"There is an inn," she said, "about a mile ahead, where we can obtain some vital information. He last wrote to me from there."
Side by side we tramped along the dusty road. We both were silent, occupied with our own thoughts. Respecting the nature of my companion's I could entertain little doubt, and my own turned upon the foolhardy nature of the undertaking3 upon which I was embarked4. No other word passed between us then, until upon rounding a bend and passing a cluster of picturesque5 cottages, the yard of the Vinepole came into view.
"No, of course not; we never made strategic mistakes of that kind. If we have tea here, no doubt we can learn all we require."
I entered the little parlour of the inn, and suggested that tea should be served in the pretty garden which opened out of it upon the right.
The host, who himself laid the table, viewed the camera case critically.
"We get a lot of photographers down here," he remarked tentatively.
"No doubt," said my companion. "There is some very pretty scenery in the neighbourhood."
The landlord rested his hands upon the table.
"There was a gentleman here on Wednesday last," he said; "an old gentleman who had met with an accident, and was staying somewhere hereabouts for his health. But he'd got his camera with him, and it was wonderful the way he could use it, considering he hadn't got the use of his right hand."
"He must have been a very keen photographer," I said, glancing at the girl beside me.
"He took three or four pictures of the Vinepole," replied the landlord (which I doubted, since probably his camera was a dummy); "and he wanted to know if there were any other old houses in the neighbourhood. I told him he ought to take Cadham Hall, and he said he had heard that the Gate House, which is about a mile from here, was one of the oldest buildings about."
A girl appeared with a tea tray, and for a moment I almost feared that the landlord was about to retire; but he lingered, whilst the girl distributed the things about the table, and Carneta asked casually7, "Would there be time for me to photograph the Gate House before dark?"
"There might be time," was the reply, "but that's not the difficulty. Mr. Isaacs is the difficulty."
"Who is Mr. Isaacs?" I asked.
"He's the Jewish gentleman who bought the Gate House recently. Lots of money he's got and a big motor car. He's up and down to London almost every day in the week, but he won't let anybody take photographs of the house. I know several who've asked."
"But I thought," said Carneta, innocently, "you said the old gentleman who was here on Wednesday went to take some?"
"He went, yes, miss; but I don't know if he succeeded."
Carneta poured out some tea.
"Now that you speak of it," she said, "I too have heard that the Gate House is very picturesque. What objection can Mr. Isaacs have to photographers?"
"Well, you see, miss, to get a picture of the house, you have to pass right through the grounds."
"I should walk right up to the house and ask permission. Is Mr. Isaacs at home, I wonder?"
"I couldn't say. He hasn't passed this way to-day."
"We might meet him on the way," said I. "What is he like?"
"A Jewish gentleman sir, very dark, with a white beard. Wears gold glasses. Keeps himself very much to himself. I don't know anything about his household; none of them ever come here."
Carneta inquired the direction of Cadham Hall and of the Gate House, and the landlord left us to ourselves. My companion exhibited signs of growing agitation8, and it seemed to me that she had much ado to restrain herself from setting out without a moment's delay for the Gate House, which, I readily perceived, was the place to which our strange venture was leading us.
I found something very stimulating9 in the reflection that, rash though the expedition might be, and, viewed from whatever standpoint, undeniably perilous10, it promised to bring me to that secret stronghold of deviltry where the sinister11 Hassan of Aleppo so successfully had concealed12 himself.
The work of the modern journalist had many points of contact with that of the detective; and since the murder of Professor Deeping I had succumbed13 to the man-hunting fever more than once. I knew that Scotland Yard had failed to locate the hiding-place of the remarkable14 and evil man who, like an efreet of Oriental lore15, obeyed the talisman16 of the stolen slipper17, striking down whomsoever laid hand upon its sacredness. It was a novel sensation to know that, aided by this beautiful accomplice18 of a rogue19, I had succeeded where the experts had failed!
Misgivings20 I had and shall not deny. If our scheme succeeded it would mean that Deeping's murderer should be brought to justice. If it failed-well, frankly21, upon that possibility I did not dare to reflect!
It must be needless for me to say that we two strangely met allies were ill at ease, sometimes to the point of embarrassment22. We proceeded on our way in almost unbroken silence, and, save for a couple of farm hands, without meeting any wayfarer23, up to the time that we reached the brow of the hill and had our first sight of the Gate House lying in a little valley beneath. It was a small Tudor mansion24, very compact in plan and its roof glowed redly in the rays of the now setting sun.
From the directions given by the host of the Vinepole it was impossible to mistake the way or to mistake the house. Amid well-wooded grounds it stood, a place quite isolated25, but so typically English that, as I stood looking down upon it, I found myself unable to believe that any other than a substantial country gentleman could be its proprietor26.
I glanced at Carneta. Her violet eyes were burning feverishly27, but her lips twitched28 in a bravely pitiful way.
