Twenty-two IN DOWNING STREET

Twenty-two IN DOWNING STREET

The Prime Minister tapped the desk in front of him with nervous fingers.
His face was worn and harassed¹. He took up his conversation with Mr.
Carter at the point it had broken off.
“I don’t understand,” he said. “Do you really mean that things are not sodesperate after all?”
“So this lad seems to think.”
“Let’s have a look at his letter again.”
Mr. Carter handed it over. It was written in a sprawling³ boyish hand.
Dear Mr. Carter,
Something’s turned up that has given me a jar. Ofcourse I may be simply making an awful ass² of myself,but I don’t think so. If my conclusions are right, that girlat Manchester was just a plant. The whole thing wasprearranged, sham⁴ packet and all, with the object ofmaking us think the game was up—therefore I fancythat we must have been pretty hot on the scent⁵.
I think I know who the real Jane Finn is, and I’ve evengot an idea where the papers are. That last’s only aguess, of course, but I’ve a sort of feeling it’ll turn outright⁶. Anyhow, I enclose it in a sealed envelope for whatit’s worth. I’m going to ask you not to open it until thevery last moment, midnight on the 28th, in fact. You’llunderstand why in a minute. You see, I’ve figured it outthat those things of Tuppence’s are a plant too, andshe’s no more drowned than I am. The way I reason isthis: as a last chance they’ll let Jane Finn escape in thehope that she’s been shamming⁷ this memory stunt⁸, andthat once she thinks she’s free she’ll go right away tothe cache. Of course it’s an awful risk for them to take,because she knows all about them—but they’re prettydesperate to get hold of that treaty. But if they knowthat the papers have been recovered by us, neither ofthose two girls’ lives will be worth an hour’s purchase. Imust try and get hold of Tuppence before Jane escapes.
I want a repeat of that telegram that was sent to Tup-pence at the Ritz. Sir James Peel Edgerton said youwould be able to manage that for me. He’s frightfullyclever.
One last thing—please have that house in Soho watchedday and night.
Yours, etc.,
Thomas Beresford.
The Prime Minister looked up.
“The enclosure?”
Mr. Carter smiled dryly.
“In the vaults⁹ of the Bank. I am taking no chances.”
“You don’t think”— the Prime Minister hesitated a minute —“that itwould be better to open it now? Surely we ought to secure the document,that is, provided the young man’s guess turns out to be correct, at once.
We can keep the fact of having done so quite secret.”
“Can we? I’m not so sure. There are spies all round us. Once it’s known Iwouldn’t give that”—he snapped his fingers—“for the life of those twogirls. No, the boy trusted me, and I shan’t let him down.”
“Well, well, we must leave it at that, then. What’s he like, this lad?”
“Outwardly, he’s an ordinary clean-limbed, rather blockheaded youngEnglishman. Slow in his mental processes. On the other hand, it’s quite im-possible to lead him astray through his imagination. He hasn’t got any—sohe’s difficult to deceive. He worries things out slowly, and once he’s gothold of anything he doesn’t let go. The little lady’s quite different. More in-tuition and less common sense. They make a pretty pair working together.
Pace and stamina¹⁰.”
“He seems confident,” mused¹¹ the Prime Minister.
“Yes, and that’s what gives me hope. He’s the kind of diffident youthwho would have to be very sure before he ventured an opinion at all.”
A half smile came to the other’s lips.
“And it is this—boy who will defeat the master criminal of our time?”
“This—boy, as you say! But I sometimes fancy I see a shadow behind.”
“You mean?”
“Peel Edgerton.”
“Peel Edgerton?” said the Prime Minister in astonishment¹².
“Yes. I see his hand in this.” He struck the open letter. “He’s there—working in the dark, silently, unobtrusively. I’ve always felt that if anyonewas to run Mr. Brown to earth, Peel Edgerton would be the man. I tell youhe’s on the case now, but doesn’t want it known. By the way, I got ratheran odd request from him the other day.”
“Yes?”
“He sent me a cutting from some American paper. It referred to a man’sbody found near the docks in New York about three weeks ago. He askedme to collect any information on the subject I could.”
“Well?”
Carter shrugged¹³ his shoulders.
“I couldn’t get much. Young fellow about thirty-five—poorly dressed—face very badly disfigured. He was never identified.”
“And you fancy that the two matters are connected in some way?”
“Somehow I do. I may be wrong, of course.”
There was a pause, then Mr. Carter continued:
“I asked him to come round here. Not that we’ll get anything out of himhe doesn’t want to tell. His legal instincts are too strong. But there’s nodoubt he can throw light on one or two obscure points in young Beres-ford’s letter. Ah, here he is!”
The two men rose to greet the newcomer. A half whimsical thoughtflashed across the Premier’s mind. “My successor, perhaps!”
“We’ve had a letter from young Beresford,” said Mr. Carter, coming tothe point at once. “You’ve seen him, I suppose?”
“You suppose wrong,” said the lawyer.
“Oh!” Mr. Carter was a little nonplussed¹⁴.
Sir James smiled, and stroked his chin.
“He rang me up,” he volunteered.
“Would you have any objection to telling us exactly what passedbetween you?”
“Not at all. He thanked me for a certain letter which I had written to him—as a matter of fact, I had offered him a job. Then he reminded me ofsomething I had said to him at Manchester respecting that bogus telegramwhich lured¹⁵ Miss Cowley away. I asked him if anything untoward¹⁶ had oc-curred. He said it had—that in a drawer in Mr. Hersheimmer’s room hehad discovered a photograph.” The lawyer paused, then continued: “Iasked him if the photograph bore the name and address of a Californianphotographer. He replied: ‘You’re on to it, sir. It had.’ Then he went on totell me something I didn’t know. The original of that photograph was theFrench girl, Annette, who saved his life.”
“What?”
“Exactly. I asked the young man with some curiosity what he had donewith the photograph. He replied that he had put it back where he foundit.” The lawyer paused again. “That was good, you know—distinctly good.
He can use his brains, that young fellow. I congratulated him. The discov-ery was a providential one. Of course, from the moment that the girl inManchester was proved to be a plant everything was altered. Young Beres-ford saw that for himself without my having to tell it him. But he felt hecouldn’t trust his judgment¹⁷ on the subject of Miss Cowley. Did I think shewas alive? I told him, duly weighing the evidence, that there was a verydecided chance in favour of it. That brought us back to the telegram.”
“Yes?”
“I advised him to apply to you for a copy of the original wire. It had oc-curred to me as probable that, after Miss Cowley flung it on the floor, cer-tain words might have been erased¹⁸ and altered with the express intentionof setting searchers on a false trail.”
Carter nodded. He took a sheet from his pocket, and read aloud:
Come at once, Astley Priors, Gatehouse, Kent. Great de-velopments—Tommy.
“Very simple,” said Sir James, “and very ingenious. Just a few words toalter, and the thing was done. And the one important clue they over-looked.”
“What was that?”
“The page boy’s statement that Miss Cowley drove to Charing¹⁹ Cross.
They were so sure of themselves that they took it for granted he had madea mistake.”
“Then young Beresford is now?”
“At Gatehouse, Kent, unless I am much mistaken.”
Mr. Carter looked at him curiously²⁰.
“I rather wonder you’re not there too, Peel Edgerton?”
“Ah, I’m busy on a case.”
“I thought you were on your holiday?”
“Oh, I’ve not been briefed. Perhaps it would be more correct to say I’mpreparing a case. Anymore facts about that American chap for me?”
“I’m afraid not. Is it important to find out who he was?”
“Oh, I know who he was,” said Sir James easily. “I can’t prove it yet—butI know.”
The other two asked no questions. They had an instinct that it would bemere waste of breath.
“But what I don’t understand,” said the Prime Minister suddenly, “ishow that photograph came to be in Mr. Hersheimmer’s drawer?”
“Perhaps it never left it,” suggested the lawyer gently.
“But the bogus inspector²¹? Inspector Brown?”
“Ah!” said Sir James thoughtfully. He rose to his feet, “I mustn’t keepyou. Go on with the affairs of the nation. I must get back to—my case.”
Two days later Julius Hersheimmer returned from Manchester. A notefrom Tommy lay on his table:
Dear Hersheimmer,
Sorry I lost my temper. In case I don’t see you again,good-bye. I’ve been offered a job in the Argentine, andmight as well take it.
Yours,
Tommy Beresford.
A peculiar²² smile lingered for a moment on Julius’s face. He threw theletter into the wastepaper basket.
“The darned fool!” he murmured.

