Taken aback though he was by the man’s words, Tommy did not hesitate.
If audacity1 had successfully carried him so far, it was to be hoped it wouldcarry him yet farther. He quietly passed into the house and mounted theramshackle staircase. Everything in the house was filthy2 beyond words.
The grimy paper, of a pattern now indistinguishable, hung in loose fes-toons from the wall. In every angle was a grey mass of cobweb.
Tommy proceeded leisurely3. By the time he reached the bend of thestaircase, he had heard the man below disappear into a back room.
Clearly no suspicion attached to him as yet. To come to the house and askfor “Mr. Brown” appeared indeed to be a reasonable and natural proceed-ing.
At the top of the stairs Tommy halted to consider his next move. In frontof him ran a narrow passage, with doors opening on either side of it. Fromthe one nearest him on the left came a low murmur4 of voices. It was thisroom which he had been directed to enter. But what held his glance fas-cinated was a small recess5 immediately on his right, half concealed7 by atorn velvet8 curtain. It was directly opposite the left-hand door and, owingto its angle, it also commanded a good view of the upper part of the stair-case. As a hiding place for one or, at a pinch, two men, it was ideal, beingabout two feet deep and three feet wide. It attracted Tommy mightily9. Hethought things over in his usual slow and steady way, deciding that themention of “Mr. Brown” was not a request for an individual, but in allprobability a password used by the gang. His lucky use of it had gainedhim admission. So far he had aroused no suspicion. But he must decidequickly on his next step.
Suppose he were boldly to enter the room on the left of the passage.
Would the mere10 fact of his having been admitted to the house be suffi-cient? Perhaps a further password would be required, or, at any rate,some proof of identity. The doorkeeper clearly did not know all the mem-bers of the gang by sight, but it might be different upstairs. On the whole itseemed to him that luck had served him very well so far, but that therewas such a thing as trusting it too far. To enter that room was a colossalrisk. He could not hope to sustain his part indefinitely; sooner or later hewas almost bound to betray himself, and then he would have thrownaway a vital chance in mere foolhardiness.
A repetition of the signal sounded on the door below, and Tommy, hismind made up, slipped quickly into the recess, and cautiously drew thecurtain farther across so that it shielded him completely from sight. Therewere several rents and slits11 in the ancient material which afforded him agood view. He would watch events, and anytime he chose could, after all,join the assembly, modelling his behaviour on that of the new arrival.
The man who came up the staircase with a furtive12, soft-footed tread wasquite unknown to Tommy. He was obviously of the very dregs of society.
The low beetling13 brows, and the criminal jaw14, the bestiality of the wholecountenance were new to the young man, though he was of a type thatScotland Yard would have recognized at a glance.
The man passed the recess, breathing heavily as he went. He stopped atthe door opposite, and gave a repetition of the signal knock. A voice insidecalled out something, and the man opened the door and passed in, afford-ing Tommy a momentary15 glimpse of the room inside. He thought theremust be about four or five people seated round a long table that took upmost of the space, but his attention was caught and held by a tall man withclose-cropped hair and a short, pointed16, naval-looking beard, who sat atthe head of the table with papers in front of him. As the newcomerentered he glanced up, and with a correct, but curiously17 precise enunci-ation, which attracted Tommy’s notice, he asked: “Your number, com-rade?”
“Fourteen, guv’nor,” replied the other hoarsely18.
“Correct.”
The door shut again.
“If that isn’t a Hun, I’m a Dutchman!” said Tommy to himself. “And run-ning the show darned systematically20, too — as they always do. Lucky Ididn’t roll in. I’d have given the wrong number, and there would havebeen the deuce to pay. No, this is the place for me. Hullo, here’s anotherknock.”
This visitor proved to be of an entirely21 different type to the last. Tommyrecognized in him an Irish Sinn Feiner. Certainly Mr. Brown’s organiza-tion was a far-reaching concern. The common criminal, the well-bred Ir-ish gentleman, the pale Russian, and the efficient German master of theceremonies! Truly a strange and sinister22 gathering23! Who was this manwho held in his fingers these curiously variegated24 links of an unknownchain?
