Now that the weather had cleared, Miss Minton was dressing1 Betty pre-paratory to taking her out for a walk. They were going down to the townto buy a celluloid duck to sail in Betty’s bath.
Betty was very excited and capered2 so violently that it was extremelydifficult to insert her arms into her woolly pullover. The two set off to-gether, Betty chattering3 violently: “Byaduck. Byaduck. For Bettibarf. ForBettibarf,” and deriving5 great pleasure from a ceaseless reiteration6 ofthese important facts.
Two matches, left carelessly crossed on the marble table in the hall, in-formed Tuppence that Mr. Meadowes was spending the afternoon on thetrail of Mrs. Perenna. Tuppence betook herself to the drawing-room andthe company of Mr. and Mrs. Cayley.
Mr. Cayley was in a fretful mood. He had come to Leahampton, he ex-plained, for absolute rest and quiet, and what quiet could there be with achild in the house? All day long it went on, screaming and running about,jumping up and down on the floors—
His wife murmured pacifically that Betty was really a dear little mite,but the remark met with no favour.
“No doubt, no doubt,” said Mr. Cayley, wriggling7 his long neck. “But hermother should keep her quiet. There are other people to consider. Inval-ids, people whose nerves need repose8.”
Tuppence said: “It’s not easy to keep a child of that age quiet. It’s notnatural — there would be something wrong with the child if she wasquiet.”
Mr. Cayley gobbled angrily.
“Nonsense—nonsense—this foolish modern spirit. Letting children doexactly as they please. A child should be made to sit down quietly and—and nurse a doll—or read, or something.”
“She’s not three yet,” said Tuppence, smiling. “You can hardly expect herto be able to read.”
“Well, something must be done about it. I shall speak to Mrs. Perenna.
The child was singing, singing in her bed before seven o’clock this morn-ing. I had had a bad night and just dropped off towards morning—and itwoke me right up.”
“It’s very important that Mr. Cayley should get as much sleep as pos-sible,” said Mrs. Cayley anxiously. “The doctor said so.”
“You should go to a nursing home,” said Tuppence.
“My dear lady, such places are ruinously expensive and besides it’s notthe right atmosphere. There is a suggestion of illness that reacts unfavour-ably on my subconscious9.”
“Bright society, the doctor said,” Mrs. Cayley explained helpfully. “A nor-mal life. He thought a guesthouse would be better than just taking a fur-nished house. Mr. Cayley would not be so likely to brood, and would bestimulated by exchanging ideas with other people.”
Mr. Cayley’s method of exchanging ideas was, so far as Tuppence couldjudge, a mere10 recital11 of his own ailments12 and symptoms and the exchangeconsisted in the sympathetic or unsympathetic reception of them.
Adroitly13, Tuppence changed the subject.
“I wish you would tell me,” she said, “of your own views on life in Ger-many. You told me you had travelled there a good deal in recent years. Itwould be interesting to have the point of view of an experienced man ofthe world like yourself. I can see you are the kind of man, quite unswayedby prejudice, who could really give a clear account of conditions there.”
Flattery, in Tuppence’s opinion, should always be laid on with a trowelwhere a man was concerned. Mr. Cayley rose at once to the bait.
“As you say, dear lady, I am capable of taking a clear unprejudiced view.
Now, in my opinion—”
What followed constituted a monologue14. Tuppence, throwing in an occa-sional “Now that’s very interesting” or “What a shrewd observer you are,”
listened with an attention that was not assumed for the occasion. For Mr.
Cayley, carried away by the sympathy of his listener, was displaying him-self as a decided15 admirer of the Nazi16 system. How much better it wouldhave been, he hinted, if did not say, for England and Germany to have al-lied themselves against the rest of Europe.
The return of Miss Minton and Betty, the celluloid duck duly obtained,broke in upon the monologue, which had extended unbroken for nearlytwo hours. Looking up, Tuppence caught rather a curious expression onMrs. Cayley’s face. She found it hard to define. It might be merely pardon-able wifely jealousy17 at the monopoly of her husband’s attention by an-other woman. It might be alarm at the fact that Mr. Cayley was being toooutspoken in his political views. It certainly expressed dissatisfaction.
