The man on the floor stared up at them. His pince-nez had flown off andso had his hat. There could be no further attempt at disguise. Slight tracesof makeup1 were visible about the eyebrows2, but otherwise the face wasthe pleasant, slightly vacuous3 face of Roger Bassington-ffrench.
He spoke4 in his own agreeable tenor5 voice, its note that of pleasant soli-loquy.
“Very interesting,” he said. “I really knew quite well that no man tied upas you were could have thrown a boot through that skylight. But becausethe boot was there among the broken glass I took it for cause and effectand assumed that, though it was impossible, the impossible had beenachieved. An interesting light on the limitations of the brain.”
As nobody spoke, he went on still in the same reflective voice:
“So, after all, you’ve won the round. Most unexpected and extremely re-grettable. I thought I’d got you all fooled nicely.”
“So you had,” said Frankie. “You forged that letter from Bobby, I sup-pose?”
“I have a talent that way,” said Roger modestly.
“And Bobby?”
Lying on his back, smiling agreeably, Roger seemed to take a positivepleasure in enlightening them.
“I knew he’d go to the Grange. I only had to wait about in the bushesnear the path. I was just behind him there when he retreated after ratherclumsily falling off a tree. I let the hubbub6 die down and then got himneatly on the back of the neck with a sandbag. All I had to do was to carryhim out to where my car was waiting, shove him in the dickey and drivehim here. I was at home again before morning.”
“And Moira?” demanded Bobby. “Did you entice7 her away somehow?”
Roger chuckled8. The question seemed to amuse him.
“Forgery is a very useful art, my dear Jones,” he said.
“You swine,” said Bobby.
Frankie intervened. She was still full of curiosity, and their prisonerseemed in an obliging mood.
“Why did you pretend to be Dr. Nicholson?” she asked.
“Why did I, now?” Roger seemed to be asking the question of himself.
“Partly, I think, the fun of seeing whether I could spoof9 you both. Youwere so very sure that poor old Nicholson was in it up to the neck.” Helaughed and Frankie blushed. “Just because he cross-questioned you a bitabout the details of your accident—in his pompous10 way. It was an irritat-ing fad11 of his—accuracy in details.”
“And really,” said Frankie slowly, “he was quite innocent?”
“As a child unborn,” said Roger. “But he did me a good turn. He drew myattention to that accident of yours. That and another incident made merealize that you mightn’t be quite the innocent young thing you seemed tobe. And then I was standing12 by you when you telephoned one morningand heard your chauffeur’s voice say ‘Frankie.’ I’ve got pretty good hear-ing. I suggested coming up to town with you and you agreed—but youwere very relieved when I changed my mind. After that—” He stoppedand, as far as he was able, shrugged13 his bound shoulders. “It was ratherfun seeing you all get worked up about Nicholson. He’s a harmless old ass,but he does look exactly like a scientific super- criminal on the films. Ithought I might as well keep the deception14 up. After all, you never know.
The best-laid plans go wrong, as my present predicament shows.”
“There’s one thing you must tell me,” said Frankie. “I’ve been drivennearly mad with curiosity. Who is Evans?”
“Oh!” said Bassington-ffrench. “So you don’t know that?”
He laughed—and laughed again.
“That’s rather amusing,” he said. “It shows what a fool one can be.”
“Meaning us?” asked Frankie.
“No,” said Roger. “In this case, meaning me. Do you know, if you don’tknow who Evans is, I don’t think I shall tell you. I’ll keep that to myself asmy own little secret.”
The position was a curious one. They had turned the tables on Bassing-ton-ffrench and yet, in some peculiar15 way, he had robbed them of their tri-umph. Lying on the floor, bound and a prisoner, it was he who dominatedthe situation.
“And what are your plans now, may I ask?” he inquired.
Nobody had as yet evolved any plans. Bobby rather doubtfully mur-mured something about police.
“Much the best thing to do,” said Roger cheerfully. “Ring them up andhand me over to them. The charge will be abduction, I suppose. I can’tvery well deny that.” He looked at Frankie. “I shall plead a guilty passion.”
Frankie reddened.
“What about murder?” she asked.
“My dear, you haven’t any evidence. Positively16 none. Think it over andyou’ll see you haven’t.
“Badger17,” said Bobby, “you’d better stay here and keep an eye on him.
I’ll go down and ring the police.”
“You’d better be careful,” said Frankie. “We don’t know how many ofthem there may be in the house.”
“No one but me,” said Roger. “I was carrying this through single-handed.”
“I’m not prepared to take your word for that,” said Bobby gruffly.
He bent18 over and tested the knots.
“He’s all right,” he said. “Safe as houses. We’d better all go down to-gether. We can lock the door.”
“Terribly distrustful, aren’t you, my dear chap,” said Roger. “There’s apistol in my pocket if you’d like it. It may make you feel happier and it’scertainly no good to me in my present position.”
