Thirty-four LETTER FROM SOUTH AMERICA

Thirty-four LETTER FROM SOUTH AMERICA
It was some weeks later.
Frankie had just received a letter. It bore the stamp of one of the lesswell-known South American republics.
After reading it through, she passed it to Bobby.
It ran as follows:
Dear Frankie, Really, I congratulate you! You and youryoung naval² friend have shattered the plans of a lifetime. Ihad everything so nicely arranged.
Would you really like to hear all about it? My lady friendhas given me away so thoroughly³ (spite, I’m afraid—wo-men are invariable spiteful!) that my most damaging ad-missions won’t do me any further harm. Besides, I amstarting life again. Roger Bassington-ffrench is dead.
I fancy I’ve always been what they call a “wrong ’un.”
Even at Oxford⁴ I had a little lapse⁵. Stupid, because it wasbound to be found out. The Pater didn’t let me down. Buthe sent me to the Colonies.
I fell in with Moira and her lot fairly soon. She was the realthing. She was an accomplished⁶ criminal by the time shewas fifteen. When I met her things were getting a bit toohot for her. The American police were on her trail.
She and I liked each other. We decided⁷ to make a match ofit but we’d a few plans to carry through first.
To begin with, she married Nicholson. By doing so she re-moved herself to another world and the police lost sight ofher. Nicholson was just coming over to England to start aplace for nerve patients. He was looking for a suitablehouse to buy cheap. Moira got him on to the Grange.
She was still working in with her gang in the dope busi-ness. Without knowing it, Nicholson was very useful toher.
I had always had two ambitions. I wanted to be the ownerof Merroway and I wanted to command an immenseamount of money. A Bassington- ffrench played a greatpart in the reign⁸ of Charles II. Since then the family hasdwindled down to mediocrity. I felt capable of playing agreat part again. But I had to have money.
Moira made several trips across to Canada to “see herpeople.” Nicholson adored her and believed anything shetold him. Most men did. Owing to the complications of thedrug business she travelled under various names. She wastravelling as Mrs. Templeton when she met Savage⁹. Sheknew all about Savage and his enormous wealth and shewent all out for him. He was attracted, but he wasn’t at-tracted enough to lose his common sense.
However, we concocted¹⁰ a plan. You know pretty well thestory of that. The man you know as Cayman acted the partof the unfeeling husband. Savage was induced to comedown and stay at Tudor Cottage more than once. Thethird time he came our plans were laid. I needn’t go intoall that—you know it. The whole thing went with a bang.
Moira cleared the money and went off ostensibly abroad—in reality back to Staverley and the Grange.
In the meantime, I was perfecting my own plans. Henryand young Tommy had to be got out of the way. I had badluck over Tommy. A couple of perfectly¹¹ good accidentswent wrong. I wasn’t going to fool about with accidents inHenry’s case. He had a good deal of rheumatic pain afteran accident in the hunting field. I introduced him tomorphia. He took it in all good faith. Henry was a simplesoul. He soon became an addict¹². Our plan was that heshould go to the Grange for treatment and should thereeither “commit suicide” or get hold of an overdose ofmorphia. Moira would do the business. I shouldn’t be con-nected with it in any way.
And then that fool Carstairs began to be active. It seemsthat Savage had written him a line on board ship men-tioning Mrs. Templeton and even enclosing a snapshot ofher. Carstairs went on a shooting trip soon afterwards.
When he came back from the wilds and heard the news ofSavage’s death and will, he was frankly¹³ incredulous. Thestory didn’t ring true to him. He was certain that Savagewasn’t worried about his death and he didn’t believe hehad any special fear of cancer. Also the wording of the willsounded to him highly uncharacteristic. Savage was ahardheaded business man and while he might be quiteready to have an affair with a pretty woman, Carstairsdidn’t believe he would leave a vast sum of money to herand the rest to charity. The charity touch was my idea. Itsounded so respectable and unfishy.
Carstairs came over here, determined¹⁴ to look into the busi-ness. He began to poke¹⁵ about.
And straightaway we had a piece of bad luck. Some friendsbrought him down to lunch and he saw a picture of Moiraon the piano, and recognized it as the woman of the snap-shot that Savage had sent him. He went down to ChippingSomerton and started to poke about there.
Moira and I began to get the wind up—I sometimes thinkunnecessarily. But Carstairs was a shrewd chap.
I went down to Chipping Somerton after him. He failed totrace the cook—Rose Chudleigh. She’d gone to the north,but he tracked down Evans, found out her married nameand started off for Marchbolt.
Things were getting serious. If Evans identified Mrs. Tem-pleton and Mrs. Nicholson as one and the same personmatters were going to become difficult. Also, she’d been inthe house some time and we weren’t sure quite how muchshe might know.
I decided that Carstairs had got to be suppressed. He wasmaking a serious nuisance of himself. Chance came to myaid. I was close behind him when the mist came up. I creptup nearer and a sudden push did the job.
