Julius sprang up.
“What?”
“I thought you were aware of that.”
“When did she leave?”
“Let me see. Today is Monday, is it not? It must have been last Wednes-day—why, surely—yes, it was the same evening that you—er—fell out ofmy tree.”
“That evening? Before, or after?”
“Let me see—oh yes, afterwards. A very urgent message arrived fromMrs. Vandemeyer. The young lady and the nurse who was in charge of herleft by the night train.”
Julius sank back again into his chair.
“Nurse Edith—left with a patient—I remember,” he muttered. “My God,to have been so near!”
Dr. Hall looked bewildered.
“I don’t understand. Is the young lady not with her aunt, after all?”
Tuppence shook her head. She was about to speak when a warningglance from Sir James made her hold her tongue. The lawyer rose.
“I’m much obliged to you, Hall. We’re very grateful for all you’ve told us.
I’m afraid we’re now in the position of having to track Miss Vandemeyeranew. What about the nurse who accompanied her; I suppose you don’tknow where she is?”
The doctor shook his head.
“We’ve not heard from her, as it happens. I understood she was to re-main with Miss Vandemeyer for a while. But what can have happened?
Surely the girl has not been kidnapped.”
“That remains1 to be seen,” said Sir James gravely.
The other hesitated.
“You do not think I ought to go to the police?”
“No, no. In all probability the young lady is with other relations.”
The doctor was not completely satisfied, but he saw that Sir James wasdetermined to say no more, and realized that to try to extract more in-formation from the famous K.C. would be mere2 waste of labour. Accord-ingly, he wished them good-bye, and they left the hotel. For a few minutesthey stood by the car talking.
“How maddening,” cried Tuppence. “To think that Julius must havebeen actually under the same roof with her for a few hours.”
“I was a darned idiot,” muttered Julius gloomily.
“You couldn’t know,” Tuppence consoled him. “Could he?” She appealedto Sir James.
“I should advise you not to worry,” said the latter kindly3. “No use cryingover spilt milk, you know.”
“The great thing is what to do next,” added Tuppence the practical.
Sir James shrugged4 his shoulders.
“You might advertise for the nurse who accompanied the girl. That isthe only course I can suggest, and I must confess I do not hope for muchresult. Otherwise there is nothing to be done.”
“Nothing?” said Tuppence blankly. “And—Tommy?”
“We must hope for the best,” said Sir James. “Oh yes, we must go on hop-ing.”
But over her downcast head his eyes met Julius’s, and almost impercept-ibly he shook his head. Julius understood. The lawyer considered the casehopeless. The young American’s face grew grave. Sir James took Tup-pence’s hand.
“You must let me know if anything further comes to light. Letters will al-ways be forwarded.”
Tuppence stared at him blankly.
“You are going away?”
“I told you. Don’t you remember? To Scotland.”
“Yes, but I thought—” The girl hesitated.
Sir James shrugged his shoulders.
“My dear young lady, I can do nothing more, I fear. Our clues have allended in thin air. You can take my word for it that there is nothing moreto be done. If anything should arise, I shall be glad to advise you in anyway I can.”
His words gave Tuppence an extraordinary desolate5 feeling.
“I suppose you’re right,” she said. “Anyway, thank you very much fortrying to help us. Good-bye.”
Julius was bending over the car. A momentary6 pity came into Sir James’skeen eyes, as he gazed into the girl’s downcast face.
“Don’t be too disconsolate7, Miss Tuppence,” he said in a low voice. “Re-member, holiday time isn’t always all playtime. One sometimes managesto put in some work as well.”
Something in his tone made Tuppence glance up sharply. He shook hishead with a smile.
“No, I shan’t say anymore. Great mistake to say too much. Rememberthat. Never tell all you know—not even to the person you know best. Un-derstand? Good-bye.”
He strode away. Tuppence stared after him. She was beginning to un-derstand Sir James’s methods. Once before he had thrown her a hint inthe same careless fashion. Was this a hint? What exactly lay behind thoselast brief words? Did he mean that, after all, he had not abandoned thecase: that secretly, he would be working on it still while—Her meditations8 were interrupted by Julius, who adjured9 her to “getright in.”