Ignoring the other’s mocking tone, Bobby bent down and extracted theweapon.
“Kind of you to mention it,” he said. “If you want to know it does makeme feel happier.”
“Good,” said Roger. “It’s loaded.”
Bobby took the candle and they filed out of the attic19, leaving Roger lyingon the floor. Bobby locked the door and put the key in his pocket. He heldthe pistol in his hand.
“I’ll go first,” he said. “We’ve got to be quite sure and not make a mess ofthings now.”
“He’s a qu-qu-queer chap, isn’t he?” said Badger with a jerk of his headbackwards in the direction of the room they had left.
“He’s a damned good loser,” said Frankie.
Even now she was not quite free from the charm of that very remark-able young man, Roger Bassington-ffrench.
A rather rickety flight of steps led down to the main landing. Everythingwas quiet. Bobby looked over the banisters. The telephone was in the hallbelow.
“We’d better look into these rooms first,” he said. “We don’t want to betaken in the rear.”
Badger flung open each door in turn. Of the four bedrooms, three wereempty. In the fourth a slender figure was lying on the bed.
“It’s Moira,” cried Frankie.
The others crowded in. Moira was lying like one dead, except that herbreast moved up and down ever so slightly.
“Is she asleep?” asked Bobby.
“She’s drugged I think,” said Frankie.
She looked round. A hypodermic syringe lay on a little enamel20 tray on atable near the window. There was also a little spirit lamp and a type ofmorphia hypodermic needle.
“She’ll be all right, I think,” she said. “But we ought to get a doctor.”
“Let’s go down and telephone,” said Bobby.
They adjourned21 to the hall below. Frankie had a half fear that the tele-phone wires might be cut, but her fears proved quite unfounded. They gotthrough to the police station quite easily, but found a good deal of diffi-culty in explaining matters. The local police station was highly disposed toregard the summons as a practical joke.
However, they were convinced at last, and Bobby replaced the receiverwith a sigh. He had explained that they also wanted a doctor and the po-lice constable22 promised to bring one along.
Ten minutes later a car arrived with an inspector23 and a constable andan elderly man who had his profession stamped all over him.
Bobby and Frankie received them and, after explaining matters oncemore in a somewhat perfunctory fashion, led the way to the attic. Bobbyunlocked the door — then stood dumbfounded in the doorway24. In themiddle of the floor was a heap of severed25 ropes. Underneath26 the brokenskylight a chair had been placed on the bed, which had been dragged outtill it was under the skylight.
Of Roger Bassington-ffrench there was no sign.
Bobby, Badger and Frankie were dumbfounded.
“Talk of Houdini,” said Bobby. “He must have out-Houdinied Houdini.
How the devil did he cut these cords?”
“He must have had a knife in his pocket,” said Frankie.
“Even then, how could he get at it? Both hands were bound together be-hind his back.”
The inspector coughed. All his former doubts had returned. He wasmore strongly disposed than ever to regard the whole thing as a hoax27.
Frankie and Bobby found themselves telling a long story which soundedmore impossible every minute.
The doctor was their salvation28.
On being taken to the room where Moira was lying, he declared at oncethat she had been drugged with morphia or some preparation of opium29.
He did not consider her condition serious and thought she would awakenaturally in four or five hours’ time.
He suggested taking her off then and there to a good nursing home inthe neighbourhood.
To this Bobby and Frankie agreed, not seeing what else could be done.
Having given their own names and addresses to the inspector, who ap-peared to disbelieve utterly30 in Frankie’s, they themselves were allowed toleave Tudor Cottage and with the assistance of the inspector succeeded ingaining admission to the Seven Stars in the village.
Here, still feeling that they were regarded as criminals, they were onlytoo thankful to go to their rooms—a double one for Bobby and Badger,and a very minute single one for Frankie.
A few minutes after they had all retired31, a knock came on Bobby’s door.
It was Frankie.
“I’ve thought of something,” she said. “If that fool of a police inspectorpersists in thinking that we made all this up, at any rate I’ve got evidencethat I was chloroformed.”
“Have you? Where?”
“In the coal bucket,” said Frankie with decision.
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1
makeup
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| n.组织；性格；化装品 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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vacuous
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| adj.空的，漫散的，无聊的，愚蠢的 | |
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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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tenor
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| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
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hubbub
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| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
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entice
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| v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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spoof
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| n.诳骗，愚弄，戏弄 | |
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pompous
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的 | |
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fad
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| n.时尚；一时流行的狂热；一时的爱好 | |
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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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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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badger
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| v.一再烦扰，一再要求，纠缠 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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enamel
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| n.珐琅，搪瓷，瓷釉；(牙齿的)珐琅质 | |
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adjourned
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| （使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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severed
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| v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂 | |
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underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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hoax
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| v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧 | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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opium
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| n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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