It reminded me forcibly of Episode III in “The Perils1 of Pamela.” How oftenhad I not sat in the sixpenny seats, eating a twopenny bar of milk chocol-ate, and yearning2 for similar things to happen to me! Well, they hadhappened with a vengeance3. And somehow it was not nearly so amusingas I had imagined. It’s all very well on the screen—you have the comfort-able knowledge that there’s bound to be an Episode IV. But in real lifethere was absolutely no guarantee that Anna the Adventuress might notterminate abruptly4 at the end of any Episode.
Yes, I was in a tight place. All the things that Rayburn had said thatmorning came back to me with unpleasant distinctness. Tell the truth, hehad said. Well, I could always do that, but was it going to help me? To be-gin with, would my story be believed? Would they consider it likely orpossible that I had started off on this mad escapade simply on the strengthof a scrap5 of paper smelling of mothballs? It sounded to me a wildly in-credible tale. In that moment of cold sanity6 I cursed myself for a melodra-matic idiot, and yearned7 for the peaceful boredom8 of Little Hampsley.
All this passed through my mind in less time than it takes to tell. My firstinstinctive movement was to step backwards9 and feel for the handle of thedoor. My captor merely grinned.
“Here you are and here you stay,” he remarked facetiously10.
I did my best to put a bold face upon the matter.
“I was invited to come here by the curator of the Cape11 Town Museum. IfI have made a mistake—”
“A mistake? Oh, yes, a big mistake!”
He laughed coarsely.
“What right have you to detain me? I shall inform the police—”
“Yap, yap, yap—like a little toy dog.” He laughed.
I sat down on a chair.
“I can only conclude that you are a dangerous lunatic,” I said coldly.
“Indeed?”
“I should like to point out to you that my friends are perfectly12 wellaware where I have gone, and that if I have not returned by this evening,they will come in search of me. You understand?”
“So your friends know where you are, do they? Which of them?”
Thus challenged, I did a lightning calculation of chances. Should I men-tion Sir Eustace? He was a well-known man, and his name might carryweight. But if they were in touch with Pagett, they might know I was lying.
Better not risk Sir Eustace.
“Mrs. Blair, for one,” I said lightly. “A friend of mine with whom I amstaying.”
“I think not,” said my captor, slyly shaking his orange head. “You havenot seen her since eleven this morning. And you received our note, bid-ding you to come here, at lunchtime.”
His words showed me how closely my movements had been followed,but I was not going to give in without a fight.
“You are very clever,” I said. “Perhaps you have heard of that useful in-vention, the telephone? Mrs. Blair called me up on it when I was resting inmy room after lunch. I told her then where I was going this afternoon.”
To my great satisfaction, I saw a shade of uneasiness pass over his face.
Clearly he had overlooked the possibility that Suzanne might have tele-phoned me. I wished she really had done so!
“Enough of this,” he said harshly, rising.
“What are you going to do with me?” I asked, still endeavouring to ap-pear composed.
“Put you where you can do no harm in case your friends come afteryou.”
For a moment my blood ran cold, but his next words reassured14 me.
“Tomorrow you’ll have some questions to answer, and after you’veanswered them we shall know what to do with you. And I can tell you,young lady, we’ve more ways than one of making obstinate15 little foolstalk.”
It was not cheering, but it was at least a respite16. I had until tomorrow.
This man was clearly an underling obeying the orders of a superior. Couldthat superior by any chance be Pagett?
He called and two Kafirs appeared. I was taken upstairs. Despite mystruggles, I was gagged and then bound hand and foot. The room intowhich they had taken me was a kind of attic17 right under the roof. It wasdusty and showed little signs of having been occupied. The Dutchmanmade a mock bow and withdrew, closing the door behind him.
I was quite helpless. Turn and twist as I would, I could not loosen mybonds in the slightest degree, and the gag prevented me from crying out.
If, by any possible chance, anyone did come to the house, I could do noth-ing to attract their attention. Down below I heard the sound of a doorshutting. Evidently the Dutchman was going out.
It was maddening not to be able to do anything. I strained again at mybonds, but the knots held. I desisted at last, and either fainted or fellasleep. When I awoke I was in pain all over. It was quite dark now, and Ijudged that the night must be well-advanced, for the moon was high in theheavens and shining down through the dusty skylight. The gag was halfchoking me and the stiffness and pain were unendurable.