“You’re looking kind of thoughtful,” he remarked as they started off.
“Did the old guy say anything more?”
Tuppence opened her mouth impulsively10, and then shut it again. SirJames’s words sounded in her ears: “Never tell all you know—not even tothe person you know best.” And like a flash there came into her mind an-other memory. Julius before the safe in the flat, her own question and thepause before his reply, “Nothing.” Was there really nothing? Or had hefound something he wished to keep to himself? If he could make a reser-vation, so could she.
“Nothing particular,” she replied.
She felt rather than saw Julius throw a sideways glance at her.
“Say, shall we go for a spin in the park?”
“If you like.”
For a while they ran on under the trees in silence. It was a beautiful day.
The keen rush through the air brought a new exhilaration to Tuppence.
“Say, Miss Tuppence, do you think I’m ever going to find Jane?”
Julius spoke11 in a discouraged voice. The mood was so alien to him thatTuppence turned and stared at him in surprise. He nodded.
“That’s so. I’m getting down and out over the business. Sir James todayhadn’t got any hope at all, I could see that, I don’t like him—we don’t geetogether somehow—but he’s pretty cute, and I guess he wouldn’t quit ifthere was any chance of success—now, would he?”
Tuppence felt rather uncomfortable, but clinging to her belief that Juliusalso had withheld12 something from her, she remained firm.
“He suggested advertising13 for the nurse,” she reminded him.
“Yes, with a ‘forlorn hope’ flavour to his voice! No—I’m about fed up.
I’ve half a mind to go back to the States right away.”
“Oh no!” cried Tuppence. “We’ve got to find Tommy.”
“I sure forgot Beresford,” said Julius contritely14. “That’s so. We must findhim. But after—well, I’ve been daydreaming15 ever since I started on thistrip—and these dreams are rotten poor business. I’m quit of them. Say,Miss Tuppence, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“Yes.”
“You and Beresford. What about it?”
“I don’t understand you,” replied Tuppence with dignity, adding ratherinconsequently: “And, anyway, you’re wrong!”
“Not got a sort of kindly feeling for one another?”
“Certainly not,” said Tuppence with warmth. “Tommy and I are friends—nothing more.”
“I guess every pair of lovers has said that some time or another,” ob-served Julius.
“Nonsense!” snapped Tuppence. “Do I look the sort of girl that’s alwaysfalling in love with every man she meets?”
“You do not. You look the sort of girl that’s mighty16 often getting fallen inlove with!”
“Oh!” said Tuppence, rather taken aback. “That’s a compliment, I sup-pose?”
“Sure. Now let’s get down to this. Supposing we never find Beresfordand—and—”
“All right—say it! I can face facts. Supposing he’s—dead! Well?”
“And all this business fiddles17 out. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” said Tuppence forlornly.
“You’ll be darned lonesome, you poor kid.”
“I shall be all right,” snapped Tuppence with her usual resentment18 ofany kind of pity.
“What about marriage?” inquired Julius. “Got any views on the subject?”
“I intend to marry, of course,” replied Tuppence. “That is, if”— shepaused, knew a momentary longing19 to draw back, and then stuck to herguns bravely —“I can find someone rich enough to make it worth mywhile. That’s frank, isn’t it? I daresay you despise me for it.”
“I never despise business instinct,” said Julius. “What particular figurehave you in mind?”
“Figure?” asked Tuppence, puzzled. “Do you mean tall or short?”
“No. Sum—income.”
“Oh, I—haven’t quite worked that out.”
“What about me?”
“You?”
“Sure thing.”
“Oh, I couldn’t!”
“Why not?”
“I tell you I couldn’t.”
“Again, why not?”
“It would seem so unfair.”
“I don’t see anything unfair about it. I call your bluff20, that’s all. I admireyou immensely, Miss Tuppence, more than any girl I’ve ever met. You’reso darned plucky21. I’d just love to give you a real, rattling22 good time. Saythe word, and we’ll run round right away to some high-class jeweller, andfix up the ring business.”
“I can’t,” gasped23 Tuppence.
“Because of Beresford?”
“No, no, no!”
“Well then?”
Tuppence merely continued to shake her head violently.
