After long aeons of unconsciousness, Tommy began to be aware of a fieryball swimming in space. In the centre of the fiery1 ball was a core of pain,the universe shrank, the fiery ball swung more slowly—he discovered sud-denly that the nucleus2 of it was his own aching head.
Slowly he became aware of other things—of cold cramped3 limbs, of hun-ger, of an inability to move his lips.
Slower and slower swung the fiery ball .?.?. It was now Thomas Beres-ford’s head and it was resting on solid ground. Very solid ground. In factsomething suspiciously like stone.
Yes, he was lying on hard stones, and he was in pain, unable to move,extremely hungry, cold and uncomfortable.
Surely, although Mrs. Perenna’s beds had never been unduly4 soft, thiscould not be—
Of course—Haydock! The wireless5! The German waiter! Turning in atthe gates of Sans Souci. .?.?.
Someone, creeping up behind him, had struck him down. That was thereason of his aching head.
And he’d thought he’d got away with it all right! So Haydock, after all,hadn’t been quite such a fool?
Haydock? Haydock had gone back into Smugglers’ Rest, and closed thedoor. How had he managed to get down the hill and be waiting for Tommyin the grounds of Sans Souci?
It couldn’t be done. Not without Tommy seeing him.
The manservant, then? Had he been sent ahead to lie in wait? Butsurely, as Tommy had crossed the hall, he had seen Appledore in the kit-chen of which the door was slightly ajar? Or did he only fancy he had seenhim? Perhaps that was the explanation.
Anyway it didn’t matter. The thing to do was to find out where he wasnow.
His eyes, accustomed to the darkness, picked out a small rectangle ofdim light. A window or small grating. The air smelt6 chilly7 and musty. Hewas, he fancied, lying in a cellar. His hands and feet were tied and a gag inhis mouth was secured by a bandage.
“Seems rather as though I’m for it,” thought Tommy.
He tried gingerly to move his limbs or body, but he could not succeed.
At that moment, there was a faint creaking sound and a door some-where behind him was pushed open. A man with a candle came in. He setdown the candle on the ground. Tommy recognised Appledore. The latterdisappeared again and then returned carrying a tray on which was a jugof water, a glass, and some bread and cheese.
Stooping down he first tested the cords binding8 the other limbs. He thentouched the gag.
He said in a quiet level voice:
“I am about to take this off. You will then be able to eat and drink. If,however, you make the slightest sound, I shall replace it immediately.”
Tommy tried to nod his head which proved impossible, so he openedand shut his eyes several times instead.
Appledore, taking this for consent, carefully unknotted the bandage.
His mouth freed, Tommy spent some minutes easing his jaw9. Appledoreheld the glass of water to his lips. He swallowed at first with difficulty,then more easily. The water did him the world of good.
He murmured stiffly:
“That’s better. I’m not quite so young as I was. Now for the eats, Fritz—or is it Franz?”
The man said quietly:
“My name here is Appledore.”
He held the slice of bread and cheese up and Tommy bit at it hungrily.
The meal washed down with water, he then asked:
“And what’s the next part of the programme?”
For answer, Appledore picked up the gag again.
Tommy said quickly:
“I want to see Commander Haydock.”
Appledore shook his head. Deftly10 he replaced the gag and went out.
Tommy was left to meditate11 in darkness. He was awakened12 from a con-fused sleep by the sound of the door reopening. This time Haydock andAppledore came in together. The gag was removed and the cords that heldhis arms were loosened so that he could sit up and stretch his arms.
Haydock had an automatic pistol with him.
Tommy, without much inward confidence, began to play his part.
He said indignantly:
“Look here, Haydock, what’s the meaning of all this? I’ve been set upon—kidnapped—”
The Commander was gently shaking his head.
He said:
“Don’t waste your breath. It’s not worth it.”
“Just because you’re a member of our Secret Service, you think you can—”
Again the other shook his head.
“No, no, Meadowes. You weren’t taken in by that story. No need to keepup the pretence13.”
But Tommy showed no signs of discomfiture14. He argued to himself thatthe other could not really be sure. If he continued to play his part—“Who the devil do you think you are?” he demanded. “However greatyour powers you’ve no right to behave like this. I’m perfectly15 capable ofholding my tongue about any of our vital secrets!”
The other said coldly:
“You do your stuff very well, but I may tell you that it’s immaterial to mewhether you’re a member of the British Intelligence, or merely a mud-dling amateur—”
“Of all the damned cheek—”
“Cut it out, Meadowes.”
“I tell you—”
Haydock thrust a ferocious16 face forwards.
“Be quiet, damn you. Earlier on it would have mattered to find out whoyou were and who sent you. Now it doesn’t matter. The time’s short, yousee. And you didn’t have the chance to report to anyone what you’d foundout.”
“The police will be looking for me as soon as I’m reported missing.”
Haydock showed his teeth in a sudden gleam.
“I’ve had the police here this evening. Good fellows—both friends ofmine. They asked me all about Mr. Meadowes. Very concerned about hisdisappearance. How he seemed that evening—what he said. They neverdreamt, how should they, that the man they were talking about was prac-tically underneath18 their feet where they were sitting. It’s quite clear, yousee, that you left this house well and alive. They’d never dream of lookingfor you here.”
“You can’t keep me here for ever,” Tommy said vehemently19.
Haydock said with a resumption of his most British manner:
“It won’t be necessary, my dear fellow. Only until tomorrow night.
