PRINCE.— Bring forth1 the parties of suspicion.
FRIAR.— I am the greatest, as the time and place
Doth make against me, of this direful murder;
And here I stand, both to impeach2 and purge3.
Myself condemned4 and myself excused.
Romeo and Juliet.
I have mentioned poison as my first thought. It was a natural one, the result undoubtedly5 of having noticed two small cordial glasses standing6 on a little table over against the fireplace. When I was conscious again of my own fears, I crossed to the table and peered into these glasses. They were both empty. However, they had not been so long. In each I found traces of anisette cordial, and though no bottle stood near I was very confident that it could readily be found somewhere in the room. What had preceded and followed the drinking of this cordial?
As I raised my head from bending over these glasses — not club glasses, by the way — I caught sight of my face in the mantel mirror. It gave me maddening thoughts. In this same mirror there had been reflected but a little while before, two other faces, for a sight of whose expression at that fatal moment I would gladly risk my soul.
How had she looked — how that other? Would not the story of those awful, those irrevocable moments be plain to my eye, if the quickly responsive glass could but retain the impressions it receives and give back at need what had once informed its surface with moving life!
I stared at the senseless glass, appealed to it with unreasoning frenzy7, as to something which could give up its secret if it would, but only to meet my own features in every guise8 of fury and despair — features I no longer knew — features which insensibly increased my horror till I tore myself wildly from the spot, and cast about for further clues to enlightenment, before yielding to the conviction which was making a turmoil9 in mind, heart, and conscience. Alas10! there was but little more to see. A pair of curling-irons lay on the hearth11, but I had no sooner lifted them than I dropped them with a shudder12 of unspeakable loathing13, only to start at the noise they made in striking the tiles. For it was the self-same noise I had heard when listening from below. These tongs14, set up against the side of the fireplace had been jarred down by the forcible shutting of the large front door, and no man other than myself was in the house, or had been in the house; only the two women. But the time when this discovery would have brought comfort was passed. Better a hundred times that a man — I had almost said any man — should have been with them here, than that they should be closeted together in a spot so secluded15, with rancour and cause for complaint in one heart, and a biting, deadly flame in the other, which once reaching up must from its very nature leave behind it a corrosive16 impress. I saw,-I felt,— but I did not desist from my investigations17. A stick or two still smouldered on the hearthstone. In the ashes lay some scattered18 fragments of paper which crumbled19 at my touch. On the floor in front I espied20 only a stray hair-pin; everything else was in place throughout the room except the cushions and that horror on the lounge, waiting the second look I had so far refrained from giving it.
That look I could no longer withhold21. I must know the depth of the gulf22 over which I hung. I must not wrong with a thought one who had smiled upon me like an angel of light — a young girl, too, with the dew of innocence23 on her beauty to every eye but mine and only not to mine within — shall I say ten awful minutes? It seemed ages,— all of my life and more. Yet that lovely breast had heaved not so many times since I looked upon her as a deified mortal, and now two small spots on another woman’s pulseless throat had drawn24 a veil of blood over that beauty, and given to a child the attributes of a Medusa. Yet hope was not quite stilled. I would look again and perhaps discover that my own eyes had been at fault, that there were no marks, or if marks, not just the ones my fancy had painted there.
Turning, I let my glance fall first on the feet. I had not noted25 them before, and I was startled to see that the arctics in which they were clad were filled all around with snow. She had walked then, as the other was walking now; she, who detested26 every effort and was of such delicate make that exertion27 of unusual kind could not readily be associated with her. Had she come alone or in Carmel’s company, and if in Carmel’s company, on what ostensible28 errand if not that of death? Her dress, which was of dark wool, showed that she had changed her garments for this trip. I had seen her at dinner, and this was not the gown she had worn then — the gown in which she had confronted me during those few intolerable minutes when I could not meet her eyes. Fatal cowardice29! A moment of realisation then and we might all have been saved this horror of sin and death and shameful30 retribution.
