When Frankie came to herself, the immediate1 reactions were depressing.
There is nothing romantic about the aftereffects of chloroform. She waslying on an extremely hard wooden floor and her hands and feet weretied. She managed to roll herself over and her head nearly collided viol-ently with a battered2 coal box. Various distressing3 events then occurred.
A few minutes later, Frankie was able, if not to sit up, at least to take no-tice.
Close at hand she heard a faint groan4. She peered about her. As far asshe could make out, she seemed to be in a kind of attic5. The only lightcame from a skylight in the roof, and at this moment there was very littleof that. In a few minutes it would be quite dark. There were a few brokenpictures lying against the wall, a dilapidated iron bed and some brokenchairs, and the coal scuttle6 before mentioned.
The groan seemed to have come from the corner.
Frankie’s bonds were not very tight. They permitted motion of a some-what crablike7 type. She wormed her way across the dusty floor.
“Bobby!” she ejaculated.
Bobby it was, also tied hand and foot. In addition, he had a piece of clothbound round his mouth.
This he had almost succeeded in working loose. Frankie came to his as-sistance. In spite of being bound together, her hands were still of some useand a final vigorous pull with her teeth finally did the job.
Rather stiffly, Bobby managed to ejaculate:
“Frankie!”
“I’m glad we’re together,” said Frankie. “But it does look as though we’dbeen had for mugs.”
“I suppose,” said Bobby gloomily, “it’s what they call a ‘fair cop.’ ”
“How did they get you?” demanded Frankie. “Was it after you wrotethat letter to me?”
“What letter? I never wrote any letter.”
“Oh! I see,” said Frankie, her eyes opening. “What an idiot I have been!
And all that stuff in it about not telling a soul.”
“Look here, Frankie, I’ll tell you what happened to me and then youcarry on the good work and tell me what happened to you.”
He described his adventures at the Grange and their sinister8 sequel.
“I came to in this beastly hole,” he said. “There was some food and drinkon a tray. I was frightfully hungry and I had some. I think it must havebeen doped for I fell asleep almost immediately. What day is it?”
“Friday.”
“And I was knocked out on Wednesday evening. Dash it all, I’ve beenpretty well unconscious all the time. Now tell me what happened to you?”
Frankie recounted her adventures, beginning with the story she hadheard from Mr. Spragge and carrying on until she thought she recognizedBobby’s figure in the doorway9.
“And then they chloroformed me,” she finished. “And oh, Bobby, I’vejust been sick in a coal bucket!”
“I call that very resourceful of you, Frankie,” said Bobby approvingly.
“With your hands tied and everything? The thing is: what are we going todo now? We’ve had it our own way for a long time, but now the tables areturned.”
“If only I’d told Roger about your letter,” lamented10 Frankie. “I did thinkof it and wavered—and then I decided11 to do exactly what you said and tellnobody at all.”
“With the result that no one knows where we are,” said Bobby gravely.
“Frankie, my dear, I’m afraid I’ve landed you in a mess.”
“We got a bit too sure of ourselves,” said Frankie sombrely.
“The only thing I can’t make out is why they didn’t knock us both on thehead straight away,” mused12 Bobby. “I don’t think Nicholson would stick ata little trifle like that.”
“He’s got a plan,” said Frankie with a slight shiver.
“Well, we’d better have one, too. We’ve got to get out of this, Frankie.
How are we going to do it?”
“We can shout,” said Frankie.
“Ye-es,” said Bobby. “Somebody might be passing and hear. But from thefact that Nicholson didn’t gag you I should say that the chances in that dir-ection are pretty poor. Your hands are more loosely tied than mine. Let’ssee if I can get them undone13 with my teeth.”
The next five minutes were spent in a struggle that did credit to Bobby’sdentist.
“Extraordinary how easy these things sound in books,” he panted. “Idon’t believe I’m making the slightest impression.”
“You are,” said Frankie. “It’s loosening. Look out! There’s somebodycoming.”
She rolled away from him. A step could be heard mounting a stair, aheavy, ponderous14 tread. A gleam of light appeared under the door. Thenthere was the sound of a key being turned in the lock. The door swungslowly open.
“And how are my two little birds?” said the voice of Dr. Nicholson.
