CHAPTER XII. THE DEADLY TUBE.

 While unconsciously playing into Follansbee’s hands, Floyd had opened the way for a diabolical¹ crime.

 

The head of St. Swithin’s had adroitly² pulled the wool over James Stone’s eyes, and kept the half-crazed miner from knowing just what to expect; but nevertheless the specialist’s mind had been made up from the beginning. He had planned it all out after receiving the letter.

 

As for his recognition of the miner, which had so startled his visitor, it had been a very simple matter, and quite within the capacity of one much less shrewd than Stephen Follansbee. Floyd had announced that Stone and Crawford had taken passage on the Cortez. Follansbee had taken pains to learn when the vessel³ had docked, and when, later, the big, bronzed man had presented himself, the caller’s name had, to the doctor, been as good as written over his face.

 

That Stone was undoubtedly⁴ a victim of some mental derangement⁵ did not matter to Follansbee in the least. Almost any other physician would have been affected⁶ by the man’s plight⁷, and would have thought of nothing but the best way to cure him. Not so Follansbee, however. His apology for a heart had been hard in the beginning, and it had grown steadily⁸ harder as a result of his ostensibly scientific, but really devilish, experiments on unfortunate sufferers.

 

Had there been a spark of honor in him, he would have done all in his power to keep the irresponsible Stone from crime, and, if possible, to banish⁹ his ailment¹⁰; but instead he determined¹¹ to use the demented man for his own ends to help him to murder, and finally to strip him of his fortune.

 

His conscience had not given him a single twinge, for the very good reason that he had none. In fact, the prospective¹² divisions of wealth seemed to him eminently¹³ right and proper. He might be taking away Stone’s fortune, but he would be giving him Crawford’s in place of it. In other words, he reasoned that Stone would be getting the job done for practically nothing, and the four hundred and fifty thousand, while generous pay, was not a cent too much according to Follansbee’s view of it. He knew as well as any one could have known that, though he might try to shift the responsibility as much as he pleased, it lay with him, after all, and he wanted pay for it.

 

Moreover, he coveted¹⁴ wealth, more wealth than he had been able to amass¹⁵ through the many handsome fees that were pouring in all the time from the rich and great who were numbered among his patients. He wished to build a hospital of his own, of which he should be even more the master than was possible at St. Swithin’s. He longed for expensive laboratories built and equipped along new lines, not for the good of humanity, but to further his own peculiar¹⁶ ambitions. Stone’s money, with what he already possessed¹⁷, would go far toward realizing these ambitions, and he was willing to take almost any risk to further his conscienceless aims.

 

The hours passed away swiftly, and at about seven o’clock in the evening Follansbee, returning from a round of the wards¹⁸, entered his private office and went to the telephone. He rang up the Hotel Windermere and asked for Stone. The clerk informed him that Mr. Stone was not in the hotel at that time, but might return at any moment. “If you care to leave a message, it will be delivered to him as soon as he arrives,” the man went on.

 

“Very well,” Follansbee returned, after a pause. “Tell him that the gentleman whom he visited on Amsterdam Avenue this morning will be at the hotel about half past seven, and will wait for him in the lobby.”

 

The clerk took down the message and repeated it, after which Follansbee replaced the receiver and prepared to leave the hospital. By means of an intercommunicating phone, he called up St. Swithin’s garage and had his car, which he kept there, brought round to the entrance. As he crossed the pavement to enter it, he lifted one long, lean hand and pressed a smooth, round object in his breast pocket.

 

Little did the passers-by dream that, concealed¹⁹ in the clothing of that sinister²⁰, shabbily dressed, but nevertheless distinguished²¹ figure, was a tube containing deadly bacilli in a quantity sufficient to spread death for miles around—even, if unchecked, to sweep throughout the entire country.

 

Thus, like the shadow of death itself, the vulturelike form of Stephen Follansbee slipped into the big limousine²², and was winged away to the Hotel Windermere.

1 diabolical   

adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的

参考例句：

• This maneuver of his is a diabolical conspiracy.他这一手是一个居心叵测的大阴谋。
• One speaker today called the plan diabolical and sinister.今天一名发言人称该计划阴险恶毒。

2 adroitly   

adv.熟练地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He displayed the cigarette holder grandly on every occasion and had learned to manipulate it adroitly. 他学会了一套用手灵巧地摆弄烟嘴的动作，一有机会就要拿它炫耀一番。 来自辞典例句
• The waitress passes a fine menu to Molly who orders dishes adroitly. 女服务生捧来菜单递给茉莉，后者轻车熟路地点菜。 来自互联网

3 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

4 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

5 derangement   

n.精神错乱

参考例句：

• She began to think he was in mental derangement. 她开始想这个人一定是精神错乱了。
• Such a permutation is called a derangement. 这样的一个排列称为错位排列。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

8 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

9 banish   

vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除

参考例句：

• The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。
• He tried to banish gloom from his thought.他试图驱除心中的忧愁。

10 ailment   

n.疾病，小病

参考例句：

• I don't have even the slightest ailment.我什么毛病也没有。
• He got timely treatment for his ailment.他的病得到了及时治疗。

11 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

12 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

13 eminently   

adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地

参考例句：

• She seems eminently suitable for the job. 她看来非常适合这个工作。
• It was an eminently respectable boarding school. 这是所非常好的寄宿学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 amass   

vt.积累，积聚

参考例句：

• How had he amassed his fortune?他是如何积累财富的呢？
• The capitalists amass great wealth by exploiting workers.资本家剥削工人而积累了巨额财富。

16 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

17 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

18 wards   

区( ward的名词复数 )； 病房； 受监护的未成年者； 被人照顾或控制的状态

参考例句：

• This hospital has 20 medical [surgical] wards. 这所医院有 20 个内科[外科]病房。
• It was a big constituency divided into three wards. 这是一个大选区，下设三个分区。

19 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

20 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

21 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

22 limousine   

n.豪华轿车

参考例句：

• A chauffeur opened the door of the limousine for the grand lady.司机为这个高贵的女士打开了豪华轿车的车门。
• We arrived in fine style in a hired limousine.我们很气派地乘坐出租的豪华汽车到达那里。