The room below was rectangular, and around three of the walls were divans7 strewn with garish8 cushions, whilst highly colored Eastern rugs were spread about the floor. Four lamps swung on chains, two from either of the beams which traversed the apartment. They were fine examples of native perforated brasswork.
Upon the divans some eight or nine men were seated, fully10 half of whom were Orientals or half-castes. Before each stood a little inlaid table bearing a brass9 tray; and upon the trays were various boxes, some apparently11 containing sweetmeats, other cigarettes. One or two of the visitors smoked curious, long-stemmed pipes and sipped12 coffee.
Even as I leaned from the platform, surveying that incredible scene (incredible in a street of Soho), another devotee of hashish entered— a tall, distinguished-looking man, wearing a light coat over his evening dress.
He broke off, as I clutched wildly at his arm.
The last arrival having taken his seat in a corner of the divan6, two heavy curtains draped before an opening at one end of the room parted, and a girl came out, carrying a tray such as already reposed14 before each of the other men in the room.
She wore a dress of dark lilac-colored gauze, banded about with gold tissue and embroidered15 with gold thread and pearls; and around her shoulders floated, so ethereally that she seemed to move in a violet cloud; a scarf of Delhi muslin. A white yashmak trimmed with gold tissue concealed16 the lower part of her face.
My heart throbbed17 wildly; I seemed to be choking. By the wonderful hair alone I must have known her, by the great, brilliant eyes, by the shape of those slim white ankles, by every movement of that exquisite18 form. It was Kâramaneh!
I sprang madly back from the rail … and Smith had my arm in an iron grip.
"Where are you going?" he snapped.
"Where am I going?" I cried. "Do you think—"
"What do you propose to do?" he interrupted harshly. "Do you know so little of the resources of Dr. Fu-Manchu that you would throw yourself blindly into that den19? Damn it all, man! I know what you suffer!—but wait—wait. We must not act rashly; our plans must be well considered."
He drew me back to my former post and clapped his hand on my shoulder sympathetically. Clutching the rail like a man frenzied20, as indeed I was, I looked down into that infamous21 den again, striving hard for composure.
Kâramaneh listlessly placed the tray upon the little table before Sir Byngham Pyne and withdrew without vouchsafing22 him a single glance in acknowledgment of his unconcealed admiration23.
A moment later, above the dim clamor of London far below, there crept to my ears a sound which completed the magical quality of the scene, rendering24 that sky platform on a roof of Soho a magical carpet bearing me to the golden Orient. This sound was the wailing of a reed pipe.
"The company is complete," murmured Smith. "I had expected this."
Again the curtains parted, and a ghazeeyeh glided25 out into the room. She wore a white dress, clinging closely to her figure from shoulders to hips26, where it was clasped by an ornate girdle, and a skirt of sky-blue gauze which clothed her as Io was clothed of old. Her arms were covered with gold bangles, and gold bands were clasped about her ankles. Her jet-black, frizzy hair was unconfined and without ornament27, and she wore a sort of highly colored scarf so arranged that it effectually concealed the greater part of her face, but served to accentuated28 the brightness of the great flashing eyes. She had unmistakable beauty of a sort, but how different from the sweet witchery of Kâramaneh!
With a bold, swinging grace she walked down the center of the room, swaying her arms from side to side and snapping her fingers.
"Zarmi!" exclaimed Smith.
But his exclamation29 was unnecessary, for already I had recognized the evil Eurasian who was so efficient a servant of the Chinese doctor.
The wailing of the pipes continued, and now faintly I could detect the throbbing30 of a darabûkeh. This was el Wasr indeed. The dance commenced, its every phase followed eagerly by the motley clientele of the hashish house. Zarmi danced with an insolent31 nonchalance32 that nevertheless displayed her barbaric beauty to greatest advantage. She was lithe33 as a serpent, graceful34 as a young panther, another Lamia come to damn the souls of men with those arts denounced in a long dead age by Apolonius of Tyana.
"She seemed, at once, some penanced lady elf,
Entranced against my will, I watched the Eurasian until, the barbaric dance completed, she ran from the room, and the curtains concealed her from view. How my mind was torn between hope and fear that I should see Kâramaneh again! How I longed for one more glimpse of her, yet loathed36 the thought of her presence in that infamous house.
