Bobby had had an irksome time. His forced inaction was exceedingly try-ing. He hated staying quietly in London and doing nothing.
He had been rung up on the telephone by George Arbuthnot who, in afew laconic1 words, told him that all had gone well. A couple of days later,he had a letter from Frankie, delivered to him by her maid, the letter hav-ing gone under cover to her at Lord Marchington’s town house.
Since then he had heard nothing.
“Letter for you,” called out Badger2.
Bobby came forward excitedly but the letter was one addressed in hisfather’s handwriting, and postmarked Marchbolt.
At that moment, however, he caught sight of the neat black-gowned fig-ure of Frankie’s maid approaching down the Mews. Five minutes later hewas tearing open Frankie’s second letter.
Dear Bobby (wrote Frankie), I think it’s about time youcame down. I’ve given them instructions at home thatyou’re to have the Bentley whenever you ask for it. Get achauffeur’s livery — dark- green ours always are. Put itdown to father at Harrods. It’s best to be correct in details.
Concentrate on making a good job of the moustache. Itmakes a frightful4 difference to anyone’s face.
Come down here and ask for me. You might bring me anostensible note from Father. Report that the car is now inworking order again. The garage here only holds two carsand as it’s got the family Daimler and Roger Bassington-ffrench’s two-seater in it, it is fortunately full up, so youwill go to Staverley and put up there.
Get what local information you can when there—particu-larly about a Dr. Nicholson who runs a place for dope pa-tients. Several suspicious circumstances about him — hehas a dark-blue Talbot saloon, he was away from home onthe 16th when your beer was doctored, and he takes alto-gether too detailed5 an interest in the circumstances of myaccident.
I think I’ve identified the corpse6!!!
Au revoir, my fellow sleuth.
Love from your successfully concussed,
Frankie.
P.S. I shall post this myself.
Bobby’s spirits rose with a bound.
Discarding his overalls7 and breaking the news of his immediate8 depar-ture to Badger, he was about to hurry off when he remembered that hehad not yet opened his father’s letter. He did so with a rather qualified9 en-thusiasm since the Vicar’s letters were actuated by a spirit of duty ratherthan pleasure and breathed an atmosphere of Christian10 forbearancewhich was highly depressing.
The Vicar gave conscientious11 news of doings in Marchbolt, describinghis own troubles with the organist and commenting on the unchristianspirit of one of his churchwardens. The rebinding of the hymn12 books wasalso touched upon. And the Vicar hoped that Bobby was sticking manfullyto his job and trying to make good, and remained his ever affectionatefather.
There was a postscript13:
By the way, someone called who asked for your address inLondon. I was out at the time and he did not leave hisname. Mrs. Roberts describes him as a tall, stooping gen-tleman with pince-nez. He seemed very sorry to miss youand very anxious to see you again.
A tall, stooping man with pince-nez. Bobby ran over in his mind anyoneof his acquaintance likely to fit that description but could think of nobody.
Suddenly a quick suspicion darted14 into his mind. Was this the forerun-ner of a new attempt upon his life? Were these mysterious enemies, or en-emy, trying to track him down?
He sat still and did some serious thinking. They, whoever they were, hadonly just discovered that he had left the neighbourhood. All unsuspecting,Mrs. Roberts had given his new address.
So that already they, whoever they were, might be keeping a watchupon the place. If he went out he would be followed—and just as thingswere at the moment that would never do.
“Badger,” said Bobby.
“Yes, old lad.”
“Come here.”
The next five minutes were spent in genuine hard work. At the end often minutes Badger could repeat his instructions by heart.
When he was word perfect, Bobby got into a two-seater Fiat15 dating from1902 and drove dashingly down the Mews. He parked the Fiat in St.
James’s Square and walked straight from there to his club. There he didsome telephoning and a couple of hours later certain parcels were de-livered to him. Finally, about half past three, a chauffeur3 in dark green liv-ery walked to St. James’s Square and went rapidly up to a large Bentleywhich had been parked there about half an hour previously16. The parkingattendant nodded to him—the gentleman who had left the car had re-marked, stammering17 slightly as he did so, that his chauffeur would befetching it shortly.
Bobby let in the clutch and drew neatly18 out. The abandoned Fiat stillstood demurely19 awaiting its owner. Bobby, despite the intense discomfortof his upper lip, began to enjoy himself. He headed north, not south, and,before long, the powerful engine was forging ahead on the Great NorthRoad.
It was only an extra precaution that he was taking. He was pretty surethat he was not being followed. Presently he turned off to the left andmade his way by circuitous20 roads to Hampshire.
It was just after tea that the Bentley purred up the drive of MerrowayCourt, a stiff and correct chauffeur at the wheel.
“Hullo,” said Frankie lightly. “There’s the car.”
She went out to the front door. Sylvia and Roger came with her.
