They all stared at the French detective, who smiled back at them.
“But yes,” he said, “it is true.”
There was a pause for a general readjusting of ideas. Then Virginiaturned to Battle.
“Do you know what I think, Superintendent1 Battle?”
“What do you think, Mrs. Revel2?”
“I think the time has come to enlighten us a little.”
“To enlighten you? I don’t quite understand, Mrs. Revel.”
“Superintendent Battle, you understand perfectly3. I daresay Mr. Lomaxhas hedged you about with recommendations of secrecy—George would,but surely it’s better to tell us than have us stumbling on the secret all byourselves, and perhaps doing untold4 harm. M. Lemoine, don’t you agreewith me?”
“Madame, I agree with you entirely5.”
“You can’t go on keeping things dark forever,” said Battle, “I’ve told Mr.
Lomax so. Mr. Eversleigh is Mr. Lomax’s secretary, there’s no objection tohis knowing what there is to know. As for Mr. Cade, he’s been brought intothe thing willy-nilly, and I consider he’s a right to know where he stands.
But—”
Battle paused.
“I know,” said Virginia. “Women are so indiscreet! I’ve often heardGeorge say so.”
Lemoine had been studying Virginia attentively6. Now he turned to theScotland Yard man.
“Did I hear you just now address Madame by the name of Revel?”
“That is my name,” said Virginia.
“Your husband was in the Diplomatic Service, was he not? And youwere with him in Herzoslovakia just before the assassination7 of the lateKing and Queen.”
“Yes.”
Lemoine turned again.
“I think Madame has a right to hear the story. She is indirectly8 con-cerned. Moreover”—his eyes twinkled a little—“Madame’s reputation fordiscretion stands very high in diplomatic circles.”
“I’m glad they give me a good character,” said Virginia, laughing. “AndI’m glad I’m not going to be left out of it.”
“What about refreshments9?” said Anthony. “Where does the conferencetake place? Here?”
“If you please, sir,” said Battle, “I’ve a fancy for not leaving this room un-til morning. You’ll see why when you’ve heard the story.”
“Then I’ll go and forage,” said Anthony.
Bill went with him and they returned with a tray of glasses, siphons andother necessaries of life.
The augmented10 syndicate established itself comfortably in the corner bythe window, being grouped round a long oak table.
“It’s understood, of course,” said Battle, “that anything that’s said here issaid in strict confidence. There must be no leakage11. I’ve always felt itwould come out one of these days. Gentlemen like Mr. Lomax who wanteverything hushed up take bigger risks than they think. The start of thisbusiness was just over seven years ago. There was a lot of what they callreconstruction going on—especially in the Near East. There was a gooddeal going on in England, strictly12 on the QT with that old gentleman, CountStylptitch, pulling the strings13. All the Balkan States were interested parties,and there were a lot of royal personages in England just then. I’m not go-ing into details but Something disappeared—disappeared in a way thatseemed incredible unless you admitted two things—that the thief was aroyal personage and that at the same time it was the work of a high-classprofessional. M. Lemoine here will tell you how that well might be.”
The Frenchman bowed courteously14 and took up the tale.
“It is possible that you in England may not even have heard of our fam-ous and fantastic King Victor. What his real name is, no one knows, but heis a man of singular courage and daring, one who speaks five languagesand is unequalled in the art of disguise. Though his father is known tohave been either English or Irish, he himself has worked chiefly in Paris. Itwas there, nearly eight years ago, that he was carrying out a daring seriesof robberies and living under the name of Captain O’Neill.”
A faint exclamation15 escaped Virginia. M. Lemoine darted16 a keen glanceat her.
“I think I understand what agitates17 Madame. You will see in a minute.
Now we of the S?reté had our suspicions that this Captain O’Neill wasnone other than ‘King Victor,’ but we could not obtain the necessary proof.
There was also in Paris at the time a clever young actress, Angèle Mory, ofthe Folies Bergères. For some time we had suspected that she was associ-ated with the operations of King Victor. But again no proof was forthcom-ing.
“About that time, Paris was preparing for the visit of the young KingNicholas IV of Herzoslovakia. At the S?reté we were given special instruc-tions as to the course to be adopted to ensure the safety of His Majesty18. Inparticular we were warned to superintend the activities of a certain Re-volutionary organization which called itself the Comrades of the RedHand. It is fairly certain now that the Comrades approached Angèle Moryand offered her a huge sum if she would aid them in their plans. Her partwas to infatuate the young King, and decoy him to some spot agreed uponwith them. Angèle Mory accepted the bribe19 and promised to perform herpart.