He carried a candle in one hand and, though he was wearing a hatpulled down over his eyes and a heavy overcoat with the collar turned up,his voice would have betrayed him anywhere. His eyes glittered palely be-hind the strong glasses.
He shook his head at them playfully.
“Unworthy of you, my dear young lady,” he said, “to fall into the trap soeasily.”
Neither Bobby nor Frankie made any reply. The honours of the situationso obviously lay with Nicholson that it was difficult to know what to say.
Nicholson put the candle down on a chair.
“At any rate,” he said, “let me see if you are comfortable.”
He examined Bobby’s fastenings, nodded his head approvingly andpassed on to Frankie. There he shook his head.
“As they truly used to say to me in my youth,” he remarked, “fingerswere made before forks—and teeth were used before fingers. Your youngfriend’s teeth, I see, have been active.”
A heavy, brokenbacked oak chair was standing15 in a corner.
Nicholson picked up Frankie, deposited her on the chair and tied her se-curely to it.
“Not too uncomfortable, I trust?” he said. “Well, it isn’t for long.”
Frankie found her tongue.
“What are you going to do with us?” she demanded.
Nicholson walked to the door and picked up his candle.
“You taunted16 me, Lady Frances, with being too fond of accidents. Per-haps I am. At any rate, I am going to risk one more accident.”
“What do you mean?” said Bobby.
“Shall I tell you? Yes, I think I will. Lady Frances Derwent, driving hercar, her chauffeur17 beside her, mistakes a turning and takes a disused roadleading to a quarry18. The car crashes over the edge. Lady Frances and herchauffeur are killed.”
There was a slight pause, then Bobby said:
“But we mightn’t be. Plans go awry19 sometimes. One of yours did downin Wales.”
“Your tolerance20 of morphia was certainly very remarkable—and fromour point of view—regrettable,” said Nicholson. “But you need have noanxiety on my behalf this time. You and Lady Frances will be quite deadwhen your bodies are discovered.”
Bobby shivered in spite of himself. There had been a queer note in Nich-olson’s voice—it was the tone of an artist contemplating21 a masterpiece.
“He enjoys this,” thought Bobby. “Really enjoys it.”
He was not going to give Nicholson further cause for enjoyment22 than hecould help. He said in a casual tone of voice:
“You’re making a mistake — especially where Lady Frances is con-cerned.”
“Yes,” said Frankie. “In that very clever letter you forged you told me totell nobody. Well, I made just one exception. I told Roger Bassington-ffrench. He knows all about you. If anything happens to us, he will knowwho is responsible for it. You’d better let us go and clear out of the countryas fast as you can.”
Nicholson was silent for a moment. Then he said:
“A good bluff—but I call it.”
He turned to the door.
“What about your wife, you swine?” cried Bobby. “Have you murderedher, too?”
“Moira is still alive,” said Nicholson. “How much longer she will remainso, I do not really know. It depends on circumstances.”
He made them a mocking little bow.
“Au revoir,” he said. “It will take me a couple of hours to complete myarrangements. You may enjoy talking the matter over. I shall not gag youunless it becomes necessary. You understand? Any calls for help and I re-turn and deal with the matter.”
He went out and closed and locked the door behind him.
“It isn’t true,” said Bobby. “It can’t be true. These things don’t happen.”
But he could not help feeling that they were going to happen—and tohim and Frankie.
“In books there’s always an eleventh-hour rescue,” said Frankie, tryingto speak hopefully.
But she was not feeling very hopeful. In fact, her morale23 was decidedlylow.
“The whole thing’s so impossible,” said Bobby as though pleading withsomeone. “So fantastic. Nicholson himself was absolutely unreal. I wish aneleventh-hour rescue was possible, but I can’t see who’s going to rescueus.”
“If only I’d told Roger,” wailed24 Frankie.
“Perhaps in spite of everything, Nicholson believes you have,” suggestedBobby.
“No,” said Frankie. “The suggestion didn’t go down at all. The man’s toodamned clever.”
“He’s been too clever for us,” said Bobby gloomily. “Frankie, do youknow what annoys me most about this business?”
“No. What?”
“That even now, when we’re going to be hurled25 into the next world, westill don’t know who Evans is.”