“Is everything all right, Hawkins?”
The chauffeur touched his cap.
“Yes, m’lady. She’s been thoroughly21 overhauled22.”
“That’s all right, then.”
The chauffeur produced a note.
“From his lordship, m’lady.”
Frankie took it.
“You’ll put up at the—what is it—Anglers’ Arms in Staverley, Hawkins.
I’ll telephone in the morning if I want the car.”
“Very good, your ladyship.”
Bobby backed, turned and sped down the drive.
“I’m so sorry we haven’t room here,” said Sylvia. “It’s a lovely car.”
“You get some pace out of that,” said Roger.
“I do,” admitted Frankie.
She was satisfied that no faintest quiver of recognition had shown onRoger’s face. She would have been surprised if it had. She would not haverecognized Bobby herself had she met him casually23. The small moustachehad a perfectly24 natural appearance, and that, with the stiff demeanour souncharacteristic of the natural Bobby, completed the disguise enhancedby the chauffeur’s livery.
The voice, too, had been excellent, and quite unlike Bobby’s own.
Frankie began to think that Bobby was far more talented than she hadgiven him credit for being.
Meanwhile Bobby had successfully taken up his quarters at the Anglers’
Arms.
It was up to him to create the part of Edward Hawkins, chauffeur toLady Frances Derwent.
As to the behaviour of chauffeurs25 in private life, Bobby was singularlyill-informed, but he imagined that a certain haughtiness26 would not comeamiss. He tried to feel himself a superior being and to act accordingly. Theadmiring attitude of various young women employed in the Anglers’ Armshad a distinctly encouraging effect and he soon found that Frankie andher accident had provided the principal topic of conversation in Staverleyever since it had happened. Bobby unbent towards the landlord, a stout,genial person of the name of Thomas Askew27, and permitted informationto leak from him.
“Young Reeves, he was there and saw it happen,” declared Mr. Askew.
Bobby blessed the natural mendacity of the young. The famous accidentwas now vouched28 for by an eye witness.
“Thought his last moment had come, he did,” went on Mr. Askew.
“Straight for him down the hill it come—and then took the wall instead. Awonder the young lady wasn’t killed.”
“Her ladyship takes some killing,” said Bobby.
“Had many accidents, has she?”
“She’s been lucky,” said Bobby. “But I assure you, Mr. Askew, that whenher ladyship’s taken over the wheel from me as she sometimes does—well,I’ve made sure my last hour has come.”
Several persons present shook their heads wisely and said they didn’twonder and it’s just what they would have thought.
“Very nice little place you have here, Mr. Askew,” said Bobby kindly29 andcondescendingly. “Very nice and snug30.”
Mr. Askew expressed gratification.
“Merroway Court the only big place in the neighbourhood?”
“Well, there’s the Grange, Mr. Hawkins. Not that you’d call that a placeexactly. There’s no family living there. No, it had been empty for years un-til this American doctor took it.”
“An American doctor?”
“That’s it—Nicholson his name is. And if you ask me, Mr. Hawkins, thereare some very queer goings on there.”
The barmaid at this point remarked that Dr. Nicholson gave her theshivers, he did.
“Goings on, Mr. Askew?” said Bobby. “Now, what do you mean by goingson?”
Mr. Askew shook his head darkly.
“There’s those there that don’t want to be there. Put away by their rela-tions. I assure you, Mr. Hawkins, the moanings and the shrieks31 and thegroans that go on there you wouldn’t believe.”
“Why don’t the police interfere32?”
“Oh, well, you see, it’s supposed to be all right. Nerve cases, and suchlike. Loonies that aren’t so very bad. The gentleman’s a doctor and it’s allright, so to speak—” Here the landlord buried his face in a pint33 pot andemerged again to shake his head in a very doubtful fashion.
“Ah!” said Bobby in a dark and meaning way. “If we knew everythingthat went on in these places .?.?.”
And he, too, applied34 himself to a pewter pot.
The barmaid chimed in eagerly.
“That’s what I say, Mr. Hawkins. What goes on there? Why, one night apoor young creature escaped—in her nightgown she was—and the doctorand a couple of nurses out looking for her. ‘Oh! don’t let them take meback!’ That’s what she was crying out. Pitiful it was. And about her beingrich really and her relations having her put away. But they took her back,they did, and the doctor he explained that she’d got a persecution35 mania—that’s what he called it. Kind of thinking everyone was against her. ButI’ve often wondered—yes, I have. I’ve often wondered. .?.?.”
“Ah!” said Mr. Askew. “It’s easy enough to say—”
Somebody present said that there was no knowing what went on inplaces. And somebody else said that was right.
Finally the meeting broke up and Bobby announced his intention of go-ing for a stroll before turning in.