“But the young lady was cleverer and more ambitious than her employ-ers suspected. She succeeded in captivating the King who fell desperatelyin love with her and loaded her with jewels. It was then that she con-ceived the idea of being—not a king’s mistress, but a queen! As everyoneknows, she realized her ambition. She was introduced into Herzoslovakiaas the Countess Varaga Popoleffsky, an offshoot of the Romanoffs, and be-came eventually Queen Varaga of Herzoslovakia. Not bad for a littleParisian actress! I have always heard that she played the part extremelywell. But her triumph was not to be long-lived. The Comrades of the RedHand, furious at her betrayal, twice attempted her life. Finally theyworked up the country to such a pitch that a revolution broke out inwhich both the King and Queen perished. Their bodies, horribly mutilatedand hardly recognizable, were recovered, attesting20 to the fury of the popu-lace against the lowborn foreign Queen.
“Now, in all this, it seems certain that Queen Varaga still kept in withher confederate, King Victor. It is possible that the bold plan was his allalong. What is known is that she continued to correspond with him, in asecret code, from the Court of Herzoslovakia. For safety the letters werewritten in English, and signed with the name of an English lady then at theEmbassy. If any inquiry21 had been made, and the lady in question haddenied her signature, it is possible that she would not have been believed,for the letters were those of a guilty woman to her lover. It was your nameshe used, Mrs. Revel.”
“I know,” said Virginia. Her colour was coming and going unevenly22. “Sothat is the truth of the letters! I have wondered and wondered.”
“What a blackguardly trick,” cried Bill indignantly.
“The letters were addressed to Captain O’Neill at his rooms in Paris, andtheir principal purpose may have light shed upon it by a curious factwhich came to light later. After the assassination of the King and Queen,many of the crown jewels which had fallen, of course, into the hands ofthe mob, found their way to Paris, and it was discovered that in nine casesout of ten the principal stones had been replaced by paste—and mind you,there were some very famous stones among the jewels of Herzoslovakia.
So as a queen, Angèle Mory still practised her former activities.
“You see now where we have arrived. Nicholas IV and Queen Varagacame to England and were the guests of the late Marquis of Caterham,then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Herzoslovakia is a small coun-try, but it could not be left out. Queen Varaga was necessarily received.
And there we have a royal personage and at the same time an expert thief.
There is also no doubt that the—er—substitute which was so wonderful asto deceive anyone but an expert could only have been fashioned by KingVictor, and indeed the whole plan, in its daring and audacity23, pointed24 tohim as the author.”
“What happened?” asked Virginia.
“Hushed up,” said Superintendent Battle laconically25. “Not a mention ofit’s ever been made public to this day. We did all that could be done on thequiet—and that was a good deal more than you’d ever imagine, by theway. We’ve got methods of our own that would surprise. That jewel didn’tleave England with the Queen of Herzoslovakia—I can tell you that much.
No, Her Majesty hid it somewhere—but where we’ve never been able todiscover. But I shouldn’t wonder”— Superintendent Battle let his eyeswander gently round—“if it wasn’t somewhere in this room.”
Anthony leapt to his feet.
“What? After all these years?” he cried incredulously. “Impossible.”
“You do not know the peculiar26 circumstances, monsieur,” said theFrenchman quickly. “Only a fortnight later, the revolution in Herzoslov-akia broke out, and the King and Queen were murdered. Also, CaptainO’Neill was arrested in Paris and sentenced on a minor27 charge. We hopedto find the packet of code letters in his house, but it appears that this hadbeen stolen by some Herzoslovakian go-between. The man turned up inHerzoslovakia just before the revolution, and then disappeared com-pletely.”
“He probably went abroad,” said Anthony thoughtfully. “To Africa aslikely as not. And you bet he hung on to that packet. It was as good as agold mine to him. It’s odd how things come about. They probably calledhim Dutch Pedro or something like that out there.”
He caught Superintendent Battle’s expressionless glance bent28 upon him,and smiled.
“It’s not really clairvoyance29, Battle,” he said, “though it sounds like it. I’lltell you presently.”
“There is one thing that you have not explained,” said Virginia. “Wheredoes this link up with the memoirs30?” There must be a link, surely?”
“Madame is very quick,” said Lemoine approvingly. “Yes, there is a link.
Count Stylptitch was also staying at Chimneys at the time.”
“So that he might have known about it?”
“Parfaitement.”
“And, of course,” said Battle, “if he’s blurted31 it out in his precious mem-oirs, the fat will be in the fire. Especially after the way the whole thing washushed up.”
Anthony lit a cigarette.
“There’s no possibility of there being a clue in the memoirs as to wherethe stone was hidden?” he asked.
“Very unlikely,” said Battle decisively. “He was never in with the Queen—opposed the marriage tooth and nail. She’s not likely to have taken himinto her confidence.”
