Diamonds!
I stared, fascinated, at the glassy heap on the bunk1. I picked up onewhich, but for the weight, might have been a fragment of broken bottle.
“Are you sure, Suzanne?”
“Oh, yes, my dear. I’ve seen rough diamonds too often to have anydoubts. They’re beauties too, Anne — and some of them are unique, Ishould say. There’s a history behind these.”
“The history we heard tonight,” I cried.
“You mean—”
“Colonel Race’s story. It can’t be a coincidence. He told it for a purpose.”
“To see its effect, you mean?”
I nodded.
“Its effect on Sir Eustace?”
“Yes.”
But, even as I said it, a doubt assailed2 me. Was it Sir Eustace who hadbeen subjected to a test, or had the story been told for my benefit? I re-membered the impression I had received on that former night of havingbeen deliberately3 “pumped.” For some reason or other, Colonel Race wassuspicious. But where did he come in? What possible connexion could hehave with the affair?
“Who is Colonel Race?” I asked.
“That’s rather a question,” said Suzanne. “He’s pretty well-known as abig- game hunter, and, as you heard him say tonight, he was a distantcousin of Sir Laurence Eardsley. I’ve never actually met him until this trip.
He journeys to and from Africa a good deal. There’s a general idea that hedoes Secret Service work. I don’t know whether it’s true or not. He’s cer-tainly rather a mysterious creature.”
“I suppose he came into a lot of money as Sir Laurence Eardsley’s heir?”
“My dear Anne, he must be rolling. You know, he’d be a splendid matchfor you.”
“I can’t have a good go at him with you aboard the ship,” I said, laugh-ing. “Oh, these married women!”
“We do have a pull,” murmured Suzanne complacently4. “And everybodyknows that I am absolutely devoted5 to Clarence—my husband, you know.
It’s so safe and pleasant to make love to a devoted wife.”
“It must be very nice for Clarence to be married to someone like you.”
“Well, I’m wearing to live with! Still, he can always escape to the ForeignOffice, where he fixes his eyeglass in his eye, and goes to sleep in a bigarmchair. We might cable him to tell us all he knows about Race. I lovesending cables. And they annoy Clarence so. He always says a letter wouldhave done as well. I don’t suppose he’d tell us anything though. He is sofrightfully discreet6. That’s what makes him so hard to live with for long onend. But let us go on with our matchmaking. I’m sure Colonel Race is veryattracted to you, Anne. Give him a couple of glances from those wickedeyes of yours, and the deed is done. Everyone gets engaged onboard ship.
There’s nothing else to do.”
“I don’t want to get married.”
“Don’t you?” said Suzanne. “Why not? I love being married—even toClarence!”
I disdained7 her flippancy8.
“What I want to know is,” I said with determination, “what has ColonelRace got to do with this? He’s in it somewhere.”
“You don’t think it was mere9 chance, his telling that story?”
“No, I don’t,” I said decidedly. “He was watching us all narrowly. You re-member, some of the diamonds were recovered, not all. Perhaps these arethe missing ones—or perhaps—”
“Perhaps what?”
I did not answer directly.
“I should like to know,” I said, “what became of the other young man.
Not Eardsley but—what was his name?—Lucas!”
“We’re getting some light on the thing, anyway. It’s the diamonds allthese people are after. It must have been to obtain possession of the dia-monds that ‘The Man in the Brown Suit’ killed Nadina.”
“He didn’t kill her,” I said sharply.
“Of course he killed her. Who else could have done so?”
“I don’t know. But I’m sure he didn’t kill her.”
“He went into the house three minutes after her and came out as whiteas a sheet.”
“Because he found her dead.”
“But nobody else went in.”
“Then the murderer was in the house already, or else he got in someother way. There’s no need for him to pass the lodge10, he could haveclimbed over the wall.”
Suzanne glanced at me sharply.
“ ‘The Man in the Brown Suit,’ ” she mused11. “Who was he, I wonder?
Anyway, he was identical with the ‘doctor’ in the Tube. He would havehad time to remove his makeup12 and follow the woman to Marlow. Sheand Carton were to have met there, they both had an order to view thesame house, and if they took such elaborate precautions to make theirmeeting appear accidental they must have suspected they were being fol-lowed. All the same, Carton did not know that his shadower was the ‘Manin the Brown Suit.’ When he recognized him, the shock was so great thathe lost his head completely and stepped back onto the line. That all seemspretty clear, don’t you think so, Anne!”
I did not reply.
“Yes, that’s how it was. He took the paper from the dead man, and in hishurry to get away he dropped it. Then he followed the woman to Marlow.
What did he do when he left there, when he had killed her—or, accordingto you, found her dead? Where did he go?”
Still I said nothing.
“I wonder, now,” said Suzanne musingly13. “Is it possible that he inducedSir Eustace Pedler to bring him on board as his secretary? It would be aunique chance of getting safely out of England, and dodging14 the hue15 andcry. But how did he square Sir Eustace? It looks as though he had somehold over him.”