She was a captive; of that there could be no doubt, a captive in the hands of the giant criminal whose wiles37 were endless, whose resources were boundless38, whose intense cunning had enabled him, for years, to weave his nefarious39 plots in the very heart of civilization, and remain immune. Suddenly—
"That woman is a sorceress!" muttered Nayland Smith. "There is about her something serpentine40, at once repelling41 and fascinating. It would be of interest, Petrie, to learn what State secrets have been filched42 from the brains of habitues of this den, and interesting to know from what unsuspected spy-hole Fu-Manchu views his nightly catch. If …"
His voice died away, in a most curious fashion. I have since thought that here was a case of true telepathy. For, as Smith spoke43 of Fu-Manchu's spy-hole, the idea leapt instantly to my mind that this was it—this strange platform upon which we stood!
I drew back from the rail, turned, stared at Smith. I read in his face that our suspicions were identical. Then—
"Look! Look!" whispered Weymouth.
He was gazing at the trapdoor—which was slowly rising; inch by inch … inch by inch … Fascinatedly, raptly, we all gazed. A head appeared in the opening—and some vague, reflected light revealed two long, narrow, slightly oblique44 eyes watching us. They were brilliantly green.
As one man we leapt for the trap. It dropped, with a resounding46 bang— and I distinctly heard a bolt shot home.
A gutteral voice—the unmistakable, unforgettable voice of Fu-Manchu— sounded dimly from below. I turned and sprang back to the rail of the platform, peering down into the hashish house. The occupants of the divans were making for the curtained doorway47. Some, who seemed to be in a state of stupor48, were being assisted by the others and by the man, Ismail, who had now appeared upon the scene.
Of Kâramaneh, Zarmi, or Fu-Manchu there was no sign.
Suddenly, the lights were extinguished.
"This is maddening!" cried Nayland Smith—"maddening! No doubt they have some other exit, some hiding-place—and they are slipping through our hands!"
Inspector49 Weymouth blew a shrill50 blast upon his whistle, and Smith, running to the rail of the platform, began to shatter the panes of the skylight with his foot.
"That's hopeless, sir!" cried Weymouth. "You'd be torn to pieces on the jagged glass."
Smith desisted, with a savage51 exclamation, and stood beating his right fist into the palm of his left hand, and glaring madly at the Scotland Yard man.
"I know I'm to blame," admitted Weymouth; "but the words were out before I knew I'd spoken. Ah!"—as an answering whistle came from somewhere in the street below. "But will they ever find us?"
He blew again shrilly52. Several whistles replied … and a wisp of smoke floated up from the shattered pane1 of the skylight.
"I can smell petrol!" muttered Weymouth.
An ever-increasing roar, not unlike that of an approaching storm at sea, came from the streets beneath. Whistles skirled, remotely and intimately, and sometimes one voice, sometimes another, would detach itself from this stormy background with weird53 effect. Somewhere deep in the bowels54 of the hashish house there went on ceaselessly a splintering and crashing as though a determined55 assault were being made upon a door. A light shone up through the skylight.
Back once more to the rail I sprang, looked down into the room below— and saw a sight never to be forgotten.
Passing from divan to curtained door, from piles of cushions to stacked-up tables, and bearing a flaming torch hastily improvised56 out of a roll of newspaper, was Dr. Fu-Manchu. Everything inflammable in the place had been soaked with petrol, and, his gaunt, yellow face lighted by the evergrowing conflagration57, so that truly it seemed not the face of a man, but that of a demon of the hells, the Chinese doctor ignited point after point….
"Smith!" I screamed, "we are trapped! that fiend means to burn us alive!"
"And the place will flare58 like matchwood! It's touch and go this time, Petrie! To drop to the sloping roof underneath59 would mean almost certain death on the pavement…."
I dragged my pistol from my pocket and began wildly to fire shot after shot into the holocaust60 below. But the awful Chinaman had escaped— probably by some secret exit reserved for his own use; for certainly he must have known that escape into the court was now cut off.
