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Chapter 29
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On Friday morning Simon came bright and cheerful to breakfast and greeted Brat1 with pleasure. He commented on the process of the “trunk” murder investigations2, the character of Tattie Thacker (whose value had been estimated by the court at one half-penny) and the iniquity3 of poisoning as a means of ridding oneself of a human encumbrance4. Except for an occasional gleam in his eye he showed no awareness5 of their changed relationship. He was taking their “spiritual twinship” for granted.

Eleanor too seemed to be back on the old footing, although she seemed shy, like someone who has made a social gaffe6. She suggested that in the afternoon they should take the four silver cups into Westover and give instructions for their engraving7.

“It will be nice to have ‘Patrick Ashby’ on a cup again,” she said.

“Yes, won’t it!” Simon said.

Simon evidently looked forward to years of baiting his spiritual twin. But when Brat said, in answer to Bee, that he had talked late with the Rector, Simon’s head came up as if he had heard a warning. And after that Brat caught Simon’s glance at him every now and then.

When Eleanor and Brat were setting off for Westover in the afternoon, he appeared and insisted on making a third in the bug8’s scanty9 space. One of the cups was his own unaided work, he said, and he had a right to say what was to go on it, and whether it should be in Roman, Arabic, Hebrew, Greek or Cyrillic script, or mere10 shorthand.

So powerful was Simon’s indifferent charm that even Brat found himself on the verge11 of wondering whether the Rector had been right and he had built his story out of whole cloth. But he remembered the horse that Farmer Gates had bought for his daughter Peggy, and concluded that that was a more reliable guide to Simon than anything Simon himself might provide.

When they had decided12 on the lettering for the names on the cups, Simon and Eleanor went to tea, but Brat said that he had some shopping to do. Brat had decided what he had to do in the present impasse13. He could not go to the police with his story in its present form with any more hope of being believed than he had been by the Rector. If the Rector, who knew Simon’s weaknesses, refused to believe without concrete evidence, how much more would the police refuse to believe, when Simon to them was not a wayward boy but Mr. Ashby of Latchetts?

Brat therefore proposed to provide them with the evidence.

He went down to the harbour and sought a chandler’s, and there, after some consultation14 and a deal of choosing, bought two hundred feet of rope. The rope was so thin that it was not much thicker than stout15 string, but its breaking-point under tension was very much that of steel. He asked them to pack it in a cardboard box and deliver it to the Angel garage, where the bug was. He received it at the garage and packed it away in the luggage compartment16.

When the others arrived to go home he was waiting innocently in the car with an evening paper.

They had packed themselves into the bug and were preparing to go when Simon said: “Whoa! We’ve forgotten to leave that old tire with them,” and he got out and opened the rear compartment to get the tire.

“What is in the box, Nell?”

“I didn’t put any box there,” Eleanor said, not moving. “It can’t be for us.”

“It’s mine,” Brat said.

“What is it?”

“Secret.”

“James Fryer and Son, Ship Chandlers,” said Simon’s voice.

Oh, God! There was a label on the box that he had not noticed.

Simon shut the luggage compartment with a bang and came back to his seat. “What have you been buying, Brat? One of those ships in a bottle? No, it is a little too large for that. One of those ships not in a bottle. One of those full-sailed galleons17 that sit on suburban18 sideboards to delight the heart of our Island Race and comfort it for being sick on the trip to Margate.”

“Don’t be a fool, Simon. What is it, Brat? Is it really a secret?”

If Simon wanted to find out what was in the box he most certainly would, by one method or another. And to make a mystery of it was to call attention to it. Far better to be apparently19 frank about it.

“If you must know, I’m afraid I’ll lose the knack20 of spinning a rope, so I’ve bought some to practise on.”

Eleanor was delighted. Brat must show them some spinning that very evening.

“No. Not till I’ve tried it out in camera first.”

“You’ll teach me how, won’t you?”

Yes, he would teach her how to throw a rope. She was going to hate him one day soon, if that rope did what it was bought for.

When they arrived back at Latchetts he took the rope out and left it openly in the hall. Bee asked about it, and accepted the explanation of its presence, and no one took any more notice of it. He wished that his last short time at Latchetts did not have to be spent in lying. It was odd that, having spent his whole time at Latchetts lying like a Levantine, he should mind so much about this smaller deception21.

There was still time to do nothing about it. To leave the rope there, and not ask it to answer any question. It was the wrong kind of rope for throwing, but he could change it for the right kind.