“I wasn’t suggesting such a thing for a minute,” said Anthony. “But by allaccounts he was a cunning old boy. Unknown to her, he may have dis-covered where she hid the jewel. In that case, what would he have done,do you think?”
“Sat tight,” said Battle, after a moment’s reflection.
“I agree,” said the Frenchman. “It was a ticklish32 moment, you see. To re-turn the stone anonymously33 would have presented great difficulties. Also,the knowledge of its whereabouts would give him great power—and heliked power, that strange old man. Not only did he hold the Queen in thehollow of his hand, but he had a powerful weapon to negotiate with at anytime. It was not the only secret he possessed—oh, no!—he collected secretslike some men collect rare pieces of china. It is said that, once or twice be-fore his death, he boasted to people of the things he could make public ifthe fancy took him. And once at least he declared that he intended tomake some startling revelations in his memoirs. Hence”—the Frenchmansmiled rather dryly—“the general anxiety to get hold of them. Our ownsecret police intended to seize them, but the Count took the precaution tohave them conveyed away before his death.”
“Still, there’s no real reason to believe that he knew this particularsecret,” said Battle.
“I beg your pardon,” said Anthony quietly. “There are his own words.”
“What?”
Both detectives stared at him as though unable to believe their ears.
“When Mr. McGrath gave me that manuscript to bring to England, hetold me the circumstances of his one meeting with Count Stylptitch. It wasin Paris. At some considerable risk to himself. Mr. McGrath rescued theCount from a band of Apaches. He was, I understand—shall we say a trifle—exhilarated? Being in that condition, he made two rather interesting re-marks. One of them was to the effect that he knew where the Koh-i-noorwas—a statement to which my friend paid very little attention. He alsosaid that the gang in question were King Victor’s men. Taken together,those two remarks are very significant.”
“Good lord,” ejaculated Superintendent Battle. “I should say they were.
Even the murder of Prince Michael wears a different aspect.”
“King Victor has never taken a life,” the Frenchman reminded him.
“Supposing he were surprised when he was searching for the jewel?”
“Is he in England, then?” asked Anthony sharply. “You say that he wasreleased a few months ago. Didn’t you keep track of him?”
A rather rueful smile overspread the French detective’s face.
“We tried to, monsieur. But he is a devil, that man. He gave us the slip atonce—at once. We thought, of course, that he would make straight forEngland. But no. He went—where do you think?”
“Where?” said Anthony.
He was staring intently at the Frenchman, and absentmindedly fingersplayed with a box of matches.
“To America. To the United States.”
“What?”
There was sheer amazement34 in Anthony’s tone.
“Yes, and what do you think he called himself? What part do you thinkhe played over there? The part of Prince Nicholas of Herzoslovakia.”
The matchbox fell from Anthony’s hand, but his amazement was fullyequalled by that of Battle.
“Impossible.”
“Not so, my friend. You, too, will get the news in the morning. It hasbeen the most colossal35 bluff36. As you know, Prince Nicholas was rumouredto have died in the Congo years ago. Our friend, King Victor, seizes on that—difficult to prove a death of that kind. He resurrects Prince Nicholas, andplays him to such purpose that he gets away with a tremendous haul ofAmerican dollars—all on account of the supposed oil concessions37. But by amere accident, he was unmasked, and had to leave the country hurriedly.
This time he did come to England. And that is why I am here. Sooner orlater he will come to Chimneys. That is, if he is not already here!”
“You think—that?”
“I think he was here the night Prince Michael died, and again last night.”
“It was another attempt, eh?” said Battle.
“It was another attempt.”
“What has bothered me,” continued Battle, “was wondering what hadbecome of M. Lemoine here. I’d had word from Paris that he was on hisway over to work with me, and couldn’t make out why he hadn’t turnedup.”
“I must indeed apologize,” said Lemoine. “You see, I arrived on themorning after the murder. It occurred to me at once that it would be aswell for me to study things from an unofficial standpoint without appear-ing officially as your colleague. I thought that great possibilities lay thatway. I was, of course, aware that I was bound to be an object of suspicion,but that in a way furthered my plan since it would not put the people Iwas after on their guard. I can assure you that I have seen a good deal thatis interesting on the last two days.”
“But look here,” said Bill, “what really did happen last night?”
“I am afraid,” said M. Lemoine, “that I gave you rather violent exercise.”
“It was you I chased, then?”
“Yes. I will recount things to you. I came up here to watch, convincedthat the secret had to do with this room since the Prince had been killedhere. I stood outside on the terrace. Presently I became aware thatsomeone was moving about in this room. I could see the flash of a torchnow and again. I tried the middle window and found it unlatched.
