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Chapter 31
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Only the Rector, Bee, Charles, Eleanor, and the firm of Cosset1, Thring and Noble knew, so far, that Brat2 was not Patrick Ashby.

And the police.

The police, that is, at what is known as “the highest level.”

The police had been told everything, and they were now engaged in their own admirable fashion in smoothing out the mess to the best of their ability without breaking any of the laws which they were engaged to uphold. Simon Ashby was dead. It was to no one’s advantage to uncover the story of his crime. By a process of not saying too much, the ritual of the Law might be complied with, leaving unwanted truths still buried; a harrow dragging over earth that held below its surface unexploded bombs.

The coroner sat on the poor bones found in the quarry3, and adjourned4 the inquest sine die. No one in the neighbourhood had ever been reported missing. Tanbitches, on the other hand, was a favourite camping ground for gipsies, who were not given to reporting accidents to the police. Nothing remained of the clothing but a few scraps5 of unrecognisable cloth. The objects found in the vicinity of the bones were unidentifiable; they consisted of a corroded6 piece of metal that might once have been a whistle, another corroded piece still recognisable as a knife, and several coins of small denominations7.

“George!” said Bee. “What became of the pen?”

“The stylograph? I lost it.”

“George!”

“Someone had to lose it, my dear. Colonel Smollett couldn’t; he’s a soldier, with a soldier’s sense of duty. The police couldn’t; they have their self-respect and their duty to the public to consider. But my conscience is between me and my God. I think they were touchingly8 grateful to me in their tacit way.”

The adjourned inquest on Simon Ashby came later, since it had been postponed9 until Brat was capable of being interviewed in hospital. The policeman who had interviewed him reported that Mr. Ashby could remember nothing about the accident, or why he should have gone there with his brother at that hour to climb down into the quarry. He had an idea that it was the result of a bet. Something about whether there was water in the old quarry or not, he thought; but could not take his oath on it since his recollection was vague. He had serious head injuries and was still very ill. He did know, however, that he had found out from Abel Tusk10 that there was no water there; and Simon probably had said that that was highly unlikely, and so the contest may have arisen.

Abel Tusk corroborated11 the fact that Patrick Ashby had asked him about water in the quarry, and that it was an unusual thing to find the floor of an old quarry dry. It was Abel Tusk who had given the first alarm of the accident. He had been out on the hill with his sheep and had heard what he took to be cries for help from the direction of the quarry, and had gone there as fast as he could and found the undamaged rope, and had gone down to the blacksmith’s and used his telephone to call the police.

Bee, replying to the coroner, agreed that she would most certainly have taken steps to put an end to any such plan had she heard about it. And the coroner expressed his opinion that it was for that reason that the thing had been done sub rosa.

The verdict was death by misadventure, and the coroner expressed his sympathy with the family on the loss of this high-spirited young man.

So the problem of Simon was settled. Simon who, before he was fourteen, had killed his brother, calmly written a note on that brother’s behalf, tossed the pen into the abyss after his brother’s body, and gone home calmly to six o’clock supper when he was chased out of the smithy. Who had joined the night search for his brother on his pony12, and some time during that long night had taken his brother’s coat to the cliff-top and left it there with the note in the pocket. Who was now to be mourned by the countryside as a high-spirited young man of memorable13 charm.

The problem of Brat remained.

Not the problem of who he was, but of the problem of his future. The doctors had decided14 that, having against all probability lived so long, he was likely to go on living. He would need long care, however, and a peaceful life if he was to recover properly.

“Uncle Charles came to see you one day when you were ill,” Bee said to him when he was well enough to keep his attention on a subject. “He was astonished by your resemblance to Walter Ashby. My cousin.”

“Yes?” said Brat. He was not interested. What did it matter now?

“We began inquiries15 about you.”

“The police did that,” he said wearily. “Years ago.”