It was then that my eyes fell on a bit of broken glass lying in the corner.
A moonbeam slanted18 right down on it, and its glistening19 had caught my at-tention. As I looked at it, an idea came into my head.
My arms and legs were helpless, but surely I could still roll. Slowly andawkwardly, I set myself in motion. It was not easy. Besides being ex-tremely painful, since I could not guard my face with my arms, it was alsoexceedingly difficult to keep any particular direction.
I tended to roll in every direction except the one I wanted to go. In theend, however, I came right up against my objective. It almost touched mybound hands.
Even then it was not easy. It took an infinity20 of time before I couldwriggle the glass into such a position, wedged against the wall, that itwould rub up and down on my bonds. It was a long heart-rending process,and I almost despaired, but in the end I succeeded in sawing through thecords that bound my wrists. The rest was a matter of time. Once I had re-stored the circulation to my hands by rubbing the wrists vigorously, I wasable to undo21 the gag. One or two full breaths did a lot for me.
Very soon I had undone22 the last knot, though even then it was sometime before I could stand on my feet, but at last I stood erect23, swinging myarms to and fro to restore the circulation, and wishing above all thingsthat I could get hold of something to eat.
I waited about a quarter of an hour, to be quite sure of my recoveredstrength. Then I tiptoed noiselessly to the door. As I had hoped, it was notlocked, only latched24. I unlatched it and peeped cautiously out.
Everything was still. The moonlight came in through a window andshowed me the dusty uncarpeted staircase. Cautiously I crept down it. Stillno sound—but as I stood on the landing below, a faint murmur25 of voicesreached me. I stopped dead, and stood there for some time. A clock on thewall registered the fact that it was after midnight.
I was fully26 aware of the risks I might run if I descended27 lower, but mycuriosity was too much for me. With infinite precautions I prepared to ex-plore. I crept softly down the last flight of stairs and stood in the squarehall. I looked round me—and then caught my breath with a gasp28. A Kafirboy was sitting by the hall door. He had not seen me, indeed I soon real-ized by his breathing that he was fast asleep.
Should I retreat, or should I go on? The voices came from the room I hadbeen shown into on arrival. One of them was that of my Dutch friend, theother I could not for the moment recognize, though it seemed vaguely29 fa-miliar.
In the end I decided30 that it was clearly my duty to hear all I could. I mustrisk the Kafir boy waking up. I crossed the hall noiselessly and knelt bythe study door. For a moment or two I could hear no better. The voiceswere louder, but I could not distinguish what they said.
I applied31 my eye to the keyhole instead of my ear. As I had guessed, oneof the speakers was the big Dutchman. The other man was sitting outsidemy circumscribed32 range of vision.
Suddenly he rose to get himself a drink. His back, blackclad and decor-ous, came into view. Even before he turned round I knew who he was.
Mr. Chichester!
Now I began to make out the words.
“All the same, it is dangerous. Suppose her friends come after her?”
It was the big man speaking. Chichester answered him. He had droppedhis clerical voice entirely33. No wonder I had not recognized it.
“All bluff34. They haven’t an idea where she is.”
“She spoke35 very positively36.”
“I daresay. I’ve looked into the matter, and we’ve nothing to fear. Any-way, it’s the ‘Colonel’s’ orders. You don’t want to go against them, I sup-pose?”
The Dutchman ejaculated something in his own language. I judged it tobe a hasty disclaimer.
“But why not knock her on the head?” he growled37. “It would be simple.
The boat is all ready. She could be taken out to sea.”
“Yes,” said Chichester meditatively38. “That is what I should do. She knowstoo much, that is certain. But the ‘Colonel’ is a man who likes to play a lonehand — though no one else must do so.” Something in his own wordsseemed to awaken39 a memory that annoyed him. “He wants information ofsome kind from this girl.”
He had paused before the “information,” and the Dutchman was quickto catch him up.
“Information?”
“Something of the kind.”
“Diamonds,” I said to myself.
“And now,” continued Chichester, “give me the lists.”
For a long time their conversation was quite incomprehensible to me. Itseemed to deal with large quantities of vegetables. Dates were mentioned,prices, and various names of places which I did not know. It was quite halfan hour before they had finished their checking and counting.
