“Father,” said Bundle, opening the door of Lord Caterham’s special sanc-tum and putting her head in, “I’m going up to town in the Hispano. I can’tstand the monotony down here any longer.”
“We only got home yesterday,” complained Lord Caterham.
“I know. It seems like a hundred years. I’d forgotten how dull the coun-try could be.”
“I don’t agree with you,” said Lord Caterham. “It’s peaceful, that’s whatit is—peaceful. And extremely comfortable. I appreciate getting back toTredwell more than I can tell you. That man studies my comfort in themost marvellous manner. Somebody came round only this morning toknow if they could hold a tally1 for girl guides here—”
“A rally,” interrupted Bundle.
“Rally or tally — it’s all the same. Some silly word meaning nothingwhatever. But it would have put me in a very awkward position—havingto refuse—in fact, I probably shouldn’t have refused. But Tredwell got meout of it. I’ve forgotten what he said—something damned ingenious whichcouldn’t hurt anybody’s feelings and which knocked the idea on the headabsolutely.”
“Being comfortable isn’t enough for me,” said Bundle. “I want excite-ment.”
Lord Caterham shuddered2.
“Didn’t we have enough excitement four years ago?” he demandedplaintively.
“I’m about ready for some more,” said Bundle. “Not that I expect I shallfind any in town. But at any rate I shan’t dislocate my jaw3 with yawning.”
“In my experience,” said Lord Caterham, “people who go about lookingfor trouble usually find it.” He yawned. “All the same,” he added, “Iwouldn’t mind running up to town myself.”
“Well, come on,” said Bundle. “But be quick, because ’m in a hurry.”
Lord Caterham, who had begun to rise from his chair, paused.
“Did you say you were in a hurry?” he asked suspiciously.
“In the devil of a hurry,” said Bundle.
“That settles it,” said Lord Caterham. “I’m not coming. To be driven byyou in the Hispano when you’re in a hurry—no, it’s not fair on any elderlyman. I shall stay here.”
“Please yourself,” said Bundle, and withdrew.
Tredwell took her place.
“The vicar, my lord, is most anxious to see you, some unfortunate con-troversy having arisen about the status of the Boys’ Brigade.”
Lord Caterham groaned4.
“I rather fancied, my lord, that I had heard you mention at breakfastthat you were strolling down to the village this morning to converse5 withthe vicar on the subject.”
“Did you tell him so?” asked Lord Caterham eagerly.
“I did, my lord. He departed, if I may say so, hot foot. I hope I did right,my lord?”
“Of course you did, Tredwell. You are always right. You couldn’t gowrong if you tried.”
Tredwell smiled benignly6 and withdrew.
Bundle meanwhile was sounding the Klaxon impatiently before thelodge gates, while a small child came hastening out with all speed from thelodge, admonishment7 from her mother following her.
“Make haste, Katie. That be her ladyship in a mortal hurry as always.”
It was indeed characteristic of Bundle to be in a hurry, especially whendriving a car. She had skill and nerve and was a good driver; had it beenotherwise her reckless pace would have ended in disaster more than once.
It was a crisp October day, with a blue sky and a dazzling sun. The sharptang of the air brought the blood to Bundle’s cheeks and filled her with thezest of living.
She had that morning sent Gerald Wade’s unfinished letter to LoraineWade at Deane Priory, enclosing a few explanatory lines. The curious im-pression it had made upon her was somewhat dimmed in the daylight, yetit still struck her as needing explanation. She intended to get hold of BillEversleigh sometime and extract from him fuller details of the houseparty which had ended so tragically8. In the meantime, it was a lovelymorning and she felt particularly well and the Hispano was running like adream.
Bundle pressed her foot down on the accelerator and the Hispano re-sponded at once. Mile after mile vanished, traffic was few and far betweenand Bundle had a clear stretch of road in front of her.
And then, without any warning whatever, a man reeled out of the hedgeand on to the road right in front of the car. To stop in time was out of thequestion. With all her might Bundle wrenched9 at the steering10 wheel andswerved out to the right. The car was nearly in the ditch—nearly, but notquite. It was a dangerous manoeuvre11; but it succeeded. Bundle was almostcertain that she had missed the man.
She looked back and felt a sickening sensation in the middle of her ana-tomy. The car had not passed over the man, but nevertheless it must havestruck him in passing. He was lying face downwards12 on the road, and helay ominously13 still.
Bundle jumped out and ran back. She had never yet run over anythingmore important than a stray hen. The fact that the accident was hardlyher fault did not weigh with her at the minute. The man had seemeddrunk, but drunk or not, she had killed him. She was quite sure she hadkilled him. Her heart beat sickeningly in great pounding thumps14, sound-ing right up in her ears.