Tea was the next move and hard on that came the return of Mrs. Sprotfrom London exclaiming:
“I do hope Betty’s been good and not troublesome? Have you been agood girl, Betty?” To which Betty replied laconically18 by the single word:
“Dam!”
This, however, was not to be regarded as an expression of disapprovalat her mother’s return, but merely as a request for blackberry preserve.
It elicited19 a deep chuckle20 from Mrs. O’Rourke and a reproachful:
“Please, Betty, dear,” from the young lady’s parent.
Mrs. Sprot then sat down, drank several cups of tea, and plunged21 into aspirited narrative22 of her purchases in London, the crowd on the train,what a soldier recently returned from France had told the occupants ofher carriage, and what a girl behind the stocking counter had told her of astocking shortage to come.
The conversation was, in fact, completely normal. It was prolonged af-terwards on the terrace outside, for the sun was now shining and the wetday a thing of the past.
Betty rushed happily about, making mysterious expeditions into thebushes and returning with a laurel leaf, or a heap of pebbles23 which sheplaced in the lap of one of the grown-ups with a confused and unintelli-gible explanation of what it represented. Fortunately she required littlecooperation in her game, being satisfied with an occasional “How nice,darling. Is it really?”
Never had there been an evening more typical of Sans Souci at its mostharmless. Chatter4, gossip, speculations24 as to the course of the war—CanFrance rally? Will Weygand pull things together? What is Russia likely todo? Could Hitler invade England if he tried? Will Paris fall if the “bulge” isnot straightened out? Was it true that .?.?. ? It had been said that .?.?. And itwas rumoured25 that. .?.?.
Political and military scandal was happily bandied about.
Tuppence thought to herself: “Chatterbugs a danger? Nonsense, they’rea safety valve. People enjoy these rumours26. It gives them the stimulation27 tocarry on with their own private worries and anxieties.” She contributed anice tit-bit prefixed by “My son told me—of course this is quite private, youunderstand—”
Suddenly, with a start, Mrs. Sprot glanced at her watch.
“Goodness, it’s nearly seven. I ought to have put that child to bed hoursago. Betty—Betty!”
It was some time since Betty had returned to the terrace, though no onehad noticed her defection.
Mrs. Sprot called her with rising impatience28.
“Bett—eeee! Where can the child be?”
Mrs. O’Rourke said with her deep laugh:
“Up to mischief29, I’ve no doubt of it. ’Tis always the way when there’speace.”
“Betty! I want you.”
There was no answer and Mrs. Sprot rose impatiently.
“I suppose I must go and look for her. I wonder where she can be?”
Miss Minton suggested that she was hiding somewhere and Tuppence,with memories of her own childhood, suggested the kitchen. But Bettycould not be found, either inside or outside the house. They went roundthe garden calling, looking all over the bedrooms. There was no Betty any-where.
Mrs. Sprot began to get annoyed.
“It’s very naughty of her—very naughty indeed! Do you think she canhave gone out on the road?”
Together she and Tuppence went out to the gate and looked up anddown the hill. There was no one in sight except a tradesman’s boy with abicycle standing30 talking to a maid at the door of St. Lucian’s opposite.
On Tuppence’s suggestion, she and Mrs. Sprot crossed the road and thelatter asked if either of them had noticed a little girl. They both shooktheir heads and then the servant asked, with sudden recollection:
“A little girl in a green checked gingham dress?”
Mrs. Sprot said eagerly:
“That’s right.”
“I saw her about half an hour ago—going down the road with a wo-man.”
Mrs. Sprot said with astonishment31:
“With a woman? What sort of a woman?”
The girl seemed slightly embarrassed.
“Well, what I’d call an odd-looking kind of woman. A foreigner she was.
Queer clothes. A kind of shawl thing and no hat, and a strange sort of face—queer like, if you know what I mean. I’ve seen her about once or twicelately, and to tell the truth I thought she was a bit wanting—if you knowwhat I mean,” she added helpfully.
In a flash Tuppence remembered the face she had seen that afternoonpeering through the bushes and the foreboding that had swept over her.
But she had never thought of the woman in connection with the child,could not understand it now.
