Ling Chu's story was not difficult to believe. It was less difficult to believe that he was lying. There is no inventor in the world so clever, so circumstantial, so exact as to detail, as the Chinaman. He is a born teller1 of stories and piecer together of circumstances that fit so closely that it is difficult to see the joints2. Yet the man had been frank, straightforward3, patently honest. He had even placed himself in Tarling's power by his confession4 of his murderous intention.
Tarling could reconstruct the scene after the Chinaman had left. Milburgh stumbling in in the dark, striking a match and discovering a wall plug had been pulled away, reconnecting the lamp, and seeing to his amazement5 a murderous-looking pistol on the desk. It was possible that Milburgh, finding the pistol, had been deceived into believing that he had overlooked it on his previous search.
But what had happened to the weapon between the moment that Ling Chu left it on Thornton Lyne's private desk and when it was discovered in the work-basket of Odette Rider in the flat at Carrymore Mansions6? And what had Milburgh been doing in the store by himself so late at night? And more particularly, what had he been doing in Thornton Lyne's private room? It was unlikely that Lyne would leave his desk unlocked, and the only inference to be drawn7 was that Milburgh had unlocked it himself with the object of searching its contents.
And the _Hong_? Those sinister8 little squares of red paper with the Chinese characters, one of which had been found in Thornton Lyne's pocket? The explanation of their presence in Thornton Lyne's desk was simple. He had been a globetrotter and had collected curios, and it was only natural that he should collect these slips of paper, which were on sale in most of the big Chinese towns as a souvenir of the predatory methods of the "Cheerful Hearts."
His conversation with Ling Chu would have to be reported to Scotland Yard, and that august institution would draw its own conclusions. In all probability they would be most unfavourable to Ling Chu, who would come immediately under suspicion.
Tarling, however, was satisfied--or perhaps it would be more accurate to say inclined to be satisfied--with his retainer's statement. Some of his story was susceptible9 to verification, and the detective lost no time in making his way to the Stores. The topographical situation was as Ling Chu had described it. Tarling went to the back of the big block of buildings, into the small, quiet street of which Ling Chu had spoken, and was able to distinguish the iron rain pipe (one of many) up which the Chinaman had clambered. Ling Chu would negotiate that task without any physical distress11. He could climb like a cat, as Tarling knew, and that part of his story put no great tax upon the detective's credulity.
He walked back to the front of the shop, passed the huge plate-glass windows, fringed now with shoppers with whom Lyne's Store had acquired a new and morbid12 interest, and through the big swinging doors on to the crowded floor. Mr. Milburgh was in his office, said a shop-walker, and led the way.
Mr. Milburgh's office was much larger and less ornate than his late employer's. He greeted Tarling effusively13, and pushed an arm-chair forward and produced a box of cigars.
"We're in rather a turmoil14 and upset now, Mr. Tarling," he said in his ingratiating voice, with that set smile of his which never seemed to leave his face. "The auditors--or rather I should say the accountants--have taken away all the books, and of course that imposes a terrible strain on me, Mr. Tarling. It means that we've got to organise15 a system of interim16 accounts, and you as a business man will understand just what that means."
"You work pretty hard, Mr. Milburgh?" said Tarling.
"Why, yes, sir," smiled Milburgh. "I've always worked hard."
"You were working pretty hard before Mr. Lyne was killed, were you not?" asked Tarling.
"Yes----" hesitated Milburgh. "I can say honestly that I was."
"Very late at night?"
Milburgh still smiled, but there was a steely look in his eye as he answered:
"Frequently I worked late at night."
"Do you remember the night of the eleventh?" asked Tarling.
Milburgh looked at the ceiling for inspiration.
"Yes, I think I do. I was working very late that night."
"In your own office?"
"No," replied the other readily, "I did most of my work in Mr. Lyne's office--at his request," he added. A bold statement to make to a man who knew that Lyne suspected him of robbing the firm. But Milburgh was nothing if not bold.
"Did he also give you the key of his desk?" asked the detective dryly.
