"Very good, sir. But I shan't be able to take you further back than the Brixton Garage. You can get another cab there, though."
A clock chimed out—an old-world chime in keeping with the loneliness, the curiously1 remote loneliness, of the locality. Less than five miles from St. Paul's are spots whereto, with the persistence2 of Damascus attar, clings the aroma3 of former days. This iron gateway4 fronting the old chapel5 was such a spot.
"Professor Deeping," I began.
The man, with a simple gesture, conveyed the dreadful news.
"Dead! dead!" I cried incredulously.
He glanced at Bristol.
"The most mysterious case I have ever had anything to do with, sir," he said.
The power of speech seemed to desert me. It was unthinkable that Deeping, with whom I had been speaking less than an hour ago, should now be no more; that some malign8 agency should thus murderously have thrust him into the great borderland.
In that kind of silence which seems to be peopled with whispering spirits we strode forward along the elm avenue. It was very dark where the moon failed to penetrate9. The house, low and rambling10, came into view, its facade11 bathed in silver light. Two of the visible windows were illuminated12. A sort of loggia ran along one side.
On our left, as we made for this, lay a black ocean of shrubbery. It intruded13, raggedly14, upon the weed-grown path, for neglect was the keynote of the place.
We entered the cottage, crossed the tiny lobby, and came to the study. A man, evidently Deeping's servant, was sitting in a chair by the door, his head sunken in his hands. He looked up, haggard-faced.
"My God! my God!" he groaned15. "He was locked in, gentlemen! He was locked in; and yet something murdered him!"
"What do you mean?" said Bristol. "Where were you?"
"I was away on an errand, sir. When I returned, the police were knocking the door down. He was locked in!"
We passed him, entering the study.
It was a museum-like room, lighted by a lamp on the littered table. At first glance it looked as though some wild thing had run amok there. The disorder16 was indescribable.
"Touched nothing, of course?" asked Bristol sharply of the officer on duty.
"Nothing, sir. It's just as we found it when we forced the door."
"Why did you force the door?"
"He rung us up at the station and said that something or somebody had got into the house. It was evident the poor gentleman's nerve had broken down, sir. He said he was locked in his study. When we arrived it was all in darkness—but we thought we heard sounds in here."
"What sort of sounds?"
"Something crawling about!"
Bristol turned.
"Key is in the lock on the inside of the door," he said. "Is that where you found it?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Safe locked?"
"Yes, sir."
Professor Deeping lay half under the table, a spectacle so ghastly that I shall not attempt to describe it.
"Merciful heavens!" whispered Bristol. "He's nearly decapitated!"
I clutched dizzily at the mantelpiece. It was all so utterly18, incredibly horrible. How had Deeping met his death? The windows both were latched19 and the door had been locked from within!
"You searched for the murderer, of course?" asked Bristol.
"You can see, sir," replied the officer, "that there isn't a spot in the room where a man could hide! And there was nobody in here when we forced the door!"
"Yes. I think he must have been trying to prise open that box yonder when he was attacked."
Bristol and I looked, together, at an oblong box which lay upon the floor near the murdered man. It was a kind of small packing case, addressed to Professor Deeping, and evidently had not been opened.
"When did this arrive?" asked Bristol. Lester, the Professor's man, who had entered the room, replied shakily—
"It came by carrier, sir, just before I went out."
"Was he expecting it?"
"I don't think so."
Inspector21 Bristol and the officer dragged the box fully7 into the light. It was some three feet long by one foot square, and solidly constructed.
"The key of the safe!"
"Exactly. If the men really heard sounds here, it would appear that the assassin was still searching at that time."
"I assure you," the officer interrupted, "that there was no living thing in the room when we entered."
"It's incomprehensible!" he said.
"See if the key is in the place mentioned by the Professor, Mr. Cavanagh, whilst I break the box."
I went to a great, open bookcase, which the frantic24 searcher seemed to have overlooked. Removing the bulky "Assyrian Mythology25," there, behind the volume, lay an envelope, containing a key, and a short letter. Not caring to approach more closely to the table and to that which lay beneath it, I was peering at the small writing, in the semi-gloom by the bookcase, when Bristol cried—
"This box is unopenable by ordinary means! I shall have to smash it!"
At his words, I joined him where he knelt on the floor. Mysteriously, the chest had defied all his efforts.
"There's a pick-axe in the garden," volunteered Lester. "Shall I bring it?"
