A quarter of a mile from Deans Folly1 a motor-car was halted on the side of a hill overlooking the valley in which van Heerden's house was set.
"That's the house," said Beale, consulting the map, "and that wall that runs along the road is the wall the tramp described."
"You seem to put a lot of faith in the statement of a man suffering from delirium2 tremens," said Parson Homo dryly.
"He was not suffering from delirium tremens this morning. You didn't see him?"
Homo shook his head.
"I was in London fixing the preliminaries of your nuptials," he said sarcastically3. "It may be the house," he admitted; "where is the entrance?"
"There's a road midway between here and the river and a private road leading off," said Beale; "the gate, I presume, is hidden somewhere in those bushes."
He raised a pair of field-glasses and focused them.
"Yes, the gate's there," he said. "Do you see that man?"
Homo took the glasses and looked.
"Looks like a watcher," he said, "and if it is your friend's place the gate will be locked and barred. Why don't you get a warrant?"
Beale shook his head.
"He'd get wind of it and be gone. No, our way in is over the wall. The 'hobo' said there's a garden door somewhere."
They left the car and walked down the hill and presently came to a corner of the high wall which surrounded Deans Folly.
Beale passed on ahead.
"Here's the door," he said.
He tried it gingerly and it gave a little.
"It's clogged4, and you won't get it open," said Homo; "it's the wall or nothing."
Beale looked up and down the road. There was nobody in sight and he made a leap, caught the top of the wall and drew himself up. Luckily the usual _chevaux de frise_ was absent. Beneath him and a little to the right was a shed built against the wall, the door of which was closed.
He signalled Homo to follow and dropped to the ground. In a minute both men were sheltering in the clump5 of bushes where on the previous day Oliva had waited before making a dart6 for the garden door.
"There's been a fire here," said Homo in a low voice, and pointed7 to a big ugly patch of black amidst the green.
Beale surveyed it carefully, then wormed his way through the bushes until he was within reach of the ruined plot. He stretched out his hand and pulled in a handful of the debris8, examined it carefully and stuffed it into his pocket.
"You are greatly interested in a grass fire," said Homo curiously9.
"Yes, aren't I?" replied Beale.
They spent the next hour reconnoitring the ground. Once the door of the wall-shed opened, two men came out and walked to the house, and they had to lie motionless until after a seemingly interminable interval10 they returned again, stopping in the middle of the black patch to talk. Beale saw one pointing to the ruin and the other shook his head and they both returned to the shed and the door closed behind them.
"There's somebody coming down the main drive," whispered Homo.
They were now near the house and from where they lay had a clear view of fifty yards of the drive.
"It's a brother brush!" said Homo, in a chuckling11 whisper.
"A what?" asked Beale.
"A parson."
"A parson?"
He focused his glasses. Some one in clerical attire12 accompanied by the man whom Beale recognized as the guard of the gate, was walking quickly down the drive. There was no time to be lost. But now for the first time doubts assailed13 him. His great scheme seemed more fantastic and its difficulties more real. What could be easier than to spring out and intercept14 the clergyman, but would that save the girl? What force did the house hold? He had to deal with men who would stop short at nothing to achieve their purpose and in particular one man who had not hesitated at murder.
He felt his heart thumping15, not at the thought of danger, though danger he knew was all round, but from sheer panic that he himself was about to play an unworthy part. Whatever fears or doubts he may have had suddenly fall away from him and he rose to his knees, for not twenty yards away at a window, her hands grasping the bars, her apathetic16 eyes looking listlessly toward where he crouched17, was Oliva Cresswell.
Regardless of danger, he broke cover and ran toward her.
"Miss Cresswell," he called.
She looked at him across the concrete well without astonishment18 and without interest.
"It is you," she said, with extraordinary calm.
He stood on the brink19 of the well hesitating. It was too far to leap and he remembered that behind the lilac bush he had seen a builder's plank20. This he dragged out and passed it across the chasm21, leaning the other end upon a ledge22 of brickwork which butted23 from the house.
He stepped quickly across, gripped the bars and found a foothold on the ledge, the girl standing24 watching him without any sign of interest. He knew something was wrong. He could not even guess what that something was. This was not the girl he knew, but an Oliva Cresswell from whom all vitality25 and life had been sapped.
"You know me?" he said. "I am Mr. Beale."
"I know you are Mr. Beale," she replied evenly.
"I have come to save you," he said rapidly. "Will you trust me? I want you to trust me," he said earnestly. "I want you to summon every atom of faith you have in human nature and invest it in me. Will you do this for me?"
"I will do this for you," she said, like a child repeating a lesson.
"I--I want you to marry me." He realized as he said these words in what his fear was founded. He knew now that it was her refusal even to go through the form of marriage which he dared not face.
The truth leapt up to him and sent the blood pulsing through his head, that behind and beyond his professional care for her he loved her. He waited with bated breath, expecting her amazement26, her indignation, her distress27. But she was serene28 and untroubled, did not so much as raise her eyelids29 by the fraction of an inch as she answered:
"I will marry you."