And yet who knows? Not understanding what I saw, how could I measure the might-have-beens! I would proceed with my task — note if she wore the diamond brooch I had given her. No, she was without ornament31; I had never seen her so plainly clad. Might I draw a hope from this? Even the pins which had fallen from her hair were such as she wore when least adorned32. Nothing spoke33 of the dinner party or of her having been dragged here unaware34; but all of previous intent and premeditation. Surely hope was getting uppermost. If I had dreamed the marks —
But no! There they were, unmistakable and damning, just where the breath struggles up. I put my own thumbs on these two dark spots to see if — when what was it? A lightning stroke or a call of fate which one must answer while sense remains35? I felt my head pulled around by some unseen force from behind, and met staring into mine through the glass of the window a pair of burning eyes. Or was it fantasy? For in another moment they were gone, nor was I in the condition just then to dissociate the real from the unreal. But the possibility of a person having seen me in this position before the dead was enough to startle me to my feet, and though in another instant I became convinced that I had been the victim of hallucination, I nevertheless made haste to cross to the window and take a look through its dismal36 panes37. A gale38 of blinding snow was sweeping39 past, making all things indistinguishable, but the absence of balcony outside was reassuring40 and I stepped hastily back, asking myself for the first time what I should do and where I should now go to ensure myself from being called as a witness to the awful occurrence which had just taken place in this house. Should I go home and by some sort of subterfuge41 now unthought of, try to deceive my servants as to the time of my return, or attempt to create an alibi42 elsewhere? Something I must do to save myself the anguish43 and Carmel the danger of my testimony44 in this matter. She must never know, the world must never know that I had seen her here.
I had lost at a blow everything that gives zest45 or meaning to life, but I might still be spared the bottommost depth of misery46 — be saved the utterance47 of the word which would sink that erring48 but delicate soul into the hell yawning beneath her. It was my one thought now — though I knew that the woman who had fallen victim to her childish hate had loved me deeply and was well worth my avenging49.
I could not be the death of two women; the loss of one weighed heavily enough upon my conscience. I would fly the place — I would leave this ghastly find to tell its own story. The night was stormy, the hour late, the spot a remote one, and the road to it but little used. I could easily escape and when the morrow came — but it was the present I must think of now, this hour, this moment. How came I to stay so long! In feverish50 haste, I began to throw the pillows back over the quiet limbs, the accusing face. Shudderingly51 I hid those eyes (I understood their strange protuberance now) and recklessly bent52 on flight, was half way across the floor when my feet were stayed — I wonder that my reason was not unseated — by a sudden and tremendous attack on the great door below, mingled53 with loud cries to open which ran thundering through the house, calling up innumerable echoes from its dead and hidden corners.
It was the police. The wild night, the biting storm had been of no avail. An alarm had reached headquarters, and all hope of escape on my part was at an end. Yet because at such crises instinct rises superior to reason, I blew out the candle and softly made my way into the hall. I had remembered a window opening over a shed at the head of the kitchen staircase. I could reach it from this rear hall by just a turn or two, and once on that shed, a short leap would land me on the ground; after which I could easily trust to the storm to conceal54 my flight across the open golf-links. It was worth trying at least; anything was better than being found in the house with my murdered betrothed55.
I had no reason to think that I was being sought, or that my presence in this building was even suspected. It might well be that the police were even ignorant of the tragedy awaiting them across the threshold of the door they seemed intent on battering56 down. The gleam of a candle burning in this closed-up house, or even the tale told by the rising smoke, may have drawn them from the road to investigate. Such coincidences had been. Such untoward57 happenings had misled people into useless self-betrayal. My case was too desperate for such weakness. Flight at this moment might save all; I would at least attempt it. The door was shaking on its hinges; these intruders seemed determined58 to enter.
With a spring I reached the window by which I hoped to escape, and quickly raised it. A torrent59 of snow swept in, covering my face and breast in a moment. It did something more: it cleared my brain, and I remembered my poor horse standing in this blinding gale under cover of the snow-packed pines. Every one knew my horse. I could commit no greater folly60 than to flee by the rear fields while such a witness to my presence remained in full view in front. With the sensation of a trapped animal, I reclosed the window and cast about for a safe corner where I could lie concealed61 until I learned what had brought these men here and how much I really had to fear from their presence.
I had but little time in which to choose. The door below had just given way and a party of at least three men were already stamping their feet free from snow in the hall. I did not like the tone of their voices, it was too low and steady to suit me. I had rather have heard drunken cries or a burst of wild hilarity62 than these stern and purposeful whispers. Men of resolution could have but one errand here. My doom63 was closing round me. I could only put off the fatal moment. But it was better to do this than to plunge64 headlong into the unknown fate awaiting me.