“Or over Pagett,” I suggested in spite of myself.
“You don’t seem to like Pagett, Anne. Sir Eustace says he’s a most cap-able and hardworking young man. And, really, he may be for all we knowagainst him. Well, to continue my surmises16, Rayburn is ‘The Man in theBrown Suit.’ He had read the paper he dropped. Therefore, misled by thedot as you were, he attempts to reach Cabin 17 at one o’clock on the 22nd,having previously17 tried to get possession of the cabin through Pagett. Onthe way there somebody knifes him—”
“Who?” I interpolated.
“Chichester. Yes, it all fits in. Cable to Lord Nasby that you have found‘The Man in the Brown Suit,’ and your fortune’s made, Anne!”
“There are several things you’ve overlooked.”
“What things? Rayburn’s got a scar, I know—but a scar can be faked eas-ily enough. He’s the right height and build. What’s the description of ahead with which you pulverized18 them at Scotland Yard?”
I trembled. Suzanne was a well- educated, well- read woman, but Iprayed that she might not be conversant19 with technical terms of anthropo-logy.
“Dolichocephalic,” I said lightly.
Susanne looked doubtful.
“Was that it?”
“Yes. Long-headed, you know. A head whose width is less than 75 percent of its length,” I explained fluently.
There was a pause. I was just beginning to breathe freely when Suzannesaid suddenly:
“What’s the opposite?”
“What do you mean—the opposite?”
“Well, there must be an opposite. What do you call heads whose breadthis more than 75 per cent of their length?”
“Brachycephalic,” I murmured unwillingly20.
“That’s it. I thought that was what you said.”
“Did I? It was a slip of the tongue. I meant dolichocephalic,” I said withall the assurance I could muster21.
Suzanne looked at me searchingly. Then she laughed.
“You lie very well, gipsy girl. But it will save time and trouble now if youtell me all about it.”
“There is nothing to tell,” I said unwillingly.
“Isn’t there?” said Suzanne gently.
“I suppose I shall have to tell you,” I said slowly. “I’m not ashamed of it.
You can’t be ashamed of something that just—happens to you. That’s whathe did. He was detestable—rude and ungrateful—but that I think I under-stand. It’s like a dog that’s been chained up—or badly treated—it’ll biteanybody. That’s what he was like—bitter and snarling22. I don’t know why Icare—but I do. I care horribly. Just seeing him has turned my whole lifeupside-down. I love him. I want him. I’ll walk all over Africa barefoot till Ifind him, and I’ll make him care for me. I’d die for him. I’d work for him,slave for him, steal for him, even beg or borrow for him! There—now youknow!”
Suzanne looked at me for a long time.
“You’re very un-English, gipsy girl,” she said at last. “There’s not a scrapof the sentimental23 about you. I’ve never met anyone who was at once sopractical and so passionate24. I shall never care for anyone like that—merci-fully for me—and yet—and yet I envy you, gipsy girl. It’s something to beable to care. Most people can’t. But what a mercy for your little doctorman that you didn’t marry him. He doesn’t sound at all the sort of indi-vidual who would enjoy keeping high explosive in the house! So there’s tobe no cabling to Lord Nasby?”
I shook my head.
“And yet you believe him to be innocent?”
“I also believe that innocent people can be hanged.”
“H’m! yes. But, Anne dear, you can face facts, face them now. In spite ofall you say, he may have murdered this woman.”
“No,” I said. “He didn’t.”
“That’s sentiment.”
“No, it isn’t. He might have killed her. He may even have followed herthere with that idea in mind. But he wouldn’t take a bit of black cord andstrangle her with it. If he’d done it, he would have strangled her with hisbare hands.”
Suzanne gave a little shiver. Her eyes narrowed appreciatively.
“H’m! Anne, I am beginning to see why you find this young man ofyours so attractive!”
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收听单词发音
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1
bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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2
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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3
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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complacently
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| adv. 满足地, 自满地, 沾沾自喜地 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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disdained
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| 鄙视( disdain的过去式和过去分词 )； 不屑于做，不愿意做 | |
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8
flippancy
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| n.轻率；浮躁；无礼的行动 | |
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9
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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12
makeup
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| n.组织；性格；化装品 | |
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musingly
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| adv.沉思地，冥想地 | |
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14
dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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hue
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| n.色度；色调；样子 | |
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surmises
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的第三人称单数 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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pulverized
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| adj.[医]雾化的，粉末状的v.将…弄碎( pulverize的过去式和过去分词 )；将…弄成粉末或尘埃；摧毁；粉碎 | |
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conversant
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| adj.亲近的，有交情的，熟悉的 | |
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unwillingly
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| adv.不情愿地 | |
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muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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22
snarling
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| v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的现在分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说 | |
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sentimental
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| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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