The Grange was, he knew, on the other side of the village from Merro-way Court, so he turned his footsteps in that direction. What he had heardthat evening seemed to him worthy36 of attention. A lot of it could, ofcourse, be discounted. Villages are usually prejudiced against newcomers,and still more so if the newcomer is of a different nationality. If Nicholsonran a place for curing drugtakers, in all probability there would be strangesounds issuing from it—groans and even shrieks might be heard withoutany sinister37 reason for them, but all the same, the story of the escapinggirl struck Bobby unpleasantly.
Supposing the Grange were really a place where people were keptagainst their will? A certain amount of genuine cases might be taken ascamouflage.
At this point in his meditations38 Bobby arrived at a high wall with an en-trance of wrought39 iron gates. He stepped up to the gates and tried onegently. It was locked. Well, after all, why not?
And yet somehow, the touch of that locked gate gave him a faintly sinis-ter feeling. The place was like a prison.
He moved a little father along the road measuring the wall with his eye.
Would it be possible to climb over? The wall was smooth and high andpresented no accommodating crannies. He shook his head. Suddenly hecame upon a little door. Without much real hope he tried it. To his sur-prise it yielded. It was not locked.
“Bit of an oversight40 here,” thought Bobby with a grin.
He slipped through, closing the door softly behind him.
He found himself on a path leading through a shrubbery. He followedthe path which twisted a good deal—in fact, it reminded Bobby of the onein Alice Through the Looking Glass.
Suddenly, without any warning, the path gave a sharp turn andemerged into an open space close to the house. It was a moonlit night andthe space was clearly lit. Bobby had stepped full into the moonlight beforehe could stop himself.
At the same moment a woman’s figure came round the corner of thehouse. She was treading very softly, glancing from side to side with—or soit seemed to the watching Bobby—the nervous alertness of a hunted an-imal. Suddenly she stopped dead and stood, swaying as though she wouldfall.
Bobby rushed forward and caught her. Her lips were white and itseemed to him that never had he seen such an awful fear on any humancountenance.
“It’s all right,” he said reassuringly41 in a very low voice. “It’s quite allright.”
The girl, for she was little more, moaned faintly, her eyelids42 half-closed.
“I’m so frightened,” she murmured. “I’m so terribly frightened.”
“What’s the matter?” said Bobby.
The girl only shook her head and repeated faintly:
“I’m so frightened. I’m so horribly frightened.”
Suddenly some sound seemed to come to her ears. She sprang upright,away from Bobby. Then she turned to him.
“Go away,” she said. “Go away at once.”
“I want to help you,” said Bobby.
“Do you?” She looked at him for a minute or two, a strange searchingand moving glance. It was as though she explored his soul.
Then she shook her head.
“No one can help me.”
“I can,” said Bobby. “I’d do anything. Tell me what it is that frightensyou so.”
She shook her head.
“Not now. Oh! quick—they’re coming! You can’t help me unless you gonow. At once—at once.”
Bobby yielded to her urgency.
With a whispered: “I’m at the Anglers’ Arms,” he plunged43 back along thepath. The last he saw of her was an urgent gesture bidding him hurry.
Suddenly he heard footsteps on the path in front of him. Someone wascoming along the path from the little door. Bobby plunged abruptly44 intothe bushes at the side of the path.
He had not been mistaken. A man was coming along the path. He passedclose to Bobby but it was too dark for the young man to see his face.
When he had passed, Bobby resumed his retreat. He felt that he coulddo nothing more that night.
Anyway, his head was in a whirl.
For he had recognized the girl—recognized her beyond any possibledoubt.
She was the original of the photograph which had so mysteriously dis-appeared.
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收听单词发音
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1
laconic
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| adj.简洁的；精练的 | |
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badger
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| v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠 | |
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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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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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5
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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6
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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7
overalls
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| n.（复）工装裤；长罩衣 | |
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8
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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9
qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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10
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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12
hymn
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌 | |
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13
postscript
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| n.附言，又及；(正文后的)补充说明 | |
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14
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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15
fiat
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| n.命令，法令，批准；vt.批准，颁布 | |
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16
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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stammering
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的现在分词 ) | |
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18
neatly
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| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
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19
demurely
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| adv.装成端庄地，认真地 | |
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20
circuitous
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| adj.迂回的路的，迂曲的，绕行的 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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overhauled
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| v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越 | |
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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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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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chauffeurs
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| n.受雇于人的汽车司机( chauffeur的名词复数 ) | |
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26
haughtiness
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| n.傲慢；傲气 | |
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askew
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| adv.斜地；adj.歪斜的 | |
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28
vouched
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| v.保证( vouch的过去式和过去分词 )；担保；确定；确定地说 | |
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29
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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snug
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| adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房 | |
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31
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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32
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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36
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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38
meditations
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| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
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wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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40
oversight
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| n.勘漏，失察，疏忽 | |
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41
reassuringly
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| ad.安心，可靠 | |
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42
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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43
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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44
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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