Had a place been sought for wherein the utmost secrecy5 might be observed, surely this was that place. As I neared the door upon which I read the doctor’s name, I found myself treading on tip-toe, so impressed had I become by a sense of caution, if not of dread6.
I had made every effort to be on hand at precisely7 ten o’clock, and felt so sure that I had been the first to arrive that I reached out to the door-knob with every expectation of entering, unseen by any one, and possibly unheard. To my dismay, the first twist I gave it resulted in a rusty8 shriek9 that set my teeth on edge, and echoed down the gloomy hall. With my flesh creeping, I opened the door and passed into the doctor’s outer room.
It was far from being empty. Seated in chairs ranged along two sides of the room, I saw a dozen or more persons, male and female. All wore the preoccupied10 air that patients are apt to assume while awaiting their turn to be called by the doctor. One amongst the number made an effort at indifference11 by drawing out and pushing back a nail in the flooring with the sole of her pretty shoe. It may have been intended for coquetry, and at another time might have bewitched me; now it seemed strangely out of place. The man who was to all appearance counting the flies in the web of an industrious12 spider was more in keeping with the place, my feelings, and the atmosphere of despondency that the room gave out.
As I had no doubt that the ring I was seeking was in the possession of some one of these persons, I gave each as minute an examination as was possible under the circumstances. Only two amongst them appeared open to suspicion. Of these, one was a young man whose naturally fine features would have prepossessed him in my favor had it not been for the peculiar13 alertness of his bright blue eye, which flashed incessantly14 in every direction till each and all of us seemed to partake of his restlessness and anxiety. Why was he not depressed15? The other was the girl, or, rather, the young lady to whose pretty foot I have referred. If she was at all conspicuous16, it was owing to the contrast between her beautiful face and the Quaker-like simplicity17 of her dress. She was restless also; her foot had ceased its action, but her hand moved constantly. Now it clutched its fellow in her lap, and now it ran in an oft-repeated action, seemingly beyond her control, up and down and round and round a plain but expensive leather bag she wore at her side. “She carries the ring,” thought I, sitting down in the chair next her.
Meantime, I had not been oblivious18 of the box. It stood upon a plain oak table directly opposite the door by which I had come in. It was about a foot square, and was the only object in the room at all ornamental19. Indeed, there was but little else for the eye to rest on, consequently most of us looked that way, though I noticed that but few seemed to take any real interest in that or anything else within sight. This was encouraging, and I was on the point of transferring my entire attention to the two persons I have named, when one of them, the nearest, rose hurriedly and went out.
This was an unexpected move on her part, and I did not know what to make of it. Had I annoyed her by my scrutiny20, or had she divined my errand? In my doubt, I consulted the face of the man I secretly thought to be her accomplice21. It was non-committal, and, in my doubt as to the meaning of all this, I allowed myself to become interested in a pale young woman who had been sitting on the other side of the lady who had just left. She was evidently a patient who stood in great need of assistance. Her head hung feebly forward, and her whole figure looked ready to drop. Yet when a minute later the door of the inner office opened, and the doctor appeared on the sill in an expectant attitude, she made no attempt to rise, but pushed forward another woman who seemed less indisposed than herself. I had to compel myself to think of all I saw as being real and within my experience.
Surprised by this action on the part of one so ill, I watched the pale girl for an instant, and almost forgot my mission in the compassion22 aroused by her sickly appearance. But soon that mission and my motive23 for being in this place were somewhat vividly24 recalled to me by an unexpected action on this very young woman’s part. With the sudden movement of an acutely suffering person, she bounded from her seat and crossed the floor to where the box stood, gasping25 for breath, and almost falling against the table when she reached it.
A grunt26 from the good-looking young man followed; but neither he nor the middle-aged27 female with a pitiful skin disease, who had been sitting near her, offered to go to her assistance, though the latter looked as if she would like to. I was the only one to rise. The truth is, I could see no one touch the box without having something more than my curiosity awakened28. Approaching her respectfully, and with as complete a dissimulation29 of my real feelings as possible, I ventured to say:
“You are very ill, miss. Shall I summon the doctor?”
She was clutching the side of the table for support, and her head, drooping30 helplessly over the box, was swaying from side to side as she rocked to and fro in her pain.
At that moment the doctor’s door opened again.
“There he is now,” said I.
“I will wait,” she insisted. “Let the others take their turn.”
Satisfied now that something besides pain caused her interest in the box, I drew back, asking myself whether she had been in possession of the ring from the beginning, or whether it had been passed to her by her restless neighbor. Meanwhile, another patient had disappeared into the adjoining room.