Flames were beginning to hiss61 through the skylight. A tremendous crackling and crashing told of the glass destroyed. Smoke spurted62 up through the cracks of the boarding upon which we stood—and a great shout came from the crowd in the streets….
In the distance—a long, long way off, it seemed—was born a new note in the stormy human symphony. It grew in volume, it seemed to be sweeping63 down upon us—nearer—nearer—nearer. Now it was in the streets immediately adjoining the Café de l'Egypte … and now, blessed sound! it culminated64 in a mighty surging cheer.
"The fire-engines," said Weymouth coolly—and raised himself on to the lower rail, for the platform was growing uncomfortably hot.
Tongues of fire licked out, venomously, from beneath my feet. I leapt for the railing in turn, and sat astride it … as one end of the flooring burst into flame.
The heat from the blazing room above which we hung suspended was now all but insupportable, and the fumes65 threatened to stifle66 us. My head seemed to be bursting; my throat and lungs were consumed by internal fires.
"Merciful heavens!" whispered Smith. "Will they reach us in time?"
"Not if they don't get here within the next thirty seconds!" answered Weymouth grimly—and changed his position, in order to avoid a tongue of flame that hungrily sought to reach him.
Nayland Smith turned and looked me squarely in the eyes. Words trembled on his tongue; but those words were never spoken … for a brass helmet appeared suddenly out of the smoke banks, followed almost immediately by a second….
"Quick, sir! this way! Jump! I'll catch you!"
Exactly what followed I never knew; but there was a mighty burst of cheering, a sense of tension released, and it became a task less agonizing67 to breathe.
Feeling very dazed, I found myself in the heart of a huge, excited crowd, with Weymouth beside me, and Nayland Smith holding my arm. Vaguely68, I heard;—
"They have the man Ismail, but …"
A hollow crash drowned the end of the sentence. A shower of sparks shot up into the night's darkness high above our heads.
"That's the platform gone!"
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收听单词发音
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1
pane
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| n.窗格玻璃，长方块 | |
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panes
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| 窗玻璃( pane的名词复数 ) | |
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blotted
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| 涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 )； （用吸墨纸）吸干 | |
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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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lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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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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divans
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| n.（可作床用的）矮沙发( divan的名词复数 )；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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8
garish
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| adj.华丽而俗气的，华而不实的 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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sipped
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gad
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| n.闲逛；v.闲逛 | |
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reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
embroidered
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| adj．绣花的 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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throbbed
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| 抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 )； （心脏、脉搏等）跳动 | |
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exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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frenzied
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| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
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infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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vouchsafing
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| v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的现在分词 )；允诺 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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26
hips
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| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
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ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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28
accentuated
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| v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 )；使突出；使恶化；加重音符号于 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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throbbing
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| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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insolent
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| adj.傲慢的，无理的 | |
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nonchalance
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| n.冷淡，漠不关心 | |
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lithe
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| adj.(指人、身体)柔软的，易弯的 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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36
loathed
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| v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢 | |
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wiles
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| n.（旨在欺骗或吸引人的）诡计，花招；欺骗，欺诈( wile的名词复数 ) | |
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38
boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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nefarious
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| adj.恶毒的，极坏的 | |
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40
serpentine
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| adj.蜿蜒的，弯曲的 | |
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41
repelling
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| v.击退( repel的现在分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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42
filched
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| v.偷（尤指小的或不贵重的物品）( filch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
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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44
oblique
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| adj.斜的，倾斜的，无诚意的，不坦率的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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46
resounding
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| adj. 响亮的 | |
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47
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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48
stupor
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| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
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49
inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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50
shrill
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| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
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51
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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52
shrilly
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| 尖声的； 光亮的，耀眼的 | |
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53
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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54
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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55
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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56
improvised
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| a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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57
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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58
flare
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| v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发 | |
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59
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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60
holocaust
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| n.大破坏；大屠杀 | |
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61
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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62
spurted
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| （液体，火焰等）喷出，（使）涌出( spurt的过去式和过去分词 )； （短暂地）加速前进，冲刺 | |
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63
sweeping
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| adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的 | |
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64
culminated
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| v.达到极点( culminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65
fumes
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| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
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66
stifle
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| vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止 | |
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67
agonizing
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| adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式) | |
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68
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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