She pawned10 as much of her jewellery as she could safely dispose of, and temporarily silenced the more threatening tradespeople; but Kazmah declined to give credit, and cheques had never been acceptable at the establishment in old Bond Street.
Rita feverishly11 renewed her old quest, seeking in all directions for some less extortionate purveyor13. But none was to be found. The selfishness and secretiveness of the drug slave made it difficult for her to learn on what terms others obtained Kazmah's precious goods; but although his prices undoubtedly14 varied15, she was convinced that no one of all his clients was so cruelly victimized as she.
Mollie Gretna endeavored to obtain an extra supply to help Rita, but Kazmah evidently saw through the device, and the endeavor proved a failure.
She demanded to see Kazmah, but Rashid, the Egyptian, blandly17 assured her that “the Sheikh-el-Kazmah” was away. She cast discretion18 to the winds and wrote to him, protesting that it was utterly19 impossible for her to raise so much ready money as he demanded, and begging him to grant her a small supply or to accept the letter as a promissory note to be redeemed20 in three months. No answer was received, but when Rita again called at old Bond Street, Rashid proposed one of the few compromises which the frenzied21 woman found herself unwilling22 to accept.
“The Sheikh-el-Kazmah say, my lady, your friend Mr. Gray never come to him. If you bring him it will be all right.”
Rita found herself stricken dumb by this cool proposal. The degradation23 which awaits the drug slave had never been more succinctly24 expounded25 to her. She was to employ Gray's foolish devotion for the commercial advantage of Kazmah. Of course Gray might any day become one of the three wealthiest peers in the realm. She divined the meaning of Kazmah's hitherto incomprehensible harshness (or believed that she did); she saw what was expected of her. “My God!” she whispered. “I have not come to that yet.”
Rashid she knew to be incorruptible or powerless, and she turned away, trembling, and left the place, whose faint perfume of frankincense had latterly become hateful to her.
She was at this time bordering upon a state of collapse26. Insomnia27, which latterly had defied dangerously increased doses of veronal, was telling upon nerve and brain. Now, her head aching so that she often wondered how long she could retain sanity28, she found herself deprived not only of cocaine29, but also of malourea. Margaret Halley was her last hope, and to Margaret she hastened on the day before the tragedy which was destined30 to bring to light the sinister31 operations of the Kazmah group.
Although, perhaps mercifully, she was unaware32 of the fact, representatives of Spinker's Agency had been following her during the whole of the preceding fortnight. That Rita was in desperate trouble of some kind her husband had not failed to perceive, and her reticence33 had quite naturally led him to a certain conclusion. He had sought to win her confidence by every conceivable means and had failed. At last had come doubt—and the hateful interview with Spinker.
As Rita turned in at the doorway34 below Margaret's flat, then, Brisley was lighting35 a cigarette in the shelter of a porch nearly opposite, and Gunn was not far away.
Margaret immediately perceived that her friend's condition was alarming. But she realized that whatever the cause to which it might be due, it gave her the opportunity for which she had been waiting. She wrote a prescription36 containing one grain of cocaine, but declined firmly to issue others unless Rita authorized37 her, in writing, to undertake a cure of the drug habit.
Rita's disjointed statements pointed38 to a conspiracy39 of some kind on the part of those who had been supplying her with drugs, but Margaret knew from experience that to exhibit curiosity in regard to the matter would be merely to provoke evasions40.
A hopeless day and a pain-racked, sleepless41 night found Kazmah's unhappy victim in the mood for any measure, however desperate, which should promise even temporary relief. Monte Irvin went out very early, and at about eleven o'clock Rita rang up Kazmah's, but only to be informed by Rashid, who replied, that Kazmah was still away. “This evening he tell me that he see your friend if he come, my lady.” As if the Fates sought to test her endurance to the utmost, Quentin Gray called shortly afterwards and invited her to dine with him and go to a theatre that evening.