A few minutes passed. The man with the restless eye began to fidget. Could it be that she was simply guarding the box, and that he was the one who wished to open it? As the doubt struck me, I surveyed her more attentively32. She was certainly doing something besides supporting herself with that sly right hand of hers. Yes, that was a click I heard. She was fitting a key into the lock. Startled, but determined33 not to betray myself, I assumed an air of great patience, and, taking a memorandum34 book from my pocket, began to write in it. Meantime, the doctor had disposed of his second patient and had beckoned35 to a third. To my astonishment36, my friend with the nervous manner responded, thus acquitting37 himself in my eyes from any interest in the box.
The interview he had with the doctor lasted some time; meantime, the young woman in the window remained more or less motionless. When the fourth person left the room, she turned and cast a quick glance at myself and the other person present.
I knew what it meant. She was anxious to be left alone in order to lift that mysterious lid. She was no more ill than I was.
There was even a dash of color in her cheeks, and the trembling she indulged in was caused by great excitement and suspense38, and not by pain.
Compassion at once gave way to anger, and I inwardly resolved not to spare her if we came into conflict over the box.
My companion was an old and non-observant man, who had come in after the rest of us. When the doctor again appeared, I motioned to this old man to follow him, which he very gladly did, leaving me alone with the pale girl. At once I got up, showing my fatigue39 and slightly yawning.
“This is very tedious,” I muttered aloud, and stepped idly towards the door leading into the hall.
The girl at the box could not restrain her impatience40. She cast me another short glance. I affected41 not to see it; took out my watch, consulted it, put it back quickly and slipped out into the hall. As I closed the door behind me, I heard a slight creak. Instantly I was back again, and with so sudden a movement that I surprised her, with her face bent42 over the open box.
“Oh, my poor young lady,” I exclaimed, springing towards her with every appearance of great concern. “You do not look able to stand. Lean on me if you feel faint, and I will help you to a seat.”
She turned upon me in a fury, but, meeting my eye, assumed an air of composure, which did not impose upon me in the least, or prevent me from pressing close to her side and taking one look into the box, which she had evidently not had sufficient self-possession to close.
The sight which met my eye was not unexpected, yet was no less interesting on that account. A hand—the hand—curiously made of bronze, and of exquisite43 proportions, lay on its enamelled cushion, with rings on all of its fingers save one. That one I was delighted to see was the middle one, proof positive that the mischief44 contemplated45 by Miss Calhoun had not yet been accomplished46.
Restored to complete self-possession by this discovery, I examined the box and its contents with an air of polite curiosity. I surprised myself by my self-possession and bonhomie.
“What an odd thing to find in a physician’s office!” I exclaimed. “Beautiful, is it not? An unusual work of art; but there is nothing in it to alarm you. You shouldn’t allow yourself to be frightened at such a thing as that.” And with a quick action, she was wholly powerless to prevent, I shut down the lid, which closed with a snap.
Startled and greatly discomposed, she drew back, hastily thrusting her hand behind her.
“You are very officious,” she began, but, seeing nothing but good nature in the smile with which I regarded her, she faltered47 irresolutely48, and finally took refuge again in her former trick of invalidism49. Breaking out into low moanings, she fell back upon the nearest chair, from which she immediately started again with the quick cry, “Oh, how I suffer! I am not well enough to be out alone.” And turning with a celerity that belied50 her words, she fled into the hall, shutting the door violently behind her.
Astonished at the completeness of my victory, I spent the first moments of triumph in trying to lift the lid of the box. But it was securely locked. I was just debating whether I could now venture to return to my seat, when the hall door reopened and a gentleman entered.
He was short, sturdy and had a bristling51 black mustache. I needed to look at him but once to be certain he was interested both in the box and me, and, while I gave no evidence of my discovery, I prepared myself for an adventure of a much more serious nature than that which had just occupied me.
Modeling my behavior upon that of the young girl whose place I had usurped52, I placed my elbow on the box and looked out of the window. As I did so I heard a shuffling53 in the adjoining room, and knew that in another moment the doctor would again appear at the door to announce that he was ready for another patient. How could I evade54 the summons? The man behind me was a determined one. He was there for the purpose of opening the box, and would not be likely to leave the room while I remained in it. How, then, could I comply with the requirements of the situation and yet prevent this new-comer from lifting the lid in my absence? I knew of but one way—a way which had suggested itself to me during the long watches of the previous night, and which I had come prepared to carry out.