But I was still in a dilemma¹⁶. I didn’t know what incrimin-ating matter he might have on him. However, your youngnaval friend played into my hands very nicely. I was leftalone with the body for a short time—quite enough for mypurpose. He had a photograph of Moira—he’d got it fromthe photographers—presumably for identification. I re-moved that and any letters or identifying matter. Then Iplanted the photograph of one of the gang.
All went well. The pseudo sister and brother-in-law camedown and identified him. All seemed to have gone off satis-factorily. And then your friend Bobby upset things. Itseemed that Carstairs had recovered consciousness beforehe died and that he had been saying things. He’d men-tioned Evans—and Evans was actually in service at theVicarage.
I admit we were getting rattled¹⁷ by now. We lost our heads abit. Moira insisted that he must be put out of the way. Wetried one plan which failed. Then Moira said she’d see toit. She went down to Marchbolt in the car. She seized achance very neatly—slipped some morphia into his beerwhen he was asleep. But the young devil didn’t succumb¹⁸.
That was pure bad luck.
As I told you, it was Nicholson’s cross- questioning thatmade me wonder if you were just what you seemed. Butimagine the shock that Moira had when she was creepingout to meet me one evening and came face to face withBobby! She recognized him at once—she’d had a good lookwhen he was asleep that day. No wonder she was so scaredshe nearly passed out. Then she realized that it wasn’t herhe suspected and she rallied and played up.
She came to the inn and told him a few tall stories. Heswallowed them like a lamb. She pretended that AlanCarstairs was an old lover and she piled it on thick abouther fear of Nicholson. Also she did her best to disabuse¹⁹ youof your suspicions concerning me. I did the same to youand disparaged²⁰ her as a weak, helpless creature—Moira,who had the nerve to put any number of people out of theway without turning a hair!
The position was serious. We’d got the money. We weregetting on well with the Henry plan. I was in no hurry forTommy. I could afford to wait a bit. Nicholson could easilybe got out of the way when the time came. But you andBobby were a menace. You’d got your suspicions fixed²¹ onthe Grange.
It may interest you to know that Henry didn’t commit sui-cide. I killed him! When I was talking to you in the gardenI saw there was no time to waste—and I went straight inand saw to things.
The aeroplane that came over gave me my chance. I wentinto the study, sat down by Henry who was writing andsaid: “Look here, old man—” and shot him! The noise ofthe plane drowned the sound. Then I wrote a nice affectingletter, wiped off my fingerprints²² from the revolver, pressedHenry’s hand round it and let it drop to the floor. I put thekey of the study in Henry’s pocket and went out, lockingthe door from the outside with the dining room key whichfits the lock.
I won’t go into details of the neat little squib arrangementin the chimney which was timed to go off four minuteslater.
Everything went beautifully. You and I were in the gardentogether and heard the “shot.” A perfect suicide! The onlyperson who laid himself open to suspicion was poor oldNicholson. The ass¹ came back for a stick or something!
Of course Bobby’s knight²³ errantry was a bit difficult forMoira. So she just went off to the cottage. We fancied thatNicholson’s explanation of his wife’s absence would besure to make you suspicious.
Where Moira really showed her mettle²⁴ was at the cottage.
She realized from the noise upstairs that I’d been knockedout, and she quickly injected a large dose of morphia intoherself and lay down on the bed. After you all went down totelephone she nipped up to the attic²⁵ and cut me free. Thenthe morphia took effect and by the time the doctor arrivedshe was genuinely off in a hypnotic sleep.
But all the same her nerve was going. She was afraid you’dget on to Evans and get the hang of how Savage’s will andsuicide was worked. Also she was afraid that Carstairshad written to Evans before he came to Marchbolt. Shepretended to go up to a London nursing home. Instead, shehurried down to Marchbolt—and met you on the doorstep!
Then her one idea was to get you both out of the way. Hermethods were crude to the last degree, but I believe she’dhave got away with it. I doubt if the waitress would havebeen able to remember much about what the woman whocame in with you was like. Moira would have got awayback to London and lain low in a nursing home. With youand Bobby out of the way the whole thing would have dieddown.
But you spotted²⁶ her—and she lost her head. And then atthe trial she dragged me into it!
Perhaps I was getting a little tired of her. .?.?.
But I had no idea that she knew it.
You see, she had got the money—my money! Once I hadmarried her I might have got tired of her. I like variety.
So here I am starting life again. .?.?.
And all owing to you and that extremely objectionableyoung man Bobby Jones.
But I’ve no doubt I shall make good!
Or ought it to be bad, not good?
I haven’t reformed yet.
But if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.
Goodbye, my dear — or, perhaps au revoir. One neverknows, does one?
Your affectionate enemy, the bold, bad villain²⁷ of the piece,Roger Bassington-ffrench.