For five age-long seconds Rita hesitated. If no plan offered itself by nightfall she knew that her last scruple42 would be conquered. “After all,” whispered a voice within her brain, “Quentin is a man. Even if I took him to Kazmah's and he was in some way induced to try opium43, or even cocaine, he would probably never become addicted44 to drug-taking. But I should have done my part—”
“Very well, Quentin,” she heard herself saying aloud. “Will you call for me?”
But when he had gone Rita sat for more than half an hour, quite still, her hands clenched45 and her face a tragic46 mask. (Gunn, of Spinker's Agency, reported telephonically to Monte Irvin in the City that the Hon. Quentin Gray had called and had remained about twenty-five minutes; that he had proceeded to the Prince's Restaurant, and from there to Mudie's, where he had booked a box at the Gaiety Theatre.)
Towards the fall of dusk the more dreadful symptoms which attend upon a sudden cessation of the use of cocaine by a victim of cocainophagia began to assert themselves again. Rita searched wildly in the lining47 of her jewel-case to discover if even a milligram of the drug had by chance fallen there from the little gold box. But the quest was in vain.
As a final resort she determined48 to go to Margaret Halley again.
She hurried to Dover Street, and her last hope was shattered. Margaret was out, and Janet had no idea when she was likely to return. Rita had much ado to prevent herself from bursting into tears. She scribbled49 a few lines, without quite knowing what she was writing, sealed the paper in an envelope, and left it on Margaret's table.
Of returning to Prince's Gate and dressing50 for the evening she had only a hazy51 impression. The hammer-beats in her head were depriving her of reasoning power, and she felt cold, numbed52, although a big fire blazed in her room. Then as she sat before her mirror, drearily53 wondering if her face really looked as drawn3 and haggard as the image in the glass, or if definite delusions54 were beginning, Nina came in and spoke55 to her. Some moments elapsed before Rita could grasp the meaning of the girl's words.
“Sir Lucien Pyne has rung up, Madam, and wishes to speak to you.”
Sir Lucien! Sir Lucien had come back? Rita experienced a swift return of feverish12 energy. Half dressed as she was, and without pausing to take a wrap, she ran out to the telephone.
Never had a man's voice sounded so sweet as that of Sir Lucien when he spoke across the wires. He was at Albemarle Street, and Rita, wasting no time in explanations, begged him to await her there. In another ten minutes she had completed her toilette and had sent Nina to 'phone for a cab. (One of the minor56 details of his wife's behavior which latterly had aroused Irvin's distrust was her frequent employment of public vehicles in preference to either of the cars.)
Quentin Gray she had quite forgotten, until, as she was about to leave:
“Oh!” cried Rita. “Of course! Quick! Give me some paper and a pencil.”
She wrote a hasty note, merely asking Gray to proceed to the restaurant, where she promised to join him, left it in charge of the maid, and hurried off to Albemarle Street.
Mareno, the silent, yellow-faced servant who had driven the car on the night of Rita's first visit to Limehouse, admitted her. He showed her immediately into the lofty study, where Sir Lucien awaited.
“Oh, Lucy—Lucy!” she cried, almost before the door had closed behind Mareno. “I am desperate—desperate!”
Sir Lucien placed a chair for her. His face looked very drawn and grim. But Rita was in too highly strung a condition to observe this fact, or indeed to observe anything.
“Tell me,” he said gently.
And in a torrent58 of disconnected, barely coherent language, the tortured woman told him of Kazmah's attempt to force her to lure16 Quentin Gray into the drug coterie59. Sir Lucien stood behind her chair, and the icy reserve which habitually60 rendered his face an impenetrable mask deserted61 him as the story of Rita's treatment at the hands of the Egyptian of Bond Street was unfolded in all its sordid62 hideousness63. Rita's soft, musical voice, for which of old she had been famous, shook and wavered; her pose, her twitching64 gestures, all told of a nervous agony bordering on prostration65 or worse. Finally:
“He dare not refuse you!” she cried. “Ring him up and insist upon him seeing me tonight!”