Whether the man had entered that way earlier, or whether he had left itso as a blind in case he was disturbed, I do not know. Very gently, I pushedit back and slipped inside the room. Step by step I felt my way until I wasin a spot where I could watch operations without likelihood of being dis-covered myself. The man himself I could not see clearly. His back was tome, of course, and he was silhouetted38 against the light of the torch so thathis outline only could be seen. But his actions filled me with surprise. Hetook to pieces first one and then the other of those two suits of armour39, ex-amining each one piece by piece. When he had convinced himself thatwhat he sought was not there, he began tapping the panelling of the wallunder that picture. What he would have done next, I do not know. The in-terruption came. You burst in—” He looked at Bill.
“Our well- meant interference was really rather a pity,” said Virginiathoughtfully.
“In a sense, madame, it was. The man switched out his torch, and I, whohad no wish as yet to be forced to reveal my identity, sprang for the win-dow. I collided with the other two in the dark, and fell headlong. I sprangup and out through the window. Mr. Eversleigh, taking me for his assail-ant, followed.”
“I followed you first,” said Virginia. “Bill was only second in the race.”
“And the other fellow had the sense to stay still and sneak40 out throughthe door. I wonder he didn’t meet the rescuing crowd.”
“That would present no difficulties,” said Lemoine. “He would be a res-cuer in advance of the rest, that was all.”
“Do you really think this Arsène Lupin fellow is actually among thehousehold now?” asked Bill, his eyes sparkling.
“Why not?” said Lemoine. “He could pass perfectly as a servant. For allwe may know, he may be Boris Anchoukoff, the trusted servant of the latePrince Michael.”
“He is an odd-looking bloke,” agreed Bill.
But Anthony was smiling.
“That’s hardly worthy41 of you, M. Lemoine,” he said gently.
The Frenchman smiled too.
“You’ve taken him on as your valet now, haven’t you, Mr. Cade?” askedSuperintendent Battle.
“Battle, I take off my hat to you. You know everything. But just as a mat-ter of detail, he’s taken me on, not I him.”
“Why was that, I wonder, Mr. Cade?”
“I don’t know,” said Anthony lightly. “It’s a curious taste, but perhaps hemay have liked my face. Or he may think I murdered his master and wishto establish himself in a handy position for executing revenge upon me.”
He rose and went over to the windows, pulling the curtains.
“Daylight,” he said, with a slight yawn. “There won’t be any more excite-ments now.”
Lemoine rose also.
“I will leave you,” he said. “We shall perhaps meet again later in theday.”
With a graceful42 bow to Virginia, he stepped out of the window.
“Bed,” said Virginia, yawning. “It’s all been very exciting. Come on, Bill,go to bed like a good little boy. The breakfast table will see us not, I fear.”
Anthony stayed at the window looking after the retreating form of M.
Lemoine.
“You wouldn’t think it,” said Battle behind him, “but that’s supposed tobe the cleverest detective in France.”
“I don’t know that I wouldn’t,” said Anthony thoughtfully. “I ratherthink I would.”
“Well,” said Battle, “he was right about the excitements of this night be-ing over. By the way, do you remember my telling you about that manthey’d found shot near Staines?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Nothing. They’ve identified him, that’s all. It seems he was called Gi-useppe Manuelli. He was a waiter at the Blitz in London. Curious, isn’t it?”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
superintendent
|
|
| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
revel
|
|
| vi.狂欢作乐，陶醉；n.作乐，狂欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
untold
|
|
| adj.数不清的，无数的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
attentively
|
|
| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
assassination
|
|
| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
indirectly
|
|
| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
refreshments
|
|
| n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
Augmented
|
|
| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
leakage
|
|
| n.漏，泄漏；泄漏物；漏出量 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
strictly
|
|
| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
strings
|
|
| n.弦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
courteously
|
|
| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
exclamation
|
|
| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
darted
|
|
| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
agitates
|
|
| 搅动( agitate的第三人称单数 )； 激怒； 使焦虑不安； （尤指为法律、社会状况的改变而）激烈争论 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
majesty
|
|
| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
bribe
|
|
| n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
attesting
|
|
| v.证明( attest的现在分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
inquiry
|
|
| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
unevenly
|
|
| adv.不均匀的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
audacity
|
|
| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
laconically
|
|
| adv.简短地，简洁地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
minor
|
|
| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
bent
|
|
| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
clairvoyance
|
|
| n.超人的洞察力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
memoirs
|
|
| n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
blurted
|
|
| v.突然说出，脱口而出( blurt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
ticklish
|
|
| adj.怕痒的；问题棘手的；adv.怕痒地；n.怕痒，小心处理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
anonymously
|
|
| ad.用匿名的方式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
amazement
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
colossal
|
|
| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
bluff
|
|
| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
concessions
|
|
| n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
silhouetted
|
|
| 显出轮廓的，显示影像的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
armour
|
|
| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
sneak
|
|
| vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
graceful
|
|
| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |