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首页 » 英文科幻小说 » A Broken Bond » CHAPTER XIX. A FIENDISH PLOT.
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CHAPTER XIX. A FIENDISH PLOT.
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 The two skulkers soon disappeared, having drawn1 too close to the nearer wall for Nick Carter to see them. He put his ear close to the opening, however, and listened.
 
He was enabled to hear the ladder placed against the fire escape, faint though the sound was, and to check off the men’s movements as they climbed upward. When they approached the second floor, he quietly slipped out of his chair and retreated into the shadows in the middle of the room. He did not care to be seen at the window, even though his identity was so well cloaked.
 
Apparently2 no word was exchanged on the part of the two climbers. They were running a considerable risk, and they doubtless knew it. There was quite enough light for them to be seen if any one should look out of one of the many windows which opened on the court. Fortunately for them, however, they did not have far to go, and were not obliged to pass a single bedroom.
 
They made their way upward with a great deal of care, but Nick could plainly hear the faint scrape of their shoes on the metal steps.
 
It was obvious that they had already settled all the details.
 
“They have everything cut and dried,” the detective told himself, his keen eyes glinting in the shadows, “and men of their type do not go to such deliberate pains for nothing.”
 
After that the sounds told the detective that the first man, probably Stone himself, had reached the landing just to the right of his window, and almost immediately afterward3 he caught the faint noise made as the sash was raised.
 
There was a little more rustling4 and scraping, then silence. The detective concluded that it was safe enough to return to his point of vantage outside. Just as he did so, he saw the lower sash of Stone’s window being pulled down.
 
“I hope they leave that wedge in place,” he murmured.
 
The light flashed up, and the shade was drawn down—by Doctor Follansbee, as the shadow showed.
 
There was no way of telling, however, whether the wedge had been removed or not. Follansbee had doubtless been the last to pass through, and probably did not know of its existence; and then it might have been dislodged by the passage of one or the other of them.
 
It was time for the watcher to become the man of action, and the transformation6 entailed7 considerable risk, as the detective knew. He did not mean to remain in idleness where he was; but, on the contrary, had determined8 to repeat his maneuver9 of some time before. In other words, he meant to crawl out on the fire escape once more and take a position outside of the miner’s window, in the hope that he could hear enough of the conversation between the two to enable him to get a clew to their intentions, if not with regard to Winthrop Crawford.
 
The sounds they had made with all their care had brought his danger home to him, and he realized that the necessity for climbing over the iron railing made it likely that he would cause even more noise. The attempt must be made, though, come what might, and Nick had already made preparations for it. He had anticipated the necessity, and had previously10 transferred a little instrument from one of his suit cases to his pocket.
 
It was a sort of disc made of hard rubber for the most part, and about an inch in thickness. Its use was obscure at first glance, but would have been sufficiently11 plain upon examination. It was a sort of ear trumpet12 designed for the deaf, but without the old-fashioned horn attachment13.
 
He buttoned his coat once more about him, then proceeded to raise his window the required distance; but at the risk of missing something important, he took his time about it, with the result that the slight sound could not have been heard even a few feet away. When there was room enough for him to crawl through, he did so, and, leaning over, grasped the end of the platform. He stepped noiselessly across the gap, threw one leg over the railing and gently lowered himself to the grating. Along this he tiptoed, his thin-soled shoes making practically no sound as he advanced. In a few moments he was kneeling in front of Stone’s window with the rubber disc held to his right ear, and his ear lowered to the crack at the bottom of the sash.
 
The wooden wedge was still in place, luckily for him, consequently the sash had remained slightly raised. As soon as the device was brought into use, it amplified14 the sounds it caught, and what had been an indistinct murmur5 of voices became an easily audible conversation.
 
“Be very careful of this,” were the first definite words he heard. They were in Doctor Follansbee’s voice. “I will leave it in the case here for you,” the high, thin tones went on. “Don’t press the plunger until you have inserted the needle underneath15 the skin. Is that clear?”
 
“Yes.”
 
The detective hardly recognized Stone’s voice, so hoarse16 and agitated17 did it sound.
 
“The drug and sponge will be easy for you to handle,” Follansbee explained. “Wait until you get into the room and are six feet or so from the bed, then just sprinkle a few drops on the sponge from this vial.”
 
“Won’t he smell the stuff and wake up?”
 
“Certainly not, unless you make a noise. The drug has a penetrating18 odor, of course, for the time being, but his sleeping sense won’t convey a message of warning soon enough to spoil your plans. If the odor reaches his nostrils19 before you’re ready to act, and he’s really asleep, it will probably only cause a momentary20 dream of some sort; an attempt of the subconscious21 self to explain the situation.”
 
 
“All right, but—but won’t they be able to tell that he’s been drugged?”
 