In this case, the procedure was exactly the same. The signal knock, thedemand for a number, and the reply “Correct.”
Two knocks followed in quick succession on the door below. The firstman was quite unknown to Tommy, who put him down as a city clerk. Aquiet, intelligent-looking man, rather shabbily dressed. The second was ofthe working classes, and his face was vaguely25 familiar to the young man.
Three minutes later came another, a man of commanding appearance,exquisitely dressed, and evidently well born. His face, again, was not un-known to the watcher, though he could not for the moment put a name toit.
After his arrival there was a long wait. In fact, Tommy concluded thatthe gathering was now complete, and was just cautiously creeping outfrom his hiding place, when another knock sent him scuttling26 back tocover.
This last comer came up the stairs so quietly that he was almost abreastof Tommy before the young man had realized his presence.
He was a small man, very pale, with a gentle almost womanish air. Theangle of the cheekbones hinted at his Slavonic ancestry27, otherwise therewas nothing to indicate his nationality. As he passed the recess, he turnedhis head slowly. The strange light eyes seemed to burn through the cur-tain; Tommy could hardly believe that the man did not know he was thereand in spite of himself he shivered. He was no more fanciful than the ma-jority of young Englishmen, but he could not rid himself of the impressionthat some unusually potent28 force emanated29 from the man. The creaturereminded him of a venomous snake.
A moment later his impression was proved correct. The newcomerknocked on the door as all had done, but his reception was very different.
The bearded man rose to his feet, and all the others followed suit. The Ger-man came forward and shook hands. His heels clicked together.
“We are honoured,” he said. “We are greatly honoured. I much fearedthat it would be impossible.”
The other answered in a low voice that had a kind of hiss30 in it:
“There were difficulties. It will not be possible again, I fear. But onemeeting is essential—to define my policy. I can do nothing without—Mr.
Brown. He is here?”
The change in the German’s air was audible as he replied with slighthesitation:
“We have received a message. It is impossible for him to be present inperson.” He stopped, giving a curious impression of having left the sen-tence unfinished.
A very slow smile overspread the face of the other. He looked round at acircle of uneasy faces.
“Ah! I understand. I have read of his methods. He works in the dark andtrusts no one. But, all the same, it is possible that he is among us now .?.?.”
He looked round him again, and again that expression of fear swept overthe group. Each man seemed eyeing his neighbour doubtfully.
The Russian tapped his cheek.
“So be it. Let us proceed.”
The German seemed to pull himself together. He indicated the place hehad been occupying at the head of the table. The Russian demurred32, butthe other insisted.
“It is the only possible place,” he said, “for—Number One. Perhaps Num-ber Fourteen will shut the door!”
In another moment Tommy was once more confronting bare woodenpanels, and the voices within had sunk once more to a mere undistin-guishable murmur. Tommy became restive33. The conversation he hadoverheard had stimulated34 his curiosity. He felt that, by hook or by crook,he must hear more.
There was no sound from below, and it did not seem likely that thedoorkeeper would come upstairs. After listening intently for a minute ortwo, he put his head round the curtain. The passage was deserted35. Tommybent down and removed his shoes, then, leaving them behind the curtain,he walked gingerly out on his stockinged feet, and kneeling down by theclosed door he laid his ear cautiously to the crack. To his intense annoy-ance he could distinguish little more; just a chance word here and there ifa voice was raised, which merely served to whet36 his curiosity still further.
He eyed the handle of the door tentatively. Could he turn it by degreesso gently and imperceptibly that those in the room would notice nothing?
He decided37 that with great care it could be done. Very slowly, a fraction ofan inch at a time, he moved it round, holding his breath in his excessivecare. A little more—a little more still—would it never be finished? Ah! atlast it would turn no farther.
He stayed so for a minute or two, then drew a deep breath, and pressedit ever so slightly inward. The door did not budge38. Tommy was annoyed. Ifhe had to use too much force, it would almost certainly creak. He waiteduntil the voices rose a little, then he tried again. Still nothing happened.
