The hotel and the cafe of the Grand Alliance was London's newest rendezvous1. Its great palm-court was crowded at the tea-hour and if, as the mysterious Mr. Beale had hinted, any danger was to be apprehended2 from Dr. van Heerden, it could not come to her in that most open of public places.
She had no fear, but that eighth sense of armed caution, which is the possession of every girl who has to work for her living and is conscious of the perils3 which await her on every side, reviewed with lightning speed all the possibilities and gave her the passport of approval.
It was later than she had thought. Only a few tables were occupied, but he had evidently reserved one, for immediately on his appearance the waiter with a smirk4 led him to one of the alcoves6 and pulled back a chair for the girl. She looked round as she stripped her gloves. The place was not unfamiliar7 to her. It was here she came at rare intervals8, when her finances admitted of such an hilarious9 recreation, to find comfort for jangled nerves, to sit and sip10 her tea to the sound of violins and watch the happy crowd at her leisure, absorbing something of the happiness they diffused11.
The palm-court was a spacious12 marble hall, a big circle of polished pillars supporting the dome13, through the tinted14 glass of which the light was filtered in soft hues15 upon the marble floor below.
"Doctor," she said, suddenly remembering, "I have been reading quite a lot about you to-day."
"About me?"
She nodded, smiling mischievously17.
"I didn't know that you were such a famous person--I have been reading about the Millinborn murder."
"You have been reading about the Millinborn murder?" he said steadily18, looking into her eyes. "An unpleasant case and one I should like to forget."
"I thought it was awfully19 thrilling," she said. "It read like a detective story without a satisfactory end."
He laughed.
"What a perfectly20 gruesome subject for tea-table talk," he said lightly, and beckoned21 the head-waiter. "You are keeping us waiting, Jaques."
"Doctor, it will be but a few minutes," pleaded the waiter, and then in a low voice, which was not so low that it did not reach the girl. "We have had some trouble this afternoon, doctor, with your friend."
"My friend?"
The doctor looked up sharply.
"Whom do you mean?"
"With Mr. Jackson."
"Jackson," said the doctor, startled. "I thought he had left."
"He was to leave this morning by the ten o'clock train, but he had a fainting-fit. We recovered him with brandy and he was too well, for this afternoon he faint again."
"Where is he now?" asked van Heerden, after a pause.
"In his room, monsieur. To-night he leave for Ireland--this he tell me--to catch the mail steamer at Queenstown."
"Don't let him know I am here," said the doctor.
He turned to the girl with a shrug22.
"A dissolute friend of mine whom I am sending out to the colonies," he said.
"Won't you go and see him?" she asked. "He must be very ill if he faints."
"I think not," said Dr. van Heerden quietly, "these little attacks are not serious--he had one in my room the other night. It is a result of over-indulgence, and six months in Canada will make a man of him."
She did not reply. With difficulty she restrained an exclamation23. So that was the man who had been in the doctor's room and who was going to Red Horse Valley! She would have dearly loved to supplement her information about Mr. Scobbs, proprietor24 of many hotels, and to have mystified him with her knowledge of Western Canada, but she refrained.
Instead, she took up the conversation where he had tried to break it off.
"Do you know Mr. Kitson?"
"Kitson? Oh yes, you mean the lawyer man," he replied reluctantly. "I know him, but I am afraid I don't know much that is good about him. Now, I'm going to tell you, Miss Cresswell"--he leant across the table and spoke25 in a lower tone--"something that I have never told to a human being. You raised the question of the Millinborn murder. My view is that Kitson, the lawyer, knew much more about that murder than any man in this world. If there is anybody who knows more it is Beale."
"Mr. Beale?" she said incredulously.
"Mr. Beale," he repeated. "You know the story of the murder: you say you have read it. Millinborn was dying and I had left the room with Kitson when somebody entered the window and stabbed John Millinborn to the heart. I have every reason to believe that that murder was witnessed by this very man I am sending to Canada. He persists in denying that he saw anything, but later he may change his tune26."
A light dawned upon her.
"Then Jackson is the man who was seen by Mr. Kitson in the plantation27?"
"Exactly," said the doctor.
"But I don't understand," she said, perplexed28. "Aren't the police searching for Jackson?"
"I do not think that it is in the interests of justice that they should find him," he said gravely. "I place the utmost reliance on him. I am sending Mr. Jackson to a farm in Ontario kept by a medical friend of mine who has made a hobby of dealing29 with dipsomaniacs."
He met her eyes unfalteringly.
"Dr. van Heerden," she said slowly, "you are sending Mr. Jackson to Red Horse Valley."
He started back as if he had been struck in the face, and for a moment was inarticulate.
"What--what do you know?" he asked incoherently.
His face had grown white, his eyes tragic30 with fear. She was alarmed at the effect of her words and hastened to remove the impression she had created.