He tried to speak but could only mutter a hoarse30, "Thank you."
He turned his head. Homo stood at the end of the plank and he beckoned31 him.
Parson Homo came to the centre of the frail32 bridge, slipped a Prayer Book from his tail pocket and opened it.
"Dearly beloved, we are come together here in the sight of God to join together this Man and this Woman in Holy Matrimony....
"I require and charge you both as ye will answer at the dreadful Day of Judgment33 when the secret of all hearts shall be disclosed that if either of you know any impediment why ye may not be joined together in Matrimony ye do now confess it."
Beale's lips were tight pressed. The girl was looking serenely34 upward to a white cloud that sailed across the western skies.
Homo read quickly, his enunciation35 beautifully clear, and Beale found himself wondering when last this man had performed so sacred an office. He asked the inevitable36 question and Beale answered. Homo hesitated, then turned to the girl.
"Wilt37 thou have this man to be thy wedded38 husband to live together after God's ordinance39 in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou obey him and serve him, love, honour and keep him in sickness and in health; and forsaking40 all others keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?"
The girl did not immediately answer, and the pause was painful to the two men, but for different reasons. Then she suddenly withdrew her gaze from the sky and looked Homo straight in the face.
"I will," she said.
The next question in the service he dispensed41 with. He placed their hands together, and together repeating his words, they plighted42 their troth. Homo leant forward and again joined their hands and a note of unexpected solemnity vibrated in his voice when he spoke43.
"Those whom God hath joined together let no man put asunder44."
Beale drew a deep breath then:
"Very pretty indeed," said a voice.
The detective swung across the window to bring the speaker into a line of fire.
"Put down your gun, admirable Mr. Beale." Van Heerden stood in the centre of the room and the bulky figure of Milsom filled the doorway45.
"Very pretty indeed, and most picturesque," said van Heerden. "I didn't like to interrupt the ceremony. Perhaps you will now come into the house, Mr. Beale, and I will explain a few things to you. You need not trouble about your--wife. She will not be harmed."
Beale, revolver still in hand, made his way to the door and was admitted.
"You had better come along, Homo," he said, "we may have to bluff46 this out."
Van Heerden was waiting for him in the hall and invited him no farther.
"You are perfectly47 at liberty to take away your wife," said van Heerden; "she will probably explain to you that I have treated her with every consideration. Here she is."
Oliva was descending48 the stairs with slow, deliberate steps.
"I might have been very angry with you," van Heerden went on, with that insolent49 drawl of his; "happily I do not find it any longer necessary to marry Miss Cresswell. I was just explaining to this gentleman"--he pointed to the pallid50 young curate in the background--"when your voices reached me. Nevertheless, I think it only right to tell you that your marriage is not a legal one, though I presume you are provided with a special licence."
"Why is it illegal?" asked Beale.
He wondered if Parson Homo had been recognized.
"In the first place because it was not conducted in the presence of witnesses," said van Heerden.
It was Homo who laughed.
"I am afraid that would make it illegal but for the fact that you witnessed the ceremony by your own confession51, and so presumably did your fat friend behind you."
"You were always a bitter dog to me, Parson," he said, "but I can give you a reason why it's illegal," he said triumphantly53. "That man is Parson Homo, a well-known crook54 who was kicked out of the Church fifteen years ago. I worked alongside him in Portland."
"You are right up to a certain point, Milsom," he said, "but you are wrong in one essential. By a curious oversight56 I was never unfrocked, and I am still legally a priest of the Church of England."
"Heavens!" gasped57 Beale, "then this marriage is legal!"
"It's as legal as it can possibly be," said Parson Homo complacently58.
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1
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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sarcastically
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| adv.挖苦地，讽刺地 | |
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clogged
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| （使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞 | |
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clump
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| n.树丛，草丛；vi.用沉重的脚步行走 | |
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dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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debris
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| n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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chuckling
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
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attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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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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apathetic
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| adj.冷漠的，无动于衷的 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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butted
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| 对接的 | |
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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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vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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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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frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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serenely
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| adv.安详地，宁静地，平静地 | |
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enunciation
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| n.清晰的发音；表明，宣言；口齿 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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wilt
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| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
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wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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ordinance
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| n.法令；条令；条例 | |
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40
forsaking
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| 放弃( forsake的现在分词 )； 弃绝； 抛弃； 摒弃 | |
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41
dispensed
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| v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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plighted
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| vt.保证，约定（plight的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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43
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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asunder
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| adj.分离的，化为碎片 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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46
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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47
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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48
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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50
pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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51
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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52
scowled
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
triumphantly
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| ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地 | |
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54
crook
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| v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处) | |
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55
crookedly
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| adv. 弯曲地，不诚实地 | |
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56
oversight
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| n.勘漏，失察，疏忽 | |
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57
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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complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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