“I will see him, Rita.”
She turned to him, wild-eyed.
“You shall not! You shall not!” she said. “I am going to speak to that man face to face, and if he is human he must listen to me. Oh! I have realized the hold he has upon me, Lucy! I know what it means, this disappearance66 of all the others who used to sell what Kazmah sells. If I am to suffer, he shall not escape! I swear it. Either he listens to me tonight or I go straight to the police!”
“Be calm, little girl,” whispered Sir Lucien, and he laid his hand upon her shoulder.
But she leapt up, her pupils suddenly dilating67 and her delicate nostrils68 twitching in a manner which unmistakably pointed to the impossibility of thwarting69 her if sanity were to be retained.
“Ring him up, Lucy,” she repeated in a low voice. “He is there. Now that I have someone behind me I see my way at last!”
“There may, nevertheless, be a better way,” said Sir Lucien; but he added quickly: “Very well, dear, I will do as you wish. I have a little cocaine, which I will give you.”
He went out to the telephone, carefully closing the study door.
That he had counted upon the influence of the drug to reduce Rita to a more reasonable frame of mind was undoubtedly the fact, for presently as they proceeded on foot towards old Bond Street he reverted70 to something like his old ironical71 manner. But Rita's determination was curiously72 fixed73. Unmoved by every kind of appeal, she proceeded to the appointment which Sir Lucien had made—ignorant of that which Fate held in store for her—and Sir Lucien, also humanly blind, walked on to meet his death.
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1
extorted
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| v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 )；曲解 | |
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2
overdrawn
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| 透支( overdraw的过去分词 )； (overdraw的过去分词) | |
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3
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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4
creditors
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| n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
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5
catastrophe
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| n.大灾难，大祸 | |
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6
expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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7
adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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8
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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10
pawned
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| v.典当，抵押( pawn的过去式和过去分词 )；以（某事物）担保 | |
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11
feverishly
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| adv. 兴奋地 | |
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feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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purveyor
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| n.承办商，伙食承办商 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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15
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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16
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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17
blandly
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| adv.温和地，殷勤地 | |
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18
discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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19
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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20
redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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21
frenzied
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| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
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22
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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23
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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24
succinctly
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| adv.简洁地；简洁地，简便地 | |
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25
expounded
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| 论述，详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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26
collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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insomnia
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| n.失眠，失眠症 | |
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28
sanity
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| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
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29
cocaine
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| n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂） | |
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30
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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31
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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32
unaware
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| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
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33
reticence
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| n.沉默，含蓄 | |
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34
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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35
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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36
prescription
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| n.处方，开药；指示，规定 | |
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authorized
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| a.委任的，许可的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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39
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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40
evasions
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| 逃避( evasion的名词复数 )； 回避； 遁辞； 借口 | |
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41
sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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42
scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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43
opium
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| n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的 | |
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44
addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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45
clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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47
lining
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| n.衬里，衬料 | |
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48
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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49
scribbled
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| v.潦草的书写( scribble的过去式和过去分词 )；乱画；草草地写；匆匆记下 | |
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50
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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51
hazy
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| adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的 | |
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52
numbed
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| v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
drearily
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| 沉寂地，厌倦地，可怕地 | |
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54
delusions
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| n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 )；谬见；错觉；妄想 | |
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55
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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56
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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57
naively
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| adv. 天真地 | |
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58
torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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59
coterie
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| n.(有共同兴趣的)小团体，小圈子 | |
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60
habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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61
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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62
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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63
hideousness
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64
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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65
prostration
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| n. 平伏, 跪倒, 疲劳 | |
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66
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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67
dilating
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| v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的现在分词 ) | |
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68
nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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69
thwarting
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| 阻挠( thwart的现在分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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70
reverted
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| 恢复( revert的过去式和过去分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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71
ironical
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| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
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72
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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73
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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