Seven THE WILL

Seven THE WILL

An alert-looking young man rose to receive them in the office of Messrs.
Williamson.
“Good morning, Major Burnaby.”
“Morning.”
“Terrible business, this,” said the young man chattily. “Not been such athing in Exhampton for years.”
He spoke¹ with gusto and the Major winced².
“This is Inspector³ Narracott,” he said.
“Oh! yes,” said the young man pleasurably excited.
“I want some information that I think you can give me,” said the In-spector. “I understand that you put through this let of Sittaford House.”
“To Mrs. Willett? Yes, we did.”
“Can you give me full details, please, of how that came about. Did thelady apply personally, or by letter?”
“By letter. She wrote, let me see—” He opened a drawer and turned up afile. “Yes, from the Carlton Hotel, London.”
“Did she mention Sittaford House by name?”
“No, she merely said she wanted to rent a house for the winter, it mustbe right on Dartmoor and have at least eight bedrooms. Being near a rail-way station or town was of no consequence.”
“Was Sittaford House on your books?”
“No, it was not. But as a matter of fact it was the only house in the neigh-bourhood that at all fulfilled the requirements. The lady mentioned in herletter that she would be willing to go to twelve guineas, and in these cir-cumstances I thought it worthwhile writing to Captain Trevelyan and ask-ing whether he would consider letting. He replied in the affirmative, andwe fixed⁴ the thing up.”
“Without Mrs. Willett seeing the house?”
“She agreed to take it without seeing it, and signed the agreement. Thenshe came down here one day, drove up to Sittaford, saw Captain Trev-elyan, arranged with him about plate and linen⁵, etc., and saw over thehouse.”
“She was quite satisfied?”
“She came in and said she was delighted with it.”
“And what did you think?” asked Inspector Narracott, eyeing himkeenly.
The young man shrugged⁶ his shoulders.
“You learn never to be surprised at anything in the house business,” hesaid.
On this note of philosophy they left, the Inspector thanking the youngman for his help.
“Not at all, a pleasure, I’m sure.”
He accompanied them politely to the door.
The offices of Messrs. Walters and Kirkwood were, as Major Burnabyhad said, next door to the estate agents. On reaching there, they were toldthat Mr. Kirkwood had just arrived and they were shown into his room.
Mr. Kirkwood was an elderly man with a benign⁷ expression. He was anative of Exhampton and had succeeded his father and grandfather in thefirm.
He rose, put on his mourning face, and shook hands with the Major.
“Good morning, Major Burnaby,” he said. “This is a very shocking affair.
Very shocking indeed. Poor Trevelyan.”
He looked inquiringly at Narracott and Major Burnaby explained hispresence in a few succinct⁸ words.
“You are in charge of the case, Inspector Narracott?”
“Yes, Mr. Kirkwood. In pursuance of my investigations⁹, I have come toask you for certain information.”
“I shall be happy to give you any information if it is proper for me to doso,” said the lawyer.
“It concerns the late Captain Trevelyan’s will,” said Narracott. “I under-stand the will is here in your office.”
“That is so.”
“It was made some time ago?”
“Five or six years ago. I cannot be sure of the exact date at the moment.”
“Ah! I am anxious, Mr. Kirkwood, to know the contents of that will assoon as possible. It may have an important bearing on the case.”
“Indeed?” said the lawyer. “Indeed! I should not have thought that, butnaturally you know your own business best, Inspector. Well—” he glancedacross at the other man. “Major Burnaby and myself are joint¹⁰ executors ofthe will. If he has no objection—”
“None.”
“Then I see no reason why I should not accede¹¹ to your request, In-spector.”
Taking a telephone that stood on his desk he spoke a few words down it.
In two or three minutes a clerk entered the room and laid a sealed envel-ope in front of the lawyer. The clerk left the room, Mr. Kirkwood pickedup the envelope, slit¹² it open with a paper knife and drew out a large andimportant-looking document, cleared his throat and began to read—“I, Joseph Arthur Trevelyan, of Sittaford House, Sitta-ford, in the County of Devon, declare this to be my lastwill and testament¹³ which I make this thirteenth day ofAugust nineteen hundred and twenty-six.
