The little Prince was now so terrified that he could but tremble and whimper in his fright. So fearful was he of the terrible De Vac that a threat of death easily stilled his tongue, and so the grim, old man led him to the boat hidden deep in the dense2 bushes.
De Vac did not dare remain in this retreat until dark, as he had first intended. Instead, he drew a dingy3, ragged4 dress from the bundle beneath the thwart5 and in this disguised himself as an old woman, drawing a cotton wimple low over his head and forehead to hide his short hair. Concealing6 the child beneath the other articles of clothing, he pushed off from the bank, and, rowing close to the shore, hastened down the Thames toward the old dock where, the previous night, he had concealed7 his skiff. He reached his destination unnoticed, and, running in beneath the dock, worked the boat far into the dark recess8 of the cave-like retreat.
Here he determined9 to hide until darkness had fallen, for he knew that the search would be on for the little lost Prince at any moment, and that none might traverse the streets of London without being subject to the closest scrutiny10.
Taking advantage of the forced wait, De Vac undressed the Prince and clothed him in other garments, which had been wrapped in the bundle hidden beneath the thwart; a little red cotton tunic11 with hose to match, a black doublet and a tiny leather jerkin and leather cap.
The discarded clothing of the Prince he wrapped about a huge stone torn from the disintegrating12 masonry13 of the river wall, and consigned14 the bundle to the voiceless river.
The Prince had by now regained15 some of his former assurance and, finding that De Vac seemed not to intend harming him, the little fellow commenced questioning his grim companion, his childish wonder at this strange adventure getting the better of his former apprehension16.
“What do we here, Sir Jules?” he asked. “Take me back to the King's, my father's palace. I like not this dark hole nor the strange garments you have placed upon me.”
“Silence, boy!” commanded the old man. “Sir Jules be dead, nor are you a king's son. Remember these two things well, nor ever again let me hear you speak the name Sir Jules, or call yourself a prince.”
The boy went silent, again cowed by the fierce tone of his captor. Presently he began to whimper, for he was tired and hungry and frightened—just a poor little baby, helpless and hopeless in the hands of this cruel enemy—all his royalty17 as nothing, all gone with the silken finery which lay in the thick mud at the bottom of the Thames, and presently he dropped into a fitful sleep in the bottom of the skiff.
When darkness had settled, De Vac pushed the skiff outward to the side of the dock and, gathering18 the sleeping child in his arms, stood listening, preparatory to mounting to the alley19 which led to old Til's place.
As he stood thus, a faint sound of clanking armor came to his attentive20 ears; louder and louder it grew until there could be no doubt but that a number of men were approaching.
De Vac resumed his place in the skiff, and again drew it far beneath the dock. Scarcely had he done so ere a party of armored knights21 and men-at-arms clanked out upon the planks22 above him from the mouth of the dark alley. Here they stopped as though for consultation23 and plainly could the listener below hear every word of their conversation.
“De Montfort,” said one, “what thinkest thou of it? Can it be that the Queen is right and that Richard lies dead beneath these black waters?”
“No, De Clare,” replied a deep voice, which De Vac recognized as that of the Earl of Leicester. “The hand that could steal the Prince from out of the very gardens of his sire without the knowledge of Lady Maud or her companion, which must evidently have been the case, could more easily and safely have dispatched him within the gardens had that been the object of this strange attack. I think, My Lord, that presently we shall hear from some bold adventurer who holds the little Prince for ransom24. God give that such may be the case, for of all the winsome25 and affectionate little fellows I have ever seen, not even excepting mine own dear son, the little Richard was the most to be beloved. Would that I might get my hands upon the foul26 devil who has done this horrid27 deed.”
Beneath the planks, not four feet from where Leicester stood, lay the object of his search. The clanking armor, the heavy spurred feet, and the voices above him had awakened28 the little Prince and, with a startled cry, he sat upright in the bottom of the skiff. Instantly De Vac's iron band clapped over the tiny mouth, but not before a single faint wail29 had reached the ears of the men above.
“Hark! What was that, My Lord?” cried one of the men-at-arms.
In tense silence they listened for a repetition of the sound and then De Montfort cried out:
“What ho, below there! Who is it beneath the dock? Answer, in the name of the King!”
Richard, recognizing the voice of his favorite uncle, struggled to free himself, but De Vac's ruthless hand crushed out the weak efforts of the babe, and all was quiet as the tomb, while those above stood listening for a repetition of the sound.
“Dock rats,” said De Clare, and then as though the devil guided them to protect his own, two huge rats scurried30 upward from between the loose boards, and ran squealing31 up the dark alley.
“Right you are,” said De Montfort, “but I could have sworn 'twas a child's feeble wail had I not seen the two filthy32 rodents33 with mine own eyes. Come, let us to the next vile34 alley. We have met with no success here, though that old hag who called herself Til seemed overanxious to bargain for the future information she seemed hopeful of being able to give us.”
