Therefore, he was expected to return. The devilish mechanism5 was set ready to receive him. But the artist within him demanded that he should unmask the mystery with his own hands.
Moreover, he doubted that an official visit, even now, would yield any results. Old Huang Chow was too cunning for that. If he was to learn how the man Cohen had died, he must follow the same path to the bitter end. But there were men on duty round the house, and he believed that he had placed them so secretly as to deceive even this master of cunning with whom he was dealing6.
He repeated his exploit, dropping with a dull thud upon the cushioned divan7. Then, having lain there listening awhile, he pressed the button of his torch, and, standing8 up, crept across the room in the direction of the stairway.
Here he paused awhile, listening intently. The image of Lala Huang arose before his mind's eye reproachfully, but he crushed the reproach, and advanced until he stood beside the lacquered coffin9.
He remembered where the key was hidden, and, stooping, he fumbled11 for a while and then found it. He was acutely conscious of an unnameable fear. He felt that he was watched, and yet was unwilling12 to believe it. The musty and unpleasant smell which he had noticed before became extremely perceptible.
He quietly sought for the hidden lock, and, presently finding it, inserted the key, then paused awhile. He rested his torch upon the cushions of the divan where the light shone directly upon the coffin. Then, having his automatic in his left hand, he turned the key.
He had expected now to be able to raise the lid as he had seen Huang Chow do; but the result was far more surprising.
The lid, together with a second framework of fine netting, flew open with a resounding13 bang; and from the interior of the coffin uprose a most abominable14 stench.
Durham started back a step, and as he did so witnessed a sight which turned him sick with horror.
Out on to the edge of the coffin leapt the most gigantic spider which he had ever seen in his life! It had a body as big as a man's fist, jet black, with hairy legs like the legs of a crab15 and a span of a foot or more!
A moment it poised16 there, while he swayed, sick with horror. Then, unhesitatingly, it leapt for his face!
He groaned17 and fired, missed the horror, but diverted its leap, so that it fell with a sickening thud a yard behind him. He turned, staggering back towards the stair, and aware that a light had shone out from somewhere.
A door had been opened only a few yards from where he stood, and there, framed in the opening, was Lala Huang, her eyes wide with terror and her gaze set upon him across the room.
“You!” she whispered. “You!”
Her gaze set wildly upon him, Lala staggered forward; stopped dead; looked down at her bare ankle, and then, seeing the thing which had fastened upon her, uttered a piercing shriek19 which rang throughout the place.
At which moment the floor slid away beneath Durham, and he found himself falling—falling—and then battling for life in evil-smelling water, amidst absolute darkness.
Police whistles were skirling around the house of Huang Chow. As the hidden men came running into the court:
“You heard the shot?” cried the sergeant20 in charge. “I warned him not to go alone. Don't waste time on the door. One man stay on duty there; the rest of you follow me.”
In a few moments, led by the sergeant, the party came dropping heavily through the skylight into the treasure-house of Huang Chow, in which every lamp was now alight. A trap was open near the foot of the stairs, and from beneath it muffled21 cries proceeded. In this direction the sergeant headed. Craning over the trap:
“Hallo, Mr. Durham!” he called. “Mr. Durham!”
“Get a rope and a ladder,” came a faint cry from below. “I can just touch bottom with my feet and keep my head above water, but the tide's coming in. Look to the girl, though, first. Look to the girl!”
The sergeant turned to where, stretched upon a tiger skin before a half-open door, Lala Huang lay, scantily22 clothed and white as death.
Upon one of her bare ankles was a discoloured mark.
As the sergeant and another of the men stooped over her a moaning sound drew their attention to the stair, and there, bent23 and tottering24 slowly down, was old Huang Chow, his eyes peering through the owl-like glasses vacantly across the room to where his daughter lay.
“My God!” whispered the sergeant, upon one knee beside her. He looked blankly into the face of the other man. “She's dead!”
Two plain-clothes men were busy knotting together tapestries25 and pieces of rare stuff with which to draw Durham out of the pit; but at these old Huang Chow looked not at all, but gropingly crossed the room, as if he saw imperfectly, or could not believe what he saw. At last he reached the side of the dead girl, stooped, touched her, laid a trembling yellow hand over her heart, and then stood up again, looking from face to face.
Ignoring the mingled26 activities about him, he crossed to the open coffin and began to fumble10 amongst the putrefying mass of bones and webbing which lay therein. Out from this he presently drew an iron coffer.
Carrying it across the room he opened the lid. It was full almost to the top with uncut gems27 of every variety—diamonds, rubies28, sapphires29, emeralds, topaz, amethysts30, flashing greenly, redly, whitely. In handfuls he grasped them and sprinkled them upon the body of the dead girl.
“For you,” he crooned brokenly in Chinese. “They were all for you!”
The extemporized31 rope had just been lowered to Durham, when:
“My God!” cried the sergeant, looking over Huang Chow's shoulder. “What's that?”
He had seen the giant spider, the horror from Surinam, which the Chinaman had reared and fed to guard his treasure and to gratify his lust32 for the strange and cruel. The insect, like everything else in that house, was unusual, almost unique. It was one of the Black Soldier spiders, by some regarded as a native myth, but actually existing in Surinam and parts of Brazil. A member of the family, Mygale, its sting was more quickly and certainly fatal than that of a rattle-snake. Its instinct was fearlessly to attack any creature, great or small, which disturbed it in its dark hiding-place.
Now, with feverish33, horrible rapidity it was racing34 up the tapestries on the other side of the room.
“Merciful God!” groaned the sergeant.
Snatching a revolver from his pocket he fired shot after shot. The third hit the thing but did not kill it. It dropped back upon the floor and began to crawl toward the coffin. The sergeant ran across and at close quarters shot it again.
When Durham, drenched37 but unhurt, was hauled back into the treasure-house, he did not speak, but, scrambling38 into the room stood—pallid—staring dully at old Huang Chow.
Huang Chow, upon his knees beside his daughter, was engaged in sprinkling priceless jewels over her still body, and murmuring in Chinese:
“For you, for you, Lala. They were all for you.”
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收听单词发音
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1
snares
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| n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 )；圈套；诱人遭受失败（丢脸、损失等）的东西；诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉，诱陷，陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
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2
pitfalls
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| （捕猎野兽用的）陷阱( pitfall的名词复数 )； 意想不到的困难，易犯的错误 | |
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3
sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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4
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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6
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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7
divan
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| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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8
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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coffin
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| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
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10
fumble
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| vi.笨拙地用手摸、弄、接等，摸索 | |
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11
fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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12
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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13
resounding
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| adj. 响亮的 | |
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14
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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15
crab
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| n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气 | |
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16
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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17
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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18
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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19
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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20
sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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21
muffled
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| 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） | |
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22
scantily
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| adv.缺乏地；不充足地；吝啬地；狭窄地 | |
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23
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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24
tottering
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| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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25
tapestries
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| n.挂毯( tapestry的名词复数 )；绣帷，织锦v.用挂毯（或绣帷）装饰( tapestry的第三人称单数 ) | |
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26
mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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27
gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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28
rubies
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| 红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色 | |
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29
sapphires
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| n.蓝宝石，钢玉宝石( sapphire的名词复数 )；蔚蓝色 | |
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30
amethysts
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| n.紫蓝色宝石( amethyst的名词复数 )；紫晶；紫水晶；紫色 | |
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31
extemporized
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| v.即兴创作，即席演奏( extemporize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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33
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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34
racing
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| n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的 | |
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35
oozed
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| v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的过去式和过去分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出 | |
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36
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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37
drenched
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| adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体） | |
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38
scrambling
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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