Cataraqui County extending from the northernmost line of the village known as Three Mile Bay on the south tothe Canadian border, on the north a distance of fifty miles. And from Senaschet and Indian Lakes on the east tothe Rock and Scarf Rivers on the west--a width of thirty miles. Its greater portion covered by uninhabited forestsand lakes, yet dotted here and there with such villages and hamlets as Koontz, Grass Lake, North Wallace,Brown Lake, with Bridgeburg, the county seat, numbering no less than two thousand souls of the fifteenthousand in the entire county. And the central square of the town occupied by the old and yet not ungracefulcounty courthouse, a cupola with a clock and some pigeons surmounting1 it, the four principal business streets ofthe small town facing it.
In the office of the County Coroner in the northeast corner of the building on Friday, July ninth, one Fred Heit,coroner, a large and broad-shouldered individual with a set of gray-brown whiskers such as might have graced aMormon elder. His face was large and his hands and his feet also. And his girth was proportionate.
At the time that this presentation begins, about two-thirty in the afternoon, he was lethargically2 turning the leavesof a mail-order catalogue for which his wife had asked him to write. And while deciphering from its pages theprice of shoes, jackets, hats, and caps for his five omnivorous3 children, a greatcoat for himself of soothingproportions, high collar, broad belt, large, impressive buttons chancing to take his eye, he had paused to considerregretfully that the family budget of three thousand dollars a year would never permit of so great luxury thiscoming winter, particularly since his wife, Ella, had had her mind upon a fur coat for at least three winters past.
However his thoughts might have eventuated on this occasion, they were interrupted by the whirr of a telephonebell.
"Yes, this is Mr. Heit speaking--Wallace Upham of Big Bittern. Why, yes, go on, Wallace--young coupledrowned--all right, just wait a minute--"He turned to the politically active youth who drew a salary from the county under the listing of "secretary to thecoroner"--"Get these points, Earl." Then into the telephone: "All right, Wallace, now give me all the facts-everything--yes. The body of the wife found but not that of the husband--yes--a boat upset on the south shore-yes--straw hat without any lining--yes--some marks about her mouth and eye--her coat and hat at the inn--yes--aletter in one of the pockets of the coat--addressed to who?--Mrs. Titus Alden, Biltz, Mimico County--yes--still dragging for the man's body, are they?--yes--no trace of him yet--I see. All right, Wallace--Well--I'll tell you,Wallace, have them leave the coat and hat just where they are. Let me see--it's two-thirty now. I'll be up on thefour o'clock. The bus from the inn there meets that, doesn't it? Well, I'll be over on that, sure--And, Wallace, Iwish you'd write down the names of all present who saw the body brought up. What was that?--eighteen feet ofwater at least?--yes--a veil caught in one of the rowlocks--yes--a brown veil--yes--sure, that's all--Well, thenhave them leave everything just as found, Wallace, and I'll be right up. Yes, Wallace, thank you-- Goodbye."Slowly Mr. Heit restored the receiver to the hook and as slowly arose from the capacious walnut-hued chair inwhich he sat, stroking his heavy whiskers, while he eyed Earl Newcomb, combination typist, record clerk, andwhat not.
"You got all that down, did you, Earl?""Yes, sir.""Well, you better get your hat and coat and come along with me. We'll have to catch that 3:10. You can fill in afew subpoenas4 on the train. I should say you better take fifteen or twenty--to be on the safe side, and take thenames of such witnesses as we can find on the spot. And you better call up Mrs. Heit and say 'taint5 likely I'll behome for dinner tonight or much before the down train. We may have to stay up there until tomorrow. You nevercan tell in these cases how they're going to turn out and it's best to be on the safe side."Heit turned to a coat-room in one corner of the musty old room and extracted a large, soft-brimmed, straw hat,the downward curving edges of which seemed to heighten the really bland6 and yet ogreish effect of hisprotruding eyes and voluminous whiskers, and having thus equipped himself, said: "I'm just going in the sheriff'soffice a minute, Earl. You'd better call up the Republican and the Democrat7 and tell 'em about this, so they won'tthink we're slightin' 'em. Then I'll meet you down at the station." And he lumbered8 out.
And Earl Newcomb, a tall, slender, shock-headed young man of perhaps nineteen, and of a very serious, if attimes befuddled9, manner, at once seized a sheaf of subpoenas, and while stuffing these in his pocket, sought toget Mrs. Heit on the telephone. And then, after explaining to the newspapers about a reported double drowning atBig Bittern, he seized his own blue-banded straw hat, some two sizes too large for him, and hurried down thehall, only to encounter, opposite the wide-open office door of the district attorney, Zillah Saunders, spinster andsolitary stenographer10 to the locally somewhat famous and mercurial11 Orville W. Mason, district attorney. She wason her way to the auditor's office, but being struck by the preoccupation and haste of Mr. Newcomb, usually somuch more deliberate, she now called: "Hello, Earl. What's the rush? Where you going so fast?""Double drowning up at Big Bittern, we hear. Maybe something worse. Mr. Heit's going up and I'm going along.
