Hassan reentered and went in through the curtained doorway1 to summon Agapoulos. Agapoulos was dressing2 and would not be disturbed. Hassan went back to those who waited, but ere long returned again chattering3 volubly to himself. Going behind the carven screen he rapped upon the door of Zahara's room, and she directed him to come in. To Zahara, Hassan was no more than a piece of furniture, and she thought as little of his intruding4 while she was in the midst of her toilet as another woman would have thought of the entrance of a maid.
“Two men,” reported Hassan, “who won't go away until they see somebody.”
“Whom do they want to see?” she inquired indifferently, adjusting the line of her eyebrow5 with an artistically6 pointed7 pencil.
“They say whoever belongs here.”
Zahara invariably spoke8 either French or English to natives, and if Hassan had addressed her in Arabic she would not have replied, although she spoke that language better than she spoke any other.
“What are they like? Not—police?”
“English—American?”
“No, not American or English. Very black hair, dark skin.”
Zahara, a student of men, became aware of a mild interest. These swarthy visitors should prove an agreeable antidote10 to the poisonous calm of Harry11 Grantham. She was trying with all the strength of her strange, stifled13 soul not to think of Grantham, and she was incapable14 of recognizing the fact that she could think of nothing else and had thought of little else for a long time past. Even now it was because of him that she determined15 to interview the foreign visitors. The mystery of her emotions puzzled her more than ever.
She descended16 to a small, barely furnished room on the ground floor, close beside the door opening upon the street. It was lighted by one hanging lamp. On the divan17 which constituted the principal item of furniture a small man, slenderly built, was sitting. He wore a broad-brimmed hat, so broad of brim that it threw the whole of the upper part of his face into shadow. It was impossible to see his eyes. Beside him rested a heavy walking-stick.
As Zahara entered, a wonderful, gaily18 coloured figure, this man did not move in the slightest, but sat, chin on breast, his small, muscular, brown hands resting on his knees. His companion, however, a person of more massive build, elegantly dressed and handsome in a swarthy fashion, bowed gravely and removed his hat. Zahara liked his eyes, which were dark and very bold looking.
“M. Agapoulos is engaged,” she said, speaking in French. “What is it you wish to know?”
“Senorita,” he replied, “I will be frank with you.”
Save for his use of the word “senorita” he also spoke in French. Zahara drew her robe more closely about her and adopted her most stately manner.
“My name,” continued the other, “does not matter, but my business is to look into the affairs of other people, you understand?”
Zahara, who understood from this that the man was some kind of inquiry21 agent, opened her blue eyes very widely and at the same time shook her head.
“No,” she protested; “what do you mean?”
“A certain gentleman came here a short time ago, came into this house and must be here now. Don't be afraid. He has done nothing very dreadful,” he added reassuringly22.
Zahara retreated a step, and a little wrinkle of disapproval23 appeared between her pencilled brows. She no longer liked the man's eyes, she decided24. They were deceitful eyes. His companion had taken up the heavy stick and was restlessly tapping the floor.
“There is no one here,” said Zahara calmly, “except the people who live in the house.”
“He is here, he is here,” muttered the man seated on the divan.
The tapping of his stick had grown more rapid, but as he had spoken in Spanish, Zahara, who was ignorant of that language, had no idea what he had said.
“My friend,” continued the Spaniard, bowing slightly in the direction of the slender man who so persistently25 kept his broad-brimmed hat on his head, “chanced to hear the voice of this gentleman as he spoke to your porter on entering the door. And although the door was closed too soon for us actually to see him, we are convinced that he is the person we seek.”
“I think you are mistaken,” said Zahara coolly. “But what do you want him for?”
As she uttered the words she realized that even the memory of Grantham was sufficient to cause her to betray herself. She had betrayed her interest to the man himself, and now she had betrayed it to this dark-faced stranger whose manner was so mysterious. The Spaniard recognized the fact, and, unlike Grantham, acted upon it promptly26.