Clearly now my adventure lay before me; that red-roofed homestead seemed to have rendered it all substantial which hitherto had been shadowy; and I stood there studying the Gate House gravely, for it might yet swallow me up, as apparently29 it had swallowed Earl Dexter.
There, amid that peaceful Kentish landscape, fantasy danced and horrors unknown lurked30 in waiting...
The eminence31 upon which we were commanded an extensive prospect32, and eastward33 showed a tower and flagstaff which marked the site of Cadham Hall. There were homeward-bound labourers to be seen in the lanes now, and where like a white ribbon the Watling Street lay across the verdant34 carpet moved an insect shape, speedily.
It was a car, and I watched it with vague interest. At a point where a dense35 coppice spread down to the roadway and a lane crossed west to east, the car became invisible. Then I saw it again, nearer to us and nearer to the Gate House. Finally it disappeared among the trees.
I turned to Carneta. She, too, had been watching. Now her gaze met mine.
"Mr. Isaacs!" she said; and her voice was less musical than usual. "His chauffeur36, who learned his business in Cairo, is probably the only one of his servants who remains37 in England."
"What!" I began—and said no more.
Where the road upon which we stood wound down into the valley and lost itself amid the trees surrounding the Gate House, the car suddenly appeared again, and began to mount the slope toward us!
"Heavens!" whispered Carneta. "He may have seen us—with glasses! Quick! Let us walk back until the hill-top conceals38 us; then we must hide somewhere!"
I shared her excitement. Without a moment's hesitation39 we both turned and retraced40 our steps. Twenty paces brought us to a spot where a stack of mangel wurzels stood at the roadside.
"This will do!" I said.
We ran around into the field, and crouched41 where we could peer out on the road without ourselves being seen. Nor had we taken up this position a moment too soon.
Topping the slope came a light-weight electric, driven by a man who, in his spruce uniform, might have passed at a glance for a very dusky European. The car had a limousine42 back, and as the chauffeur slowed down, out from the open windows right and left peered the solitary43 occupant.
He had the cast of countenance44 which is associated with the best type of Jew, with clear-cut aquiline45 features wholly destitute46 of grossness. His white beard was patriarchal and he wore gold-rimmed pince-nez and a glossy47 silk hat. Such figures may often be met with in the great money-markets of the world, and Mr. Isaacs would have passed for a successful financier in even more discerning communities than that of Cadham.
But I scarcely breathed until the car was past; and, beside me, my companion, crouching48 to the ground, was trembling wildly. Fifty yards toward the village Mr. Isaacs evidently directed the man to return.
The car was put about, and flashed past us at high speed down into the valley. When the sound of the humming motor had died to something no louder than the buzz of a sleepy wasp49, I held out my hand to Carneta and she rose, pale, but with blazing eyes, and picked up her camera case.
"If he had detected us, everything would have been lost!" she whispered.
"Not everything!" I replied grimly—and showed her the revolver which I had held in my hand whilst those eagle eyes had been seeking us. "If he had made a sign to show that he had seen us, in fact, if he had once offered a safe mark by leaning from the car, I should have shot him dead without hesitation!"
"We must not show ourselves again, but wait for dusk. He must have seen us, then, on the hilltop, but I hope without recognizing us. He has the sight and instincts of a vulture!"
I nodded, slipping the revolver into my pocket, but I wondered if I should not have been better advised to have risked a shot at the moment that I had recognized "Mr. Isaacs" for Hassan of Aleppo.
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1
hop
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| n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过 | |
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2
slung
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| 抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 )； 吊挂； 遣送； 押往 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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6
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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7
casually
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| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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stimulating
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| adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的 | |
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perilous
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| adj.危险的，冒险的 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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13
succumbed
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| 不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死 | |
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14
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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15
lore
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| n.传说；学问，经验，知识 | |
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talisman
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| n.避邪物，护身符 | |
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slipper
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| n.拖鞋 | |
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18
accomplice
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| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
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19
rogue
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| n.流氓；v.游手好闲 | |
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20
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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21
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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wayfarer
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| n.旅人 | |
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24
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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feverishly
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| adv. 兴奋地 | |
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28
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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29
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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lurked
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| vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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31
eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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33
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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34
verdant
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| adj.翠绿的，青翠的，生疏的，不老练的 | |
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35
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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36
chauffeur
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| n.(受雇于私人或公司的)司机；v.为…开车 | |
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37
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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38
conceals
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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39
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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40
retraced
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| v.折回( retrace的过去式和过去分词 )；回忆；回顾；追溯 | |
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41
crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
limousine
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| n.豪华轿车 | |
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43
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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44
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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45
aquiline
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| adj.钩状的，鹰的 | |
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46
destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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47
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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48
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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49
wasp
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| n.黄蜂，蚂蜂 | |
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