He increased the pressure. Had the beastly thing stuck? Finally, in desper-ation, he pushed with all his might. But the door remained firm, and atlast the truth dawned upon him. It was locked or bolted on the inside.
For a moment or two Tommy’s indignation got the better of him.
“Well, I’m damned!” he said. “What a dirty trick!”
As his indignation cooled, he prepared to face the situation. Clearly thefirst thing to be done was to restore the handle to its original position. Ifhe let it go suddenly, the men inside would be almost certain to notice it,so with the same infinite pains he reversed his former tactics. All wentwell, and with a sigh of relief the young man rose to his feet. There was acertain bulldog tenacity39 about Tommy that made him slow to admit de-feat. Checkmated for the moment, he was far from abandoning the con-flict. He still intended to hear what was going on in the locked room. Asone plan had failed, he must hunt about for another.
He looked round him. A little farther along the passage on the left was asecond door. He slipped silently along to it. He listened for a moment ortwo, then tried the handle. It yielded, and he slipped inside.
The room, which was untenanted, was furnished as a bedroom. Likeeverything else in the house, the furniture was falling to pieces, and thedirt was, if anything, more abundant.
But what interested Tommy was the thing he had hoped to find, a com-municating door between the two rooms, up on the left by the window.
Carefully closing the door into the passage behind him, he stepped acrossto the other and examined it closely. The bolt was shot across it. It wasvery rusty40, and had clearly not been used for some time. By gently wrig-gling it to and fro, Tommy managed to draw it back without making toomuch noise. Then he repeated his former man?uvres with the handle—this time with complete success. The door swung open—a crack, a merefraction, but enough for Tommy to hear what went on. There was a velvetportière on the inside of this door which prevented him from seeing, buthe was able to recognize the voices with a reasonable amount of accuracy.
The Sinn Feiner was speaking. His rich Irish voice was unmistakable:
“That’s all very well. But more money is essential. No money—no res-ults!”
Another voice which Tommy rather thought was that of Boris replied:
“Will you guarantee that there are results?”
“In a month from now—sooner or later as you wish—I will guaranteeyou such a reign41 of terror in Ireland as shall shake the British Empire toits foundations.”
There was a pause, and then came the soft, sibilant accents of NumberOne:
“Good! You shall have the money. Boris, you will see to that.”
Boris asked a question:
“Via the Irish Americans, and Mr. Potter as usual?”
“I guess that’ll be all right!” said a new voice, with a transatlantic intona-tion, “though I’d like to point out, here and now, that things are getting amite difficult. There’s not the sympathy there was, and a growing disposi-tion to let the Irish settle their own affairs without interference fromAmerica.”
Tommy felt that Boris had shrugged43 his shoulders as he answered:
“Does that matter, since the money only nominally44 comes from theStates?”
“The chief difficulty is the landing of the ammunition,” said the SinnFeiner. “The money is conveyed in easily enough—thanks to our colleaguehere.”
Another voice, which Tommy fancied was that of the tall, commanding-looking man whose face had seemed familiar to him, said:
“Think of the feelings of Belfast if they could hear you!”
“That is settled, then,” said the sibilant tones. “Now, in the matter of theloan to an English newspaper, you have arranged the details satisfactorily,Boris?”
“I think so.”
“That is good. An official denial from Moscow will be forthcoming if ne-cessary.”
There was a pause, and then the clear voice of the German broke the si-lence:
“I am directed by—Mr. Brown, to place the summaries of the reportsfrom the different unions before you. That of the miners is most satisfact-ory. We must hold back the railways. There may be trouble with theA.S.E.”
For a long time there was a silence, broken only by the rustle45 of papersand an occasional word of explanation from the German. Then Tommyheard the light tap-tap of fingers drumming on the table.
“And—the date, my friend?” said Number One.
“The 29th.”
The Russian seemed to consider.
“That is rather soon.”
“I know. But it was settled by the principal Labour leaders, and we can-not seem to interfere42 too much. They must believe it to be entirely theirown show.”