I knew of a possible place of concealment65. It was in the ballroom66 not far from where I stood. I remembered the spot well. It was at the top of a little staircase leading to the musicians’ gallery. A balustrade guarded this gallery, supported by a boarding wide enough to hide a man lying behind it at his full length. If the search I was endeavouring to evade67 was not minute enough to lead them to look behind this boarding, it would offer me the double advantage of concealment and an unobstructed view of what went on in the hall, through the main doorway68 opening directly opposite. I could reach this ballroom and its terminal gallery without going around to this door. A smaller one communicated directly with the corridor in which I was then lurking69, and towards this I now made my way with all the precaution suggested by my desperate situation. No man ever moved more lightly. The shoes which I had taken off in the lower hall were yet in my hand. I had caught them up after replacing the cushions on Adelaide’s body. Even to my own straining ears I made no perceptible sound. I reached the balcony and had stretched myself out at full length behind the boarding, before the men below had left the lower floor.
An interval70 of heart-torture and wearing suspense71 now followed. They were ransacking72 the rooms below by the aid of their own lanterns, as I could tell from their assured manner. That they had not made at once for the scene of crime brought me some small sense of comfort, but not much. They were too resolute73 in their movements and much too thorough and methodical in their search, for me to dream of their confining their investigations to the first floor. Unless I very much mistook their purpose, I should soon hear them ascending74 the stairs, after which, instinct, if not the faint smell of smoke still lingering in the air, would lead them to the room where my poor Adelaide lay.
And thus it proved. More quickly than I expected, the total darkness in which I lay, brightened under an advancing lantern, and I heard the steps of two men coming down the hall. It was a steady if not rapid approach, and I was quite prepared for their presence when they finally reached the doorway opposite and stopped to look in at what must have appeared to them a vast and empty space. They were officials, true enough — one hasty glance through the balustrade assured me of that. I even knew one of them by name — he was a sergeant75 of police and a highly trustworthy man. But how they had been drawn to this place at a moment so critical, I could not surmise76. Do men of this stamp scent77 crime as a hound scents78 out prey79? They had the look of hounds. Even in the momentary80 glimpse I got of them, I noted the tense and expectant look with which they endeavoured to pierce the dim spaces between us. The chase was on. It was something more than curiosity or a chance exercise of their duty which had brought them here. Their object was definite, and if the sight of the low gallery in which I lay, should suggest to them all its possibilities as a hiding-place, I should know in just one moment more what it is for the helpless quarry81 to feel the clutch of the captor.
But the moment passed without any attempt at approach on their part, and when I lifted my head again it was to catch a glimpse of their side faces as they turned to look elsewhere for what they were plainly in search of. An oath, muffled82 but stern, which was the first word above a whisper that I had heard issue from their lips, told me that they had reached the room and had come upon the horror which lay there. What would they say to it! Would they know who she was — her name, her quality, her story — and respect her dead as they certainly must have respected her living? I listened but caught only a low murmur83 as they conferred together. I imagined their movements; saw them in my mind’s eye leaning over that death-tenanted couch, pointing with accusing finger at those two dark marks, and consulting each other with side-long looks, as they passed from one detail of her appearance to another. I even imagined them crossing the floor and lifting the two cordial glasses just as I had done, and then slowly setting them down again, with perhaps a lift of the brows or a suggestive shake of the head; and maddened by my own intolerable position, drawn by a power I felt it impossible to resist, I crept to my feet and took my staggering way down the half-dozen steps of the gallery and thence along by the left-hand wall towards the further doorway, and through it to where these men stood weighing the chances in which my life and honour were involved, and those of one other of whom I dared not think and would not have these men think for all that was left me of hope and happiness.
It was dark in the ballroom, and it was only a little less so in the corridor. All the light was in that room; but I still slid along the wall like a thief, with eyes set and ears agape for any chance word which might reach me. Suddenly I heard one. It was this, uttered with a decision which had the strange effect of lifting my head and making a man of me again:
“That settles it. He will find it hard to escape after this.”