“Yes, but they had very little to come and go on. Only that a young girl had arrived by train with a baby, and gone away by train without one. The train had come from the crowded Birmingham district with all its ramifications16. We started at the other end. Walter’s end. We went back to where Walter was, somewhere about twenty-two years ago, and began from there. Walter was a rolling stone, so it wasn’t easy, but we did find out that, among his other jobs, he was in charge of a stable in Gloucestershire for a couple of months while the owner was away having an operation. The household was a housekeeper17 and a young girl who cooked. She was a very good cook, but her real ambition was to be a hospital nurse. The housekeeper liked her and so did the owner, and when they found she was going to have a baby they let her stay on, and she had her baby in the local maternity18 home. The housekeeper always believed that it was Walter’s child, but the girl would not say. She did not want to get married; she wanted to be a nurse. She said that she was taking the baby home for the christening — she came from Evesham way — and she didn’t come back. But the housekeeper had a letter from her long afterwards, thanking her for her goodness and telling her that the girl had realised her ambition and was a nurse. No one knows about my baby,” she said, “but I have seen that he is well looked after.”

She glanced at Brat. He was lying with his eyes on the ceiling, but he appeared to be listening.

“Her name was Mary Woodward. She was an even better nurse than she was a cook. She was killed during the war, taking patients out of a ward19 to safety in a shelter.”

There was a long silence.

“I seem to have inherited my cooking talents too,” he said; and she could not tell whether the words were bitter or not.

“I was very fond of Walter. He was a dear; very kind. He had only one fault; he had no head for drink, and he liked drink very much. I don’t believe for a moment that Walter knew about the girl. He was the kind who would have rushed to marry her. I think she didn’t want him to know.”

She had another look at Brat. Perhaps she had told him all this too soon; before he was strong enough to be interested. But she had hoped that it would give him an interest in life.

“I’m afraid that is as near as we can get, Brat. But none of us have any doubt about it. Charles took one look at you and said, ‘Walter.’ And I think myself you look a little like your mother. That is Mary Woodward. It was taken in her second year at St. Luke’s.”

She gave him the photograph, and left it with him.

A week or two later she said to Eleanor: “Nell, I’m going to leave you. I’ve taken a lease of Tim Connell’s stud at Kilbarty.”

“Oh, Bee!”

“Not immediately, but when Brat is able to travel.”

“You’re taking Brat there? Oh, yes, of course you must go! Oh, that is a wonderful idea, Bee. It solves such a lot of problems, doesn’t it? But can you afford it? Shall I lend you money for it?”

“No, Uncle Charles is doing that. Lovely to think of Charles supporting horses, isn’t it? You’ll need all you have to pay death duty, my dear. Mr. Sandal has broken it to the Bank that the place belonged to Simon all the time.”

“What shall we do about letting people know about Brat? I mean, about his not being Patrick.”

“I don’t think we’ll have to do anything about it. The facts will inevitably20 ooze21. They always do. I think we just do nothing to prevent the leak. The fact that we are making him part of the family instead of starting prosecutions22 and things will take a lot of the fun out of it for the scandal-mongers. We’ll survive, Nell. And so will he.”

“Of course we will. And the first time someone mentions it boldly to me, I shall say: ‘My cousin? Yes, he did pretend to be my brother. He is very like Patrick, isn’t he? As if we were discussing cream-cakes.’” She paused a moment and then added: “But I should like the news to get round before I’m too old to marry him.”

“Are you thinking of it?” Bee said, taken aback.

“I’m set on it.”

Bee hesitated; and then decided to let the future take care of itself.

“Don’t worry. It will get round,” she said.

“Now that Uncle Charles is here, and is going to settle down at Latchetts,” she said later to Brat, “I can go back to having a life of my own somewhere else.”

His eyes came away from the ceiling, and watched her.

“There’s a place in Ulster I have my eye on. Tim Connell’s place at Kilbarty.”

She saw his fingers begin to play with the sheet, unhappily.

“Are you going away to Ulster, then?” he asked.

“Only if you will come with me, and run the stable for me.”

The easy tears of the newly-convalescent rose in his eyes and ran down his cheek.

“Oh, Bee!” he said.

“I take it that means that my offer is accepted,” she said.