“He has taken away the wife of another, Senorita,” he said simply, and watched her as he spoke the lie.
“He went first to Port Said and then came to London with this woman,” continued the Spaniard remorselessly. “We come from her husband to ask her to return. Yes, he will forgive her—or he offers her freedom.”
Rapidly but comprehensively the speaker's bold glance travelled over Zahara, from her golden head to her tiny embroidered28 shoes.
“If you can help us in this matter it will be worth fifty English pounds to you,” he concluded.
Zahara was breathing rapidly. The fatal hatred29 which she had sought to stifle12 gained a new vitality30. Another woman—another woman actually here in London! So there was someone upon whom he did not look in that half-amused and half-compassionate manner. How she hated him! How she hated the woman to whom he had but a moment ago returned!
“Then he will marry this other one?” she said suddenly.
“Oh, no. Already he neglects her. We think she will go back.”
Zahara experienced a swift change of sentiment. She seemed to be compounded of two separate persons, one of whom laughed cruelly at the folly31 of the other.
“What is the name of this man you think your friend has recognized?” she asked.
“We are both sure, Senorita. His name is Major Spalding.”
That Spalding and Grantham were neighbouring towns in Lincolnshire Zahara did not know, but:
“No one of that name comes here,” she replied.
“The one you heard and—who has gone—is not called by that name.” She spoke with forced calm. It was Grantham they sought! “But what happens if I show you this one who is not called Spalding?”
“No matter! Point him out to me,” answered the Spaniard eagerly—and his dark eyes seemed to be on fire—“point him out to me and fifty pounds of English money is yours!”
“Let me see.”
He drew out a wallet and held up a number of notes.
For a long moment Zahara hesitated, then:
“Sixty,” she corrected him—“now! Then I will do it to-night—if you tell what happens.”
Exhibiting a sort of eager impatience34 the man displayed a bunch of official-looking documents.
“I give him these,” he explained, “and my work is done.”
“H'm,” said Zahara. “He must not know that it is I who have shown him to you. To-night he will be here at nine o'clock, and I shall dance. You understand?”
“Then,” said the Spaniard eagerly, “this is what you will do.”
And speaking close to her ear he rapidly outlined a plan; but presently she interrupted him.
“Pooh! It is Spanish, the rose. I dance the dances of Egypt.”
“But to-night,” he persisted, “it will not matter.”
Awhile longer they talked, the rapping of the stick upon the tiled floor growing ever faster and faster. But finally:
“I will tell Hassan that you are to be admitted,” said Zahara, and she held out her hand for the notes.
When, presently, the visitors departed, she learned that the smaller man was blind; for his companion led him out of the room and out of the house. She stood awhile listening to the tap, tap, tap of the heavy stick receding35 along the street. What she did not hear, and could not have understood had she heard, since it was uttered in Spanish, was the cry of exultant36 hatred which came from the lips of the taller man:
“At last, Miguel! at last! Though blind, you have found him! You have not failed. I shall not fail!”
Zahara peeped through the carved screen at the assembled company. They were smoking and drinking and seemed to be in high good humour. Safiyeh had danced and they had applauded the performance, but had complained to M. Agapoulos that they had seen scores of such dances and dancers. Safiyeh, who had very little English, had not understood this, and because presently she was to play upon the a'ood while Zahara danced the Dance of the Veils, Zahara had avoided informing her of the verdict of the company.
Now as she peeped through the lattice in the screen she could see the Greek haggling37 with Grantham and a tall gray-haired man whom she supposed to be Sir Horace Tipton. They were debating the additional fees to be paid if Zahara, the Star of Egypt, was to present the secret and wonderful dance of which all men had heard but which only a true daughter of the ancient tribe of the Ghawazi could perform.
Sometimes Zahara was proud of her descent from a dancing-girl of Kenneh. This was always at night, when a sort of barbaric excitement possessed38 her which came from the blood of her mother. Then, a new light entered her eyes and they seemed to grow long and languid and dark, so that no one would have suspected that in daylight they were blue.