There’s a boat due in at my little cove—and we’re thinking of sending youon a voyage for your health—though actually I don’t think you’ll be alive,or even on board, when they arrive at their destination.”
“I wonder you didn’t knock me on the head straight away.”
“It’s such hot weather, my dear fellow. Just occasionally our sea commu-nications are interrupted, and if that were to be so—well, a dead body onthe premises20 has a way of announcing its presence.”
“I see,” said Tommy.
He did see. The issue was perfectly clear. He was to be kept alive untilthe boat arrived. Then he would be killed, or drugged, and his dead bodytaken out to sea. Nothing would ever connect this body, when found, withSmugglers’ Rest.
“I just came along,” continued Haydock, speaking in the most naturalmanner, “to ask whether there is anything we could—er—do for you—af-terwards?”
Tommy reflected. Then he said:
“Thanks—but I won’t ask you to take a lock of my hair to the little wo-man in St. John’s Wood, or anything of that kind. She’ll miss me when pay-day comes along—but I dare say she’ll soon find a friend elsewhere.”
At all costs, he felt, he must create the impression that he was playing alone hand. So long as no suspicion attached itself to Tuppence, then thegame might still be won through, though he was not there to play it.
“As you please,” said Haydock. “If you did care to send a message to—your friend—we would see that it was delivered.”
So he was, after all, anxious to get a little information about this un-known Mr. Meadowes? Very well, then, Tommy would keep him guessing.
He shook his head. “Nothing doing,” he said.
“Very well.” With an appearance of the utmost indifference21 Haydocknodded to Appledore. The latter replaced the bonds and the gag. The twomen went out, locking the door behind them.
Left to his reflections, Tommy felt anything but cheerful. Not only washe faced with the prospect22 of rapidly approaching death, but he had nomeans of leaving any clue behind him as to the information he had dis-covered.
His body was completely helpless. His brain felt singularly inactive.
Could he, he wondered, have utilised Haydock’s suggestion of a message?
Perhaps if his brain had been working better .?.?. But he could think ofnothing helpful.
There was, of course, still Tuppence. But what could Tuppence do? AsHaydock had just pointed23 out, Tommy’s disappearance17 would not be con-nected with him. Tommy had left Smugglers’ Rest alive and well. The evid-ence of two independent witnesses would confirm that. Whoever Tup-pence might suspect, it would not be Haydock. And she might not suspectat all. She might think that he was merely following up a trail.
Damn it all, if only he had been more on his guard—There was a little light in the cellar. It came through the grating whichwas high up in one corner. If only he could get his mouth free, he couldshout for help. Somebody might hear, though it was very unlikely.
For the next half- hour he busied himself straining at the cords thatbound him, and trying to bite through the gag. It was all in vain, however.
The people who had adjusted those things knew their business.
It was, he judged, late afternoon. Haydock, he fancied, had gone out; hehad heard no sounds from overhead.
Confound it all, he was probably playing golf, speculating at the club-house over what could have happened to Meadowes!
“Dined with me night before last—seemed quite normal, then. Just van-ished into the blue.”
Tommy writhed24 with fury. That hearty25 English manner! Was everyoneblind not to see that bullet-headed Prussian skull26? He himself hadn’t seenit. Wonderful what a first-class actor could get away with.
So here he was—a failure—an ignominious27 failure—trussed up like achicken, with no one to guess where he was.
If only Tuppence could have second sight! She might suspect. She had,sometimes, an uncanny insight. .?.?.
What was that?
He strained his ears listening to a far-off sound.
Only some man humming a tune28.
And here he was, unable to make a sound to attract anyone’s attention.
The humming came nearer. A most untuneful noise.
But the tune, though mangled29, was recognisable. It dated from the lastwar—had been revived for this one.
“If you were the only girl in the world and I was the only boy.”
How often he had hummed that in 1917.
Dash this fellow. Why couldn’t he sing in tune?
Suddenly Tommy’s body grew taut30 and rigid31. Those particular lapseswere strangely familiar. Surely there was only one person who alwayswent wrong in that one particular place and in that one particular way!
“Albert, by gosh!” thought Tommy.
Albert prowling round Smugglers’ Rest. Albert quite close at hand, andhere he was, trussed up, unable to move hand or foot, unable to make asound. .?.?.
Wait a minute. Was he?
There was just one sound—not so easy with the mouth shut as with themouth open, but it could be done.
Desperately32 Tommy began to snore. He kept his eyes closed, ready tofeign a deep sleep if Appledore should come down, and he snored, hesnored. .?.?.
Short snore, short snore, short snore—pause—long snore, long snore,long snore—pause—short snore, short snore, short snore. .?.?.
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收听单词发音
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1
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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nucleus
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| n.核，核心，原子核 | |
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cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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unduly
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| adv.过度地，不适当地 | |
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wireless
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| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
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smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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chilly
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| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
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8
binding
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| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
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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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10
deftly
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| adv.灵巧地，熟练地，敏捷地 | |
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11
meditate
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| v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想 | |
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12
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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13
pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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14
discomfiture
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| n.崩溃；大败；挫败；困惑 | |
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15
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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16
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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17
disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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18
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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vehemently
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| adv. 热烈地 | |
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20
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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21
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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22
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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23
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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24
writhed
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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26
skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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ignominious
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| adj.可鄙的，不光彩的，耻辱的 | |
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28
tune
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| n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整 | |
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29
mangled
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| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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30
taut
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| adj.拉紧的，绷紧的，紧张的 | |
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31
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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