We have to make that 3:10.""Who said so? Is it anyone from here?""Don't know yet, but don't think so. There was a letter in the girl's pocket addressed to some one in Biltz, MimicoCounty, a Mrs. Alden. I'll tell you when we get back or I'll telephone you.""My goodness, if it's a crime, Mr. Mason'll be interested, won't he?""Sure, I'll telephone him, or Mr. Heit will. If you see Bud Parker or Karel Badnell, tell 'em I had to go out oftown, and call up my mother for me, will you, Zillah, and tell her, too. I'm afraid I won't have time.""Sure I will, Earl.""Thanks."And, highly interested by this latest development in the ordinary humdrum12 life of his chief, he skipped gayly andeven eagerly down the south steps of the Cataraqui County Courthouse, while Miss Saunders, knowing that herown chief was off on some business connected with the approaching County Republican Convention, and therebeing no one else in his office with whom she could communicate at this time, went on to the auditor's office,where it was possible to retail13 to any who might be assembled there, all that she had gathered concerning thisseemingly important lake tragedy.
卡塔拉基县从南面的三英里湾村北端径直延伸到加拿大边境，南北长五十英里，东面从塞纳谢特湖。印第安湖到西面罗克河。斯卡夫河，宽达三十英里。
绝大部分地区是荒无人烟的森林和湖泊，偶尔有诸如孔兹。草湖。北华莱士。
布朗湖等大小村落。县城设在布里奇伯格，人口还不到两千(全县人口为一万五千人)。那座古老但不算难看的本县法院大楼，就座落在县城中心广场上，它那个圆顶阁上还有一座大钟，周围总有好几只鸽子在盘旋。小镇四条大街，都在中心广场汇合。
七月九日，星期五，法院大楼东北角的县验尸官办公室里，有一位名叫弗雷德。海特的验尸官(验尸官负责调查突然的死亡或横死;他在进行验尸时，可以由一个特别挑选的陪审团协助。)。此人身材魁梧，肩膀宽阔，蓄一撮棕色小胡子，活象一位摩门教派长老。他脸盘儿大，手大脚大，自然腰身也很粗。
当我们刚要开始讲述故事的时候，大约是在下午两点半钟，他正懒洋洋地在翻阅邮购商品目录，那是他妻子要求他开出定购单的。他按照目录核算商品的价格，给他五个什么都想要的孩子购买鞋子。外套。帽子和便帽，给他自己买一件尺码很大的舒适大衣，高翻领。宽腰带，还有早先他见过的挺神气的大钮扣。随后，他心里很难过，考虑到全家预算……一年三千块美元……怎么也不够他今冬那么大的开销。特别是他妻子埃拉心里一直想置一件毛皮大衣，少说也有三个冬天了。
可是，不管他这个念头最后结果如何，这时却被一阵电话铃声打断了。
"是的，我就是海特……你是大比腾的华莱士。厄珀姆。怎么啦，是啊，说下去，华莱士……有一对年轻情侣淹死了……好，请你等一下……"他回过头来，对那个精明能干的年轻人(此人被称为"验尸官秘书"，其薪水则由县里开支)说:
"把这些记下来，厄尔。"随后，他又对着话筒说:
"好吧，华莱士，现在把全部事实都告诉我……全部细节……嗯，妻子的尸体已找到了，可她丈夫的尸体没有……嗯……一只小船在南岸翻掉了……嗯……一顶草帽，什么商标都没有的……嗯……她嘴上。眼上都有一些伤痕……她的外套和帽子都在客栈里……嗯……外套一个口袋里，还有一封信……是写给谁的呀?
……米米科县比尔茨的泰特斯。奥尔登太太……嗯……我们还在打捞男尸，是吧?
……嗯……还没有他的影儿呢……我全知道了。好的，华莱士……得了……我会通知你的，华莱士，关照他们把那外套和帽子都照原样儿留在现场。让我想一想……现在是两点半。我将搭乘四点钟火车赶到。客栈有汽车在那儿接，是吧?
得了，我就搭那趟车来，那当然罗……还有，华莱士，所有在场看见尸体打捞上来的人，我希望你把他们的姓名一个不漏记下来。还有什么?
……湖水至少有十八英尺深?