She had little time for meditation32, however, for Mrs. Sprot almost col-lapsed against her.
“Oh Betty, my little girl. She’s been kidnapped. She—what did the wo-man look like—a gipsy?”
Tuppence shook her head energetically.
“No, she was fair, very fair, a broad face with high cheekbones and blueeyes set very far apart.”
She saw Mrs. Sprot staring at her and hastened to explain.
“I saw the woman this afternoon—peering through the bushes at thebottom of the garden. And I’ve noticed her hanging about. Carl vonDeinim was speaking to her one day. It must be the same woman.”
The servant girl chimed in to say:
“That’s right. Fair-haired she was. And wanting, if you ask me. Didn’tunderstand nothing that was said to her.”
“Oh God,” moaned Mrs. Sprot. “What shall I do?”
Tuppence passed an arm round her.
“Come back to the house, have a little brandy and then we’ll ring up thepolice. It’s all right. We’ll get her back.”
Mrs. Sprot went with her meekly33, murmuring in a dazed fashion:
“I can’t imagine how Betty would go like that with a stranger.”
“She’s very young,” said Tuppence. “Not old enough to be shy.”
Mrs. Sprot cried out weakly:
“Some dreadful German woman, I expect. She’ll kill my Betty.”
“Nonsense,” said Tuppence robustly34. “It will be all right. I expect she’sjust some woman who’s not quite right in her head.” But she did not be-lieve her own words — did not believe for one moment that the calmblonde woman was an irresponsible lunatic.
Carl! Would Carl know? Had Carl something to do with this?
A few minutes later she was inclined to doubt this. Carl von Deinim, likethe rest, seemed amazed, unbelieving, completely surprised.
As soon as the facts were made plain, Major Bletchley assumed control.
“Now then, dear lady,” he said to Mrs. Sprot. “Sit down here—just drinka little drop of this—brandy—it won’t hurt you—and I’ll get straight on tothe police station.”
Mrs. Sprot murmured:
“Wait a minute—there might be something—”
She hurried up the stairs and along the passage to hers and Betty’sroom.
A minute or two later they heard her footsteps running wildly along thelanding. She rushed down the stairs like a demented woman and clutchedMajor Bletchley’s hand from the telephone receiver, which he was justabout to lift.
“No, no,” she panted. “You mustn’t—you mustn’t. .?.?.”
And sobbing35 wildly, she collapsed36 into a chair.
They crowded round her. In a minute or two, she recovered her com-posure. Sitting up, with Mrs. Cayley’s arm round her, she held somethingout for them to see.
“I found this on the floor of my room. It had been wrapped round astone and thrown through the window. Look—look what it says.”
Tommy took it from her and unfolded it.
It was a note, written in a queer stiff foreign handwriting, big and bold.
WE HAVE GOT YOUR CHILD IN SAFEKEEPING. YOU
WILL BE TOLD WHAT TO DO IN DUE COURSE. IF YOUGO TO THE POLICE YOUR CHILD WILL BE KILLED. SAYNOTHING. WAIT FOR INSTRUCTIONS. IF NOT—
It was signed with a skull37 and crossbones.
Mrs. Sprot was moaning faintly:
“Betty—Betty—”
Everyone was talking at once. “The dirty murdering scoundrels” fromMrs. O’Rourke. “Brutes!” from Sheila Perenna. “Fantastic, fantastic — Idon’t believe a word of it. Silly practical joke” from Mr. Cayley. “Oh, thedear wee mite” from Miss Minton. “I do not understand. It is incredible”
from Carl von Deinim. And above everyone else the stentorian38 voice ofMajor Bletchley.
“Damned nonsense. Intimidation39. We must inform the police at once.
They’ll soon get to the bottom of it.”
Once more he moved towards the telephone. This time a scream of out-raged motherhood from Mrs. Sprot stopped him.
He shouted:
“But my dear madam, it’s got to be done. This is only a crude device toprevent you getting on the track of these scoundrels.”
“They’ll kill her.”
“Nonsense. They wouldn’t dare.”
“I won’t have it, I tell you. I’m her mother. It’s for me to say.”
“I know. I know. That’s what they’re counting on—your feeling like that.