“(1) I appoint John Edward Burnaby of 1 The Cottages,Sittaford, and Frederick Kirkwood of Exhampton, to bethe executors and trustees of this, my will.
“(2) I give to Robert Henry Evans, who has served melong and faithfully, the sum of ?100 (one hundredpounds) free of legacy¹⁴ duty for his own benefit abso-lutely, provided that he is in my service at the time ofmy death and not under notice to leave whether givenor received.
“(3) I give the said John Edward Burnaby, as a token ofour friendship and of my affection and regard for him,all my trophies¹⁵ of sport, including my collection ofheads and pelts¹⁶ of big game as well as any challengecups and prizes awarded to me in any department ofsport and any spoils of the chase in my possession.
“(4) I give all my real and personal property, not other-wise disposed of by this, my will, or any codicil¹⁷ hereto,to my Trustees upon Trust that my Trustees shall sell,call in and convert the same into money.
“(5) My Trustees shall out of the moneys to arise out ofsuch sale, calling in and conversion¹⁸ pay any funeraland testamentary expenses and debts, and the legaciesgiven by this, my will, or any codicil hereto and alldeath duties and other moneys.
“(6) My Trustees shall hold the residue¹⁹ of such moneysor the investments for the time being, representing thesame upon Trust to divide the same into four equalparts or shares.
“(7) Upon such division as aforesaid my Trustees shallhold one such equal fourth part or share upon Trust topay the same to my sister Jennifer Gardner for her ownuse and enjoyment²⁰ absolutely.
“And my Trustees shall hold the remaining three suchequal fourth parts or shares upon Trust to pay one suchequal fourth part or share to each of the three childrenof my deceased sister, Mary Pearson, for the benefit ofeach such child absolutely.
“In Witness whereof I, the said Joseph Arthur Trev-elyan, have hereunto set my hand the day and year firstabove written.
“Signed by the above names Testator as his last will inthe presence of us both present at the same time, whoin his presence and at his request and in the presenceof each other have hereunto subscribed²¹ our names aswitness.”
Mr. Kirkwood handed the document to the Inspector.
“Witnessed by two of my clerks in this office.”
The Inspector ran his eye over the will thoughtfully.
“My deceased sister, Mary Pearson,” he said. “Can you tell me anythingabout Mrs. Pearson, Mr. Kirkwood?”
“Very little. She died about ten years ago, I believe. Her husband, astockbroker, had predeceased her. As far as I know, she never visited Cap-tain Trevelyan here.”
“Pearson,” said the Inspector again. Then he added: “One thing more.
The amount of Captain Trevelyan’s estate is not mentioned. To what sumdo you think it will amount?”
“That is difficult to say exactly,” said Mr. Kirkwood, enjoying, like alllawyers, making the reply to a simple question difficult. “It is a question ofreal or personal estate. Besides Sittaford House, Captain Trevelyan ownssome property in the neighbourhood of Plymouth, and various invest-ments he made from time to time have fluctuated in value.”
“I just want an approximate idea,” said Inspector Narracott.
“I should not like to commit myself—”
“Just the roughest estimate as a guide. For instance would twenty thou-sand pounds be out of the way?”
“Twenty thousand pounds. My dear sir! Captain Trevelyan’s estate willbe worth at least four times as much as that. Eighty or even ninety thou-sand pounds will be much nearer the mark.”
“I told you Trevelyan was a rich man,” said Burnaby.
Inspector Narracott rose.
“Thank you very much, Mr. Kirkwood,” he said, “for the informationyou have given me.”
“You think you will find it helpful, eh?”
The lawyer very clearly was agog²² with curiosity, but Inspector Narracottwas in no mood to satisfy it at present.
“In a case like this we have to take everything into account,” he said,noncommittally. “By the way, have you the names and addresses of thisJennifer Gardner and of the Pearson family?”
“I know nothing of the Pearson family. Mrs. Gardner’s address is TheLaurels, Waldon Road, Exeter.”