The Russian laughed softly, as though amused.
“Yes, yes,” he said. “That is true. They must have no inkling that we areusing them for our own ends. They are honest men—and that is theirvalue to us. It is curious—but you cannot make a revolution without hon-est men. The instinct of the populace is infallible.” He paused, and then re-peated, as though the phrase pleased him: “Every revolution has had itshonest men. They are soon disposed of afterwards.”
There was a sinister note in his voice.
The German resumed:
“Clymes must go. He is too farseeing. Number Fourteen will see to that.”
There was a hoarse19 murmur.
“That’s all right, guv’nor.” And then after a moment or two: “SupposeI’m nabbed.”
“You will have the best legal talent to defend you,” replied the Germanquietly. “But in any case you will wear gloves fitted with the fingerprintsof a notorious housebreaker. You have little to fear.”
“Oh, I ain’t afraid, guv’nor. All for the good of the cause. The streets isgoing to run with blood, so they say.” He spoke46 with a grim relish47.
“Dreams of it, sometimes, I does. And diamonds and pearls rolling aboutin the gutter48 for anyone to pick up!”
Tommy heard a chair shifted. Then Number One spoke:
“Then all is arranged. We are assured of success?”
“I—I think so.” But the German spoke with less than his usual confid-ence.
Number One’s voice held suddenly a dangerous quality:
“What has gone wrong?”
“Nothing; but—”
“But what?”
“The labour leaders. Without them, as you say, we can do nothing. Ifthey do not declare a general strike on the 29th—”
“Why should they not?”
“As you’ve said, they’re honest. And, in spite of everything we’ve done todiscredit the Government in their eyes, I’m not sure that they haven’t got asneaking faith and belief in it.”
“But—”
“I know. They abuse it unceasingly. But, on the whole, public opinionswings to the side of the Government. They will not go against it.”
Again the Russian’s fingers drummed on the table.
“To the point, my friend. I was given to understand that there was a cer-tain document in existence which assured success.”
“That is so. If that document were placed before the leaders, the resultwould be immediate6. They would publish it broadcast throughout Eng-land, and declare for the revolution without a moment’s hesitation31. TheGovernment would be broken finally and completely.”
“Then what more do you want?”
“The document itself,” said the German bluntly.
“Ah! It is not in your possession? But you know where it is?”
“No.”
“Does anyone know where it is?”
“One person—perhaps. And we are not sure of that even.”
“Who is this person?”
“A girl.”
Tommy held his breath.
“A girl?” The Russian’s voice rose contemptuously. “And you have notmade her speak? In Russia we have ways of making a girl talk.”
“This case is different,” said the German sullenly49.
“How—different?” He paused a moment, then went on: “Where is thegirl now?”
“The girl?”
“Yes.”
“She is—”
But Tommy heard no more. A crashing blow descended50 on his head, andall was darkness.
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收听单词发音
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1
audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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leisurely
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| adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的 | |
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4
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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6
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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7
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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8
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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mightily
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| ad.强烈地；非常地 | |
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10
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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11
slits
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| n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子 | |
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12
furtive
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| adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的 | |
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beetling
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| adj.突出的，悬垂的v.快速移动( beetle的现在分词 ) | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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15
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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hoarsely
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| adv.嘶哑地 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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systematically
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| adv.有系统地 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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variegated
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| adj.斑驳的，杂色的 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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scuttling
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| n.船底穿孔，打开通海阀（沉船用）v.使船沉没( scuttle的现在分词 )；快跑，急走 | |
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ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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potent
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| adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的 | |
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29
emanated
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| v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的过去式和过去分词 )；产生，表现，显示 | |
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30
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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demurred
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| v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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restive
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| adj.不安宁的，不安静的 | |
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stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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whet
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| v.磨快，刺激 | |
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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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budge
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| v.移动一点儿；改变立场 | |
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39
tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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42
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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43
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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45
rustle
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| v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声 | |
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46
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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47
relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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48
gutter
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| n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟 | |
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49
sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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50
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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