But when night came, and he was alone in his room, he knew that he had no choice. This was what he had come half across a world to do, and he was going to do it.

The household went early to bed, still tired from their excitements at Bures, and he gave them till half-past twelve, and then prospected22. There seemed to be no light anywhere. There was certainly no sound. He went downstairs and took the rope from its corner. He unlatched the dining-room window, stepped over the sill into the night, and drew it gently down again behind him. He waited for any reaction, but there was none.

He made his way softly over the gravel23 to the grass, sat down in the shelter of the first paddock trees, out of the range of the windows, and without need of any light, deftly24 knotted footholds at intervals25 down the length of rope. It was a pleasant reassuring26 thing to feel the familiar touch of rope after so long. It was a well-bred rope and answered sweetly to his demands. He felt grateful to James Fryer and Son.

He wound the rope and put the coil of it over his shoulder. In half an hour the moon would be up. It was a young moon, and not much of a lamp, but he had two good torches in his pocket and he did not very much desire a full moon’s frankness to-night.

Every five minutes he stopped and waited to see if he had been followed. But nothing at all moved in the night. Not even a cat.

The grey light of the coming moon greeted him as he came towards the foot of Tanbitches, and he found the path to Westover without having to flick27 a torch. He followed it up a little and then, when he could see the beech-crown of the hill against the sky, he struck off it until he reached the thicket28 on the upper side of the old quarry29. There he sat down and waited. But again there was no sound in all the sleeping countryside except the sudden cry of a sheep on the hill. He tied the rope round the bole of the largest of the young beeches30 that had seeded themselves there, and let it uncoil itself until it fell over the edge of the quarry into the green thickness below. This was the steep side of the quarry. The lower side had had a narrow entrance, but it had long ago fallen together and become overgrown with an impenetrable denseness31 of briars. Old Abel had told him all about it the day they had sat there and talked of Patrick. Abel knew all about the quarry because he had once rescued a sheep from it. It was much easier to go down the sheer face, Abel said, than in at the lower side. In fact, to go in at the lower side, or any other side, was plumb32 impossible. No, there was no water in it; at least there wasn’t any twenty years ago, which was when last he went down after a sheep; the water all drained away under the hill to the sea.

Brat tested the rope several times, and felt for it fraying33. But the bole of the tree was smooth, and where it went over the lip of the quarry he had padded it. He slid over the edge and felt for his first toe-hold. Now that he was level with the ground he was more aware of the brightness of the sky. He could see the dark shape of the low thicket against it, and the larger darkness of the tree above him.

He had found his first foothold in the rope now, but his hands were still on the rope where it lay taut34 on the turf.

“I should hate,” said Simon’s voice in its most “Simon” drawl, “to let you go without an appropriate farewell. I mean, I could just cut the rope and let you think, if you had time to think at all, that it had broken. But that wouldn’t be any fun, would it?”

Brat could see his bulk against the sky. From the shape of it, he was half-kneeling on the edge, by the rope. Brat could touch him by putting out a hand.

Fool that he had been to underrate Simon. Simon had taken no chances. He hadn’t even taken the chance of following him. He had come first and waited.

“Cutting the rope won’t do much good,” he said. “I’ll only land in the branches of some tree farther down, and yell my head off until someone comes.”

“I know better than that. A personal acquaintance of mine, this quarry is. Almost a relation, one might say.” He expelled his breath in a whispered laugh. “A sheer drop to the ground, half a hillside away.”

Brat wondered if he had time to slide down the rope in one swift rush before Simon cut it. The footholds had been for coming up again. He could just ignore them and slide. Would he be near enough the bottom before Simon realised what he had done?

Or would it be better ——? Yes. His hand tightened35 on the rope and he pressed on his toe-hold and lifted himself until he had almost got one knee on the turf again. But Simon must have his hand on the rope somewhere. He had felt the movement.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” he said, and brought his heel down on Brat’s hand. Brat grabbed the foot with his other hand and hung on, his fingers in the opening of the shoe. Simon brought his knife down on Brat’s wrist and Brat yelled, but continued to hang on. He dragged his right hand from under Simon’s shoe and caught him round the back of the ankle. He was covering with his body the rope in front of Simon and as long as he held on Simon could not turn to cut the rope behind him. It is very upsetting to have one’s foot grasped from below when one is standing36 on the very edge of a precipice37.