The End


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 cosset ozcxi     
v.宠爱,溺爱
参考例句:
  • Our kind of travel is definitely not suitable for people who expect to be cosseted.我们的这种旅行绝对不适合那些想要受到百般呵护的人。
  • I don't want to be treated like a cosseted movie queen.我不愿意被人当作是个娇纵惯了的电影皇后。
2 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。
3 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。
4 adjourned 1e5a5e61da11d317191a820abad1664d     
(使)休会, (使)休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The court adjourned for lunch. 午餐时间法庭休庭。
  • The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court. 新证据呈到庭上后,审讯就宣告暂停。
5 scraps 737e4017931b7285cdd1fa3eb9dd77a3     
油渣
参考例句:
  • Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
  • A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。
6 corroded 77e49c02c5fb1fe2e59b1a771002f409     
已被腐蚀的
参考例句:
  • Rust has corroded the steel rails. 锈侵蚀了钢轨。
  • Jealousy corroded his character. 嫉妒损伤了他的人格。
7 denominations f2a750794effb127cad2d6b3b9598654     
n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 );教派;面额;名称
参考例句:
  • Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
  • The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
8 touchingly 72fd372d0f854f9c9785e625d91ed4ba     
adv.令人同情地,感人地,动人地
参考例句:
  • Aunt Polly knelt down and prayed for Tom so touchingly. 波莉姨妈跪下来,为汤姆祈祷,很令人感动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Rather touchingly, he suggested the names of some professors who had known him at Duke University. 他还相当令人感动地提出了公爵大学里对他有了解的几个教授的名字。 来自辞典例句
9 postponed 9dc016075e0da542aaa70e9f01bf4ab1     
vt.& vi.延期,缓办,(使)延迟vt.把…放在次要地位;[语]把…放在后面(或句尾)vi.(疟疾等)延缓发作(或复发)
参考例句:
  • The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
  • The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。
10 tusk KlRww     
n.獠牙,长牙,象牙
参考例句:
  • The wild boar had its tusk sunk deeply into a tree and howled desperately.野猪的獠牙陷在了树里,绝望地嗥叫着。
  • A huge tusk decorated the wall of his study.他书房的墙上装饰着一支巨大的象牙。
11 corroborated ab27fc1c50e7a59aad0d93cd9f135917     
v.证实,支持(某种说法、信仰、理论等)( corroborate的过去式 )
参考例句:
  • The evidence was corroborated by two independent witnesses. 此证据由两名独立证人提供。
  • Experiments have corroborated her predictions. 实验证实了她的预言。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 pony Au5yJ     
adj.小型的;n.小马
参考例句:
  • His father gave him a pony as a Christmas present.他父亲给了他一匹小马驹作为圣诞礼物。
  • They made him pony up the money he owed.他们逼他还债。
13 memorable K2XyQ     
adj.值得回忆的,难忘的,特别的,显著的
参考例句:
  • This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
  • The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。
14 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。
15 inquiries 86a54c7f2b27c02acf9fcb16a31c4b57     
n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 );疑问;探究;打听
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释,等候进一步调查。
  • I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
16 ramifications 45f4d7d5a0d59c5d453474d22bf296ae     
n.结果,后果( ramification的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
  • What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢? 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 housekeeper 6q2zxl     
n.管理家务的主妇,女管家
参考例句:
  • A spotless stove told us that his mother is a diligent housekeeper.炉子清洁无瑕就表明他母亲是个勤劳的主妇。
  • She is an economical housekeeper and feeds her family cheaply.她节约持家,一家人吃得很省。
18 maternity kjbyx     
n.母性,母道,妇产科病房;adj.孕妇的,母性的
参考例句:
  • Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
  • Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。
19 ward LhbwY     
n.守卫,监护,病房,行政区,由监护人或法院保护的人(尤指儿童);vt.守护,躲开
参考例句:
  • The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
  • During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时,我要点根火把,抵挡蚊虫。
20 inevitably x7axc     
adv.不可避免地;必然发生地
参考例句:
  • In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去,毫无疑问是会散伙的。
  • Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。
21 ooze 7v2y3     
n.软泥,渗出物;vi.渗出,泄漏;vt.慢慢渗出,流露
参考例句:
  • Soon layer of oceanic ooze began to accumulate above the old hard layer.不久后海洋软泥层开始在老的硬地层上堆积。
  • Drip or ooze systems are common for pot watering.滴灌和渗灌系统一般也用于盆栽灌水。
22 prosecutions 51e124aef1b1fecefcea6048bf8b0d2d     
起诉( prosecution的名词复数 ); 原告; 实施; 从事
参考例句:
  • It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
  • Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来,政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件


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