"I only know that I heard Mr. Jackson through the ventilator of my flat, saying good-bye to you the other night. He mentioned Red Horse Valley----"
He drew a deep breath and was master of himself again, but his face was still pale.
"Oh, that," he said, "that is a polite fiction. Jackson knows of this inebriates31' home in Ontario and I had to provide him with a destination. He will go no farther than----"
"Why, curse my life, if it isn't the doctor!"
At the sound of the raucous32 voice both looked up. The man called Jackson had hailed them from the centre of the hall. He was well dressed, but no tailor could compensate33 for the repulsiveness34 of that puckered35 and swollen36 face, those malignant37 eyes which peered out into the world through two slits38. He was wearing his loud-check suit, his new hat was in his hand and the conical-shaped dome of his head glistened39 baldly.
"I'm cursed if this isn't amiable40 of you, doctor!"
He did not look at the girl, but grinned complacently41 upon her angry companion.
"Here I am "--he threw out his arms with an extravagant42 gesture--"leaving the country of my adoption43, if not birth, without one solitary44 soul to see me off or take farewell of me. I, who have been--well, you know, what I've been, van Heerden. The world has treated me very badly. By heaven! I'd like to come back a billionaire and ruin all of 'em. I'd like to cut their throats and amputate 'em limb from limb, I would like----"
"Be silent!" said van Heerden angrily. "Have you no decency45? Do you not realize I am with a lady?"
"Pardon." The man called Jackson leapt up from the chair into which he had fallen and bowed extravagantly46 in the direction of the girl. "I cannot see your face because of your hat, my dear lady," he said gallantly47, "but I am sure my friend van Heerden, whose taste----"
"Will you be quiet?" said van Heerden. "Go to your room and I will come up to you."
"Go to my room!" scoffed48 the other. "By Jove! I like that! That any whipper-snapper of a sawbones should tell me to go to my room. After what I have been, after the position I have held in society. I have had ambassadors' carriages at my door, my dear fellow, princes of the royal blood, and to be told to go to my room like a naughty little boy! It's too much!"
"Then behave yourself," said van Heerden, "and at least wait until I am free before you approach me again."
But the man showed no inclination49 to move; rather did this rebuff stimulate50 his power of reminiscence.
"Ignore me, miss--I have not your name, but I am sure it is a noble one," he said. "You see before you one who in his time has been a squire51 of dames52, by Jove! I can't remember 'em. They must number thousands and only one of them was worth two sous. Yes," he shook his head in melancholy53, "only one of 'em. By Jove! The rest were"--he snapped his fingers--"that for 'em!"
The girl listened against her will.
"Jackson!"--and van Heerden's voice trembled with passion--"will you go or must I force you to go?"
Jackson rose with a loud laugh.
"Evidently I am _de trop_," he said with heavy sarcasm54.
He held out a swollen hand which van Heerden ignored.
"Farewell, mademoiselle." He thrust the hand forward, so that she could not miss it.
She took it, a cold flabby thing which sent a shudder56 of loathing57 through her frame, and raised her face to his for the first time.
He let the hand drop. He was staring at her with open mouth and features distorted with horror.
She shrunk back against the wall of the alcove5, but he made no movement. She sensed the terror and agony in his voice.
"Hang you! Go!" roared van Heerden, and thrust him back.
But though he staggered back a pace under the weight of the other's arm, his eyes did not leave the girl's face, and she, fascinated by the appeal in the face of the wreck60, could not turn hers away.
"Mary!" he whispered, "what is your other name?"
With an effort the girl recovered herself.
"My name is not Mary," she said quietly. "My name is Oliva Cresswell."
"Oliva Cresswell," he repeated. "Oliva Cresswell!"
He made a movement toward her but van Heerden barred his way. She heard Jackson say something in a strangled voice and heard van Heerden's sharp "What!" and there was a fierce exchange of words.
The attention of the few people in the palm-court had been attracted to the unusual spectacle of two men engaged in what appeared to be a struggle.
"Sit down, sit down, you fool! Sit over there. I will come to you in a minute. Can you swear what you say is true?"
Jackson nodded. He was shaking from head to foot.
"My name is Predeaux," he said; "that is my daughter--I married in the name of Cresswell. My daughter," he repeated. "How wonderful!"
"What are you going to do?" asked van Heerden.
He had half-led, half-pushed the other to a chair near one of the pillars of the rotunda61.
"I am going to tell her," said the wreck. "What are you doing with her?" he demanded fiercely.
"That is no business of yours," replied van Heerden sharply.
"No business of mine, eh! I'll show you it's some business of mine. I am going to tell her all I know about you. I have been a rotter and worse than a rotter." The old flippancy62 had gone and the harsh voice was vibrant63 with purpose. "My path has been littered with the wrecks64 of human lives," he said bitterly, "and they are mostly women. I broke the heart of the best woman in the world, and I am going to see that you don't break the heart of her daughter."