1 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

2 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

3 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

4 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

5 lapse   

n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效

参考例句：

• The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.这一事故被看作是一次严重的安全疏忽。
• I had a lapse of memory.我记错了。

6 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

9 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

10 concocted   

v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 )；调制；编造；捏造

参考例句：

• The soup was concocted from up to a dozen different kinds of fish. 这种汤是用多达十几种不同的鱼熬制而成的。
• Between them they concocted a letter. 他们共同策划写了一封信。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 perfectly   

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。

12 addict   

v.使沉溺；使上瘾；n.沉溺于不良嗜好的人

参考例句：

• He became gambling addict,and lost all his possessions.他习染上了赌博，最终输掉了全部家产。
• He assisted a drug addict to escape from drug but failed firstly.一开始他帮助一个吸毒者戒毒但失败了。

13 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

14 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。

15 poke   

n.刺，戳，袋；vt.拨开，刺，戳；vi.戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• We never thought she would poke her nose into this.想不到她会插上一手。
• Don't poke fun at me.别拿我凑趣儿。

16 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

17 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

18 succumb   

v.屈服，屈从；死

参考例句：

• They will never succumb to the enemies.他们决不向敌人屈服。
• Will business leaders succumb to these ideas?商业领袖们会被这些观点折服吗？

19 disabuse   

v.解惑；矫正

参考例句：

• Let me disabuse of that foolish prejudices.让我消除那个愚蠢的偏见。
• If you think I'm going to lend you money,I must disabuse you of that wrong idea.你若认为我会借钱给你，我倒要劝你打消那念头。

20 disparaged   

v.轻视( disparage的过去式和过去分词 )；贬低；批评；非难

参考例句：

• French-Canadian fur trappers and Sioux disparaged such country as "bad lands. " 法语的加拿大毛皮捕兽器和苏人的贬低国家作为“坏土地”。 来自互联网
• She disparaged her student's efforts. 她轻视她的学生做出的努力。 来自互联网

21 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

22 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

24 mettle   

n.勇气，精神

参考例句：

• When the seas are in turmoil,heroes are on their mettle.沧海横流，方显出英雄本色。
• Each and every one of these soldiers has proved his mettle.这些战士个个都是好样的。

25 attic   

n.顶楼，屋顶室

参考例句：

• Leakiness in the roof caused a damp attic.屋漏使顶楼潮湿。
• What's to be done with all this stuff in the attic?顶楼上的材料怎么处理？

26 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

27 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。