"Yes."
The man ran off.
"I see the key is safe," said Bristol. "Possibly the letter may throw some light upon all this."
"Let us hope so," I replied. "You might read it."
He took the letter from my hand, stepped up to the table, and by the light of the lamp read as follows—
My Dear Cavanagh,—
It has now become apparent to me that my life is in imminent26 danger. You know of the inexplicable27 outrages28 which marked my homeward journey, and if this letter come to your hand it will be because these have culminated29 in my death.
The idea of a pursuing scimitar is not new to me. This phenomenon, which I have now witnessed three times, is fairly easy of explanation, but its significance is singular. It is said to be one of the devices whereby the Hashishin warn those whom they have marked down for destruction, and is called, in the East, "The Scimitar of Hassan."
The Hashishin were the members of a Moslem30 secret society, founded in 1090 by one Hassan of Khorassan. There is a persistent31 tradition in parts of the Orient that this sect32 still flourishes in Assyria, under the rule of a certain Hassan of Aleppo, the Sheikh-al-jebal, or supreme33 lord of the Hashishin. My careful inquiries34, however, at the time that I was preparing matter for my "Assyrian Mythology," failed to discover any trace of such a person or such a group.
I accordingly assumed Hassan to be a myth—a first cousin to the ginn. I was wrong. He exists. And by my supremely35 rash act I have incurred36 his vengeance37, for Hassan of Aleppo is the self-appointed guardian38 of the traditions and relics40 of Mohammed. And I have Stolen one of the holy slippers41 of the Prophet!
He, with some of his servants, has followed me from Mecca to England. My precautions have enabled me to retain the relic39, but you have seen what fate befell all those others who even touched the receptacle containing it.
If I fall a victim to the Hashishin, I am uncertain how you, as my confidant, will fare. Therefore I have locked the slipper42 in my safe and to you entrust43 the key. I append particulars of the lock combination; but I warn you—do not open the safe. If their wrath44 be visited upon you, your possession of the key may prove a safeguard.
Take the copy of "Assyrian Mythology." You will find in it all that I learned respecting the Hashishin. If I am doomed45 to be assassinated46, it may aid you; if not in avenging47 me, in saving others from my fate. I fear I shall never see you again. A cloud of horror settles upon me like a pall48. Do not touch the slipper, nor the case containing it.
EDWARD DEEPING.
Bristol returned the letter to me without a word, and turning to Lester, who had reentered carrying a heavy pick-axe, he attacked the oblong box with savage50 energy.
Through the house of death the sound of the blows echoed and rang with a sort of sacrilegious mockery. The box fell to pieces.
"My God! look, sir!"
Lester was the trembling speaker.
The box, I have said, was but three feet long by one foot square, and had clearly defied poor Deeping's efforts to open it. But a crescent-shaped knife, wet with blood, lay within!
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收听单词发音
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1
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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aroma
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| n.香气，芬芳，芳香 | |
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gateway
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| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
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chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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saluted
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| v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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7
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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8
malign
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| adj.有害的；恶性的；恶意的；v.诽谤，诬蔑 | |
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9
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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10
rambling
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| adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的 | |
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facade
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| n.(建筑物的)正面，临街正面；外表 | |
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illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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intruded
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| n.侵入的，推进的v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的过去式和过去分词 )；把…强加于 | |
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14
raggedly
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| 破烂地，粗糙地 | |
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15
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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16
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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latched
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| v.理解( latch的过去式和过去分词 )；纠缠；用碰锁锁上（门等）；附着（在某物上） | |
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chisel
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| n.凿子；v.用凿子刻，雕，凿 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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mythology
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| n.神话，神话学，神话集 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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outrages
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| 引起…的义愤，激怒( outrage的第三人称单数 ) | |
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culminated
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| v.达到极点( culminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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Moslem
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| n.回教徒，穆罕默德信徒；adj.回教徒的，回教的 | |
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persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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32
sect
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| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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supremely
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| adv.无上地，崇高地 | |
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incurred
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| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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41
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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slipper
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| n.拖鞋 | |
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43
entrust
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| v.信赖，信托，交托 | |
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44
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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45
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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46
assassinated
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| v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏 | |
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47
avenging
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| adj.报仇的，复仇的v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的现在分词 )；为…报复 | |
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48
pall
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| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
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49
hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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50
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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