"Will you be quiet?" hissed65 van Heerden. "I will go and get her away and then I will come back to you."
Jackson did not reply. He sat huddled66 up in his chair, muttering to himself, and van Heerden walked quickly back to the girl.
"I am afraid I shall have to let you go back by yourself. He is having one of his fits. I think it is delirium67 tremens."
"Don't you think you had better send for----" she began. She was going to say "send for a doctor," and the absurdity68 of the request struck her.
"I think you had better go," he said hastily, with a glance at the man who was struggling to his feet. "I can't tell you how sorry I am that we've had this scene."
"Stop!"--it was Jackson's voice.
He stood swaying half-way between the chair he had left and the alcove, and his trembling finger was pointing at them.
"Stop!" he said in a commanding voice. "Stop! I've got something to say to you. I know ... he's making you pay for the Green Rust55...."
So far he got when he reeled and collapsed69 in a heap on the floor. The doctor sprang forward, lifted him and carried him to the chair by the pillar. He picked up the overcoat that the man had been wearing and spread it over him.
"It's a fainting-fit, nothing to be alarmed about," he said to the little knot of people from the tables who had gathered about the limp figure. "Jaques"--he called the head-waiter--"get some brandy, he must be kept warm."
"Shall I ring for an ambulance, m'sieur?"
"It is not necessary," said van Heerden. "He will recover in a few moments. Just leave him," and he walked back to the alcove.
"Who is he?" asked the girl, and her voice was shaking in spite of herself.
"He is a man I knew in his better days," said van Heerden, "and now I think you must go."
"I would rather wait to see if he recovers," she said with some obstinacy70.
"I want you to go," he said earnestly; "you would please me very much if you would do as I ask."
"There's the waiter!" she interrupted, "he has the brandy. Won't you give it to him?"
It was the doctor who in the presence of the assembled visitors dissolved a white pellet in the brandy before he forced the clenched71 teeth apart and poured the liquor to the last drop down the man's throat.
Jackson or Predeaux, to give him his real name, shuddered72 as he drank, shuddered again a few seconds later and then went suddenly limp.
The doctor bent73 down and lifted his eyelid74.
"I am afraid--he is dead," he said in a low voice.
"Dead!" the girl stared at him. "Oh no! Not dead!"
Van Heerden nodded.
"Heart failure," he said.
"The same kind of heart failure that killed John Millinborn," said a voice behind him. "The cost of the Green Rust is totalling up, doctor."
The girl swung round. Mr. Beale was standing75 at her elbow, but his steady eyes were fixed76 upon van Heerden.
收听单词发音 |
1
rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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apprehended
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解 | |
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perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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smirk
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| n.得意地笑；v.傻笑；假笑着说 | |
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alcove
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| n.凹室 | |
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alcoves
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| n.凹室( alcove的名词复数 )；（花园）凉亭；僻静处；壁龛 | |
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unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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hilarious
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| adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed | |
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sip
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| v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量 | |
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diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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tinted
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| adj. 带色彩的 动词tint的过去式和过去分词 | |
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hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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mischievously
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| adv.有害地；淘气地 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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plantation
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| n.种植园，大农场 | |
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perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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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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raucous
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| adj.(声音)沙哑的，粗糙的 | |
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compensate
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| vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消 | |
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repulsiveness
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puckered
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| v.（使某物）起褶子或皱纹( pucker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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slits
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| n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子 | |
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39
glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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decency
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| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
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extravagantly
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| adv.挥霍无度地 | |
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gallantly
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| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
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48
scoffed
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| 嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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49
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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50
stimulate
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| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
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51
squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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52
dames
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| n.（在英国）夫人（一种封号），夫人（爵士妻子的称号）( dame的名词复数 )；女人 | |
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53
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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54
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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55
rust
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| n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退 | |
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56
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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57
loathing
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| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
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58
croaked
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的过去式和过去分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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59
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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60
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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61
rotunda
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| n.圆形建筑物；圆厅 | |
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62
flippancy
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| n.轻率；浮躁；无礼的行动 | |
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63
vibrant
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| adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的 | |
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64
wrecks
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| n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 )；（事故中）遭严重毁坏的汽车（或飞机等）；（身体或精神上）受到严重损伤的人；状况非常糟糕的车辆（或建筑物等）v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 )；使（船舶）失事，使遇难，使下沉 | |
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65
hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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66
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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67
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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68
absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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69
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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70
obstinacy
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| n.顽固；（病痛等）难治 | |
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71
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72
shuddered
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| 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 | |
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73
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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74
eyelid
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| n.眼睑，眼皮 | |
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75
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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76
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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