……嗯……桨架上扯着一块面纱……嗯……一块棕色面纱……嗯……当然罗，就这样……好吧，那就关照他们把所有发现的东西都照原样儿留在现场，华莱士，我马上就到。嗯，华莱士，谢谢你……回头见。"海特先生慢悠悠地挂上听筒，慢悠悠地从他坐着的那张胡桃木色宽大椅子里站了起来，捋了一下自己浓密的小胡子，同时对那个身兼几职(打字员。文书，以及一切杂务)的厄尔。纽科姆瞅了一眼。
"厄尔，你都记下来了，是吧?
""是的，先生。""嗯，你最好拿上你的帽子和外套跟我一块去。我们就得去赶三点十分的火车。你可以在车上填好几张传票。依我看，不管怎么说，你最好带上十五到二十张空白的……备而不用嘛，然后，要把所有在现场的人姓啥名谁通通记下来。
还有，最好给海特太太去个电话，说今儿晚上我不见得能回家吃晚饭了，甚至连末班车怕也赶不上呢。可能我们还得在那儿住一宿。谁知道这类案子备不住会有什么变化，最好还是要做好各种准备。"他转身走到破旧发霉的房间旮旯儿的衣帽柜，取出一顶软边的大草帽，它那往下耷拉的宽边帽檐，使他脸相显得越发奇特，他的那双凸眼睛和浓胡子，其实很善良，这时却好似凶恶极了。一切都准备停当，他便对秘书说:
"我这会儿就去县执法官(据美国州。县政府职责规定，执法官，亦即县的行政司法长官，负责维持公共秩序，逮捕罪犯和管理县监狱。)那儿，厄尔。最好你跟《共和党人报》和《民主党人报》通个电话，把这事给他们说一声，别让这两家报社认为我们跟他们不通气。到时我就在火车站跟你碰头得了。"说完，他便步履艰难地往外走了。
厄尔。纽科姆是个身材颀长。头发蓬乱的年轻人，年龄约莫有十九岁，举止谈吐非常严肃，虽说有时也会恍然失措。他马上一面抓了一叠传票往口袋里掖，一面又给海特太太打电话。稍后，他在电话里向这两家报社说了一下大比腾湖上两人溺亡的惨闻，随后抓起那顶比他的脑瓜大两号的蓝边草帽，急冲冲下楼了，殊不知在敞着门的地方检查官办公室对面碰上了泽拉。桑德斯。她是个老处女，也是当地颇有名气而又机智的地方检察官奥维尔。Ｗ。梅森的唯一速记员。这时她正去审计长办公室，见到平素办事不紧不慢的纽科姆先生心事重重。行色匆匆的样子很吃惊，便冲他喊道:
"喂，厄尔。有什么急事?
你急冲冲往哪儿跑呀?
""听说大比腾有两个人淹死了。说不定情况比这还要糟。海特先生要去，我就跟他一块去。我们得搭乘三点十分的这班火车。""你是听谁说的?
是当地人吗?
""还不知道，不过我想恐怕不是吧。那个姑娘口袋里有一封信，是寄给米米科县附近比尔茨一位姓奥尔登的太太。等我们回来，一切我都会告诉你的;要不然，我就打电话告诉你。""哦，我的天哪，如果说这是一件刑事案子，那梅森先生也许会感到关注的，是吧?
""当然罗，我会打电话给他的;要不然，海特先生自己也会打来的。要是你看见巴德。帕克，或是卡雷尔。巴德内尔，转告他们，说我得出镇去走一趟。还有，请你代我打个电话给我妈，得了吧，泽拉，也关照她一声。我怕我自己来不及打了。""当然可以，厄尔。""谢谢。"本来他的上司日常生活够单调乏味，现在来了这么一件新鲜事，对此纽科姆兴趣很大。瞧他乐呵呵地，甚至热呼呼地连跳带蹦，走下了卡塔拉基县法院大楼南边台阶。桑德斯小姐知道她自己的上司因为跟即将召开的本县共和党代表大会有关的事出去了，他办公室里此刻没有别人听她的新闻，便往审计长办公室走去。她不妨根据她刚才听到的消息，对聚集在那儿的人大讲特讲这次关系重大的湖上惨案。
收听单词发音 |
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surmounting
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| 战胜( surmount的现在分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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lethargically
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omnivorous
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| adj.杂食的 | |
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subpoenas
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| n.（传唤出庭的）传票( subpoena的名词复数 )v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的第三人称单数 ) | |
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taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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bland
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| adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的 | |
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democrat
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| n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员 | |
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lumbered
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| 砍伐（lumber的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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befuddled
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| adj.迷糊的，糊涂的v.使烂醉( befuddle的过去式和过去分词 )；使迷惑不解 | |
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stenographer
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| n.速记员 | |
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mercurial
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| adj.善变的，活泼的 | |
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humdrum
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| adj.单调的，乏味的 | |
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retail
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| v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格 | |
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