As they moved off, their voices grew fainter in the ears of the listeners beneath the dock and soon were lost in the distance.
“A close shave,” thought De Vac, as he again took up the child and prepared to gain the dock. No further noises occurring to frighten him, he soon reached the door to Til's house and, inserting the key, crept noiselessly to the garret room which he had rented from his ill-favored hostess.
There were no stairs from the upper floor to the garret above, this ascent35 being made by means of a wooden ladder which De Vac pulled up after him, closing and securing the aperture36, through which he climbed with his burden, by means of a heavy trapdoor equipped with thick bars.
The apartment which they now entered extended across the entire east end of the building, and had windows upon three sides. These were heavily curtained. The apartment was lighted by a small cresset hanging from a rafter near the center of the room.
The walls were unplastered and the rafters unceiled; the whole bearing a most barnlike and unhospitable appearance.
In one corner was a huge bed, and across the room a smaller cot; a cupboard, a table, and two benches completed the furnishings. These articles De Vac had purchased for the room against the time when he should occupy it with his little prisoner.
On the table were a loaf of black bread, an earthenware37 jar containing honey, a pitcher38 of milk and two drinking horns. To these, De Vac immediately gave his attention, commanding the child to partake of what he wished.
Hunger for the moment overcame the little Prince's fears, and he set to with avidity upon the strange, rough fare, made doubly coarse by the rude utensils39 and the bare surroundings, so unlike the royal magnificence of his palace apartments.
While the child ate, De Vac hastened to the lower floor of the building in search of Til, whom he now thoroughly40 mistrusted and feared. The words of De Montfort, which he had overheard at the dock, convinced him that here was one more obstacle to the fulfillment of his revenge which must be removed as had the Lady Maud; but in this instance there was neither youth nor beauty to plead the cause of the intended victim, or to cause the grim executioner a pang41 of remorse42.
When he found the old hag, she was already dressed to go upon the street, in fact he intercepted43 her at the very door of the building. Still clad as he was in the mantle44 and wimple of an old woman, Til did not, at first, recognize him, and when he spoke45, she burst into a nervous, cackling laugh, as one caught in the perpetration of some questionable46 act, nor did her manner escape the shrewd notice of the wily master of fence.
“Whither, old hag?” he asked.
“To visit Mag Tunk at the alley's end, by the river, My Lord,” she replied, with more respect than she had been wont47 to accord him.
“Then, I will accompany you part way, my friend, and, perchance, you can give me a hand with some packages I left behind me in the skiff I have moored48 there.”
And so the two walked together through the dark alley to the end of the rickety, dismantled49 dock; the one thinking of the vast reward the King would lavish50 upon her for the information she felt sure she alone could give; the other feeling beneath his mantle for the hilt of a long dagger51 which nestled there.
As they reached the water's edge, De Vac was walking with his right shoulder behind his companion's left, in his hand was gripped the keen blade and, as the woman halted on the dock, the point that hovered52 just below her left shoulder-blade plunged53, soundless, into her heart at the same instant that De Vac's left hand swung up and grasped her throat in a grip of steel.
There was no sound, barely a struggle of the convulsively stiffening54 old muscles, and then, with a push from De Vac, the body lunged forward into the Thames, where a dull splash marked the end of the last hope that Prince Richard might be rescued from the clutches of his Nemesis55.
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1
winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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2
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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6
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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7
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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8
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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10
scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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12
disintegrating
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| v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的现在分词 ) | |
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13
masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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14
consigned
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| v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃 | |
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15
regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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16
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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19
alley
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| n.小巷，胡同；小径，小路 | |
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20
attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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21
knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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22
planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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23
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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24
ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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winsome
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| n.迷人的，漂亮的 | |
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26
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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27
horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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28
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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29
wail
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| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
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30
scurried
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| v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
squealing
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| v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的现在分词 ) | |
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32
filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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33
rodents
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| n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 ) | |
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34
vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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35
ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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36
aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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37
earthenware
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| n.土器，陶器 | |
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38
pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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39
utensils
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| 器具，用具，器皿( utensil的名词复数 )； 器物 | |
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40
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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41
pang
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| n.剧痛，悲痛，苦闷 | |
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42
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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43
intercepted
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| 拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻 | |
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44
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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45
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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46
questionable
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| adj.可疑的，有问题的 | |
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47
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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48
moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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49
dismantled
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| 拆开( dismantle的过去式和过去分词 )； 拆卸； 废除； 取消 | |
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50
lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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51
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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52
hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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53
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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54
stiffening
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| n. (使衣服等)变硬的材料, 硬化 动词stiffen的现在分词形式 | |
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55
nemesis
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| n.给以报应者，复仇者，难以对付的敌手 | |
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