"Yes, sir," beamed Mr. Milburgh, "of course he did! You see, Mr. Lyne trusted me absolutely."
He said this so naturally and with such assurance that Tarling was staggered. Before he had time to speak the other went on:
"Yes, I can truthfully say that I was in Mr. Lyne's confidence. He told me a great deal more about himself than he has told anybody and----"
"One moment," said Tarling, and he spoke10 slowly. "Will you please tell me what you did with the revolver which you found on Mr. Lyne's desk? It was a Colt automatic, and it was loaded."
Blank astonishment17 showed in Mr. Milburgh's eyes.
"A loaded pistol?" he asked, raising his eyebrows18, "but, my dear good Mr. Tarling, whatever are you talking about? I never found a loaded pistol on Mr. Lyne's desk--poor fellow! Mr. Lyne objected as much to these deadly weapons as myself."
Here was a facer for Tarling, but he betrayed no sign either of disappointment or surprise. Milburgh was frowning as though he were attempting to piece together some half-forgotten recollection.
"Is it possible," he said in a shocked voice, "that when you examined my house the other day it was with the object of discovering such a weapon as this!"
"It's quite possible," said Tarling coolly, "and even probable. Now, I'm going to be very straightforward with you, Mr. Milburgh. I suspect you know a great deal more about this murder than you have told us, and that you had ever so much more reason for wishing Mr. Lyne was dead than you are prepared to admit at this moment. Wait," he said, as the other opened his mouth to speak. "I am telling you candidly19 that the object of my first visit to these Stores was to investigate happenings which looked very black against you. It was hardly so much the work of a detective as an accountant," he said, "but Mr. Lyne thought that I should be able to discover who was robbing the firm."
"And did you?" asked Milburgh coolly. There was the ghost of a smile still upon his face, but defiance20 shone in his pale eyes.
"I did not, because I went no further in the matter after you had expressed your agreement with Mr. Lyne that the firm had been robbed by Odette Rider."
He saw the man change colour, and pushed home his advantage.
"I am not going to inquire too closely into your reasons for attempting to ruin an innocent girl," he said sternly. "That is a matter for your own conscience. But I tell you, Mr. Milburgh, that if you are innocent--both of the robbery and of the murder--then I've never met a guilty person in my life."
"What do you mean?" asked the man loudly. "Do you dare to accuse me----?"
"I accuse you of nothing more than this," said Tarling, "that I am perfectly21 satisfied that you have been robbing the firm for years. I am equally satisfied that, even if you did not kill Mr. Lyne, you at least know who did."
"You're mad," sneered22 Milburgh, but his face was white. "Supposing it were true that I had robbed the firm, why should I want to kill Mr. Thornton Lyne? The mere23 fact of his death would have brought an examination into the accounts."
This was a convincing argument--the more so as it was an argument which Tarling himself had employed.
"As to your absurd and melodramatic charges of robbing the firm," Milburgh went on, "the books are now in the hands of an eminent24 firm of chartered accountants, who can give the lie to any such statement as you have made."
He had recovered something of his old urbanity, and now stood, or rather straddled, with his legs apart, his thumbs in the armholes of his waistcoat, beaming benignly25 upon the detective.
"I await the investigation26 of that eminent firm, Messrs. Dashwood and Solomon, with every confidence and without the least perturbation," he said. "Their findings will vindicate27 my honour beyond any question. I shall see this matter through!"
Tarling looked at him.
"I admire your nerve," he said, and left the office without another word.
收听单词发音 |
1
teller
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| n.银行出纳员；(选举)计票员 | |
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joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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straightforward
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| adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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mansions
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| n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 ) | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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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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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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effusively
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| adv.变溢地，热情洋溢地 | |
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14
turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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organise
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| vt.组织，安排，筹办 | |
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interim
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| adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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18
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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19
candidly
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| adv.坦率地，直率而诚恳地 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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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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22
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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benignly
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| adv.仁慈地，亲切地 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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vindicate
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| v.为…辩护或辩解，辩明；证明…正确 | |
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