典例句
3 acquitted c33644484a0fb8e16df9d1c2cd057cb0     
宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 ); 使(自己)作出某种表现
参考例句:
  • The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
  • Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。
4 fixed JsKzzj     
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的
参考例句:
  • Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗?
  • Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定,我们就不应该随意改变。
5 kindly tpUzhQ     
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
  • A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。
6 deductions efdb24c54db0a56d702d92a7f902dd1f     
扣除( deduction的名词复数 ); 结论; 扣除的量; 推演
参考例句:
  • Many of the older officers trusted agents sightings more than cryptanalysts'deductions. 许多年纪比较大的军官往往相信特务的发现,而不怎么相信密码分析员的推断。
  • You know how you rush at things,jump to conclusions without proper deductions. 你知道你处理问题是多么仓促,毫无合适的演绎就仓促下结论。
7 reconstruction 3U6xb     
n.重建,再现,复原
参考例句:
  • The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后,该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
  • In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期,技术决定一切。
8 blindfolded a9731484f33b972c5edad90f4d61a5b1     
v.(尤指用布)挡住(某人)的视线( blindfold的过去式 );蒙住(某人)的眼睛;使不理解;蒙骗
参考例句:
  • The hostages were tied up and blindfolded. 人质被捆绑起来并蒙上了眼睛。
  • They were each blindfolded with big red handkerchiefs. 他们每个人的眼睛都被一块红色大手巾蒙住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 soothe qwKwF     
v.安慰;使平静;使减轻;缓和;奉承
参考例句:
  • I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
  • This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。
10 humility 8d6zX     
n.谦逊,谦恭
参考例句:
  • Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
  • His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和,甚至有点谦卑。
11 virtue BpqyH     
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力
参考例句:
  • He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
  • You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。
12 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
13 guilt 9e6xr     
n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责
参考例句:
  • She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
  • Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。
14 collapsed cwWzSG     
adj.倒塌的
参考例句:
  • Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
  • The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。
15 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
16 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
17 regaining 458e5f36daee4821aec7d05bf0dd4829     
复得( regain的现在分词 ); 赢回; 重回; 复至某地
参考例句:
  • She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉,但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
  • She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道,又马上重新振作起精神来。
18 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
19 hatred T5Gyg     
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨
参考例句:
  • He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
  • The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。
20 grovelled f2d04f1ac4a6f7bd25f90830308cae61     
v.卑躬屈节,奴颜婢膝( grovel的过去式和过去分词 );趴
参考例句:
  • We grovelled around the club on our knees. 我们趴在俱乐部的地上四处找。 来自辞典例句
  • The dog grovelled before his master when he saw the whip. 那狗看到鞭子,便匍匐在主人面前。 来自辞典例句
21 gasping gasping     
adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词
参考例句:
  • He was gasping for breath. 他在喘气。
  • "Did you need a drink?""Yes, I'm gasping!” “你要喝点什么吗?”“我巴不得能喝点!”
22 invoking ac7bba2a53612f6fe1454f6397475d24     
v.援引( invoke的现在分词 );行使(权利等);祈求救助;恳求
参考例句:
  • You can customise the behavior of the Asynchronous Server and hence re-brand it by defining your own command set for invoking services. 通过定义自己调用服务的命令集,您可以定制自定义异步服务器的行为,通过为调用服务定义自己的命令集从而对它重新标记。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • You can customize the behavior of the Asynchronous Server and hence re-brand it by defining your own command set for invoking services. 通过定义自己调用服务的命令集,您可以定制自定义异步服务器的行为,通过为调用服务定义自己的命令集从而对它重新标记。 来自辞典例句
23 patriotic T3Izu     
adj.爱国的,有爱国心的
参考例句:
  • His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
  • The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。
24 agonized Oz5zc6     
v.使(极度)痛苦,折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 );苦斗;苦苦思索;感到极度痛苦
参考例句:
  • All the time they agonized and prayed. 他们一直在忍受痛苦并且祈祷。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • She agonized herself with the thought of her loss. 她念念不忘自己的损失,深深陷入痛苦之中。 来自辞典例句
25 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
26 emphatic 0P1zA     
adj.强调的,着重的;无可置疑的,明显的
参考例句:
  • Their reply was too emphatic for anyone to doubt them.他们的回答很坚决,不容有任何人怀疑。
  • He was emphatic about the importance of being punctual.他强调严守时间的重要性。
27 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
28 glossed 4df0fb546674680c16a9b0d5fffac46c     
v.注解( gloss的过去式和过去分词 );掩饰(错误);粉饰;把…搪塞过去
参考例句:
  • The manager glossed over the team's recent defeat. 经理对这个队最近的失败闪烁其词。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He glossed over his selfishness with a display of generosity. 他以慷慨大方的假象掩饰他的自私。 来自互联网
29 stiffened de9de455736b69d3f33bb134bba74f63     
加强的
参考例句:
  • He leaned towards her and she stiffened at this invasion of her personal space. 他向她俯过身去,这种侵犯她个人空间的举动让她绷紧了身子。
  • She stiffened with fear. 她吓呆了。


欢迎访问英文小说网

©英文小说网 2005-2010

有任何问题,请给我们留言,管理员邮箱:[email protected]  站长QQ :点击发送消息和我们联系56065533