The Inspector noted²³ it down in his book.
“That will do to get on with,” he said. “You don’t know how many chil-dren the late Mrs. Pearson left?”
“Three, I fancy. Two girls and a boy—or possibly two boys and a girl—Icannot remember which.”
The Inspector nodded and put away his notebook and thanked the law-yer once more and took his departure.
When they had reached the street, he turned suddenly and faced hiscompanion.
“And now, sir,” he said, “we’ll have the truth about the twenty-five pastfive business.”
Major Burnaby’s face reddened with annoyance²⁴.
“I have told you already—”
“That won’t go down with me. Withholding²⁵ information, that is whatyou are doing, Major Burnaby. You must have had some idea in mention-ing that specific time to Dr. Warren—and I think I have a very good idea ofwhat that something is.”
“Well, if you know about it, why ask me?” growled²⁶ the Major.
“I take it that you were aware that a certain person had an appointmentwith Captain Trevelyan somewhere about that time. Now, isn’t that so?”
Major Burnaby stared at him in surprise.
“Nothing of the kind,” he snarled²⁷, “nothing of the kind.”
“Be careful, Major Burnaby. What about Mr. James Pearson?”
“James Pearson? James Pearson, who’s he? Do you mean one of Trev-elyan’s nephews?”
“I presume it would be a nephew. He had one called James, hadn’t he?”
“Not the least idea. Trevelyan had nephews—I know that. But what theirnames were, I haven’t the vaguest idea.”
“The young man in question was at the Three Crowns last night. Youprobably recognized him there.”
“I didn’t recognize anybody,” growled the Major. “Shouldn’t anyway—never saw any of Trevelyan’s nephews in my life.”
“But you knew that Captain Trevelyan was expecting a nephew to callupon him yesterday afternoon?”
“I did not,” roared the Major.
Several people in the street turned round to stare at him.
“Damn it, won’t you take plain truth! I knew nothing about any appoint-ment. Trevelyan’s nephews may have been in Timbuctoo for all I knewabout them.”
Inspector Narracott was a little taken aback. The Major’s vehementdenial bore the mark of truth too plainly for him to be deceived.
“Then why this twenty-five past five business?”
“Oh! well—I suppose I had better tell you,” the Major coughed in an em-barrassed fashion. “But mind you—the whole thing is damned foolishness!
Tommy rot, sir. How any thinking man can believe such nonsense!”
Inspector Narracott looked more and more surprised. Major Burnabywas looking more uncomfortable and ashamed of himself every minute.
“You know what it is, Inspector. You have to join in these things toplease a lady. Of course, I never thought there was anything in it.”
“In what, Major Burnaby?”
“Table-turning.”
“Table-turning?”
Whatever Narracott had expected he had not expected this. The Majorproceeded to explain himself. Haltingly, and with many disclaimers of hisown belief in the thing, he described the events of the previous afternoonand the message that had purported²⁸ to come through for himself.
“You mean, Major Burnaby, that the table spelt out the name of Trev-elyan and informed you that he was dead—murdered?”
Major Burnaby wiped his forehead.
“Yes, that’s what happened. I didn’t believe in it—naturally, I didn’t be-lieve in it.” He looked ashamed. “Well—it was Friday and I thought afterall I would make sure and go along and see if everything was all right.”
The Inspector reflected on the difficulties of that six mile walk, with thepiled-up snowdrifts and the prospect²⁹ of a heavy snowfall, and he realizedthat deny it as he would Major Burnaby must have been deeply impressedby the spirit message. Narracott turned it over in his mind. A queer thingto happen—a very queer thing to happen. The sort of thing you couldn’texplain satisfactorily. There might be something in this spirit businessafter all. It was the first well-authenticated case he had come across.
A very queer business altogether but, as far as he could see, though it ex-plained Major Burnaby’s attitude, it had no practical bearing on the caseas far as he himself was concerned. He had to deal with the physical worldand not the psychic³⁰.
It was his job to track down the murderer.
And to do that he required no guidance from the spirit world.