She knelt down by the prone15 figure and turned him very gingerly over.
He neither groaned nor moaned. He was young, she saw, rather a pleas-ant-faced young man, well-dressed and wearing a small toothbrush mous-tache.
There was no external mark of injury that she could see, but she wasquite positive that he was either dead or dying. His eyelids16 flickered17 andthe eyes half-opened. Piteous eyes, brown and suffering, like a dog’s. Heseemed to be struggling to speak. Bundle bent18 right over.
“Yes,” she said. “Yes?”
There was something he wanted to say, she could see that. Wanted tosay badly. And she couldn’t help him, couldn’t do anything.
At last the words came, a mere19 sighing breath:
“Seven Dials .?.?. tell .?.?.”
“Yes,” said Bundle again. It was a name he was trying to get out—tryingwith all his failing strength. “Yes. Who am I to tell?”
“Tell .?.?. Jimmy Thesiger .?.?.” He got it out at last, and then, suddenly, hishead fell back and his body went limp.
Bundle sat back on her heels, shivering from head to foot. She couldnever have imagined that anything so awful could have happened to her.
He was dead—and she had killed him.
She tried to pull herself together. What must she do now? A doctor—thatwas her first thought. It was possible—just possible—that the man mightonly be unconscious, not dead. Her instinct cried out against the possibil-ity, but she forced herself to act upon it. Somehow or other she must gethim into the car and take him to the nearest doctor’s. It was a desertedstretch of country road and there was no one to help her.
Bundle, for all her slimness, was strong. She had muscles of whipcord.
She brought the Hispano as close as possible, and then exerting all herstrength, she dragged and pulled the inanimate figure into it. It was a hor-rid business, and one that made her set her teeth, but at last she managedit.
Then she jumped into the driver’s seat and set off. A couple of milesbrought her into a small town and on inquiring she was quickly directedto the doctor’s house.
Dr. Cassell, a kindly20, middle-aged21 man, was startled to come into his sur-gery and find a girl there who was evidently on the verge22 of collapse23.
Bundle spoke24 abruptly25.
“I—I think I’ve killed a man. I ran over him. I brought him along in thecar. He’s outside now. I—I was driving too fast, I suppose. I’ve alwaysdriven too fast.”
The doctor cast a practised glance over her. He stepped over to a shelfand poured something into a glass. He brought it over to her.
“Drink this down,” he said, “and you’ll feel better. You’ve had a shock.”
Bundle drank obediently and a tinge26 of colour came into her pallid27 face.
The doctor nodded approvingly.
“That’s right. Now I want you to sit quietly here. I’ll go out and attend tothings. After I’ve made sure there’s nothing to be done for the poor fellow,I’ll come back and we’ll talk about it.”
He was away some time. Bundle watched the clock on the mantelpiece.
Five minutes, ten minutes, a quarter of an hour, twenty minutes—wouldhe ever come?
Then the door opened and Dr. Cassell reappeared. He looked different—Bundle noticed that at once—grimmer and at the same time more alert.
There was something else in his manner that she did not quite under-stand, a suggestion of repressed excitement.
“Now then, young lady,” he said. “Let’s have this out. You ran over thisman, you say. Tell me just how the accident happened?”
Bundle explained to the best of her ability. The doctor followed her nar-rative with keen attention.
“Just so; the car didn’t pass over his body?”
“No. In fact, I thought I’d missed him altogether.”
“He was reeling, you say?”
“Yes, I thought he was drunk.”
“And he came from the hedge?”
“There was a gate just there, I think. He must have come through thegate.”
The doctor nodded, then he leaned back in his chair and removed hispince-nez.
“I’ve no doubt at all,” he said, “that you’re a very reckless driver, andthat you’ll probably run over some poor fellow and do for him one ofthese days—but you haven’t done it this time.”
“But—”
“The car never touched him. This man was shot.”
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1
tally
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| n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致 | |
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2
shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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3
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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4
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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6
benignly
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| adv.仁慈地，亲切地 | |
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7
admonishment
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| n.警告 | |
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8
tragically
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| adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地 | |
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9
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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10
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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11
manoeuvre
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| n.策略，调动；v.用策略，调动 | |
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12
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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13
ominously
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| adv.恶兆地，不吉利地；预示地 | |
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14
thumps
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| n.猪肺病；砰的重击声( thump的名词复数 )v.重击， （指心脏）急速跳动( thump的第三人称单数 ) | |
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15
prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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16
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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17
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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18
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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19
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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21
middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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22
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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23
collapse
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| vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷 | |
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24
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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25
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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26
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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27
pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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