“Good,” said Chichester, and there was a sound as though he pushedback his chair. “I will take these with me for the ‘Colonel’ to see.”
“When do you leave?”
“Ten o’clock tomorrow morning will do.”
“Do you want to see the girl before you go?”
“No. There are strict orders that no one is to see her until the ‘Colonel’
comes. Is she all right?”
“I looked in on her when I came in for dinner. She was asleep, I think.
What about food?”
“A little starvation will do no harm. The ‘Colonel’ will be here some timetomorrow. She will answer questions better if she is hungry. No one hadbetter go near her till then. Is she securely tied up?”
The Dutchman laughed.
“What do you think?”
They both laughed. So did I, under my breath. Then, as the soundsseemed to betoken40 that they were about to come out of the room, I beat ahasty retreat. I was just in time. As I reached the head of the stairs, I heardthe door of the room open, and at the same time the Kafir stirred andmoved. My retreat by the way of the hall door was not to be thought of. Iretired prudently41 to the attic, gathered my bonds round me and lay downagain on the floor, in case they should take it into their heads to come andlook at me.
They did not do so, however. After about an hour, I crept down thestairs, but the Kafir by the door was awake and humming softly to himself.
I was anxious to get out of the house, but I did not quite see how to man-age it.
In the end, I was forced to retreat to the attic again. The Kafir wasclearly on guard for the night. I remained there patiently all through thesounds of early morning preparation. The men breakfasted in the hall, Icould hear their voices distinctly floating up the stairs. I was getting thor-oughly unnerved. How on earth was I to get out of the house?
I counselled myself to be patient. A rash move might spoil everything.
After breakfast came the sounds of Chichester departing. To my intenserelief, the Dutchman accompanied him.
I waited breathlessly. Breakfast was being cleared away, the work of thehouse was being done. At last, the various activities seemed to die down. Islipped out from my lair13 once more. Very carefully I crept down the stairs.
The hall was empty. Like a flash I was across it, had unlatched the door,and was outside in the sunshine. I ran down the drive like one possessed42.
Once outside, I resumed a normal walk. People stared at me curiously,and I do not wonder. My face and clothes must have been covered in dustfrom rolling about in the attic. At last I came to a garage. I went in.
“I have met with an accident,” I explained. “I want a car to take me toCape Town at once. I must catch the boat to Durban.”
I had not long to wait. Ten minutes later I was speeding along in the dir-ection of Cape Town. I must know if Chichester was on the boat. Whetherto sail on her myself or not, I could not determine, but in the end I decidedto do so. Chichester would not know that I had seen him in the Villa43 atMuizenberg. He would doubtless lay further traps for me, but I was fore-warned. And he was the man I was after, the man who was seeking thediamonds on behalf of the mysterious “Colonel.”
Alas44, for my plans! As I arrived at the docks, the Kilmorden Castle wassteaming out to sea. And I had no means of knowing whether Chichesterhad sailed on her or not!
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收听单词发音
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1
perils
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| 极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境） | |
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2
yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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5
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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6
sanity
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| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
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yearned
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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boredom
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| n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊 | |
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backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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10
facetiously
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| adv.爱开玩笑地；滑稽地，爱开玩笑地 | |
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11
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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13
lair
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| n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处 | |
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14
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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15
obstinate
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| adj.顽固的，倔强的，不易屈服的，较难治愈的 | |
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16
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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18
slanted
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| 有偏见的； 倾斜的 | |
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19
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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20
infinity
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| n.无限，无穷，大量 | |
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21
undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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22
undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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23
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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24
latched
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| v.理解( latch的过去式和过去分词 )；纠缠；用碰锁锁上（门等）；附着（在某物上） | |
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25
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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26
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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28
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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30
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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32
circumscribed
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| adj.[医]局限的：受限制或限于有限空间的v.在…周围划线( circumscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；划定…范围；限制；限定 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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34
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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35
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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36
positively
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| adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实 | |
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37
growled
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| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的过去式和过去分词 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
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meditatively
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| adv.冥想地 | |
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39
awaken
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| vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起 | |
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40
betoken
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| v.预示 | |
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41
prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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42
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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43
villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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44
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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