“You can’t reasonably expect more dollars than I’ve got.”
“Oh, it isn’t that,” gasped Tuppence with an almost hysterical24 laugh. “Butthanking you very much, and all that, I think I’d better say no.”
“I’d be obliged if you’d do me the favour to think it over until tomor-row.”
“It’s no use.”
“Still, I guess we’ll leave it like that.”
“Very well,” said Tuppence meekly25.
Neither of them spoke again until they reached the Ritz.
Tuppence went upstairs to her room. She felt morally battered26 to theground after her conflict with Julius’s vigorous personality. Sitting downin front of the glass, she stared at her own reflection for some minutes.
“Fool,” murmured Tuppence at length, making a grimace27. “Little fool.
Everything you want—everything you’ve ever hoped for, and you go andbleat out ‘no’ like an idiotic28 little sheep. It’s your one chance. Why don’tyou take it? Grab it? Snatch at it? What more do you want?”
As if in answer to her own question, her eyes fell on a small snapshot ofTommy that stood on her dressing29 table in a shabby frame. For a momentshe struggled for self-control, and then abandoning all pretence30, she heldit to her lips and burst into a fit of sobbing31.
“Oh, Tommy, Tommy,” she cried, “I do love you so—and I may never seeyou again. .?.?.”
At the end of five minutes Tuppence sat up, blew her nose, and pushedback her hair.
“That’s that,” she observed sternly. “Let’s look facts in the face. I seem tohave fallen in love—with an idiot of a boy who probably doesn’t care twostraws about me.” Here she paused. “Anyway,” she resumed, as though ar-guing with an unseen opponent, “I don’t know that he does. He’d neverhave dared to say so. I’ve always jumped on sentiment—and here I am be-ing more sentimental32 than anybody. What idiots girls are! I’ve alwaysthought so. I suppose I shall sleep with his photograph under my pillow,and dream about him all night. It’s dreadful to feel you’ve been false toyour principles.”
Tuppence shook her head sadly, as she reviewed her backsliding.
“I don’t know what to say to Julius, I’m sure. Oh, what a fool I feel! I’llhave to say something—he’s so American and thorough, he’ll insist uponhaving a reason. I wonder if he did find anything in that safe—”
Tuppence’s meditations went off on another track. She reviewed theevents of last night carefully and persistently33. Somehow, they seemedbound up with Sir James’s enigmatical words. .?.?.
Suddenly she gave a great start—the colour faded out of her face. Hereyes, fascinated, gazed in front of her, the pupils dilated34.
“Impossible,” she murmured. “Impossible! I must be going mad even tothink of such a thing. .?.?.”
Monstrous—yet it explained everything. .?.?.
After a moment’s reflection she sat down and wrote a note, weighingeach word as she did so. Finally she nodded her head as though satisfied,and slipped it into an envelope which she addressed to Julius. She wentdown the passage to his sitting room and knocked at the door. As she hadexpected, the room was empty. She left the note on the table.
A small page boy was waiting outside her own door when she returnedto it.
“Telegram for you, miss.”
Tuppence took it from the salver, and tore it open carelessly. Then shegave a cry. The telegram was from Tommy!
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收听单词发音
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1
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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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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desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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disconsolate
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| adj.忧郁的，不快的 | |
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meditations
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| 默想( meditation的名词复数 )； 默念； 沉思； 冥想 | |
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adjured
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| v.（以起誓或诅咒等形式）命令要求( adjure的过去式和过去分词 )；祈求；恳求 | |
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impulsively
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| adv.冲动地 | |
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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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withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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advertising
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| n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的 | |
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contritely
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daydreaming
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| v.想入非非，空想( daydream的现在分词 ) | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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fiddles
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| n.小提琴( fiddle的名词复数 )；欺诈；（需要运用手指功夫的）细巧活动；当第二把手v.伪造( fiddle的第三人称单数 )；篡改；骗取；修理或稍作改动 | |
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resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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plucky
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| adj.勇敢的 | |
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rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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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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meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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grimace
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| v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭 | |
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idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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persistently
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| ad.坚持地；固执地 | |
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dilated
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| adj.加宽的，扩大的v.（使某物）扩大，膨胀，张大( dilate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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