1 spoke   

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

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 winced   

赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He winced as the dog nipped his ankle. 狗咬了他的脚腕子，疼得他龇牙咧嘴。
• He winced as a sharp pain shot through his left leg. 他左腿一阵剧痛疼得他直龇牙咧嘴。

3 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

4 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。

5 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

6 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

8 succinct   

adj.简明的，简洁的

参考例句：

• The last paragraph is a succinct summary.最后这段话概括性很强。
• A succinct style lends vigour to writing.措辞简练使文笔有力。

9 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 accede   

v.应允，同意

参考例句：

• They are ready to accede to our request for further information.我们要是还需要资料，他们乐于随时提供。
• In a word,he will not accede to your proposal in the meeting.总而言之，他不会在会中赞成你的提议。

12 slit   

n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂

参考例句：

• The coat has been slit in two places.这件外衣有两处裂开了。
• He began to slit open each envelope.他开始裁开每个信封。

13 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

14 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

15 trophies   

n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖

参考例句：

• His football trophies were prominently displayed in the kitchen. 他的足球奖杯陈列在厨房里显眼的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hunter kept the lion's skin and head as trophies. 这猎人保存狮子的皮和头作为纪念品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 pelts   

n. 皮毛，投掷, 疾行 vt. 剥去皮毛，（连续）投掷 vi. 猛击，大步走

参考例句：

• He did and Tibetans lit bonfires of the pelts. 他做到了，藏民们点起了篝火把皮毛都烧了。
• Description: A warm cloak fashioned from thick fabric and wolf pelts. 一个由厚布和狼皮做成的暖和的斗篷。

17 codicil   

n.遗嘱的附录

参考例句：

• She add a codicil to her will just before she die.她临终前在遗嘱上加了附录。
• In that codicil he acknowledges me。在那笔附录里，他承认了我。

18 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

19 residue   

n.残余，剩余，残渣

参考例句：

• Mary scraped the residue of food from the plates before putting them under water.玛丽在把盘子放入水之前先刮去上面的食物残渣。
• Pesticide persistence beyond the critical period for control leads to residue problems.农药一旦超过控制的临界期，就会导致残留问题。

20 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

21 subscribed   

v.捐助( subscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；签署，题词；订阅；同意

参考例句：

• It is not a theory that is commonly subscribed to. 一般人并不赞成这个理论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I subscribed my name to the document. 我在文件上签了字。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 agog   

adj.兴奋的，有强烈兴趣的； adv.渴望地

参考例句：

• The children were all agog to hear the story.孩子们都渴望着要听这个故事。
• The city was agog with rumors last night that the two had been executed.那两人已被处决的传言昨晚搞得全城沸沸扬扬。

23 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

24 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。

25 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

26 growled   

v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说

参考例句：

• \"They ought to be birched, \" growled the old man. 老人咆哮道：“他们应受到鞭打。” 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He growled out an answer. 他低声威胁着回答。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 snarled   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• The dog snarled at us. 狗朝我们低声吼叫。
• As I advanced towards the dog, It'snarled and struck at me. 我朝那条狗走去时，它狂吠着向我扑来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 purported   

adj.传说的，谣传的v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the scene of the purported crime 传闻中的罪案发生地点
• The film purported to represent the lives of ordinary people. 这部影片声称旨在表现普通人的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

30 psychic   

n.对超自然力敏感的人；adj.有超自然力的

参考例句：

• Some people are said to have psychic powers.据说有些人有通灵的能力。
• She claims to be psychic and to be able to foretell the future.她自称有特异功能，能预知未来。