Very natural. But you must take it from me, a soldier and an experiencedman of the world, the police are what we need.”
“No!”
Bletchley’s eyes went round seeking allies.
“Meadowes, you agree with me?”
Slowly Tommy nodded.
“Cayley? Look, Mrs. Sprot, both Meadowes and Cayley agree.”
Mrs. Sprot said with sudden energy:
“Men! All of you! Ask the women!”
Tommy’s eyes sought Tuppence. Tuppence said, her voice low andshaken:
“I—I agree with Mrs. Sprot.”
She was thinking: “Deborah! Derek! If it were them, I’d feel like her.
Tommy and the others are right, I’ve no doubt, but all the same I couldn’tdo it. I couldn’t risk it.”
Mrs. O’Rourke was saying:
“No mother alive could risk it and that’s a fact.”
Mrs. Cayley murmured:
“I do think, you know, that—well—” and tailed off into incoherence.
Miss Minton said tremulously:
“Such awful things happen. We’d never forgive ourselves if anythinghappened to dear little Betty.”
Tuppence said sharply:
“You haven’t said anything, Mr. von Deinim?”
Carl’s blue eyes were very bright. His face was a mask. He said slowlyand stiffly:
“I am a foreigner. I do not know your English police. How competentthey are—how quick.”
Someone had come into the hall. It was Mrs. Perenna, her cheeks wereflushed. Evidently she had been hurrying up the hill. She said:
“What’s all this?” And her voice was commanding, imperious, not thecomplaisant guesthouse hostess, but a woman of force.
They told her—a confused tale told by too many people, but she graspedit quickly.
And with her grasping of it, the whole thing seemed, in a way, to bepassed up to her for judgement. She was the Supreme40 Court.
She held the hastily scrawled41 note a minute, then she handed it back.
Her words came sharp and authoritative42.
“The police? They’ll be no good. You can’t risk their blundering. Takethe law into your own hands. Go after the child yourselves.”
Bletchley said, shrugging his shoulders:
“Very well. If you won’t call the police, it’s the best thing to be done.”
Tommy said:
“They can’t have got much of a start.”
“Half an hour, the maid said,” Tuppence put in.
“Haydock,” said Bletchley. “Haydock’s the man to help us. He’s got a car.
The woman’s unusual looking, you say? And a foreigner? Ought to leave atrail that we can follow. Come on, there’s no time to be lost. You’ll comealong, Meadowes?”
Mrs. Sprot got up.
“I’m coming too.”
“Now, my dear lady, leave it to us—”
“I’m coming too.”
“Oh, well—”
He gave in—murmuring something about the female of the species be-ing deadlier than the male.
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收听单词发音
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1
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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2
capered
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| v.跳跃，雀跃( caper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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3
chattering
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| n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式 | |
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4
chatter
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| vi.／n.喋喋不休；短促尖叫；(牙齿)打战 | |
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5
deriving
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| v.得到( derive的现在分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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6
reiteration
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| n. 重覆, 反覆, 重说 | |
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7
wriggling
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的现在分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等）；蠕蠕 | |
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8
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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9
subconscious
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| n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的) | |
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10
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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12
ailments
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| 疾病（尤指慢性病），不适( ailment的名词复数 ) | |
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13
adroitly
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| adv.熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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14
monologue
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| n.长篇大论，（戏剧等中的）独白 | |
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15
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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16
Nazi
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| n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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18
laconically
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| adv.简短地，简洁地 | |
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19
elicited
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| 引出，探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20
chuckle
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| vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑 | |
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21
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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22
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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23
pebbles
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| [复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 ) | |
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24
speculations
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| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
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25
rumoured
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| adj.谣传的；传说的；风 | |
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rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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27
stimulation
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| n.刺激，激励，鼓舞 | |
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28
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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29
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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30
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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31
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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32
meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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33
meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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34
robustly
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| adv.要用体力地，粗鲁地 | |
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35
sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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36
collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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38
stentorian
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| adj.大声的，响亮的 | |
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39
intimidation
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| n.恐吓，威胁 | |
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40
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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41
scrawled
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| 乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
authoritative
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| adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的 | |
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