“Let’s ask him,” said Frankie. “You know—a last-minute boon26. He can’trefuse to tell us. I agree with you that I simply can’t die without having mycuriosity satisfied.”
There was a silence, then Bobby said:
“Do you think we ought to yell for help—a sort of last chance? It’s aboutthe only chance we’ve got.”
“Not yet,” said Frankie. “In the first place, I don’t believe anyone wouldhear—he’d never risk it otherwise—and in the second place, I feel I justcan’t bear waiting here to be killed without being able to speak or bespoken27 to. Let’s leave shouting till the last possible moment. It’s—it’s socomforting having you to talk to.” Her voice wavered a little over the lastwords.
“I’ve got you into an awful mess, Frankie.”
“Oh! that’s all right. You couldn’t have kept me out. I wanted to come in.
Bobby, do you think he’ll really pull it off? Us, I mean.”
“I’m terribly afraid he will. He’s so damnably efficient.”
“Bobby, do you believe now that it was he who killed Henry Bassington-ffrench?”
“If it were possible—”
“It is possible—granted one thing: that Sylvia Bassington-ffrench is in it,too.”
“Frankie!”
“I know. I was just as horrified29 when the idea occurred to me. But it fits.
Why was Sylvia so dense30 about the morphia—why did she resist so obstin-ately when we wanted her to send her husband somewhere else instead ofthe Grange? And then she was in the house when the shot was fired—”
“She might have done it herself.”
“Oh! no, surely.”
“Yes, she might. And then have given the key of the study to Nicholsonto put in Henry’s pocket.”
“It’s all crazy,” said Frankie in a hopeless voice. “Like looking through adistorting mirror. All the people who seemed most all right are really allwrong — all the nice, everyday people. There ought to be some way oftelling criminals—eyebrows or ears or something.”
“My God!” cried Bobby.
“What is it?”
“Frankie, that wasn’t Nicholson who came here just now.”
“Have you gone quite mad? Who was it then?”
“I don’t know—but it wasn’t Nicholson. All along I felt there was some-thing wrong, but couldn’t spot it, and your saying ears has given me theclue. When I was watching Nicholson the other evening through the win-dow I especially noticed his ears—the lobes31 are joined to the face. But thisman tonight—his ears weren’t like that.”
“But what does it mean?” Frankie asked hopelessly.
“This is a very clever actor impersonating Nicholson.”
“But why—and who could it be?”
“Bassington- ffrench,” breathed Bobby. “Roger Bassington- ffrench! Wespotted the right man at the beginning and then, like idiots, we wentastray after red herrings.”
“Bassington-ffrench,” whispered Frankie. “Bobby, you’re right. It mustbe him. He was the only person there when I taunted Nicholson about ac-cidents.”
“Then it really is all up,” said Bobby. “I’ve still had a kind of sneakinghope that possibly Roger Bassington-ffrench might nose out our trail bysome miracle but now the last hope’s gone. Moira’s a prisoner, you and Iare tied hand and foot. Nobody else has the least idea where we are. Thegame’s up, Frankie.”
As he finished speaking there was a sound overhead. The next minute,with a terrific crash, a heavy body fell through the skylight.
It was too dark to see anything.
“What the devil—” began Bobby.
From amidst a pile of broken glass, a voice spoke28.
“B-b-b-bobby,” it said.
“Well, I’m damned!” said Bobby. “It’s Badger32!”
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收听单词发音
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1
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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distressing
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groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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scuttle
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| v.急赶，疾走，逃避；n.天窗；舷窗 | |
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crablike
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| adj.似蟹的，似蟹行般的 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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lamented
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| adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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mused
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undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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taunted
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| 嘲讽( taunt的过去式和过去分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落 | |
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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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quarry
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| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
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awry
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tolerance
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| n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差 | |
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contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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enjoyment
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morale
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| n.道德准则，士气，斗志 | |
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wailed
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| v.哭叫，哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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boon
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| n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠 | |
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bespoken
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| v.预定( bespeak的过去分词 )；订（货）；证明；预先请求 | |
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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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horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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lobes
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| n.耳垂( lobe的名词复数 )；（器官的）叶；肺叶；脑叶 | |
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badger
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| v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠 | |
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