He! I had been dreading84 to hear a she. Yet why? Who on God’s earth, save myself, could know that Carmel had been within these woeful walls to-night. He! I never stopped to question who was meant by this definite pronoun. I was not even conscious of caring very much. I was in a coil of threatening troubles, but I was in it alone, and, greatly relieved by the discovery, I drew myself up and stepped quickly forward into the room where the two officials stood.
Their faces, as they wheeled sharply about and took in my shoeless and more or less dishevelled figure, told me with an eloquence85 which made my heart sink, the unfortunate impression which my presence made upon them. It was but a fleeting86 look, for these men were both by nature and training easy masters of themselves; but its language was unmistakable and I knew that if I were to hold my own with them, I must get all the support I could from the truth, save where it would involve her — from the truth and my own consciousness of innocence, if I had any such consciousness. I was not sure that I had, for my falseness had precipitated87 this tragedy,— how I might never know, but a knowledge of the how was not necessary to my self-condemnation. Nevertheless my hands were clean of this murder, and allowing the surety of this fact to take a foremost place in my mind, I faced these men and with real feeling, but as little display of it as possible, I observed:
“You have come to my aid in a critical moment. This is my betrothed wife — the woman I was to marry — and I find her lying here dead, in this closed and lonely house. What does it mean? I know no more than you do.”
收听单词发音 |
1
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
impeach
|
|
| v.弹劾；检举 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
purge
|
|
| n.整肃，清除，泻药，净化；vt.净化，清除，摆脱；vi.清除，通便，腹泻，变得清洁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
condemned
|
|
| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
undoubtedly
|
|
| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
frenzy
|
|
| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
guise
|
|
| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
turmoil
|
|
| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
alas
|
|
| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
hearth
|
|
| n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
shudder
|
|
| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
loathing
|
|
| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
tongs
|
|
| n.钳；夹子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
secluded
|
|
| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
corrosive
|
|
| adj.腐蚀性的；有害的；恶毒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
investigations
|
|
| （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： |
|
|
|
|
18
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
crumbled
|
|
| （把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
espied
|
|
| v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
withhold
|
|
| v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
gulf
|
|
| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
innocence
|
|
| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
noted
|
|
| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
detested
|
|
| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
exertion
|
|
| n.尽力，努力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
ostensible
|
|
| adj.(指理由)表面的，假装的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
cowardice
|
|
| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
shameful
|
|
| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
ornament
|
|
| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
adorned
|
|
| [计]被修饰的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
unaware
|
|
| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
dismal
|
|
| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
panes
|
|
| 窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
gale
|
|
| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
sweeping
|
|
| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
reassuring
|
|
| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
subterfuge
|
|
| n.诡计；藉口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
alibi
|
|
| n.某人当时不在犯罪现场的申辩或证明；借口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
anguish
|
|
| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
testimony
|
|
| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
zest
|
|
| n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
misery
|
|
| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
utterance
|
|
| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
erring
|
|
| 做错事的，错误的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
avenging
|
|
| adj.报仇的，复仇的v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的现在分词 )；为…报复 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
feverish
|
|
| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
shudderingly
|
|
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
mingled
|
|
| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
conceal
|
|
| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
betrothed
|
|
| n. 已订婚者 动词betroth的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
battering
|
|
| n.用坏，损坏v.连续猛击( batter的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
untoward
|
|
| adj.不利的，不幸的，困难重重的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
torrent
|
|
| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
folly
|
|
| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
concealed
|
|
| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
hilarity
|
|
| n.欢乐；热闹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
doom
|
|
| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
plunge
|
|
| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
concealment
|
|
| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
ballroom
|
|
| n.舞厅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
evade
|
|
| vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
doorway
|
|
| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
lurking
|
|
| 潜在 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
interval
|
|
| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
suspense
|
|
| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
ransacking
|
|
| v.彻底搜查( ransack的现在分词 )；抢劫，掠夺 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
resolute
|
|
| adj.坚决的，果敢的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
ascending
|
|
| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
sergeant
|
|
| n.警官，中士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
surmise
|
|
| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
scent
|
|
| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
scents
|
|
| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
prey
|
|
| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
momentary
|
|
| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
quarry
|
|
| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
muffled
|
|
| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
murmur
|
|
| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
dreading
|
|
| v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
eloquence
|
|
| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
fleeting
|
|
| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
precipitated
|
|
| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |