Nothing was more surprising and bewildering to Tuppence than the easeand simplicity2 with which everything was arranged, owing to Sir James’sskilful handling. The doctor accepted quite readily the theory that Mrs.
Vandemeyer had accidentally taken an overdose of chloral. He doubtedwhether an inquest would be necessary. If so, he would let Sir Jamesknow. He understood that Mrs. Vandemeyer was on the eve of departurefor abroad, and that the servants had already left? Sir James and hisyoung friends had been paying a call upon her, when she was suddenlystricken down and they had spent the night in the flat, not liking4 to leaveher alone. Did they know of any relatives? They did not, but Sir James re-ferred him to Mrs. Vandemeyer’s solicitor5.
Shortly afterwards a nurse arrived to take charge, and the others left theill-omened building.
“And what now?” asked Julius, with a gesture of despair. “I guess we’redown and out for good.”
Sir James stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“No,” he said quietly. “There is still the chance that Dr. Hall may be ableto tell us something.”
“Gee! I’d forgotten him.”
“The chance is slight, but it must not be neglected. I think I told you thathe is staying at the Metropole. I should suggest that we call upon himthere as soon as possible. Shall we say after a bath and breakfast?”
It was arranged that Tuppence and Julius should return to the Ritz, andcall for Sir James in the car. The programme was faithfully carried out,and a little after eleven they drew up before the Metropole. They asked forDr. Hall, and a page boy went in search of him. In a few minutes the littledoctor came hurrying towards them.
“Can you spare us a few minutes, Dr. Hall?” said Sir James pleasantly.
“Let me introduce you to Miss Cowley. Mr. Hersheimmer, I think, youalready know.”
A quizzical gleam came into the doctor’s eye as he shook hands with Ju-lius.
“Ah, yes, my young friend of the tree episode! Ankle all right, eh?”
“I guess it’s cured owing to your skilful3 treatment, doc.”
“And the heart trouble? Ha! ha!”
“Still searching,” said Julius briefly6.
“To come to the point, can we have a word with you in private?” askedSir James.
“Certainly. I think there is a room here where we shall be quite undis-turbed.”
He led the way, and the others followed him. They sat down, and thedoctor looked inquiringly at Sir James.
“Dr. Hall, I am very anxious to find a certain young lady for the purposeof obtaining a statement from her. I have reason to believe that she hasbeen at one time or another in your establishment at Bournemouth. Ihope I am transgressing7 no professional etiquette8 in questioning you onthe subject?”
“I suppose it is a matter of testimony9?”
Sir James hesitated a moment, then he replied:
“Yes.”
“I shall be pleased to give you any information in my power. What is theyoung lady’s name? Mr. Hersheimmer asked me, I remember—” He halfturned to Julius.
“The name,” said Sir James bluntly, “is really immaterial. She would bealmost certainly sent to you under an assumed one. But I should like toknow if you are acquainted with a Mrs. Vandemeyer?”
“Mrs. Vandemeyer, of 20 South Audley Mansions10? I know her slightly.”
“You are not aware of what has happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“You do not know that Mrs. Vandemeyer is dead?”
“Dear, dear, I had no idea of it! When did it happen?”
“She took an overdose of chloral last night.”
“Purposely?”
“Accidentally, it is believed. I should not like to say myself. Anyway, shewas found dead this morning.”
“Very sad. A singularly handsome woman. I presume she was a friendof yours, since you are acquainted with all these details.”
“I am acquainted with the details because—well, it was I who found herdead.”
“Indeed,” said the doctor, starting.
“Yes,” said Sir James, and stroked his chin reflectively.
“This is very sad news, but you will excuse me if I say that I do not seehow it bears on the subject of your inquiry11?”
“It bears on it in this way, is it not a fact that Mrs. Vandemeyer commit-ted a young relative of hers to your charge?”
Julius leaned forward eagerly.
“That is the case,” said the doctor quietly.
“Under the name of—?”
“Janet Vandemeyer. I understood her to be a niece of Mrs. Vande-meyer’s.”
“And she came to you?”
“As far as I can remember in June or July of 1915.”
“Was she a mental case?”
“She is perfectly12 sane13, if that is what you mean. I understood from Mrs.
Vandemeyer that the girl had been with her on the Lusitania when that ill-fated ship was sunk, and had suffered a severe shock in consequence.”
“We’re on the right track, I think?” Sir James looked round.
“As I said before, I’m a mutt!” returned Julius.
The doctor looked at them all curiously14.
“You spoke15 of wanting a statement from her,” he said. “Supposing she isnot able to give one?”
“What? You have just said that she is perfectly sane.”
“So she is. Nevertheless, if you want a statement from her concerningany events prior to May 7, 1915, she will not be able to give it to you.”
They looked at the little man, stupefied. He nodded cheerfully.
“It’s a pity,” he said. “A great pity, especially as I gather, Sir James, thatthe matter is important. But there it is, she can tell you nothing.”
“But why, man? Darn it all, why?”
The little man shifted his benevolent16 glance to the excited young Amer-ican.
“Because Janet Vandemeyer is suffering from a complete loss ofmemory!”
“What?”
“Quite so. An interesting case, a very interesting case. Not so uncommon,really, as you would think. There are several very well known parallels.
It’s the first case of the kind that I’ve had under my own personal observa-tion, and I must admit that I’ve found it of absorbing interest.” There wassomething rather ghoulish in the little man’s satisfaction.
“And she remembers nothing,” said Sir James slowly.
“Nothing prior to May 7, 1915. After that date her memory is as good asyours or mine.”
“Then the first thing she remembers?”
“Is landing with the survivors17. Everything before that is a blank. She didnot know her own name, or where she had come from, or where she was.
She couldn’t even speak her own tongue.”
“But surely all this is most unusual?” put in Julius.
“No, my dear sir. Quite normal under the circumstances. Severe shockto the nervous system. Loss of memory proceeds nearly always on thesame lines. I suggested a specialist, of course. There’s a very good man inParis—makes a study of these cases—but Mrs. Vandemeyer opposed theidea of publicity18 that might result from such a course.”
“I can imagine she would,” said Sir James grimly.
“I fell in with her views. There is a certain notoriety given to these cases.
And the girl was very young—nineteen, I believe. It seemed a pity that herinfirmity should be talked about—might damage her prospects19. Besides,there is no special treatment to pursue in such cases. It is really a matterof waiting.”
“Waiting?”
“Yes, sooner or later, the memory will return—as suddenly as it went.
But in all probability the girl will have entirely20 forgotten the interveningperiod, and will take up life where she left off—at the sinking of the Lusit-ania.”
“And when do you expect this to happen?”
The doctor shrugged21 his shoulders.
“Ah, that I cannot say. Sometimes it is a matter of months, sometimes ithas been known to be as long as twenty years! Sometimes another shockdoes the trick. One restores what the other took away.”
“Another shock, eh?” said Julius thoughtfully.
“Exactly. There was a case in Colorado—” The little man’s voice trailedon, voluble, mildly enthusiastic.
Julius did not seem to be listening. He had relapsed into his ownthoughts and was frowning. Suddenly he came out of his brown study,and hit the table such a resounding22 bang with his fist that everyonejumped, the doctor most of all.
“I’ve got it! I guess, doc, I’d like your medical opinion on the plan I’mabout to outline. Say Jane was to cross the herring pond again, and thesame thing was to happen. The submarine, the sinking ship, everyone totake to the boats—and so on. Wouldn’t that do the trick? Wouldn’t it give amighty big bump to her subconscious23 self, or whatever the jargon24 is, andstart it functioning again right away?”
“A very interesting speculation25, Mr. Hersheimmer. In my own opinion,it would be successful. It is unfortunate that there is no chance of the con-ditions repeating themselves as you suggest.”
“Not by nature, perhaps, doc. But I’m talking about art.”
“Art?”
“Why, yes. What’s the difficulty? Hire the liner—”
“A liner!” murmured Dr. Hall faintly.
“Hire some passengers, hire a submarine—that’s the only difficulty, Iguess. Governments are apt to be a bit hidebound over their engines ofwar. They won’t sell to the first comer. Still, I guess that can be got over.
Ever heard of the word “graft26,” sir? Well, graft gets there every time! Ireckon that we shan’t really need to fire a torpedo27. If everyone hustlesround and screams loud enough that the ship is sinking, it ought to beenough for an innocent young girl like Jane. By the time she’s got a lifebelt on her, and is being hustled28 into a boat, with a well-drilled lot of ar-tistes doing the hysterical29 stunt30 on deck, why—she ought to be right backagain where she was in May, 1915. How’s that for the bare outline?”
Dr. Hall looked at Julius. Everything that he was for the moment incap-able of saying was eloquent31 in that look.
“No,” said Julius, in answer to it, “I’m not crazy. The thing’s perfectlypossible. It’s done every day in the States for the movies. Haven’t you seentrains in collision on the screen? What’s the difference between buying upa train and buying up a liner? Get the properties and you can go rightahead!”
Dr. Hall found his voice.
“But the expense, my dear sir.” His voice rose. “The expense! It will becolossal!”
“Money doesn’t worry me any,” explained Julius simply.
Dr. Hall turned an appealing face to Sir James, who smiled slightly.
“Mr. Hersheimmer is very well off—very well off indeed.”
The doctor’s glance came back to Julius with a new and subtle quality init. This was no longer an eccentric young fellow with a habit of falling offtrees. The doctor’s eyes held the deference32 accorded to a really rich man.
“Very remarkable33 plan. Very remarkable,” he murmured. “The movies—of course! Your American word for the cinema. Very interesting. I fearwe are perhaps a little behind the times over here in our methods. Andyou really mean to carry out this remarkable plan of yours.”
“You bet your bottom dollar I do.”
The doctor believed him—which was a tribute to his nationality. If anEnglishman had suggested such a thing, he would have had grave doubtsas to his sanity34.
“I cannot guarantee a cure,” he pointed35 out. “Perhaps I ought to makethat quite clear.”
“Sure, that’s all right,” said Julius. “You just trot36 out Jane, and leave therest to me.”
“Jane?”
“Miss Janet Vandemeyer, then. Can we get on the long distance to yourplace right away, and ask them to send her up; or shall I run down andfetch her in my car?”
The doctor stared.
“I beg your pardon, Mr. Hersheimmer. I thought you understood.”
“Understood what?”
“That Miss Vandemeyer is no longer under my care.”
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1
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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solicitor
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| n.初级律师，事务律师 | |
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6
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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7
transgressing
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| v.超越( transgress的现在分词 )；越过；违反；违背 | |
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8
etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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mansions
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| n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 ) | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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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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15
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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benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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survivors
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| 幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 ) | |
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publicity
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| n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告 | |
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prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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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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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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resounding
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| adj. 响亮的 | |
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subconscious
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| n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的) | |
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jargon
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| n.术语，行话 | |
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speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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graft
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| n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接 | |
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torpedo
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| n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏 | |
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hustled
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| 催促（hustle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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hysterical
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| adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的 | |
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stunt
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| n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长 | |
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31
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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32
deference
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| n.尊重，顺从；敬意 | |
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33
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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sanity
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| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
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35
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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36
trot
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| n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧 | |
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