Taking advantage of my proximity55 to the box, I inserted in the keyhole a small morsel56 of wax which for some minutes past I had been warming in my hand. This done, I laid my hat down on the lid, noting with great exactness as I did so just where its rim4 lay in reference to the various squares and scrolls57 with which the top was ornamented58. By this means I felt that I might know if the hat were moved in my absence. The doctor having showed himself by this time, I followed him into his office with a calmness born of the most complete confidence in the strategy I had employed.
Dr. Merriam, whom I have purposely refrained from describing until now, was a tall, well-made man, with a bald head and a pleasant eye, but careless in his attire59 and bearing. As I met that eye and responded to his good-natured greeting, I inwardly decided60 that his interest in the box was much less than his guardianship61 of it would seem to betoken62. And when I addressed him and entered upon the subject of my friend’s complaint, I soon saw by the depth of his professional interest that whatever connection he might have with the box, neither that nor any other topic whatever could for a moment vie with his delight in a new and strange case like that of my poor friend. I consequently entered into the medical details demanded of me with a free mind and succeeded in getting some very valuable advice, for which I was of course truly grateful.
As soon as this was accomplished I took my leave, but not by the usual door of egress63. Saying that I had left my hat in the ante-room, I bowed my acknowledgments to the doctor and returned the way I came. But not without meeting with a surprise. There was still but one person in the room with the box, but that person was not the man with the bristling mustache and determined eye whom I had expected to find there. It was the pretty, Quaker-like girl who had formerly64 aroused my suspicions; and though she sat far from the box, a moment’s glance at her flushed face and trembling hands assured me she had but that moment left it.
Going at once to the box, I saw that my hat had been moved. But more significant still was the hairpin65 lying on the floor at my feet, with a morsel of wax sticking to one of its points. This was conclusive66. The man had discovered why his key would not work, and had called to his aid the young lady, who had evidently been waiting in the hall outside.
She had tried to pick out the wax—a task in which I had happily interrupted her.
Proud of the success of my device, and satisfied that the danger was over for that day (it being well on to twelve o’clock), I said a few words more to the doctor, who had followed me into the room, and then prepared to take my departure. But the young lady was more agile67 than I. Saying something about a very pressing engagement which would not allow her to consult the doctor that day, she hurried ahead of me and ran quickly down the long hall. The doctor looked astonished, but dismissed the matter with a shrug68; while, with the greatest desire to follow her, I stood hesitating on the threshold, when my eye fell on a small object lying under the chair on which she had been sitting. It was the little leathern bag I had seen hanging at her side.
Catching69 it up, I explained that I would run after the young lady and restore it; and glad of an excuse which would enable me to follow her through the streets without risking the suspicion of impropriety, I hastened down the stairs and happily succeeded in reaching the pavement before her skirts whisked round the corner. I was therefore but a few paces behind her, which distance I took good care to preserve.
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1
tenants
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| n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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populous
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| adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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5
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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6
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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7
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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preoccupied
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| adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式) | |
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11
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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industrious
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| adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的 | |
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13
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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14
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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16
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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17
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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oblivious
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| adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的 | |
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19
ornamental
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| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
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20
scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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21
accomplice
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| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
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22
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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23
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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24
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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25
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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26
grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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middle-aged
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| adj.中年的 | |
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28
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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29
dissimulation
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| n.掩饰，虚伪，装糊涂 | |
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30
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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31
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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memorandum
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| n.备忘录，便笺 | |
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35
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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37
acquitting
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| 宣判…无罪( acquit的现在分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现 | |
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38
suspense
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| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
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39
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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40
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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41
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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42
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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43
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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44
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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45
contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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46
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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47
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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48
irresolutely
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| adv.优柔寡断地 | |
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49
invalidism
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| 病弱，病身； 伤残 | |
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50
belied
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| v.掩饰( belie的过去式和过去分词 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎 | |
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51
bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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52
usurped
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| 篡夺，霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权 | |
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53
shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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54
evade
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| vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避 | |
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55
proximity
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| n.接近，邻近 | |
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56
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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57
scrolls
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| n.（常用于录写正式文件的）纸卷( scroll的名词复数 )；卷轴；涡卷形（装饰）；卷形花纹v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的第三人称单数 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕 | |
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58
ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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60
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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61
guardianship
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| n. 监护, 保护, 守护 | |
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62
betoken
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| v.预示 | |
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63
egress
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| n.出去；出口 | |
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64
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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65
hairpin
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| n.簪,束发夹，夹发针 | |
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66
conclusive
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| adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的 | |
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67
agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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68
shrug
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| v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等) | |
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69
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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