A wild pagan abandon claimed her, and she seemed to hear the wailing39 of reed instruments and the throb40 of the ancient drums which were played of old before the kings of Egypt. Safiyeh was not a true dancing girl, and because she knew none of those fine frenzies41, she danced without inspiration, like a brown puppet moved by strings42. But she could play upon an a'ood much better than Zahara, and therefore must not be upset until she had played for the Dance of the Veils.
Seeing that the bargain was all but concluded, Zahara stole back to her room. Her lightly clad body gleamed like that of some statue become animate43.
Her cheeks flushed as she took up the veils, of which she alone knew the symbolic44 meaning; the white veil, the purple veil: each had its story to tell her; and the veil of burning scarlet45. In a corner of the big room on a divan near the door she had seen the Spaniard, a handsome, swarthy figure in his well-fitting dress clothes, and now, opening a drawer, she glanced at the little pile of notes which represented her share of the bargain. There were fifty. She had told Agapoulos that a distinguished46 foreigner with an introduction from someone she knew had paid ten pounds to be present. And because she had given Agapoulos the ten pounds, Agapoulos had agreed to admit the visitor.
She could hear the Greek approaching now, but she was thinking of Grantham whom she had last seen in laughing conversation with the tall, gray-haired man. His laughter had appeared forced. Doubtless he grew weary of the woman he had brought to London.
“Dance to-night with all the devil that is in you, my beautiful,” said Agapoulos, hurrying into the room.
Zahara turned aside, toying with the veils.
“They are rich, eh?” she said indifferently.
She was thinking of the fifty pounds which she had earned so easily; and after all (how strangely her mind wandered) perhaps he was really tired of the woman. The Spaniard had said so.
“Very rich,” murmured Agapoulos complacently47.
He brushed his moustache and rattled48 keys in his pocket. In his dress clothes he looked like the manager of a prosperous picture palace. “Safryeh!” he called.
When presently the music commenced, the players concealed49 behind the tall screen, an expectant hush50 fell upon the wine-flushed company. Hassan, who played the darabukkeh, could modulate51 its throbbing52 so wonderfully.
Zahara entered the room, enveloped53 from shoulders to ankles in a flame-coloured cloak. Between her lips she held a red rose.
“By God, what a beauty!” said a husky voice.
Zahara did not know which of the party had spoken, but she was conscious of the fact that by virtue54 of the strange witchcraft55 which became hers on such nights she held them all spell-bound. They were her slaves.
Slowly she walked across the apartment while the throbbing of the Arab drum grew softer and softer, producing a weird56 effect of space and distance. All eyes were fixed20 upon her, and meeting Grantham's gaze she saw at last the Light there which she knew. This sudden knowledge of triumph almost unnerved her, and the rose which she had taken from between her lips trembled in her white fingers. Two of the petals57 fell upon the carpet, which was cream-coloured from the looms58 of Ispahan. Like blood spots the petals lay upon the cream surface.
Zahara swung sharply about. Agapoulos, seated alone in the chair over which he had draped the leopard59 skin, was busily brushing his moustache and glancing sideways toward the screen which concealed Safryeh. Zahara tilted60 her head on to her shoulder and cast a languorous61 glance into the shadows masking the watchful62 Spaniard.
She could see his eyes gleaming like those of a wild beast. An icy finger seemed to touch her heart. He had lied to her! She knew it, suddenly, intuitively. Well, she would see. She also had guile63.
With a little scornful laugh Zahara tossed the rose on to the knees—of Agapoulos.
The sound of three revolver shots fired in quick succession rang out above the throbbing music. Agapoulos clutched at his shirt front with both hands, uttered a stifled scream and tried to stand up. He coughed, and glaring straight in front of him fell forward across a little coffee table laden64 with champagne65 bottles and glasses.