Nick heard a thin, piping laugh. “You must think me a fool,” Follansbee’s voice returned. “The keenest scent22 would be incapable23 of detecting any odor in the room five minutes after that drug is used, and it leaves little or no after effects. Crawford will wake up to-morrow morning without the slightest suspicion that anything has happened to him, and he’ll feel perfectly24 normal.”
 
“And what about the—the other?”
 
“It will not begin to show itself until Monday or Tuesday,” was the confident answer. “And even then the symptoms will be inconclusive. There aren’t half a dozen physicians who would know what they meant in any of the early stages, and by the time any one could authoritatively25 diagnose the case, the patient would be beyond help. In fact, he’ll be beyond it for all ordinary purposes from the time the serum26 is introduced into his system, and before the twenty-seventh he’ll be dead.”
 

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 drawn MuXzIi     
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的
参考例句:
  • All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
  • Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。
2 apparently tMmyQ     
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎
参考例句:
  • An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽,豁然开朗。
  • He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。
3 afterward fK6y3     
adv.后来;以后
参考例句:
  • Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏,然后吃饭。
  • Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来,这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。
4 rustling c6f5c8086fbaf68296f60e8adb292798     
n. 瑟瑟声,沙沙声 adj. 发沙沙声的
参考例句:
  • the sound of the trees rustling in the breeze 树木在微风中发出的沙沙声
  • the soft rustling of leaves 树叶柔和的沙沙声
5 murmur EjtyD     
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言
参考例句:
  • They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
  • There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。
6 transformation SnFwO     
n.变化;改造;转变
参考例句:
  • Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
  • He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。
7 entailed 4e76d9f28d5145255733a8119f722f77     
使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 ); 需要; 限定继承; 使必需
参考例句:
  • The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son. 城堡和土地限定由长子继承。
  • The house and estate are entailed on the eldest daughter. 这所房子和地产限定由长女继承。
8 determined duszmP     
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。
9 maneuver Q7szu     
n.策略[pl.]演习;v.(巧妙)控制;用策略
参考例句:
  • All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后,所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
  • I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。
10 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
11 sufficiently 0htzMB     
adv.足够地,充分地
参考例句:
  • It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
  • The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
12 trumpet AUczL     
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘
参考例句:
  • He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴,我吹喇叭。
  • The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。
13 attachment POpy1     
n.附属物,附件;依恋;依附
参考例句:
  • She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
  • She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。
14 amplified d305c65f3ed83c07379c830f9ade119d     
放大,扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 ); 增强; 详述
参考例句:
  • He amplified on his remarks with drawings and figures. 他用图表详细地解释了他的话。
  • He amplified the whole course of the incident. 他详述了事件的全过程。
15 underneath VKRz2     
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面
参考例句:
  • Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
  • She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣,里面套着一条连衣裙。
16 hoarse 5dqzA     
adj.嘶哑的,沙哑的
参考例句:
  • He asked me a question in a hoarse voice.他用嘶哑的声音问了我一个问题。
  • He was too excited and roared himself hoarse.他过于激动,嗓子都喊哑了。
17 agitated dzgzc2     
adj.被鼓动的,不安的
参考例句:
  • His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定,回答全乱了。
  • She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时,她十分焦虑。
18 penetrating ImTzZS     
adj.(声音)响亮的,尖锐的adj.(气味)刺激的adj.(思想)敏锐的,有洞察力的
参考例句:
  • He had an extraordinarily penetrating gaze. 他的目光有股异乎寻常的洞察力。
  • He examined the man with a penetrating gaze. 他以锐利的目光仔细观察了那个人。
19 nostrils 23a65b62ec4d8a35d85125cdb1b4410e     
鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Her nostrils flared with anger. 她气得两个鼻孔都鼓了起来。
  • The horse dilated its nostrils. 马张大鼻孔。
20 momentary hj3ya     
adj.片刻的,瞬息的;短暂的
参考例句:
  • We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
  • I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。
21 subconscious Oqryw     
n./adj.潜意识(的),下意识(的)
参考例句:
  • Nail biting is often a subconscious reaction to tension.咬指甲通常是紧张时的下意识反映。
  • My answer seemed to come from the subconscious.我的回答似乎出自下意识。
22 scent WThzs     
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
参考例句:
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
23 incapable w9ZxK     
adj.无能力的,不能做某事的
参考例句:
  • He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
  • Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。
24 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
25 authoritatively 1e057dc7af003a31972dbde9874fe7ce     
命令式地,有权威地,可信地
参考例句:
  • "If somebody'll come here and sit with him," he snapped authoritatively. “来个人到这儿陪他坐着。”他用发号施令的口吻说。
  • To decide or settle(a dispute, for example) conclusively and authoritatively. 判定结论性、权威性地决定或解决(纠纷等)
26 serum 8seyS     
n.浆液,血清,乳浆
参考例句:
  • The serum is available to the general public.一般公众均可获得血清。
  • Untreated serum contains a set of 11 proteins called complement.未经处理的血清含有一组蛋白质,共11种,称为补体。


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