1 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

2 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。

3 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

4 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

5 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

6 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

7 shamming   

假装，冒充( sham的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He is not really ill, he is shamming. 他不是生病，他在装病。
• He is only shamming. 他只是假装罢了。

8 stunt   

n.惊人表演，绝技，特技；vt.阻碍...发育，妨碍...生长

参考例句：

• Lack of the right food may stunt growth.缺乏适当的食物会阻碍发育。
• Right up there is where the big stunt is taking place.那边将会有惊人的表演。

9 vaults   

n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴

参考例句：

• It was deposited in the vaults of a bank. 它存在一家银行的保险库里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 stamina   

n.体力；精力；耐力

参考例句：

• I lacked the stamina to run the whole length of the race.我没有跑完全程的耐力。
• Giving up smoking had a magical effect on his stamina.戒烟神奇地增强了他的体力。

11 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

12 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

13 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》

14 nonplussed   

adj.不知所措的，陷于窘境的v.使迷惑( nonplus的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The speaker was completely nonplussed by the question. 演讲者被这个问题完全难倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I was completely nonplussed by his sudden appearance. 他突然出现使我大吃一惊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

16 untoward   

adj.不利的，不幸的，困难重重的

参考例句：

• Untoward circumstances prevent me from being with you on this festive occasion.有些不幸的事件使我不能在这欢庆的时刻和你在一起。
• I'll come if nothing untoward happens.我要是没有特殊情况一定来。

17 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

18 erased   

v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 )；抹去；清除

参考例句：

• He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案，写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义，消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 charing   

n.炭化v.把…烧成炭，把…烧焦( char的现在分词 )；烧成炭，烧焦；做杂役女佣

参考例句：

• We married in the chapel of Charing Cross Hospital in London. 我们是在伦敦查令十字医院的小教堂里结的婚。 来自辞典例句
• No additional charge for children under12 charing room with parents. ☆十二岁以下小童与父母同房不另收费。 来自互联网

20 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

21 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。

22 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。