“Let go!” said Simon, stabbing frantically38.

“If you don’t stop that,” panted Brat, “I’ll drag you over with me.”

“Let go! Let go!” Simon said, hitting wildly in blind panic and not listening.

Brat removed the hand that was holding on to the edge of the shoe and caught the knife-hand as it came down. He now had his right hand round Simon’s left ankle, and his left hand was clutching Simon’s right wrist.

Simon screamed and pulled away, but Brat hung his weight on the wrist. He had the confidence of a toe-hold, but Simon had nothing to brace39 himself against. Simon tore at the hand that was hanging on to his knife-wrist, and Brat, with a great heave, took his right hand from Simon’s foot and caught Simon’s left hand with it. He had now got Simon by both wrists, and Simon was bent40 over like a bow above him.

“Drop that knife!” he said.

As he said it he felt the turf at the quarry edge settle a little and slide forward. It made no difference to him, except to press him out a little from the face of the cliff. But to Simon, already bent over by the weight of Brat’s arms and body, it was fatal.

Horrified41, Brat saw the dark mass come forward on top of him. It struck him from his toe-hold, and he fell down with it into darkness.

A great light exploded in his head, and he ceased to know anything.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 brat asPzx     
n.孩子;顽童
参考例句:
  • He's a spoilt brat.他是一个被宠坏了的调皮孩子。
  • The brat sicked his dog on the passer-by.那个顽童纵狗去咬过路人。
2 investigations 02de25420938593f7db7bd4052010b32     
(正式的)调查( investigation的名词复数 ); 侦查; 科学研究; 学术研究
参考例句:
  • His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查,但没有发现什么。
  • He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。
3 iniquity F48yK     
n.邪恶;不公正
参考例句:
  • Research has revealed that he is a monster of iniquity.调查结果显示他是一个不法之徒。
  • The iniquity of the transaction aroused general indignation.这笔交易的不公引起了普遍的愤怒。
4 encumbrance A8YyP     
n.妨碍物,累赘
参考例句:
  • Only by overcoming our weaknesses can we advance without any encumbrance;only by uniting ourselves in our struggle can we be invincible.克服缺点才能轻装前进,团结战斗才能无往不胜。
  • Now I should be an encumbrance.现在我成为累赘了。
5 awareness 4yWzdW     
n.意识,觉悟,懂事,明智
参考例句:
  • There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
  • Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。
6 gaffe bhqxA     
n.(社交上令人不快的)失言,失态
参考例句:
  • I had no idea of the gaffe which I was committing.我不清楚我犯了什么错误。
  • He made an embarrassing gaffe at the convention last weekend.他在上周末的会议上出了洋相,狼狈不堪。
7 engraving 4tyzmn     
n.版画;雕刻(作品);雕刻艺术;镌版术v.在(硬物)上雕刻(字,画等)( engrave的现在分词 );将某事物深深印在(记忆或头脑中)
参考例句:
  • He collected an old engraving of London Bridge. 他收藏了一张古老的伦敦桥版画。 来自辞典例句
  • Some writing has the precision of a steel engraving. 有的字体严谨如同钢刻。 来自辞典例句
8 bug 5skzf     
n.虫子;故障;窃听器;vt.纠缠;装窃听器
参考例句:
  • There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
  • The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。
9 scanty ZDPzx     
adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的
参考例句:
  • There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
  • The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。
10 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过
参考例句:
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
11 verge gUtzQ     
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临
参考例句:
  • The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
  • She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。
12 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。
13 impasse xcJz1     
n.僵局;死路
参考例句:
  • The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
  • Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。
14 consultation VZAyq     
n.咨询;商量;商议;会议
参考例句:
  • The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
  • The scheme was developed in close consultation with the local community.该计划是在同当地社区密切磋商中逐渐形成的。
16 compartment dOFz6     
n.卧车包房,隔间;分隔的空间
参考例句:
  • We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴,整个客车隔间由我们独享。
  • The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。
17 galleons 68206947d43ce6c17938c27fbdf2b733     
n.大型帆船( galleon的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The larger galleons made in at once for Corunna. 那些较大的西班牙帆船立即进入科普尼亚。 来自互联网
  • A hundred thousand disguises, all for ten Galleons! 千万张面孔,变化无穷,只卖十个加隆! 来自互联网
18 suburban Usywk     
adj.城郊的,在郊区的
参考例句:
  • Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
  • There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。
19 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