Coincident with the crash made by his falling body came the loud bang of a door. The Spaniard had gone.
“By God, sir! It's murder, it's murder!” cried the same husky voice which had commented upon the beauty of Zahara.
There was a mingling66, purposeless movement. Someone ran to the door—to find that it was locked from the outside. Mr. Eddie, now recognizable by his accent, came toward the prone67 man, dazed, horrified68, and grown very white. Zahara, a beautiful, tragic69 figure, in her flaming cloak, stood looking down at the dead man. Safiyeh was peeping round from behind the screen, her face a brown mask of terror. Hassan, holding his drum, appeared behind her, staring stupidly. To the smell of cigar smoke and perfume a new and acrid70 odour was added.
Vaguely the truth was stealing in upon the mind of the dancing-girl that she had been made party to a plot to murder Grantham. She had saved his life. He belonged to her now. She could hear him speaking, although for some reason she could not see him. A haze71 had come, blotting72 out everything but the still, ungainly figure which lay so near her upon the carpet, one clutching, fat hand, upon which a diamond glittered, outstretched so that it nearly touched her bare white feet.
“We must get out this way! The side door to the courtyard! None of us can afford to be mixed up in an affair of this sort.”
There was more confused movement and a buzz of excited voices—meaningless, chaotic73. Zahara could feel the draught74 from the newly opened door. A thin stream of blood was stealing across the carpet. It had almost reached the fallen rose petals, which it strangely resembled in colour under the light of the lanterns.
As though dispersed75 by the draught, the haze lifted, and Zahara saw Grantham standing76 by the open doorway through which he had ushered77 out the other visitors.
Wide-eyed and piteous she met his glance. She had seen that night the Look in his eyes. She had saved his life, and there was much, so much, that she wanted to tell him. A thousand yearnings, inexplicable78, hitherto unknown, deep mysteries of her soul, looked out of those great eyes.
“Don't think,” he said tensely, “that I was deceived. I saw the trick with the rose! You are as guilty as your villainous lover! Murderess!”
He went out and closed the door. The flame-coloured cloak slowly slipped from Zahara's shoulders, and the veils, like falling petals, began to drop gently one by one upon the blood-stained carpet.
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收听单词发音
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1
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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4
intruding
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| v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的现在分词)；把…强加于 | |
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5
eyebrow
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| n.眉毛，眉 | |
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artistically
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| adv.艺术性地 | |
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7
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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8
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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9
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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10
antidote
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| n.解毒药，解毒剂 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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stifle
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| vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止 | |
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13
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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14
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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15
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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16
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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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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gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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reassuringly
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| ad.安心，可靠 | |
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disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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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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persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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promptly
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| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
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twitched
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| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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28
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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colloquy
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| n.谈话，自由讨论 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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35
receding
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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haggling
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| v.讨价还价( haggle的现在分词 ) | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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wailing
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱 | |
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throb
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| v.震颤，颤动；(急速强烈地)跳动，搏动 | |
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frenzies
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| 狂乱( frenzy的名词复数 )； 极度的激动 | |
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strings
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| n.弦 | |
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animate
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| v.赋于生命，鼓励；adj.有生命的，有生气的 | |
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symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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46
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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47
complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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48
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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49
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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50
hush
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| int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静 | |
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51
modulate
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| v.调整，调节(音的强弱)；变调 | |
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52
throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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53
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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witchcraft
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| n.魔法，巫术 | |
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56
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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petals
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| n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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58
looms
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| n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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59
leopard
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| n.豹 | |
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60
tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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61
languorous
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| adj.怠惰的，没精打采的 | |
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watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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guile
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| n.诈术 | |
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laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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67
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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68
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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70
acrid
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| adj.辛辣的，尖刻的，刻薄的 | |
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71
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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72
blotting
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| 吸墨水纸 | |
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73
chaotic
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| adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的 | |
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74
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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75
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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76
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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ushered
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| v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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