Mrs. Westerfield laid the incomprehensible slip of paper aside, and, in search of an explanation, returned to the letter. Here again she found herself in a state of perplexity. Directed to “Mrs. Roderick Westerfield,” the letter began abruptly1, without the customary form of address. Did it mean that her husband was angry with her when he wrote? It meant that he doubted her.
In these terms he expressed himself:
“I write to you before my trial takes place. If the verdict goes in my favor, I shall destroy what I have written. If I am found guilty, I must leave it to you to do what I should otherwise have done for myself.
“The undeserved misfortune that has overtaken me began with the arrival of my ship in the port of Rio. Our second mate (his duty for the day being done) asked leave to go on shore — and never returned. What motive2 determined3 him on deserting, I am not able to say. It was my own wish to supply his place by promoting the best seaman4 on board. My owners’ agents overruled me, and appointed a man of their own choosing.
“What nation he belonged to I don’t know. The name he gave me was Beljames, and he was reported to be a broken-down gentleman. Whoever he might be, his manner and his talk were captivating. Everybody liked him.
“After the two calamities5 of the loss of the ship and the disappearance6 of the diamonds — these last being valued at five thousand pounds — I returned to England by the first opportunity that offered, having Beljames for a companion.
“Shortly after getting back to my house in London, I was privately7 warned by a good friend that my owners had decided8 to prosecute9 me for willfully casting away the ship, and (crueler still) for having stolen the missing diamonds. The second mate, who had been in command of the vessel10 when she struck on the rock, was similarly charged along with me. Knowing myself to be innocent, I determined, of course, to stand my trial. My wonder was, what Beljames would do. Would he follow my example? or, if he got the chance, would he try to make his escape?
“I might have thought it only friendly to give this person a word of warning, if I had known where to find him. We had separated when the ship reached the port of Falmouth, in Cornwall, and had not met since. I gave him my address in London; but he gave me no address in return.
“On the voyage home, Beljames told me that a legacy11 had been left to him; being a small freehold house and garden in St. John’s Wood, London. His agent, writing to him on the subject, had reported the place to be sadly out of repair, and had advised him to find somebody who would take it off his hands on reasonable terms. This seemed to point to a likelihood of his being still in London, trying to sell his house.
“While my mind was running on these recollections, I was told that a decent elderly woman wanted to see me. She proved to be the landlady12 of the house in which Beljames lodged13; and she brought an alarming message. The man was dying, and desired to see me. I went to him immediately.
“Few words are best, when one has to write about one’s own troubles.
“Beljames had heard of the intended prosecution14. How he had been made aware of it, death left him no time to tell me. The miserable15 wretch16 had poisoned himself — whether in terror of standing17 his trial, or in remorse18 of conscience, it is not any business of mine to decide. Most unluckily for me, he first ordered the doctor and the landlady out of the room; and then, when we two were alone, owned that he had purposely altered the course of the ship, and had stolen the diamonds.
“To do him justice, he was eager to save me from suffering for his fault.
“Having eased his mind by confession19, he gave me the slip of paper (written in cipher20) which you will find inclosed in this. ‘There is my note of the place where the diamonds are hidden,’ he said. Among the many ignorant people who know nothing of ciphers21, I am one — and I told him so. ‘That’s how I keep my secret,’ he said; ‘write from my dictation, and you shall know what it means. Lift me up first.’ As I did it, he rolled his head to and fro, evidently in pain. But he managed to point to pen, ink, and paper, on a table hard by, on which his doctor had been writing. I left him for a moment, to pull the table nearer to the bed — and in that moment he groaned22, and cried out for help. I ran to the room downstairs where the doctor was waiting. When we got back to him he was in convulsions. It was all over with Beljames.
“The lawyers who are to defend me have tried to get Experts, as they call them, to interpret the cipher. The Experts have all failed. They will declare, if they are called as witnesses, that the signs on the paper are not according to any known rules, and are marks made at random23, meaning nothing.
“As for any statement, on my part, of the confession made to me, the law refuses to hear it, except from the mouth of a witness. I might prove that the ship’s course was changed, contrary to my directions, after I had gone below to rest, if I could find the man who was steering24 at the time. God only knows where that man is.
“On the other hand, the errors of my past life, and my being in debt, are circumstances dead against me. The lawyers seem to trust almost entirely25 in a famous counsel, whom they have engaged to defend me. For my own part, I go to my trial with little or no hope.
“If the verdict is guilty, and if you have any regard left for my character, never rest until you have found somebody who can interpret these cursed signs. Do for me, I say, what I cannot do for myself. Recover the diamonds; and, when you restore them, show my owners this letter.
“Kiss the children for me. I wish them, when they are old enough, to read this defense26 of myself and to know that their father, who loved them dearly, was an innocent man. My good brother will take care of you, for my sake. I have done.
“RODERICK WESTERFIELD.”
Mrs. Westerfield took up the cipher once more. She looked at it as if it were a living thing that defied her.
“If I am able to read this gibberish,” she decided, “I know what I’ll do with the diamonds!”
收听单词发音 |
1
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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calamities
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| n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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prosecute
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| vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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legacy
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| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
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landlady
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| n.女房东，女地主 | |
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lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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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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remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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cipher
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| n.零；无影响力的人；密码 | |
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ciphers
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| n.密码( cipher的名词复数 )；零；不重要的人；无价值的东西 | |
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22
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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