20 knack Jx9y4     
n.诀窍,做事情的灵巧的,便利的方法
参考例句:
  • He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
  • Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难,但有窍门。
21 deception vnWzO     
n.欺骗,欺诈;骗局,诡计
参考例句:
  • He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
  • He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。
22 prospected d3cb58dc19771f95dad28f271ebb7afc     
vi.勘探(prospect的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • The structural ceramics EDM processing is prospected and analysed with the mechanisms. 利用蚀除机理对加工过程进行了预测和分析。 来自互联网
  • At last future developments of micron op let in microfluidic are prospected. 论文展望了微液滴的发展前景。 来自互联网
23 gravel s6hyT     
n.砂跞;砂砾层;结石
参考例句:
  • We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
  • More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。
24 deftly deftly     
adv.灵巧地,熟练地,敏捷地
参考例句:
  • He deftly folded the typed sheets and replaced them in the envelope. 他灵巧地将打有字的纸折好重新放回信封。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • At last he had a clew to her interest, and followed it deftly. 这一下终于让他发现了她的兴趣所在,于是他熟练地继续谈这个话题。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
25 intervals f46c9d8b430e8c86dea610ec56b7cbef     
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
参考例句:
  • The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴,有阵雨。
  • Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。
26 reassuring vkbzHi     
a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的,使人放心的
参考例句:
  • He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
  • With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。
27 flick mgZz1     
n.快速的轻打,轻打声,弹开;v.轻弹,轻轻拂去,忽然摇动
参考例句:
  • He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
  • By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下,将马头上的苍蝇驱走。
28 thicket So0wm     
n.灌木丛,树林
参考例句:
  • A thicket makes good cover for animals to hide in.丛林是动物的良好隐蔽处。
  • We were now at the margin of the thicket.我们现在已经来到了丛林的边缘。
29 quarry ASbzF     
n.采石场;v.采石;费力地找
参考例句:
  • Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
  • This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。
30 beeches 7e2b71bc19a0de701aebe6f40b036385     
n.山毛榉( beech的名词复数 );山毛榉木材
参考例句:
  • The beeches, oaks and chestnuts all belong to the same family. 山毛榉树、橡树和栗子树属于同科树种。 来自互联网
  • There are many beeches in this wood. 这片树林里有许多山毛榉。 来自互联网
31 denseness 7be922e2b89558cfee4c439804972e03     
稠密,密集,浓厚; 稠度
参考例句:
  • Real estate industry is one of the typical capital denseness industries. 房地产业是一个非常典型的资本密集型行业。
  • India is one of the countries that have great denseness in population. 印度是人口高度密集的国家之一。
32 plumb Y2szL     
adv.精确地,完全地;v.了解意义,测水深
参考例句:
  • No one could plumb the mystery.没人能看破这秘密。
  • It was unprofitable to plumb that sort of thing.这种事弄个水落石出没有什么好处。
33 fraying 8f4a5676662cf49d0a0ccb11a13f77dd     
v.(使布、绳等)磨损,磨破( fray的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The cuffs of his shirt were fraying. 他衬衣的袖口磨破了。
  • Support for the leader was fraying at the edges. 对这位领导人的支持已经开始瓦解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
34 taut iUazb     
adj.拉紧的,绷紧的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • The bowstring is stretched taut.弓弦绷得很紧。
  • Scarlett's taut nerves almost cracked as a sudden noise sounded in the underbrush near them. 思嘉紧张的神经几乎一下绷裂了,因为她听见附近灌木丛中突然冒出的一个声音。
35 tightened bd3d8363419d9ff838bae0ba51722ee9     
收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 ); (使)变紧; (使)绷紧; 加紧
参考例句:
  • The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
  • His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机,然后又松开了。
36 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
37 precipice NuNyW     
n.悬崖,危急的处境
参考例句:
  • The hut hung half over the edge of the precipice.那间小屋有一半悬在峭壁边上。
  • A slight carelessness on this precipice could cost a man his life.在这悬崖上稍一疏忽就会使人丧生。
38 frantically ui9xL     
ad.发狂地, 发疯地
参考例句:
  • He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
  • She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。
39 brace 0WzzE     
n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备
参考例句:
  • My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
  • You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。
40 bent QQ8yD     
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
参考例句:
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
41 horrified 8rUzZU     
a.(表现出)恐惧的
参考例句:
  • The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
  • We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。


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